Based on the implementing rules and regulations of RA 9163, NSTP divided into two

major module groups: the Common Modules and the Component Modules. As the term
connotes, common modules are taken up by all students. C the contrary, the component
modules are specifically taken up by students based on their program component choice
after completing the common module phase within at least 25 hours. The three program
components of NSTP are as follows:

 Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) - The goal of this component is to offer
military training to students and to groom them for national defense preparedness.

 Literacy Training Service (LTS) - The aim of this component is to prepare students
to become equipped in teaching literacy and numeracy skills to children in schools
and out-of-school youth.

 Civic Welfare Training Service (CWTS) - The thrust of this component is to prepare
students to become better community developers by promoting the health, safety, and
overall wellness of disenfranchised localities and their members.

CONTENTS AND SALIENT FEATURES OF THIS BOOK

Common Modules. Guided by the salient points of Republic Act 9163 and the standards
set by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), NSTP aims to imbibe among young
Filipino students the values of love for country, patriotism, respect for the dignity of persons,
sense of service, and academic excellence through the following topics comprised in the
common modules and their respective objectives:

 Citizenship Training - to increase students' motivation to take part in nation-building

through initiating and participating in community projects or activities;

 Drug Education - to increase the students' awareness of the harmful effects of drugs
to increase their conviction to avoid them and to prevent the further occurrences of
drug abuse in their families and communities;

 Disaster Risk Reduction and Management - to boost the students' knowledge of

disaster-related concepts and enhance their preparedness skills to keep themselves,
their families, and their communities safe from the harmful effects of disasters;

 Environmental Protection - to increase the students' knowledge of various

environmental concerns and instill the practice of caring for the environment; and

 National Security Concerns - to discuss various issues relevant to the state of

national security in the Philippines.

In addition to the required topics above, this book includes lessons on the following
important topics and their learning aims:

 Gender and Development - to increase students' knowledge on concepts relating to

gender and how they impact social, economic, and political development;
  Volunteerism - to highlight the concepts of volunteerism in the practice of community
service; and

 Community Engagement - to enhance the students' knowledge of community

development as they initiate collaboration with a partner community to address the
community's needs and concerns.

LTS and CWTS Component Modules. After completing all topics in the common
modules, lessons specific to two program components of NSTP (LTS and CWTS) are
included in this book. The LTS and CWTS component modules aim to let students
understand themselves in connection with a wider social context. Through these modules,
they will find out about the various challenges faced by the nation in terms of development
and security. They will also learn about how young people like them can participate in
enacting change, acquiring responsibilities, responding proactively to opportunities for
service, expressing unity with the interests and aspirations of their partner communities, and
developing youth leadership in the society.

Some of the highlights of the LTS and CWTS modules are:

LTS Module

 Basic Concepts of Literacy

 Children's Growth and Learning
 Learning Needs Assessment
 Visual Communication Media

DEFINITION OF SERVICE
Service is defined as the act of helping or providing assistance for another person or
a group of people (Service, 2020). How do you feel when you have successfully helped
another person? Learning is enhanced when we apply classroom theories and principles in
real-world settings, just like in community service. NSTP embraces the concept of service
learning: for this course, it is important to strike a balance between serving and learning. This
means that we learn while we serve and vice versa (Yorio & Ye, 2012).

RA 9163: NSTP ACT OF 2001

RA 9163 serves as the legal basis for the implementation of NSTP, which aims to
educate young students about nationalism and patriotism. It aspires to increase the students'
sense of social awareness, other- centeredness, and servant leadership. These are
accomplished through their in the realities of marginalized communities.

The three components of NSTP are as follows:

 Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) - puts emphasis on grooming students for
national defense preparedness
  Literacy Training Service (LTS) - focuses on improving the literacy and numeracy
skills of children in schools and of out-of- school youth

 Civic Welfare Training Service (CWTS) -centers on community work that contributes
to the well-being of community members

Aside from the three program components, RA 9163 recommends the following topics to
be discussed in the NSTP I modules:

 Citizenship Training - discusses the rights, duties, and responsibilities of Filipino

citizens

 Drug Education - explores the harmful effects of dangerous drugs and ways to
prevent drug abuse and addiction

 Disaster Risk Reduction and Management - highlights various individual and

community preparedness actions to mitigate the harmful effects of disasters

 Environmental Protection - examines different environmental issues and proactive

ways to take care of the environment

 National Security Concerns - enumerates and examines various internal and

external issues and concerns related to the protection of the security of the state.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW...

A community is composed of people who engage and support one another; and who
share common experiences, characteristics, belongingness, and close proximity (Cobigo,
Martin, & Mcheimech, 2016, p. 195).

It is a kind of "multilevel organization" made up of individuals residing near each other

in a specific geographical area. These individuals interact with each other based on common
attributes like activities, aspirations, ideas, and ideals, which set their group apart from the
rest (Ugnayang Pahinungod, n.d.).

