CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

According to an NDCC (National Disaster Coordinating Council)

memorandum, disaster is defined as “a natural or man-made event wherein
communities experience severe danger and incur loss of lives and physical
assets causing disruption in its social structure and prevention of the
fulfillment of all or some of the affected community’s essential function”.
Response in the context of this report refers to the measures taken
immediately prior to and following disaster. Such measures are directed
towards saving life and protecting property and to dealing with the immediate
damage caused by the disaster (Carter, 1992).
Disaster response on the other hand is defined as ‘planning, initiation
and conduct of appropriate measures and actions, which would minimize
catastrophic effects of any natural or man made calamity on human lives and
materials.
The Philippines, because of its geographical location is very
susceptible to disasters. In fact, the Center for Research on the Epidemiology
of Disasters in Belgium, in a diagnostic study conducted on the vulnerability of
countries, reported that the Philippines is the most disaster prone country in
the world (NDCC Briefing for Cabinet Members, 2003)
Every year, an average of 20 typhoons enter the country’s area of
responsibility causing billions of pesos worth of damages. Drought brought
about by the El Nino phenomenon caused untold suffering to millions of
people in Mindanao in 1998. Floods are a common occurrence in the country,
the worst of which was the Ormoc flash flood which killed 8,000 people. The
unforgettable 1990 killer quake killed 1,666 people and injured 3,500 others.
This was followed in 1991 by the worst volcanic eruption of the century, the
Mount Pinatubo eruption, causing the death of 800 persons and property
damage worth P10.6B. Another source of misery for the country are recurring
landslides like that of Cherry Hills (59 dead) and the Payatas incident (224
dead). Then, there are the man-made calamities such as maritime and air

1
disasters, bombing incidents and the continuing conflict in Mindanao which
continues to kill, maim, and injure persons, displace families, destroy
properties and cause untold sufferings to so many people. Records show that
for the period 1987 to 2000, there were 523 different disasters that stuck the
country causing damage estimated at P157.071B, not to mention the psycho-
social effects they had on the survivor-victims (DND Briefing for Cabinet
Members, 2003).
Calamity happens anywhere and anytime mostly with little or no
warning with varying degrees of destructive capacity. They may also be
compounded as when an earthquake also causes flood, fire, and if the
epicenter is offshore, even seismic (tidal) waves. The possible dangers from
these natural hazards cannot be ignored and neither can man-made
accidents of disaster proportions. If a situation is reached or is developing
whereby the Police, Fire and Ambulance services or the normal emergency
services of the Local Government are inadequate, it is a case for emergency
measures and to meet such occurrences, planned arrangements must be
available (The Facts of Civil Defense, Department of National Defense,
Undated). Thus, laws have been enacted to address the safety and welfare of
the people as well as to save and protect property when disaster strikes. The
Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Navy play a vital role in
the conduct of disaster response operations in such times of calamities
whether natural or man-made and it is for this reason that leaders of the AFP
should have a working knowledge of the subject.
The objective of this paper is to provide the NCGSC students with a
comprehensive overview of the organizational framework for the conduct of
Disaster Response Operations in the Philippines in general, and the AFP and
PN in particular, it being one of the most common Military Operation Other
Than War (MOOTW) conducted by the AFP.

2
 CHAPTER II
DEFINITION OF TERMS

1. Affiliated Reserve - A component of the AFP Reserve Force as prescribed

in RA 7077 composed of vital public and/or private utilities organized as
affiliated units of the AFP Reserve Force.
2. AFP Affiliated Reserve Units - Reserve Units organized by the AFP within
certain government and private entities, corporations, establishments, and
organizations at the national, provincial and municipal levels which provide
essential public services such as water, light, transportation and others which
are necessary to support the prosecution of national defense plans or to meet
an emergency.
3. Conflagration - It is a large disastrous fire involving numerous
buildings/houses or structures.
4.Disaster/Calamity - A situation usually catastrophic in nature, in which a
number of persons are plunged into helplessness and suffering and as a
result maybe in need of food, clothing, shelter, medical care and other basic
necessities of life.
5. Disaster Control - It is the act of limiting or mitigating the effects of disasters
through the introduction of measures designed to prepare the inhabitants and
to protect their lives and properties before, during and after a disaster.
6. Disaster Operations - Any concerted effort by two or more agencies,
governmental and/or otherwise, to provide emergency assistance in relief to
persons who are victims of a disaster/calamity and in the restoration of
essential public activities and facilities. Specific aid and assistance that may
be provided in disaster operation include: issuance of medical supplies and
equipment and emergency medical treatment; food, water, and shelter, rescue
and firefighting services; police protection; route clearance and traffic control;
prevention of panic; communications; and restoration of facilities.
7. Earthquakes - Are earth vibration produced when the stability of rock
masses under the surface of the earth is disturbed. These disturbances
usually occur along the existing faultiness or zones of structural weaknesses.

3
8. Flood - Is the condition that occurs when water overflows the natural or
artificial confines of a stream or body of water, or when run-off from heavy
rainfall accumulates over low-lying areas.
9. Local Disaster Coordinating Council - It is a group of persons at the
provincial, city, municipal or barangay government levels, duly organized for
the purpose of preparing the people under its jurisdiction, to mitigate the
effects of disasters and to control the disaster operations of its tasked units.
10. National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) - The highest
governmental body responsible for advising the President on the status of
disaster preparedness program and disaster relief and rehabilitation efforts at
the national level.
11. National Emergency - The sudden declaration by the government that
there exists a state of actual invasion, rebellion, and other lawless violence
perpetrated by a sizable group of men who publicly rises in arms to overthrow
the duly constituted authority and that public safety requires immediate and
effective action to be taken in order to maintain peace and order, secure the
safety of the people, and preserve the authority of the state. It includes
hereof, the declaration of public calamities, which are extraordinarily strong
like typhoons, earthquakes, and other natural disasters, which are national in
scope.
12. Operational Control - As distinguished from administrative control, this
refers to supervision and direction over units involved in disaster operations,
but only during periods of disaster.
13.Regional, Provincial, City, Municipal and Barangay Disaster Coordinating
Councils - The organizations responsible for the conduct of disaster
operations at their respective levels.
14. Rehabilitation - The restoration of a person’s economic dependency to an
independent or stable way of living either physically, economically, socially or
emotionally.
15. Relief - An act of helping or alleviating the condition of persons who are
suffering from the effects of disaster/calamity and are at the same time
completely helpless.

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16. Storm Surge - Is an abnormal rise of the level of body of water along a
shore as a result, primarily, of the winds and pressures associated with
storms.
17. Tropical Cyclones - Is an intense weather disturbance such as typhoons
and storm compound of a big whirling mass of winds and rains, similar to
whirlwind, tornado or water sprout but having immense dimensions.
18. Vital Public Utilities - Certain government and private entities,
corporations, establishments, and organizations at the national, provincial and
municipal levels which provide essential public services.
19. Volcanic Eruption - Is the ejection of volcanic materials such as lava,
ashes, rock fragments, steam and other gases through a fissure brought
about by the tremendous overlying pockets of molten rocks or steam
reservoirs found under the earth’s crust.

