Philippe: There are reports and there’s a lot of news going out tungkol sa earthquake.
It’s happening and I think it’s a good time to talk about what is the most essential thing that we need to prepare for the average Filipino.
Background: At mapinsa lang mga lindol sa bansa.Dahil diyan, malaking usapin ngayon ang disaster preparedness ng bansa. Trending nga online ang mga go-bag ng iba’t ibang lokal na pamahalaan.
Philippe: The most essential thing that we have to do, alright, is to have an emergency go-bag.
The very first thing I would really put there.
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Philippe: Okay, so magandang session ito kasi. What we’re going to talk about is one big topic and we’re going to divide this into four parts.
Okay, since madaming nangyayari ngayon, there’s a lot of, as of today, October 11. Okay, since we’ve shot this, usually pre-recorded naman yung mga podcast natin.
Philippe: To this day, there are reports and there’s a lot of news going out tungkol sa earthquake. And what’s funny was before even all these natural disasters happened, we were already talking about it.
The big one, may sumabog na EMP, na wala na internet, communications and all. So this session is dedicated to sabihin natin, let’s title this as disaster preparedness. Okay, so four parts to.
Philippe: The very first part, we’re going to talk about the most essential thing that we have to do. Alright, is to have an emergency go-bag. Alright, so our discussion here is going to be really more about an emergency go-bag for the average person.
Kasi not everyone, let’s face the fact that not everyone is prepared or has been educated to prepare for such things, di ba?
Philippe: Back in the day, di ba, nung pumasok tayo sa school, meron lang fire drill, may earthquake drill, ano pa? Actually, dalawa lang, right? Fire drill, earthquake drill.
They should have incorporated flood drills also, even back in the days, just in case may floods. Because right now, that’s what we experience, suno, maha, and right now, earthquake.
Philippe: As of October 11, 2025, Mindanao got hit, just when was this, yesterday? Yesterday or a few days ago?
Mclaine: Few days ago.
Philippe: Few days ago. Prior to Mindanao, it was Cebu, right? And prior to that, it was floods all over the nation, tapos may tsunami patayun.
What’s kind of mind-boggling is, the earthquakes nangyayari these days are quite, ano yung magnitude? Ano yung magnitude ng Mindanao?
Mclaine: 7.4 Was it 7?
Philippe: Or 6 point something?
Mclaine: The Davao is 6.4 Somewhere around that
Philippe: So it’s probably in the news, d’yan yung magnitudes, pero it’s happening and I think it’s a good time to talk about what is the most essential thing that we need to prepare for the average Filipino.
So, number one is an emergency go-bag. So if nobody knows what an emergency go-bag is, it is literally any sort of bag, diba? It could be, although preferably para sa akin, it has to be a backpack, right?
Philippe: Kasi yung iba may go-bag sila na duffel bag, mayroong trolley bag, lahat. Why I would prefer a backpack is because once you carry it on your back, hands-free ka na, wala ka ng hawa.
Yung duffel bag okay din, hands-free din, pero medyo hindi tactical.
Mclaine: Maggalaw siya every time you move.
Philippe: Yes, you turn here, hindi siya tactical. Yung backpack, medyo tactical. So, anong klaseng backpack? It doesn’t need to be yung military-grade na backpack with lots of pockets.
It could be any type of backpack. Pwede yung school bag, diba? As long as you can carry it on your back and it’s not expensive to buy a backpack. Right now, you could go to Shopee or Lazada or TikTok. May mabibili ka ng worth.
Philippe: Huwag niyo bilhin yung mga mumurahin, ha. Yung mga 300. Papano meron, makaano yung pinakamaayos na quality mahanap natin sa online shops? Can we say 500 pesos?
Mclaine: There are, depende sa seller, meron mga 300 and above na good quality. You just really need to scrutinize talagang check mo yung reviews kung talagang matibay.
Kasi may makikita ka na even 250 pesos, magugulat ka na pagdating sa’yo, ay, ang ganda pala, grabe. Pero nung bumili ka ulit, iba na. Iba na.
Philippe: Iba na yung bibigay.
Mclaine: So, ano talaga, case-to-case basis din ang nangyayari. Pero it’s better to magbigay ka na ng standard na at least 500 and up para..
