“Don’t panic… dapa, tago, kapit!” was the call of “Sayaw Ng Katatagan”, a flash mob on earthquake preparedness performed at the UP Sunken Garden in Diliman, Quezon City on Friday, May 24. A total of 165 performers from the UP Pep Squad Cheerleaders and Drummers, UP Street Dance Club, and Pantanghalang Grupo sa Malabon Alyansa Inc. added a creative and catchy twist to the typical earthquake drill, following narratives by Dulaang UP, Department of Speech Communication and Theater Arts and the Department of Filipino and Philippine Literature, College of Arts and Letters,
The flash mob featured songs from “Handa… Awit… Lindol!” (Ready… Sing… Earthquake!), a collection of songs for preparedness for earthquakes and related calamities created by the Guro Sa Sining Ng Bayan in 2015, “Panahon Na!” a call for urgent climate action, and a rock version of “UP Naming Mahal” by the UP Mindanao’s Wardy Puyod and a classic version of UP Naming Mahal by Daniel Morabe of the College of Music.
Sayaw ng Katatagan presented the basic phases of an earthquake drill – alarm, response, evacuation, assembly, headcount, and evaluation – while calling attention to the importance of using Filipino words “dapa, tago, kapit, likas, ligtas”. Moreso, the Sayaw ng Katatagan underlined the use of affective techniques such as cheers, rhythmic narration, songs, and dances as tools for developing alertness, cooperation, mindfulness, and leadership while conducting an organized evacuation.
The activity, organized by the UP Resilience Institute Research and Creative Work Division with the UP College of Human Kinetics, Office of Athletics and Sports Development, College of Arts and Letters, and College of Music, aims to educate the UP community about disaster preparedness and environmental protection.
It was supported by the UP Office of the President, Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Vice Chancellor fo Community Affairs, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Campus Maintenance Office, Traffic Management Office, University Food Service, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Barangay UP Campus, TVUP, DZUP, the UPRI executive offices and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Members of the press from Manila Bulletin, Philippine Star, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Rappler, KALASAG, TVUP and DZUP were also present. Prof. Glecy C. Atienza, UPRI-RCW Director, expressed her thanks to everyone who made the event possible.
The UPRI Research and Creative Work Division aims to popularize and ingrain resilience as a habit and way of life – to be proactive instead of reactive in the face of disasters. UPRI Executive Director Alfredo Mahar Francisco A. Lagmay also shared a speech on the importance of disaster preparedness and the use of creatives and the arts to reach out to the community and beyond.
“Sayaw ng Katatagan” is part of the celebration of the Diliman Arts and Culture Festival 2024 “Pamamalagi and Pamamahagi” to mark the 75th anniversary of the transfer of Oblation from Manila to Diliman.