5
 CHAPTER III

THE THEORY OF DISASTER RESPONSE

“ Response measures are those which are taken immediately prior to and
following disaster. Such measures are directed towards saving life and
protecting property and to dealing with the immediate damage caused by
disaster. “

From the above definition it is clear that the scope of response is

usually extensive and that its success must depend vitally on good
preparedness. The effectiveness or otherwise of response also has a
considerable bearing on subsequent recovery requirements and activities.
Response operations usually have to be carried out under disruptive
and sometimes traumatic conditions. Often, they are difficult to implement
and they tend to make heavy demands on personnel, equipment and other
resources. Thus, without a sound basis of planning, organization and
training, response operations are unlikely to achieve optimum success.
Effective response to the impact of disaster is critical, mainly in order
to:
 Limit casualties,
 Alleviate hardship and suffering,
 Restore essential life support and community system,
 Mitigate further damage and loss, and
 Provide the foundation for subsequent recovery.

There are certain characteristics which typically apply to response

effort, These include:

 The type of disaster

Depending on its type, the onset of disaster may provide long
warning, short warning or no warning at all. This will obviously
influence the effectiveness of activation, mobilization and

6
 application of response effort.

 The severity and extent of disaster

These represents the size and shape of the response problem
and particularly affects aspects such as:
- the ability of response effort to cope with the problem;
- the urgency of response action and the priorities which are
applied;
- exacerbation of disaster effects if appropriate action is not
taken;
- requirements for external assistance.

 The ability to take pre-impact action

If warning time and other conditions permit pre-impact action to
be taken (in the form of evacuation, shelter and other protective
measures), this may have a major effect on the success of
response overall.

 The capability for sustained operations

A frequent requirement of response operations is that they must
be sustained over a long enough period to be fully effective.
Several factors are involved here, including:
- resource capacity
- management,
- community self-reliance,
- international assistance.
However, the capability to sustain operatio9nns, relative to
potential threats, is a disaster management objective which
needs to be carefully addresses both during preparedness and
response action itself.

 Identification of likely response requirements

An important characteristic of response is that it is generally

7
 possible to identify beforehand the kind of response action
which is likely to be needed for any particular disaster. The
effects likely to emanate from individual disasters are well
established. Thus, the required response actions are also
identifiable. This represents a considerable advantage in
disaster management terms, in that it is possible to plan and
prepare for well-defined response action in the face of potential
threats. This, again, constitutes a tangible objectives for disaster
management.

It is suggested that an assessment of response needs in the light of

the foregoing and similar factors, has useful application to most
circumstances.

Some Problem Areas in Response

Background Factors-
These may particularly apply to preparedness, for instance:
 lack of adequate policy direction,
 poor organization,
 inadequate planning.

Inadequate Preparedness
This can be caused by:
 plans becoming out-dated,
 low standards of readiness on the part of resource
organizations,
 poor public awareness,
 a disaster of unexpected magnitude.

Warning Factors
These may include:
 inadequate warning lead-time,
 errors in warning information,
 faults in warning systems, usually for technical reasons,

8
  delays in transmission of warning to key officials or
organizations,
 failure of public warning system ( e.g radio broadcast stations)
due to effects of disaster impact,
 failure of people to respond to warning.

Slow Activation of the Response System

This may be due to:
 warning factors,
 poor system for activation,
 lack of functional readiness ( e.g. in emergency operations
centers)
 lack of testing and exercising the response system,
 coincide with some national events (e.g. national holidays).

Effects of Impact and Crisis Pressure

These may include:
 disruption to or loss of communications,
 destruction or delayed availability of planned resources (e.g.
transport, relief supplies ),
 damage to key installations such as power supplies, emergency
operations centers, communications facilities,
 high damage levels generally,
 loss of key personnel.

Difficulties in Survey of Damage and Assessment of Needs

These may arise from:
 adverse weather conditions following disaster impact (e.g. post
cyclonic low cloud and heavy rain ),
 lack of suitable aircraft for survey purpose,
 difficulties of ground survey ( perhaps caused by problems of
access and movement)
 inadequate planning and preparation to cover this requirement,
which has to cover a number of detailed aspects,

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  loss of vehicles or vessels.

Inaccurate and / or Incomplete Information from Survey

This can cause serious response problems through inaccurate figures of
people who are:
 homeless,
 without food and shelter
 in need of medical assistance.

Convergence
Convergence on to the disaster area or site by large numbers of people and
vehicles can seriously interfere with response operations.

Poor Information Management

This may arise from a number of aspects , such as:
 gathering and collation of information,
 evaluation of information,
 decision making,
 dissemination of decisions and information.

Inadequate Relief Commodities

This may involve essential items, such as:
 foods supplies,
 water supplies,
 shelter materials ( tents, tarpaulins, etc)
 medical supplies.

Logistics Problems
These can be caused by shortage of air, sea and land transport for the
distribution of relief supplies and other activities.

Poor Coordination of Response Operations

This can result from problems involving:
 information,

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  duplication of effort,
 unwillingness of some private sector organizations to
work within a co-ordiinatiing system,
 inadequate training of personnel.

Inadequate Public Awareness

This can cause various difficulties for disaster management authorities when
dealing with the requirements of stricken communities, especially if the latter
do not understand local plans and arrangements.

Problems with the Media

If arrangements for dealing with the media are inadequate or unsatisfactory,
this is likely to cause problems for the disaster management authorities.

International Assistance
Response operation may be adversely affected if expected international
assistance is delayed, inadequate or inappropriate. This can arise if effective
prior arrangements have not been with relevant overseas agencies.

Requirements for Effective Response

Wide international experience has shown that effective response

depends fundamentally on two factors:

 Information and
 Resources.
Without these two vital components, the best plans, management
arrangements, expect staff and so on become virtually useless. Bearing this
fundamental premise in mind, the major requirements for effective response
are summarized below.

11
General Background of Preparedness
The effectiveness of response operations will depend vitally on the
general background of preparedness which applies. This includes various
aspects of policy direction, planning, organization and training.

Readiness of Resource Organization

The readiness of resource organization ( both government and non-
government) to respond to disaster situations, often at very short notice, is a
very important requirement for response operations. Sometimes, failure on
the part of only one designated organization may seriously upset the total
response effort. However, disaster management authorities do need to bear in
mind that the response lead-time for resource organization can differ
markedly. Response management needs to take account of, and harmonize
differences in organizational lead-time if a balanced response is to be
achieved.