Philippe: Yeah, 500 and up, buy niyo na yan. I think pwede na yan. Kasi an emergency go-bag, usually that would last, it’s good for the current state on that day lang, right? So ngayon, since once you buy a go-bag, syempre may mga pinaka-essential, anong ilalagay mo dyan?
Sa akin, the very first thing I would really put there, this is personal preference, hindi para sa lahat to, but I think this is the most important. Water bottles. Water, water, water.
Philippe: Para sa akin, water, water, water. Kasi I believe human beings can survive without food, but we can’t survive without water. So yung bottled water, yung maliit, kahit, di ba?
Di ba may 330 ml? You could buy four to five of those. Tapos hindi sya gano’ng kabigan, right? Next, food, right?Syempre hindi topperware na may ulam, may kanil. Yung ready-to-eat na. So, what types of, what would you recommend in terms of food?
Mclaine: Well, sardines kasi, ano na eh, mas mabilis na yun talagang. Kasi yung mga tetrapack, yung mga nakatetrapack pa, meron din sya eh, pero for an average people, mas ano sila sa sardines, parang for as low as 10 pesos na cheapest sardines. Kasi survival, hindi ka na magiging juicy.
Pero still, depende pa rin yun sa family mo. Maka mamaya mayroong may allergy sa malansa. So, you really need to think about kung ano yung inalagi mo sa go-bag mo. Siguro yung canned sardines, medyo mabigat na rin yun eh. Pag nag, sabi na, three, four, magbavary din yung bigat ng lata.
Mclaine: So, kung makakakuha kayo ng mga nakatetrapack na, nakadrysealed na sya, naka-compress na, much better. Available naman na din yan sa, hindi lang sa supermarket, lasada, pwede ka na mag-order.
Philippe: I think that’s one of the cheapest. Kung gusto nyo medyo sosyal pa, pwede yung Century Tuna. In oil, olive oil ba yun? So, you could buy the one Century Tuna, medyo premium man dating. Masarap din compared sa sardines.
At sa sardines kasi, ang high ng mataas yung purine. Yung pang-gout. So, yung mga taong may gout, hindi pwede yun. Pero for Century Tuna, kahit pa paano, kaya pa. Meron nga yung mga what else.
Philippe: Let’s say yung mga hindi mahilig sa mga canned food, I think handy snacks could be, sabihin natin, chips, biscuits. Something to help you go. Actually, there’s one thing that I would put na meron talaga kami sa go-bag.
Gummy bears. Saan natin itatanong? Huh? What gummy bears? Eh, puro asukal yan. Pambata yan. Sa akin, oo, tama. Pero usually during disasters, which na-experience ko dati, pagod ka. Low energy ka kasi.
Philippe: Either ang dami mong ginawa. t’s very stressful. And you need sugar. Kasi at that time, very, very tired ka na eh. Tapos you need something to go on too. Para sa akin, the gummy bears to me, ano siya, during kung may action talaga, if you need to evacuate, if you have a small kick of sugar, okay siya.
Siyempre, wala ka emergency at yung kinakain mo talaga, makakasay. Diabetic ka na. But for that moment where you really need the energy, easiest, a day or two is okay lang.
Mclaine: So for one week, yung kinakain mo.
Philippe: Hindi na emergency. Pina-popcorn na. But I think importante siya po to conserve energy and to have energy so during the time, napagod ka na, you’ve evacuated and all that, and you’re waiting, you could stay awake with gummy bears. Hindi pala ito sponsored by gummy bears, pero baka naman.
Alright. So other ideas for food, let’s say meron kayong mga anak o may mga pamangkin or mga babies, siyempre, pag may newborns or mga babies talaga, make sure meron kayong gatas. Kung nagpa-breastfeed kayo, mga moms, swerte nyo.
Philippe: So you have to make sure that ikaw naman ikakain kasi you’re breastfeeding. But what about yung mga naka-formula? It’s important to always have, buy those little containers. Little containers na pwede nyo nalagay ng gatas. Pwede mo siyang, what do you call those?
Parang interlocking sila. Tapos layer, layer, layer. You can add more and more each serving. So it’s always important to prepare something that small. Siyempre, at the height of the moment, hindi una isipin mo.
