The Office of the Sangguniang Bayan of the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Itbayat, Batanes in the Philippines has recognised Arvin Hadlos’ research work, “Pathways for multi-hazard post-disaster housing reconstruction among Ivatan Indigenous households“. Under Resolution No. 24-0657, the work was acknowledged as among those documentations and initiatives that contribute to the heritage keeping of Itbayat, ensuring appreciation of local heritage for future generations. The research work is part of Hadlos’ PhD thesis and is published in the Journal of Building Engineering, co-authored by Dr Aaron Opdyke and Dr Ali Hadigheh.
The study traced how Ivatan Indigenous households in Itbayat rebuilt their homes after the 2019 earthquakes upended construction practices long honed for typhoon resilience. Drawing on interviews and focus group discussions, it found that the urgency to rebuild, shifting perceptions of housing safety, the nature of aid provided, and regulatory barriers to traditional resource extraction together drove the emergence of new housing typologies that displaced the island’s vernacular architecture – and highlighted the role local governance can play in mobilising existing Indigenous construction practices for safer rebuilding.