Warning
As has been emphasized at several points in this handbook, an
effective system of warning is vitally important for successful response
operations; even though there are bound to be some occasions when little or
no warning will be available. The main needs for warning are:
 Initial detection, as early as possible, of the likelihood that
a disaster will occur,
 Origination of the warning process as early as practicable,
bearing in mind false or unnecessary warning needs to be
avoided. In this regards, however, precautions can be built
into the warning sequence by ensuring that , where dout
exist , only key officials are initially informe3d.
 Effective means of transmitting warning information.
 Facilities to receive and assess warning information.
 Response decisions, as a result of assessing warning
information.
 Dissemination of response decisions and, as appropriate,

12
 broadcast of warning information to the public.
Preliminary reaction to warning, before a disaster actually strikes, can
save lives and property. This preliminary reaction might include:
 Closing of schools, offices and other public places,
 Checking emergency power supplies and similar facilities,
 Taking precautions in households to ensure supplies of
food and drinking water.
It is re-emphasized that preliminary reaction usually needs to be planned
beforehand and, where necessary, the relevant information passed to
disaster-related organization and the public..

Evacuation

The evacuation of communities, groups or individuals is a frequent

requirement during response operations. Evacuation is usually;

 Precautionary (in most cases undertaken on warning

indicators, prior to impact, in order to protect disaster-
threatened persons from the full effects of the disaster) or
 Post–impact (in order to move persons from a disaster-
stricken area into safer, better surroundings and conditions)
The question of evacuation is a complex one which involves a wide range of
factors. It is therefore covered in detail in the Annex to this chapter.

Activation of the Response System

For rapid and effective response, there usually needs to be a system

for activating disaster management officials and resource organizations. It is
useful to implement activation in stages. These might be Alert, Stand-by and
Action. The benefit of this arrangement is that if, after the initial warning, the
disaster does not materialize, activation can be called off. Thus, full
mobilization of resource can be avoided and the minimum of disruption is
caused to normal life. It is advisable for government departments and other

13
resource organizations to work to this system of stages in their own internal
plans.

Co-ordination of Response Operations

Co-ordination of the action taken in response operations is very

important. Good co-ordination ensures that rresource organizations are utilize
to best effect, therefore avoiding gaps or duplication in operational tasks.

Appropriate emergency operations centers are essential for achieving

effective co-ordination, because the EOC system is designed to facilitate
information management and accurate decision making.

Also, appropriate disaster management committees ( usually at

national, intermediate and local government levels) are necessary, in order to
ensure that, as far as possible, there is overall co-ordination in decision
making and i9n the allocation of tasks.

Communications
As with all aspects of disaster management, good communications are
essential for effective response. Also, since communications may be
adversely affected by disaster impact, reserve communications ( with their
own power supplies) are necessary part of response arrangements. The value
of solar-powered communications especially under severe disaster conditions,
can be considerable.

Survey and Assessment

It is virtually impossible to carry out effective response operations
without accurate survey of damage and consequent assessment of relief and
other needs. To be fully effective, survey and assessment needs to be
carefully planned and organized beforehand. It usually calls for:

 survey from the air ,

 survey by field teams,

14
  accurate reporting from disaster management and
other official authorities in or near the disaster area.
In most cases, a general survey needs to be made as early as possible after
impact, with follow-up surveys as necessary. Some training is usually required
for personnel who are required to carry out survey and assessment duties.
This is necessary in order to ensure the accuracy of information which is
collected. The information gathered through survey and assessment is, of
course, vitally important for the implementation of immediate relief measures.
However, it should also be noted that much of the information is also required
for the formulation of recovery programs.

Information Management
In the confused circumstances which tend to exist following disaster
impact, it is not easy to obtain accurate and complete information. However,
without accurate and comprehensive information, it is difficult to ensure that
response operations are focused upon the correct tasks, in the right order of
priority. Emergency operations centers are essential for effective information
management.

Especially, EOCs ensure that information is correctly processed

according to the proven cycle of:
 Acquisition of information,
 Information assessment,
 Decision making,
 Dissemination of decisions and information.

Therefore, even if there are limitations in obtaining information, the EOC

system will make the best use of that which is available.

Major Emergency Response Aspects

Following the impact of disaster, there are usually varying degrees of
damage to, or destruction of, the systems which support everyday life.
Communities therefore need help (usually urgently) in order to subsist through

15
the emergency phase and beyond. Key aspect of this assistance include:
 Rescue
To rescue persons who may be trapped in buildings and under
debris, isolated by flood waters, or need rescuing for any other
reason.
 Treatment and care of victims
To dispose of the dead.
To render first aid,
To ensure identification tagging of casualties,
To identify needs in terms of medical treatment, hospitalization
and medical evacuation; and to deal with these accordingly.
 Evacuation
To determine whether persons need to be evacuated from the
stricken area immediately, or whether such a requirement is
likely to arise later.
 Shelter
To provide shelter for victims whose housing has been
destroyed or rendered unusable. This may involve:
- making urgent repair to some housing,
- issuing tents and / or tarpaulins to provide means of
temporary shelter.
- accommodating groups of homeless people in community
buildings such as schools.
 Food
To organize and distribute food to disaster victims and also
emergency workers.
To estimate damage to crops and food stocks.
To estimate food reserves available ( including unharvested
crops).
 Communications
To re-establish essential radio, telephone, telex and facsimile
links.
 Clearance and Access

16
 To clear key roads, airfields and ports in order to allow access
for vehicles, aircraft and shipping; also to prepare helicopter
landing sites.

 Water and power supplies

To re-establish water and power supplies, or to make temporary
arrangements for them. The provision of potable water is often
difficult, particularly in the early post-impact stages. Water
purifying equipment might therefore have to be obtained and/or
water purifying tablets issued.
 Temporary subsistence Supplies
To provide supplies, such as clothing, disaster kits, cooking
utensils and plastic sheeting, so as to enable victims to subsist
temporarily in their own area, thus helping to reduce the need
for evacuation.
 Health and Sanitation
To take measures to safeguard the health of people in the
stricken area and to maintain reasonable sanitation facilities.
 Public Information
To keep the stricken community informed on what they should
do, especially in terms of self-help, and on what action is in hand
to assist them.
To prevent speculation and rumor concerning the future
situation.
 Security
To maintain law and order, especially to prevent looting and
unnecessary damage.
 Construction requirements
To estimate high priority building repair and replacement
requirements.
 Disaster Welfare Inquiry
To make arrangements to handle national and international
inquiries concerning the welfare of citizens and residence,

17
 including tracing of missing persons.

 Maintenance of Public Morale

Depending on cultural and other local circumstances, to make
arrangements for counseling and spiritual support of the stricken
community. This may involve religious bodies, welfare agencies
and other appropriate organization.

 Other Requirements
Depending on individual circumstances, other requirements,
additional to those above, may arise.

Allocations of Tasks
If planning and preparedness has been properly carried out, the
majority of response tasks, as outlined in the foregoing paragraph, will
have been designated beforehand to appropriate government
departments and other resource organizations. For instance;

 Public Works Department to undertake debris clearance tasks,

etc.
 Medical and Health Department to implement health and
sanitation measures.
 Police to maintain law and order, and to assist with control of
people and vehicles around the disaster area.
 Red Cross to carry out first aid and other emergency welfare
assistance.

The disaster management authority may need to give especial

attention to tasks such as emergency feeding and emergency shelter
programs, since these tend not to be in the normal day-to-day
schedules of government departments and other organizations.
Priorities for the implementation of response tasks are usually decidedc

18
 by the appropriate level of disaster committee. These priorities may
have to be changed frequently and both disaster management
authorities and resource organizations need to be capable of accepting
and implementing such changes.