Philippe: Kasi number one, nagugutom yung baby. Ngayon, kung medyo toddlers and teenagers, chips, gummies, biscuits, anything that’s, uso naman dito sa mga Pinoy, sky flakes na.
Sa mga adults yan, canned food, sardines, what else? Kung may maisip kayo, just comment what you think. We’re not pro-preppers, but we have the basic knowledge of what we need.
Mclaine: And everybody should have a basic knowledge. Hindi kailangan maging expert. Kasi kailangan, yun nga, emergency. Biglaan nyo talaga yan. Unplanned talaga.
So at least for an unplanned scenario, you have a basic. Parang ito na yung magiging standard mo na, ito yung magagawin mo when things happen.
Philippe: Yeah, we’re sharing this kasi, this is not being taught in school. Mga fire drill and earthquake drill, hindi ko nga maalala eh. What did we do?
From what I remember, oh, line up, pila, tapos kwentohan lang kami mga barkada. We weren’t really aware of what to do, diba?
Mclaine: Photo op.
Philippe: Photo op, diba? Yun, photo op. Yeah, so with food, whatever is handy, whatever’s small, easy to eat, ready to eat. Ganon din yung ginagawa mga military. They have MREs, diba? Which is meals ready to eat. And yeah, whatever you could put in your backpack.
Make sure that it’s, wag lang kayo maglalaki ng kanin or anything na kailangan lutuin. Kasi there’s no time to cook and there’s no place to cook. So anything that’s ready to eat is good. Bahala na kayo kung anong preferred. Okay. So, go bag, water, food.
Philippe: The fourth one, this is not in order of importance, but this is one of the most important that you need in emergencies. Med kit. So, hindi naman kailangan yung med kit malaki, diba? Hindi naman tayo first responder na isang bag meron sila. A small, may nabibili sa grocery and sa Mercury. Right?
Ganito kalit na med kit na kaso sa go bag nyo. It could be this small. Siyempre medyo makapal kuwante. Meron nabibili in yeah, like National Mercury. They have all the basics there. So usually, ang nasa loob is usually mga gauze, band-aid, maliit na alcohol spray.
Philippe: Minsan yung iba may betadine. Right? What else? Did I mention scissors? Yung scissors may cotton. And those things. To disinfect. So, it’s as small as this. If you could find something a little bigger, medyo pahaba. Right? You could add a little more.
Ngayon, sa med kit kasi yung basic, yung anong binanggit natin kanina, para sa akin, medyo kulang. So, I just wanna add on na kung med kit talaga, dapat meron kang gloves. Anong taong silikon? Gloves.
Philippe: Right? Kasi when you’re treating a wound, dapat malinis yung kamay. During disaster, maduming kamay natin. So, we need to talaga, we need to wear gloves. Right? Betadine, number one. Kasi hindi lahat ng med kit may betadine. They usually add alcohol.
Pero for open wounds, betadine is very good. We also need masks. Right? Not because for anti-disease or anything. Pero pag disaster, maalikabok, and you might inhale. May mga minsan may mga gases or may mga debris. You have to wear the mask. So, kasama na yun sa med kit. Anything you would like to add?
Mclaine: Again, depende pa rin to sa families. At least kung meron kayong thermometer. Malilit dyan eh.
Philippe: Kasya yun. Kasya-kasya yun.
Mclaine: Tapos kung meron kayong pang-check ng BP, especially yung mga may kasama kayong matatanda. Kasi they need, hindi lang sila. Even us, we also need to monitor. Hanggat maaaring nga, marunong ang bawat isa na mag-check ng BP, ng blood pressure.
For at least, nalalaman na mong monitor mo kung kailangan na muna magpahinga. Okay, we need to stop. Minsan kasi, akala natin, yung hinihingal, pagod na. Pero yung iba, hindi hinihingal, pero kailangan na pala ipahinga. So yun, yun yung mga kailangan din na inagdaga.
Philippe: So, ang problem lang sa BP is, makapal siya yung portable. Kasi meron kami doon isa bahay. So, maybe it’s always best to have that skill, paano mag-check ng BP manual. We’ll probably create another. You could find on Google, on YouTube, ang daming ways.
You could find the pulse here, or here, or here. Right? And then uuorasan mo yan. So there’s a certain, yung Apple Watch ko, nag-heart rate reading na. So, it’s really essential. It’s a skill. It’s free. So tama, tama. Thermometer, importante yan. And pang monitor ng BP. Okay.