With these definitions of what a community is, different features can be derived, such as:

a. a physical area with defined boundaries (geographical area);

b. a group of people with common interests and/or sets of values and aspirations;

c. a systemic organization with centers of governance and a system of economic,

cultural, and political life;

d. a system of interactions and interrelations; and

e. a unit concerned with the welfare and rights of its members.

Hence, communities are integral elements of our lives because our awareness and
understanding of our individuality and the concept of our "self" are shaped and honed by our
constant interactions with people and places we encounter.
IV. Key Points

 National Security - a climate in which the welfare of a state's people, government,

independence, and territories are protected and developed

 Three Pillars of Philippines' National Security:

1) protecting the Philippines' national identity, democracy, and social institutions;

2) ensuring the safety of the Philippines' independence; and
3) protecting the assets and physical resources of the people

 12-point National Security Agenda - the government's approach to securing the

interests and concerns of the country. These are as follows:

 Human and Political Security

 Health Security
 Economic and Financial Security
 Food and Water Security
 Military and Border Security
 Sociocultural Security
 Environment and Disaster Security
 Energy Security
 Maritime and Airspace Security
 International Security
 Informational and Cyber Security
 Transportation and Port Security

IV. Key Points

 Hazard - an unsafe event, object, human action, or status that may cause injury,
death, damage to property, loss of sources of income, social and economic
disturbance, or damage to the environment
 Risk - when a dangerous event and its hazardous consequences are combined
 Hazard profile - a record of the data on a base map of the different types of hazards
and risks present in a particular locale
 Natural hazards - include biological, geophysical or geological climatological,
hydrological, and meteorological hazards
 Human-induced hazards - include nuclear, technological, and chemical hazards

IV. Key Points

 Development - refers to increasing the quality of life of all people

 Participatory Development - a bottom-up approach in developing a community,
wherein the people are involved in the process of sustaining development
 The following are the characteristics of participatory development:
 (a) people-centered;
(b) improves quality of life;
(c) develops critical and proactive thinking;
(d) culturally relevant;
(e) sustainable; and
(f) uses a bottom-up approach.

III. Learning Experiences:

A. Activate

Poverty Condition as a Context for Community Engagement

A total of 17.7 million Filipinos live in poverty in 2018, according to the
Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA, 2020b). The COVID-19 pandemic the world has
experienced since 2020 had exacerbated the poverty condition of millions of
vulnerable Filipinos.

One of the vulnerable sectors that was badly hit as a result of the pandemic
situation are the drivers of older models of public utility jeepneys. Only a limited
number of these jeepney units were allowed to resume transport operations in
September 2020, after six months of livelihood loss. Modern jeepneys, on the other
hand, were allowed to resume operations earlier in June 2020.

Poverty does not happen randomly and suddenly. From a progressive social
theory's point of view, poverty can be seen not merely as a result of individual choices,
but a complex condition involving historical and deep structural causes such as
economic, political, and cultural discrimination (Bradshaw, 2007).

A number of social, economic, political, and cultural processes and structures

contribute largely to the present-day poverty felt by millions of Filipinos.

Unequal distribution of wealth. In an infographic released by IBON Media &

Communications (2020), it is reflected that income inequality in Luzon in the beginning
of the COVID-19 pandemic shows that almost 57% of Filipino families have a total
monthly take-home pay of Php 21,000 and below. Meanwhile, only 6.8% of Filipino
families enjoy a monthly income of Php 60,000 and above.

Unequal distribution of land and widespread landlessness in rural areas also

continue to trap farmers in poverty. Large landholdings are owned by only a few
landed families, which are converted into vast plantations and economic zones. Land
inequality started from the Spanish colonization when local lands were concentrated
into the hands of few encomienderos and later hacienderos, creating a massive
population of landless farmers (Carranza, 2015).

Contractual labor practices. Short-term employment or contractual labor is

another form of labor practice that is prone to exploitation by employers because of
tendencies to deprive workers of their security of tenure, their freedom to self-organize,
and their freedom to perform collective bargaining with employers (Esquivias, 2019).
 Contractual labor also makes a worker enjoy less employment benefits, secure
income and employment.

Disaster vulnerabilities. Because of strong typhoons, earthquakes, and the

recent pandemic, countries like the Philippines have experienced dreadful devastation.
According to Wisner and his associates (in Smyth & Hai, 2012), disasters happen only
when hazards (potential sources of harm such as natural events) confluence with the
different layers of vulnerability experienced by people. Vulnerability refers to the
inability of people to mitigate, cope, and bounce back from a hazard. This concept is
closely linked to the constraints posed by economic, political, cultural, and social
conditions. Vulnerability includes low levels of income, residence in danger areas,
weak infrastructures, lack of policies, lack of knowledge, low level of investments in
development, ineffective governance, and even imbalances in power as exercised by
citizens and by authorities (Smyth & Hai, 2012).

To combat vulnerabilities, hazards, risks, and disasters, a strong sense of

community engagement must ensue. Community engagement needs sensitivity to
poverty, the everyday experiences of poor people, and the deeper roots of their
poverty condition.