Availability of Relief Supplies and Commodities

The ready availability of relief supplies and commodities is an important
factor in effective response. After disaster impact there is usually in
urgent need to provide and distribute:

 Food,
 Drinking water,
 Clothing,
 Shelter materials,
 Medical supplies and assistance.

Disaster management action therefore needs to cover two main areas:

 Obtaining the various commodities from government stores,

emergency stockpiles, commercial supplies and international
assistance sources; and
 Organizing the distribution of this commodities according to the
best possible orders of priority.

International Assistance Resources

International assistance resources often play a valuable part in

response operations. These resources mainly comprise relief commodities,
especially food, shelter and medical supplies. However, specialist personnel
and equipment are also available for damage survey and similar tasks.
Disaster management authorities responsible for response operations should
also bare in mind that some international agencies and some countries hold
stockpiles of relief supplies conveniently situated around the world. Access to

19
such stockpiles maybe extremely valuable in terms of urgent need.

Public co-operation
Good co-operation between the disaster response authorities and the
public is essential if response operations are to be successful. The foundation
of such co-operation should, of course, belayed during the public awareness
programs which are a necessary part of preparedness. However, disaster
response and coordinating authorities should remember that the affected
public needs to keep informed ( see also para.35above). This particularly
applies to intended response action and the timing of relief supplies.

If the affected public is not kept as fully inform as possible, rumours

and false reports are likely to be started, thus causing problems of
cooperation for the response authorities.

Media Co-operation
Disaster, especially major disaster, is news. Consequently, requests for
information by local and international media are inevitable. Thus, it is clearly
advisable to have well-organized arrangement to deal with aspect. These
arrangements are usually outlined in plans and standards operating
procedures, and they are responsibilities of government information and
broadcasting agencies. It is important that conditions in the stricken nation
should be accurately reported internationally and that there should be no mis
reporting or mis representation of international assistance effort. Most
disasters events will be superceded by other happenings on the scene in a
fairly short time. Therefore, to avoid possible misunderstandings and
misinterpretation, it is important to give media representative appropriate
opportunities to be briefed and to gather information as soon as possible after
disaster impact. Delays may lead to some media representative making their
own news, which may not be in the best interest of the affected nation. Good
relations with the local media are also important and usually two-we benefits
are involved. Not only do the local media benefit from good co-operation from
the disaster management authority, but they can also perform valuable

20
services in roles such as warning, evacuation and public awareness.

It is recognized that during pressurized response operations, disaster

management authorities may regard media information as having to take a
low priority. However, this should and can be avoided if proper arrangements
are in place and appropriate use is made of specialist information staff.

Pattern of Response Management

It is important, especially in the interest of operational coherency, that

disaster managers should try to develop and maintain a pattern of
management during response operations.

Resource management depends on four major factors:

 A capable EOC system.

 A good information picture.
 Effective communication between the disaster management and
individual resource organizations.
 Sensible commitment of resource organizations to operational
tasks, bearing in mind their capability and durability.

Given that these factors can be applied, it is useful if the response

management authority works to a pattern of:

 Maintaining the best possible information picture (from surveys,

situation reports and other information) concerning the disaster
situation and the tasks which may need to be undertaken.
 Establishing priorities for tasks.
 Committing resources to tasks in the most effective manner,
bearing in mind that personnel need time for meals and
reasonable rest periods.
 Continuously assessing the situation in terms of:

21
 - tasks competed,
- tasks needing to be undertaken,
- resources available,
- possible reinforcement by additional resources, etc.
 Maintaining close liason with other relevant disaster
management authorities (e.g. committees at higher and lower
government levels).
 Maintaining close liason with non-government organization.
 Keeping the public as fully informed as practicable.
 Utilizing self-help from within the community.

Period of Response Operations

Wide international experience indicates that most governments find it

expedient to keep the period of emergency response operations down to a
fairly limited period. This period usually tends to be 2-3 weeks, after which
remaining relief and associated needs are met through the normal systems
and processes of government. Undue extension of the emergency is usually
regarded as undesirable in order to avoid:

 Over- dependents on emergency aid (especially food supplies),

 Adverse effects on the local commercial system, and
 Unnecessary delay in returning to normal community life.

It may be useful, therefore, for disaster managers to bear this likely

time frame in mind in formulating their overall concept of response operations.

Follow-on from Response Operation

From the contents of the foregoing sections of this chapter, it is clear

that response operations will usually constitute a short, pressurized period of
activity. The major aims of disaster management during this period can be
summarized as follows:

22
  To counter the initial effects of disaster impact as rapidly and
effectively as possible.
 To utilize all suitable resources in a coordinated manner.
 To provide urgent needs to stricken communities.
 To rehabilitate, as far as possible, those facilities and systems
which are of priority importance to the functioning of the national
system and way of life.
 The emergency response period is therefore a transient one. It
does not have a definite cut-off point in terms of national and
community requirements. Indeed, from a disaster manager’s
viewpoint, the period is best regarded as a vital bridge between
the shock and disruption caused by disaster impact and the
organized process of returning to normal. This means that,
following the official ending of the emergency phase, there will
still be a need to continue certain relief activities (e.g. that is
emergency feeding);
 Convert some of these relief activities into more formal types of
rehabilitation program (e.g. it may become necessary for the
stricken nation to establish a long-term community assistance
program);
 Extend some temporary measures (e.g. the emergency
clearance and repair of port facilities) into major programs of
restoration; and
 assist all post-emergency phase activities and requirements and
co-ordinate them into an overall recovery program.

Before the recovery program can be put fully into implementation ( and
this may take several months) there tend s to be a somewhat blurred period.
Many people who have been directly involved in disaster situations have cited
this period as the most difficult of all in disaster management. It is important
that disaster managers should be aware that this period is likely to arise
following most disasters and that it tends to be caused by:

23
  The ending of emergency powers which usually apply during
response operations.
 The transfer of responsibility from the central disaster
management authority ( i.e. the National Disaster Council) back
to individual government departments.
 The necessary continuance of relief activities by non-
government organizations, whether or not government agencies
are involved.
 The addition of many disaster-caused problems to the normal
work load of most government, non-government and private
sector organizations.
 The residual social and psychological problems which are likely
to exist within the community following the disaster.
It is also worth nothing that it is to overcome this difficult blurred period
that some governments have deemed it advisable to utilize a Technical
Advisory Team during the emergency response period. The main purpose of
such a team (whilst standing aside from the emergency response operations)
has been to identify the strands of relief, rehabilitation and restoration which
emerge post-disaster and bring these strands together for integration into the
total recovery program. In this way, response operations, emergency relief,
initial rehabilitation and restoration measures are carried through into the
definitive programs which constitute the total recovery process.

Human Factors in Response

The turbulence and pressures of response operations do not usually
allow much opportunity for coping in detail with the trauma inflicted upon
communities and individuals. Obviously, extreme cases have to be dealt with
by medical attention and associated counseling, but generally this activity
tends to fall within recovery programs. However, it is essential that disaster
management officials should understand that many human factors are
involved during response operations. This understanding can materially assist
in the assessment of various situations and in the process of decision making.