Philippe: Good thing na mentioned mo na, yung BP. for the average person, of course, marami sa atin may pre-existing condition na. So, for example, kung ikaw healthy ka, may chance na family mo, may condition sila. So, baka parents mo, kapatid mo, anak mo, either diabetic, either may heart disease, or anything like that, or ano ba usually, may mataas cholesterol, may hypertension, asthma, right?
So, apart from that medkit, yan yung mga, ito na yung mga, let’s say, may pre-existing. Kung sabihin natin, parents mo, senior citizen, or anything like that, during emergencies, just make sure they have a separate medkit for their meds, right?
Philippe: Antibiotics, maintenance sila, kasi if they miss their maintenance, that is what will cause struggles for them, right? Yung mga may allergies, dapat may EpiPen, EpiPen na ka-ready, right? Yung mga iba, let’s say, asthma, kailangan ng, what do you call those?
Mclaine: Nebulizers.
Philippe: Nebulizers, yeah.
Mclaine: Or yung mga inhaler na, what do you call this? Ngayon, meron ng mga nebulizers na mabibilis sa Shopee na, ano lang, yung iba kasi kailangan mo pa ng specific na gamot. Ngayon, parang, pag mga may asthma, salt and water lang pwede mo nang ilagay.
Philippe: So, pag naubusan kayo ng nebulizer, yun pwede.
Mclaine: Salbutamol, usually yun yung nilalagay nila eh. Ngayon, yun yung natutunan ko lately noon sa mga kamag-anak ko na meron history sa gano’n. Sabi niya, oh, kuha ka lang ng water tapos nagay mo ng asin. Tapos yun na, yun yung nilalagay mo. Good thing siya is, pwede siyang ipowered by a power bank.
Five volts lang siya. kung may power bank ka, magagamit mo na. Hindi ka tulad nung you need to, kailangan mo ng AC. So, ito, very portable. Maliit lang siya, parang lang din siyang, kasi laka lang siya ng flashlight. So, pwede mo siyang isama dun sa…
Philippe: But this is not recommended for daily use. Yes. So, this is just for in case of emergency na…
Mclaine: So, again, ano yan? Depende yan sa history ng family members niyo or yung kasama niyo sa pamilya. Kung meron silang history. Kung wala naman, hindi niyo kailangang idagdag. Pero it’s best kung kaya pang isiksik kasi sooner or later hindi natin malalaman.
Baka meron ka pang…Pagdating mo dun sa pupuntahan mo, meron pala nangangailangan na ikaw lang palang meron. It is good to have.
Philippe: And also consult your doctor in advance kung in case of emergency at wala ka ng nebulizer kung pwede yun. Right? Consult your doctor always and be prepared always.
Okay. So, yun. After the medkit, yung… yung meds ng bawat family member kung may pre-existing conditions sila. And yung iba, hindi makahinga. So, may nabibili din na oxygen tank.
Mclaine: Yes.
Philippe: Portable. Alright? So, disposable din siya kasi one time use. Pag naubos na, wala na. Tapon na. So, try that. Ngayon, may mga nagtanong sa akin is, what if walang wala? You forgot your meds or nawala in the disaster and all that. There’s something that not most people are aware of. Is that meds are great to maintain whatever symptoms that you have.
Di ba? Usually, consulted by a doctor sila magsabi, o ito dapat itake mo everyday. Kasi everyday, you’re eating three times a day. You’re comfortable. You’re at home. Parang kinakain mo snacks. So, in these types of emergencies, kung walang wala kayo, you need to have certain medications. If you have heart disease o mataas yung kolesterol mo o mataas yung BP mo, the best medicine is not eating at all.
Philippe: Fasting ka. Bababa yung yung sugar mo. Your body’s gonna start burning the cholesterol, the fats, and all that when you stop eating. Importante, hydrated. But the eating itself will help you maintain your condition at the moment of emergency. Kahit wala ka meds.
Pero this doesn’t apply for everyone. So, you have to consult your doctor first. Ngayon, with, for example, diabetics. Ang diabetics naman, kailangan mo lang umiwa sa sugar and carbs like rice and bread. So, for diabetics, not eating those, you’ll maintain your sugar level.
