The Philippines is one of the most disaster prone countries in the world. Lying along the Typhoon Belt, the country is visited by an average of 20 tropical cyclones annually. That is why the Philippines is prone to floods and landslides.
In another aspect, the Philippines lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire. An area that is active seismically and volcanically so that volcanic eruptions and earthquakes create such devastations more frequently than any other areas in the world. The relatively recent 1990 earthquake and the 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption can attest to the devastation inflicted on the country.
In the aftermath of the massive flooding caused by TS Ondoy in 2009 wherein the average rainfall for 1 month during the height of the wet season fell in a span of 5 hours jolted Philippine authorities to be not only ready to respond but to prepare ad also have contingency plans for recovery and rehabilitation of devastated areas and most of all the hazard areas.
Republic Act 10121 of 2010 created the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). The NDRRMC is composed of government, non-government, civil sector and private sector agencies and organizations.
This is patterned after the UN Cluster approach in disaster management. In the case of the NDRRMC, the administering agency is the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) under the Department of National Defense (DND).
The NDRRMC is composed of the following:
• Chairperson - Secretary of Department of National Defense
• Vice Chairperson for Disaster Preparedness - Secretary of Interior and Local Government
• Vice Chairperson for Disaster Response - Secretary of Department of Social Welfare and Development
• Vice Chairperson for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation - Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology
• Vice Chairperson for Disaster Rehabilitation and Recovery - Director-General of the National Economic Development Authority
• Members:
• Secretary of the Department of Health
• Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
• Secretary of the Department of Agriculture
• Secretary of the Department of Education
• Secretary of the Department of Energy
• Secretary of the Department of Finance
• Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry
• Secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communication
• Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management
• Secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways
• Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs
• Secretary of the Department of Justice
• Secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment
• Secretary of the Department of Tourism
• The Executive Secretary;
• Secretary of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process
• Chairman, Commission on Higher Education
• Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines
• Chief, Philippine National Police
• Commandant, Philippine Coast Guard
• The Press Secretary
• Secretary-General of the Philippine Red Cross
• Commissioner of the National Anti-Poverty Commission - Victims of Disasters and Calamities Sector
• Chairperson, National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women
• Chairman, Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council
• Executive-Director of the Climate Change Office of the Climate Change Commission
• President, Government Service Insurance System
• President, Social Security System
• President, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation;
• President of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines
• President of the League of Provinces in the Philippines
• President of the League of Municipalities in the Philippines
• President of the League of Cities in the Philippines
• President of the Liga ng Mga Barangay
• Four representatives from the Civil Sector Organizations
• One representative from the Private Sector
• Administrator of the Office of Civil Defense
But this organization will have its own counterpart down to the local government level. This means that each local government unit shall also establish its own local DRRM Offices (LDRRMOCs/Os at the regional, provincial, city, municipal and barangay levels.
Each level must develop its own Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan that will address 4 aspects in DRRM that includes preparation, response, prevention, mitigation and rehabilitation and recovery.
LDRRMOs shall have an Executive DRRM Officer with administrative, research and planning and warning officers. These are in turn charged with crafting their contingency plans, training, preparation, equipment acquisition command and control communications and monitoring systems and rescue and response personnel.
These will be replicated down to the barangay level under the Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Committees.
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