24
In brief, the main factors tends to be:

 The plight of disaster victims

In extreme disaster circumstances, the plight of disaster victims
is severe and traumatic. Shock, personal injury, bereavement,
loss, turmoil and other aspects have a severe effect on the
capability of victims to comprehend their circumstances, to
realize what is being done for them in disaster management
terms and to co-operate in a meaningful and positive way in
their own relief and rehabilitation. It is true that extended family
members and persons from neighboring community areas will
usually be available to provide assistance of various kinds. But,
severely affected victims themselves constitute a response
liability which disaster managers must recognize. In less severe
disaster circumstances, where community members are capable
of providing some coherent self-help, the situation may be more
encouraging. However, disaster managers must still recognize
that unless levels of community preparedness and experience
are high, there may well be problems of organizing self-help in a
productive way.

 The nature of the counter-disaster tasks

The nature of the counter-disaster tasks also involves human
considerations in most circumstances. The nature of response
operations can make heavy physical and mental demands on
emergency workers. This may well result in lowered functional
capacity of resource organizations.

 The worker/family factor

Disaster circumstances will very often result in some emergency
workers being separated from their families, with consequent
fear and apprehension on both sides. Indeed, cases are known
where, for instance, volunteer firefighters have been engaged in

25
 trying to save the community as a whole, while their own
families were being put at risk under homes and properties
destroyed. This is clearly a disaster management factor which is
difficult to handle and one which can only be mitigated according
to local events. However, disaster managers need to be aware
of it and to be prepared to resolve it as best possible.

 The transfer factor

The impact of disaster can affect both victims and emergency
workers. There is, however, an additional factor which needs to
be taken into account. This is the transfer of trauma effects from
the disaster victims to the emergency worker. This can
particularly apply when emergency workers are inexperienced
volunteers and are exposed to disaster trauma for the first time.
For instance, a case is known where welfare workers,
distributing food to disaster victims, were so badly affected by
the latter’s suffering that they themselves became unable to
continue this important response task.

Resources Relevant to Various Aspects of Response

Disaster circumstances, particularly if they are severe, are likely to

require response from the widest possible range of resources. This may even
include people who had themselves become victims. Given below are the
main categories of resources which are, therefore, applicable to response.
Resources capable of assisting in the definition of response requirements and
the type of operations required to deal with them
 disaster study and research institution;
 disaster management authorities;
 disaster records, especially of post-disaster review and
analysis.

Resource organizations primarily concerned with direction, co-ordination and

26
management of response operation
 national disaster management authority;
 regional or provincial disaster committees;
 special task forces;
 self-contained international assistance teams.

Resource organizations which provides support for management and direction

by the provision of specialist information and advise
 meteorological services;
 geological services;
 technical advisory services;
 specialist in various other fields, as required.

Resources organizations which carry out allotted tasks in response operations

 standard emergency services (police, fire authorities,
ambulance services etc);
 government departments, organizations and agencies;
 military services;
 non-government organizations, including welfare
agencies, religious bodies and a wide range of
community services;
 emergency task force teams;
 international assistance teams;
 community self-help teams.

27
 CHAPTER IV

LAWS ON DISASTER RESPONSE

1. Presidential Decree No. 1566:

The then President Ferdinand Marcos issued Presidential Decree No.

1566 on 11 June 1978, which provides for the “Strengthening The Philippine
Disaster Control Capability and Establishing the National Program On
Community Disaster Preparedness”. This decree calls for the strengthening
of the country’s disaster control capability and establishes the national
program on community disaster preparedness. The government policies on
disaster management are enunciated under the said decree, as follows:

 Self reliance shall be developed by promoting and encouraging

the spirit of self-help and mutual assistance among the local
officials and their constituents.
 Each political and administrative subdivision of the country shall
utilize all available resources in the area before asking for
assistance from neighboring entities or higher authority.
 The primary responsibility rests on the government agencies in
the affected areas in coordination with the people themselves.
 It shall be the responsibility of all government departments,
bureaus, agencies and instrumentalities to have documented
plans of their emergency functions and activities.
 Planning and operation shall also be done on the barangay level
in an inter-agency, multi-sectoral basis to optimize the utilization
of resources.
 On the absence of a duly constituted regional government, the
national government offices at the regional level shall be led and
operationally controlled by the Regional Commissioner or by the
official so designated by the President.

28
  Responsibility for leadership rests on the Provincial Governor,
City Mayors and Municipal Mayors (and Barangay Chairman),
each according to his area of responsibility.
 When an emergency affects an area covering several towns and
cities, the city mayors and their personnel and facilities shall be
placed under the operational control of the Provincial Governor
for the duration of the emergency.
 The national government exists to support the local
governments. In time of emergencies and according to their
level of assignment, all national government offices in the field
shall support the operations of the local government.
 To ensure that operational activities become automatic and
second nature to all concerned, exercises and periodic drills
shall be conducted at all levels, principally at the barangays.

Relatedly, Disaster Coordinating Councils were created so that

responsibility of all government agencies involved will be defined in order to
avoid confusion. This will result to better actions relative to the disaster
response operations.

A. National Level
The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) has the
responsibility in disaster preparedness as well as relief operations. The NDCC
is composed of the following:
Secretary, Department of National Defense - Chairman

Secretary, Department of Public Works and Highways- Member

Secretary, Department of Social Welfare and
Development - Member
Secretary, Department of Agriculture - Member
Secretary, Department of Education
Culture and Sports - Member
Secretary, Department of Finance - Member
Secretary, Department of Labor and Employment - Member

29
 Secretary, Department of Justice - Member
Secretary, Department of Trade and Industry - Member
Secretary, Department of Interior and Local
Government - Member
Secretary, Department of Health - Member
Secretary, Department of Environment and
Natural Resources - Member
Secretary, Department of Budget and Management - Member

Secretary, Department of Transportation and

Communication - Member
Secretary, Department of Science and Technology - Member
Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs - Member
Secretary, Department of Tourism - Member
Presidential Management Staff - Member
Office of the Executive Secretary - Member
Office of the Press Secretary - Member
Director-General, National Economic and
Development Authority - Member
Director-General, Public Information Agency - Member
Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines - Member
Secretary General, Philippine National Red Cross - Member
Administrator, Office of Civil Defense - Exec. Officer

B. Regional Level

The Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) shall be

composed of the Regional PNP Director as Chairman, and heads of regional
offices and field stations, national agencies and selected Non-Government
Organizations (NGOs) at the regional level as members. The Regional
Governor of ARMM shall act as the Chairman and the PNP Regional Director
as Vice-Chairman and the OCD Regional Office shall be the Executive arm

30
and the Secretariat. As such, the Regional Director shall serve as the
Executive Officer.