Philippe: But the moment you start eating bread on the way, biscuits or anything like that, and you have a pre-existing, you have diabetes.Tataas siya. You don’t have insulin. Wala ka insulin. Then what are you gonna do? Then stop eating. Mga gutom ka, hindi ka mamatay sa gutom. Mamatay ka sa dehydration.
So, magutom ka, ino ka water. This is not for everyone. So, yung mga may asthma, I can’t, no experience there, but maybe we can ask. Usually, asthma attacks, yan is depending, may allergies. So, there’s a lot of allergens in the environment.
Philippe: And pag disaster, talagang maalikabok, there’s a lot of things that you can inhale. So, importante hindi yan yung mga nebulizer. At yung sinabi ni McLean, yung portable na, ano tawag siya?
Mclaine: Nebulizer.
Philippe: Nebulizer din siya.
Mclaine: Kasi yung usual na tradition na nebulizer natin, it’s powered by AC. So, parang kasi, parang laki-laki pa, may pump. Ngayon, it’s, ano na siya, yes. And mura lang siya, right? Ah, I bought it, 300 pesos.
Philippe: 300 pesos. So, yun. Okay. So, I think, of all of this, lahat to, we talked about buying your go-bag, water, food, your medkit, and your medicines, if you have a pre-existing condition, those are the most important in your bag. Yung kailangan. Diba?
And, those will, those will help you for at least a day or two. Good enough for a day or two. This is for one individual. This is only for yourself. So, this, this sort of preparedness is not expensive. How much you think will cost all of this?
Philippe: Compute natin. O go-bag, makapili ka ng 500 pesos. Water, makaana yung bottled water? Kahit yung, yung branded. Sabihin natin yung 330 ml. Bili ka ng 4 bottles. Yung 4 bottles yun, syempre kailangan may ration. If you could add more, add more. Kung kaya mo, bahatin.
Let’s, let’s say 6. Magkano yung mga gasos mo sa 6? Per bottle is 15, times 6. Sa 4, you have, 100 pesos, or worth 200 pesos if you could add more. Kung kaya mo, bahatin. You have to have more water. Food, snacks, canned foods, anything that you think, if you think you could, I think, worth 200.
Philippe: Chips, biscuits, gummy bears. Ikaw na bahala. What you gonna do? Kung meron kong nakalaga ng itlog, mas okay pa, healthy pa, diba? May tayong maglaga. Wala, diba? But kung meron, para sa akin, itlog na lang. May isang ganon, itlog. Isang tray.
Okay na, itlog, syaka tubig. May protein ka, may good cholesterol ka, ang dami mga, nutrients.
Philippe: Next, medkit. Makano abot medkit? Minsan mo yung nabibili, 500 pesos?
Mclaine: Usually yung mga standard na, ganon.
Philippe: Ya, standard, maliit. Medyo kung gusto mong, lakihan ng konti, at magdagdag, siguro prepared at least 800, kasi may betadine, and other stuff. Ayun, yung, let’s call it GoMeds, kasi yung mga GoMeds, yan yung mga maintenance na, kung, meron kang pre-existing, kung ano naman yung maintenance, at least have, two to three tablets, at least you can survive, two to three days for that, which, pwede mo mong isama dun, sa medkit.
That alone, will help you survive, whatever is coming, right? Floods, earthquake, sunog, you name it. But remember, this is, ang dami pang kasha sa bag. This is only the, we call this the emergency GoBag, lang. This is the bare minimum. Bare minimum.
Philippe: Hindi ito, yan eh, pwede ka magdagdag na madami. And that’s what we’re gonna, talk about in the next session. But apart from this, magdagdag tayo ng konti. Alright? Hindi naman ito pro-level, pero, after, having your GoBag, putting water, food, after your medkit, and your maintenance meds, cash.
Always have cash. Kasi, okay, may e-wallets, may gcash, may Maya banks, and all that. During disasters, minsan, no connection.
Mclaine: Wala online transaction.
Philippe: No online transaction. At least have, two thousand pesos, cash. Kahit bariya. Kasi, importante bariya. You could buy one hundred, one hundred fifty. Importante yan, bariya. Kung hindi mo kahit two thousand, one thousand. At least five hundred. At least meron kong cash. Right? Much, preferably, yung papel. Kasi, pag bariya, ang bigat nun. Di ba? Dagdag sa bigat.
