Disaster Readiness of Philippine Micro-and Small-scale Enterprises

As with many organizations in the Philippines, small- and micro-scale enterprises experience a good amount of risk resulting from natural and man-made disasters. However, unlike bigger corporations, their coping capacity would depend on how much they invest in disaster readiness. Information on the extent of disaster readiness of Philippine micro- and small-scale enterprises was collected through Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) from members of a “samahan” or organized associations of these micro- and small- scale enterprises. Overall results indicate that business owners are more disaster ready in terms of natural disasters and that they are aware of the steps to do during the said events. However, they seem to lack plans and strategies to reduce the impact of a disaster on their business. Based on the data gathered, a worksheet has been created.