C. Local Government Level

(1) Metro Manila

The Metro Manila Disaster Coordinating Council (MDCC) shall be

composed of the Chairman, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority as
Chairman with the Mayors of the 17 Cities and Municipalities comprising
Metropolitan Manila, the Director of National Government Agencies; and
Heads of NGOs situated in the National Capital Region to be determined by
the MMDA Chairman as members.
Regional Director, Office of the civil Defense, National Capital Region,
shall act as the Executive Officer of the council.

(2) Provincial Level

A Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC) shall be composed
of the Provincial Governor as Chairman, the Provincial Director of the PNP as
Vice-Chairman, and all organic provincial officials, as well as of national
officials working at the provincial level, as members. The Provincial Civil
Defense Deputized Coordinators shall act as the action officer of the council.

(3) City Level

The City Disaster Coordinating Council (CDCC) shall be composed of

the City Mayor as Chairman, the City Director of the PNP as the Vice-
Chairman and all organic City officials, as well as national officials working at
the city level, as members.

(4) Municipal Level

A Municipal Disaster Coordinating Council (MDCC) shall be composed
of the Municipal Mayor as Chairman, the Chief of Police of the PNP as Vice
Chairman and all organic municipal officials, as well as all national officials
working at the municipal level as members.

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 The Municipal Civil Defense Deputized Coordinators shall act as action
officer of the council.

(4) Barangay Level

A Barangay Disaster Coordinating Council (BDCC) shall be composed
of the Barangy Captain as Chairman and leading persons in the community
as members (Calamities and Disaster Preparedness Plan, NDCC, 1998).

Tasks of the Council:

A. National Disaster Coordinating Council

1. Advises the President on the status of disaster preparedness

programs, disaster operations and rehabilitation efforts
undertaken by the government and the private sector.

2. Formulates policy guidelines on emergency preparedness and

disaster operations involving rescue, relief and rehabilitation.

3. Formulates priorities in the allocation of funds, services, disaster

equipment and relief supplies;

4. Advises the lower-level Disaster Coordinating Councils and

Disaster Control Groups through the Office of Civil Defense in
accordance with the guidelines on disaster management;

5. Recommends to the President the declaration of a state of

calamity in areas extensively damaged; and submits proposals
to restore normalcy in the affected areas, subject to the
provision of RA 8185;

6. Constitute a Technical Working Group composed of permanent

representatives from the member-departments and other
government agencies with the Executive Officer as head;

32
 7. Formulates a comprehensive disaster management plan based on
various calamities/disaster that often hit the country (i.e. drought,
flooding, typhoon, earthquake, etc,) and

8. Utilizes the facilities and services of the Office of Civil Defense in

Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, in discharging its functions.

B. The Member-Departments/Agencies

1. Department of Agriculture (DA)

a. Maintains updated data on agricultural crops, livestock

and fisheries specifically in disaster-prone areas to
facilitate assessments of damage in case of calamity, and
furnishes these data to the Council through the Office of
Civil Defense (OCD);

b. Undertakes surveys in disaster areas to determine the

extent of damage on agricultural crops, livestock and
fisheries and renders reports to the Council through the
OCD:

c. Renders technical assistance to disaster victims whose

crops or livestock have been destroyed, damaged or lost;

d. Organizes reaction teams in the Department proper as well

as in the offices and bureaus under it; and
e. Makes special arrangement with the Philippine Crop
Insurance Corporation for the immediate release to
farmers of their crop insurance to commensurate losses
suffered.

2. Department of the Budget and Management (DBM)

33
 a. Releases the necessary funds required to implementing
agencies as recommended by the NDCC and approved
by the President of the Philippines.

b. Organizes reaction teams in the department proper as well

as in the offices and bureaus under it.
c. Issues rules and regulations on the inclusion of disater
preparedness activities in the preparation of Annual
Investment Plan of LGUs.

3. Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS)

a. Organizes disaster control groups and reaction teams in

all schools and institutions of learning;

b. Makes available suitable school buildings nearest the

affected areas as evacuation centers;

c. Assists in the public education campaign through

integration in the school curricula of subjects relative to
the different calamities their causes and precautionary
measures; and

d. Organizes reaction teams in the department proper as

well as in the regional and division offices and bureaus
under it.

4. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)

a. Reforests and controls areas, which tend to cause

flooding, landslides, mudflows and ground subsidence;

b. Provides seeds, seedlings and samplings;

34
 c. Provides technical assistance regarding mines, forests
and lands;

d. Promulgates rules and regulations for the control of

water, air and land pollution;

e. Issues advisories on environmental pollution and informs

concerned agencies on such advisories; and

f. Organizes reaction teams in the department proper as

well as in all bureaus and offices under it.

5. Department of Finance (DOF)

a. Issues rules and regulations with the relevant agencies

concerned for the funding by local governments of the
requirements for organizing, equipping and training of
their disaster coordinating councils and reaction teams
pursuant to Section 9 of PD 1566;

b. Issues rules and regulations jointly with the Department

of Budget and Management on the preparation of Local
Government Budget and the utilization of the 2%
reserves for disaster operations; and

c. Organizes reaction teams in the department proper as well

as in all bureaus and offices under it.

6. Department of Health (DOH)

a. Organizes disaster control groups and reaction teams in

all hospitals, clinics, sanitaria and other health
institutions;

35
 b. Provides for the provincial, city/municipal and rural health
services to support all respective disaster coordinating
councils during emergencies;

c. Undertakes necessary measures to prevent the

occurrence of communicable diseases and other health
hazards, which may affect the population;

d. Issues appropriate warning to the public on the

occurrence of epidemic or other health hazards;

e. Provides direct service and/or technical assistance on

sanitation, as may be necessary; and

f. Organizes reaction teams in the department proper as well

as in the offices and bureaus under it.

7. Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)

a. In coordination with the Department of National Defense

(DND) thru the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and
Department of public works and Highways, organizes
disaster control groups and reaction teams in all factories
and industrial complexes.

b. Provides emergency employment opportunities to

disaster victims;

c. In coordination with the DND through the OCD,

implements Industrial Civil Defense Programs and
Measures; and

36
 d. Organizes reaction teams in the department proper as
well as in the office and bureaus under it.

8. Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)

a. Oversees the organization of Disaster Coordinating

Councils in the provinces, cities, municipalities and
barangays in coordination with the Office of Civil Defense
(OCD);

b. Assists the Local Disaster Coordinating Councils in the

establishment of Disaster Operations Center;

c. Conducts training of members of Local Disaster

Coordinating Councils in coordination with the OCD, the
Department of Social Welfare and Development; the
Philippine National Red Cross and other appropriate
agencies;

d. Directs the Local Government Units to organize and train

Disaster Control Groups and Reaction Teams in large
buildings for commercial and recreational use; and

e. Organizes reaction teams in the department proper as

well as in the Offices and Bureaus under it.