In summary, when looking from the lens of progressive social theory, we

perceive the poverty of communities we wish to serve as complex conditions linked to
the deprivation of access to material resources and opportunities, as well as the lack
of access to rights and social protection. Poverty is also by discrimination and
inequality in choice, rights, voice, and power.

C. Abstract

Definition and Principles of Community Engagement

The Case of the Barangay Banaba Community-based Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management (CBDRRM)
Barangay Banaba is a community in San Mateo, Rizal. Banaba is exposed to
different natural hazards like geologic hazards (because of fault lines) and flooding.
Flooding is a frequent phenomenon in Banaba.

Local people organized themselves to address this condition. Buklod-Tao is the

people's organization in Barangay Banaba that aspires to increase the ability of the
whole community to mitigate disasters.
 Table 11.1.1. Principles of Community Engagement

Principle Short Description

Trust in People This means that community engagement volunteers believe that the
poor are not victims and passive recipients of services but are active
participants in social change.

Trusting people means that volunteers recognize people's struggles,

successes, and self-reliance,

It also means rejecting victim-blaming by not ridiculing poor people's

choices and not looking down and discriminating the poor (Lagos,
Hapal, & Obedicen in NSTP Diliman Office, 2020; Pagaduan in UP
Open University, 2017).

Solidarity with People Community problems and the dilemmas of the marginalized be
resolved by other people but only by themselves. Thus, all endeavors
should have the ultimate goal of increasing poor people's abilities to act
independently (Sethi in Burkey, 1993).

Showing solidarity with the people means sharing in their aspirations,

pains, and experiences; gaining empathy; sharing in local work; and
immersing oneself in the community (Manalili, 2013).

Collective Action and These terms refer to people coming together to learn and to reflect on
Participation their conditions. The act of raising awareness and consciousness can
bind people toward common aspirations.

Change in awareness should be coupled with collective action. People

will need to organize themselves and create mechanisms where poor
people can contribute to decisions affecting their lives. People will learn
to plan together, share leadership, implement activities together, and
learn from shared experiences. They will need to create mechanisms
where poor sectors from the community can participate in addressing
their problems and concern (Pagaduan in UP Open University, 2017).

Empowerment In this principle, poor people are seen as the main actors in community
development; they are the ones claiming their voice power to pursue
the kind of development they need.

Empowerment is about being able to participate in politics and in

decision-making activities. It is focused on expanding opportunities for
the marginalized sectors to negotiate from a position of more power
(Rowlands, 1995).

(Summarized from Lagos, Hapal, and Obedicen in NSTP Diliman Office, 2020)
IV. Key Points

 Poverty is not merely the result of personal choices, but the outcome of social, political,
economic, and cultural discrimination and deprivation.
 Community engagement needs a deep solidarity with poor people and trust in the
inherent capacities of the community residents to improve their lives. It includes
rejection of the notion that poor people are merely passive recipients of services: they
need to be considered active participants in social change. Authentic engagement
also necessitates working with communities to strengthen collective actions, create
solutions to common problems, and attain common aspirations via collective action
and participation. This process results in greater voice, decision-making capacities,
and improved initiatives among vulnerable communities (empowerment).
 Community engagement is likewise a collaborative process between communities and
outside workers to achieve equality, attain social justice, and realize human rights. Its
process is non-hierarchical: there should be equal relationships between community
engagement volunteers and the community.

Consciousness-raising. Community engagement involves the process of

consciousness-raising, where the volunteer helps poor sectors and groups to reclaim their
self-confidence.

Volunteers should not fall into the common trap of treating poor people as helpless, and
that outsiders need to do things for the people. Volunteers should promote the self-
confidence of the people through encouragement and through small activities where people
experience small victories. Volunteers should avoid considering themselves as superior to
community people, because such thinking will in contrast promote feelings of inferiority
among the community people. Instead, community workers must make the poor feel that
they are appreciated and respected. Consciousness-raising is also about the equal
exchange of knowledge between community people and volunteers. Outsiders should not
impose their views on the people, and instead listen to people's perspectives. Outsider-
volunteers should open spaces where a respectful dialogue can take place. Dialogue is an
opportunity for collaboration between volunteers and community people to understand local
conditions, and to analyze these conditions in connection to social, economic, political, and
cultural processes around them. From this deeper analysis of conditions, local people must
be encouraged to bind together and decide and act on issues that need to be addressed
(Burkey, 1993; Ledwith, 2016).

Promoting participation. Participation of people in processes and matters concerning

their lives is a basic human right. Participation can be realized by motivating people, ensuring
their active involvement, and building organizations and groups together with the most
disadvantaged sectors. Participation is a crucial aspect of human development where the
poor enhance initiative, resourcefulness, responsibility, cooperative actions. This is not
simply about people contributing labor to outsider-initiated projects or activities, nor is
participation about mere attendance in community meetings. Participation begins with
consciousness-raising or the self-awakening of the people about their situation, and the
collective decision-making to transform their situation. Participation involves the continuous
process of creating community actions and reflections (Burkey, 1993; Manalili, 2013).