The Tales of the Philippine Coast Guard Personnel in Responding to the Community Needs

Abstract

The Philippine Coast Guard personnel experienced a lot of challenges as they put their lives at risk while saving the community against the threat brought by the calamity. One of this life threating incident is the strong typhoon that hits Misamis Occidental. This typhoon gave the people fear in their hearts and mind specially the Philippine Coast Guard Personnel who was the one saving the lives of the community even if it costs their lives. Another incident was also when Super typhoon Odette hit the Philippines. This typhoon was hailed as one of the strongest typhoon that happened in the country that brought torrential rains, strong winds and floods. The study explored the experiences of the Philippine Coast Guard Personnel during their actual rescue or how they respond to the situation during the calamity. There were ten participants who experienced saving lives and properties during calamities served as the participant of the study. Data was obtained through the interview and analyzed through Moustaka’s Transcendental Phenomenological data analysis approach. The generated data from the participants were analyzed and gathered four (4) themes, which include: (1) Motivated to Serve; (2) Prepared to Respond to the Community Needs; (3) Resistant of the Citizens; (4) Job Satisfaction. The government and the community should continue showing their support towards the Philippine Coast Guard organization, especially in times of calamities. The government should conduct a training program for the personnel and also for the community to improve their survival skills. The organization should also conduct survival training or seminars to increase the level of preparedness of the community whenever calamity will arrive.