9. Department of National Defense (DND)

The Department of National Defense through the:

a. Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)

1) Establishes communication linkages and makes
these available for disaster operations;

37
 2) Assist the Philippine National Police in providing
security coverage in disaster areas;

3) Assists in the reconstruction of damaged national

and local roads and/or bridges, structures of
facilities;

4) Assists in providing transportation facilities for the

rapid movement of relief supplies and personnel
and for evacuation of disaster victims; and

5) Organizes reaction teams in all military

installations

b. Office of Civil Defense (OCD)

1) Makes available the Civil Defense Operations

Center for use by the Council during disaster
operations and during conferences of the Action
Group;

2) Spearheads, in coordination with the Department

of Interior and Local Government, the organization
of Disaster Coordinating Councils and with the
other departments/agencies in the organization of
Disaster Control Groups or Reaction Teams;

3) Develops and prepares programs of instruction for

disaster preparedness training of disaster council
members, in coordination with the Department
of Social Welfare and Development and
Department of Local Government;

38
 4) Develops and prepares training programs and
trains the organic trainers of those
departments/agencies tasked with the organization
of Disaster Coordinating Councils, Disaster Control
Groups or reaction teams;

5) Conducts studies on disaster management;

6) Receives bulletins from warning agencies and

disseminates the same to appropriate agencies
and the general public; and

7) Monitors the implementation of the various

provisions of P.D. No. 1566.

c. The Department Proper

1) Organizes Disaster Control Groups and Teams in the

department proper in the bureaus, offices or agencies
under it.
2) Being the chair of the NDCC, shall include in the
budget activities to be undertaken by the NDCC_TWG
such as the mobilization allowances of the NDCC
representatives, in their participation to meetings,
trainings/workshops, etc.

10. Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)

a. Restores destroyed public works such as flood control,

waterworks, roads, bridges, and other vertical and
horizontal facilities/structures;

39
 b. Provides heavy and light equipment for rescue and
recovery operations;

c. Makes available existing communications facilities for

disaster operations;

d. Assists in providing transportation facilities to transport

relief supplied personnel and disaster victims;

e. Provides warning to the public on impending releases of

water from dams under its control; and

f. Organizes reaction teams in the department proper as

well as in all bureaus and offices under it.

11. Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)

a. Undertakes training on disaster preparedness of

barangay tri-sectoral groups;

b. In coordination with the Office of Civil Defense and the

Department of Local Government, assists in the training
of Disaster Coordinating Councils in all levels;

c. Organizes relief and rehabilitation services to be tied up

with the Provincial/City/Municipal/Barangay Disaster
Coordinating Councils to provide immediate relief
assistance to disaster victims;

d. Distributes donations received by the Department in

accordance with relief requirements;

e. Provides appropriate assistance for the rehabilitation of

victims; and

40
 f. Organizes reaction teams in the department proper as
well as in all bureaus and offices under it.

12. Department of Tourism (DOT)

a. Organizes and trains Disaster Control Groups and

Reaction Teams in hotels, pensions, restaurants and
other tourist-oriented facilities; and

b. Organizes reaction teams in the department proper as

well as in all bureaus and offices under it.

13. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)

a. Carries out measures to maintain normal level of prices of

commodities during emergencies;

b. Assures the availability of commodities in calamity areas;

and
c. Organizes reaction teams in the department proper as
well as in regional offices under it.

14. Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC)

a. Coordinates the organization of the emergency transport

service from the national down to the barangay level;

b. Restores destroyed transportation and communications

facilities such as railroads and vertical structures;

c. Makes available existing communications and

transportation facilities for disaster operations; and

41
 d. Controls and supervises the emergency functions, if any,
of the bureaus, offices and agencies under it.

The Department of Transportation and Communications through

the Air Transportation Office:

a. Undertakes aerial search and rescue operations as

needed;

b. Coordinates the harnessing of private aircraft’s, airlines

and other organizations for airlifts and airdrop operations;

c. Undertakes repairs of damaged airports, runways and

facilities; and

d. Initiates inter-agency contingency planning for air crashes

outside airport facilities especially on built-up areas.

The DOTC through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport

(NAIA) initiates inter-agency planning for aircrashes within the
NAIA jurisdictional area.

15. Department of Science and Technology (DOST)

a. Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical

Services Administration (PAGASA):

1) Keeps a continuing watch over the environmental

conditions within the country, through its network of
surface and upper air synoptic stations, agromet
and radar stations;

2) Prepares daily weather forecasts, typhoon

warnings and flood outlook;

42
 3) Disseminates weather information to OCD and
other concerned agencies and the general public;

4) Gives marine meteorological service to the

maritime sector in the form of checking ship
barometers and briefings to Officers of moored
vessels at ports and harbors; maintains a visual
storm signal network for international shipping;

5) Gives aeronautical meteorological service for the

safety and efficiency of air travel, both for domestic
and international flights, through the provision of
flight documentation, take-off and landing
information;

6) Conducts researches and training in relation to

natural disaster preparedness and mitigation;

7) Provides assistance and advice to the hydrological

sector through dam monitoring; and

8) Makes available climatological data for use of

agricultural, industrial, public works and energy
utilization.

b. Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology

(PHIVOLCS)

1) Issues advisories on earthquakes, volcanic activities

and tsunamis to the general public;

2) Advises concerned agencies on such advisories;

43
 3) Pinpoints suitable evacuation sites in coordination
with appropriate agencies concerned; and

4) Organizes Disaster Control Group and Reaction

Teams in the commission proper and in its field
stations.

c. Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI)

1) Issues advisories on radioactive fallouts/

contamination and radiation accidents to the
general public;

2) Informs concerned agencies on such advisories;

3) Decontaminates contaminated areas in

coordination with concerned agencies;

4) Organizes and trains Disaster Control Teams in the

PNRI Offices and facilities; and

5) Supervises the organization and training of

Disaster Control Teams in nuclear installations and
in facilities storing, handling or using radioactive
source.

16. National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)

a. Determines and analyzes the effects of disasters and

calamities on the socio-economic plans and programs of
the country;

b. Develops damage assessment schemes to be used by

agencies surveying after-disaster damages; and

44
 c. Organizes Disaster Control Groups and Reaction Teams
in the NEDA proper and its attached agencies and
Regional Offices.

17. National Housing Authority (NHA)

a. Assesses housing requirements of displaced persons;

b. Provides emergency or temporary housing with adequate

sanitary facilities;

c. Rebuilds destroyed areas;

d. Plans and sets up new communities as may be required

or desired upon;

e. Organizes Disaster Control Teams among home owners

in subdivisions not covered by barangays; and

f. Organizes and trains Disaster Control Teams in NHA

Offices.

18. Philippine Information Agency (PIA)

a. Coordinates with government and private media in

educating the public on disaster preparedness and
operations;

b. Provides public information service to disseminate

disaster mitigation measures as well as to assist in
warning the public on impending disasters;

45
 c. Monitors activities and gathers feedbacks relative to
emergencies; and

d. Organizes reaction teams in the PIA as well as other

Offices under it.

19. Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC)

a. Conducts disaster leadership training courses and assists

in the training of Disaster Coordinating Councils and their
emergency welfare service units at all levels;
b. Assists in providing emergency relief assistance to
victims of disasters;

c. Make available whole blood and its derivatives in times of

disasters;
d. Interfaces its other emergency welfare services (warning,
rescue, evacuation, medical/nursing, first-aid/ambulance
and social services) with the activities of member-
agencies at all levels;

e. Provides tracing service (local and foreign) during

emergencies; and

f. Organizes Disaster Control Teams in PNRC

establishments.