Pero, kung kaya mo naman, bahala ka na sa buhay mo. Di ba? Apart from that, if you could put, kung kasha pa sa bag, extra clothes. Extra t-shirt. Right? And, one thing I learned from, I have a friend who is a ranger. One thing I learned from, a ranger, pinaka-importante is socks.
Philippe: What? Ba’t may socks? Did you know that, soldiers, and, you know, they go on foot. Right? And, laging pagod yung, ano nila, paa nila. If you don’t have the right socks, mas, mawis ka mapagod. Right? So, socks is very important. Baka na yung mga makapal na socks.
Like in Divisoria, you could find a pair of socks for like, what? How much? Twenty-five pesos? Thirty pesos? Makapal na siya. Makapal na siya. So, you have to have right socks. Kung kaso pa sa, go bag mo, emergency go bag mo. So, dagdag yun.
Philippe: So, it’s kinda, rare to hear about it, kasi, tayo nga, when we pack up, we don’t even think of socks. Basta, kung ano yung socks meron, yun na yun. But, for emergency, ano, socks importante. Apart from extra clothes and socks, blanket. Kasi kung may, bata kayo, may baby kayo, blanket.
Malaki ang blanket, makapal. So, maganda yung mga lightweight lang, yung tela, na medyo, manipis lang. Pero, huwag lang masyadong manipis, yung tipong parang, tablecloth. Tipo medyo, kung may konting kapal, para in case, pwede nyo yung takpan yung sarili nyo, o yung anak nyo, di ba?
Mclaine: And meron din, kasama dun sa, parang sa medkit, thermal blanket.
Philippe: So, Yeah, medyo actually pang advance na yun, kasi yung first responders, meron yung thermal blanket.
Mclaine: Pero, mura sya, right?
Philippe: Magkano sya?
Mclaine: I think less than 100, meron na sya.
Philippe: O, tapos, it’s packed like this.
Mclaine: Ang lit lang.
Philippe: Ganito.
Mclaine: Pag open mo, parang kahit dalawang tao, kaya niyang i- Yes, if you don’t know what a, a thermal blanket is, yan yung nakikita nyo sa movies, pag may emergency, tapos, di put like a, parang aluminum blanket above you.
Philippe: Okay, yan yung nakikita natin sa movies. It’s aluminum, it’s, it’s thin, it’s very, very portable, and then when they use it, para saan yun? Kasi kung malamig, pang warm yun. di ba? It traps your body heat, and then it becomes, parang syang sauna, dry sauna.
Pero, it doesn’t, it doesn’t really completely warm you. Pag malamig yung panahon, at least that helps a lot. And it’s very portable. Yeah, we could, we could add that kung kasya pa. But I think all of that, okay, all of this, what we’ve just mentioned, I think kung, pwede nyo na dagdagan kung may space pa yung bag yun.
Philippe: Bahala na kayo kung anong gusto nyo yung dagdagan. But essentially, this is the most important things that you need to put in your emergency go-bag, which can survive you at least 24 hours to 2 days, right? I don’t think 3 days kaya. This is just in case ano.
Mclaine: So day or two is, ano na, okay na yan
Philippe: Yeah. Remember, this is only for one individual. So, let’s say, tatlo kayo sa bahay, ikaw parents mo. tig isa kayo. And I think your investment, all of this, pagkano abot?
Mclaine: Wala pang 1,000.
Philippe: Wala pang 1,000 sa gamit. Pero, since you need cash, diba, 2,000, right? What’s 2,000? Tabi nyo yung 2,000. It’s for emergency. that 2,000, buy one for your, for yourself, for your wife, for your mom, for your dad, for your brother, sister, children. Lahat sila, diba?
Kahit senior, kaya nila magbapa. Siguro, dagdag ko lang sa senior, yung mga, tungkot? Yung portable tungkod, cane? Para kasi they need to rush. Siguro dagdag lang natin yun.
So yeah, this is just essentials. This is an emergency go bag, this is not a bug out bag, just prepare what you could prepare, add what you could add, add the most important things, and goodluck if you get hit and just make sure you are well prepared.