C. Other Departments/Agencies

All other Department/Agencies, constitutional

commissions/bodies, government - controlled corporations, and non-
government entities or private organizations not otherwise covered in
this section shall organize their respective disaster control groups and

46
 reaction teams in their main or head offices as well as in all their
branches and/or attached agencies.

D. Regional Disaster Coordinating Council

1. Establishes a physical facility to be known as the Regional

Disaster Operations Center (RDOC);

2. Coordinates the disaster operations activities in the region from

the RDOC or from any forward operating facility within the
region:

3. Implements within the region the guidelines set by the National

Disaster Coordinating Council;

4. Advises the local disaster coordinating councils on disaster

management; and

5. Submits appropriate recommendations to the National Disaster

Coordinating Council, as necessary.

E. Metro Manila Disaster Coordinating Council

1. Establishes the Metro Manila Disaster Operations Center to be

known as MMDOC;

2. Coordinates from MMDOC the disaster operation activities of

the local disaster coordinating councils within Metro Manila;

3. Implements within Metro Manila, the guidelines set by the

NDCC; and

47
 4. Make necessary and appropriate recommendations to the
NDCC through the Office of Civil Defense.

F. Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council

1. Establishes the Provincial Disaster Operations Center to be

known as PDOC;

2. Coordinates from the PDOC the disaster operations activities of

the municipalities within the province; provided, that when a
disaster affects a municipality, and at least one city, the
operations shall be coordinated by the Provincial Governor;

3. Implements within the city the guidelines set by the RDCC;

4. Advises the Barangay Disaster Coordinating Councils regarding

disaster management;

5. Submit recommendations to the RDCC as necessary; and

6. Places the CDCC and its tasked units under the operational
control of the PDCC during emergencies which affects the towns
and the city itself, pursuant to paragraph h, Section I of the P.D.
1566.

H. Municipal Disaster Coordinating Council

1. Establishes a physical facility to be known as the Municipal

Disaster Operations Center (MDOC);

2. Coordinates from the MDOC the disaster operation activities;

48
 3. Implements within the municipality the guidelines set by the
PDCC;

4. Advises the members of the Barangay Disaster Coordinating

Council regarding disaster management; and

5. Submits recommendations to the PDCC, as necessary.5

I. Barangay Disaster Coordinating Council

1. Establishes the Barangay Disaster Operations Center (BDOC);

2. Coordinates from the BDOC, the disaster operation activities of

its tasked units;

3. Implements within the barangay the guidelines set by the

MDCC;

4. Advises the members of the Barangay Disaster Coordinating

Council regarding disaster management; and

5. Submits recommendations to the MDCC/CDCC as necessary.

2. Republic Act Nr 7077 (AFP Reservist Act)

Section 7, Article III, RA 7077 provides that “The mission of the Citizen
Armed Force, alternately referred to as the Reserve Force, is to provide the
base for expansion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the event of war,
invasion or rebellion; to assist in relief and rescue during disasters or
calamities; to assist in socio-economic development; and to assist in the
operation and maintenance of essential government and private utilities in the
furtherance of overall mission.”

49
3. Republic Act Nr 7898 (AFP Modernization Act)
This law stipulates that the AFP Modernization Program shall be
implemented in accordance with a list of concrete objectives which includes
the following as a major objective:
‘To enhance its capability to fulfill its mandate to protect the Filipino
people not only from armed threats but from the ill-effects of life-threatening
and destructive consequences of natural and manmade disasters and
calamities, including typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, major
accidents in far flung or inaccessible terrain or at sea and from all forms of
ecological damage’.

4. NDCC’s Calamities and Disaster Preparedness Plan

On 24 August 1988, the then Secretary Fidel V Ramos, Department of

National Defense and as Chairman of NDCC through Col Victor Pagulayan Jr
(Ret), the then OCD Administrator and NDCC Executive Director issued the
“Calamities and Disaster Preparedness Plan” in pursuance to PD 1566 dated
June 1978 with the primary objectives to save lives, to prevent needless
suffering, to protect property and to minimize damages during disasters and
calamities.

To this end, the plan embraces all conceivable contingencies, making

use of all available resources, both government and private. It is functional
and action - oriented and is capable of meeting simple or multiple
contingencies. It is also stipulated that emergency preparedness is a joint
responsibility of the national and local governments. In addition, regular
exercises and drills will be conducted at all levels to enhance people’s
reaction capability and ensure precessions in responding contingencies. The
tasks of each member in NDCC were issued by the Chairman for their
appreciation and guide in the performance of their functions relative to the
disaster response operation.

50
 CHAPTER V
AFP CALAMITIES AND DISASTER PREPAREDNESS PLAN

Disaster response, relief and rehabilitation operations being complex

undertakings, it is inevitable that the AFP, with its organization, nationwide
deployment and big-ticket assets will be mobilized in its conduct. In response
to this need, the AFP issued General Headquarters Standard Operating
Procedure Number 15 dated 11 December 1995 entitled, “AFP Calamities
and Disaster Preparedness Plan”. This SOP is the successor to GHQ, AFP
SOP Number 03 dated 04 April 1993 that provided for the framework for the
conduct of disaster response and related operations.

AFPDRTF Activation
SOP Number 15 activated the AFP Disaster Response Task Force with
the Vice Chief of Staff, AFP as the Task Force Commander. This Task Force is
under the joint functional supervision of the Office of The Deputy Chief of Staff
for Operations (J3), Office of The Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics (J4) and
Office of The Deputy Chief of Staff for Civil Military Operations (J7).

AFPDRTF Mission and Organization

Under the provisions of SOP Number 15, the mission of the AFP,
through the Disaster Response Task Force, is to assist the NDCC and the
various local disaster coordinating councils in the conduct of search, rescue,
relief and rehabilitation operations and reconstruction and development
activities nationwide, to save lives, protect properties, and minimize damages
caused by natural disasters and calamities, including air or sea mishaps,
crises caused by labor strikes or walk-outs by air traffic controllers, health or
hospital workers, communication networks, transportation, food centers and
the like.

The AFP DRTF is organized into task groups, one each from the three
major services, a disaster monitoring evaluation and public information
section, a plans and operations section and an administrative and resources
section with headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo (AFP DRTF has no permanent

51
headquarters but utilizes JOC during disaster response operations). The NCR
DRTG is co-located with HQS CRS, AFP. DCCs are also organized at the
different area commands. These area command DCCs automatically
becomes the AFP DRTF advance command posts on orders.

AFPDRTF ORGANIZATION

TF Commander
VCSAFP NDCC

OCD NGOS
DEP TF
Commander
J3

Admin & Disaster Plans & Opns.

Resources Monitoring Section
Svc Station Evaluation and
S Public Information Dep J3/C, AFP JOC
TCE Section
P
Dep J4
C
TSG L Dep J7
S
T
TC A
COMMEL F
F

PA Task GRP PAF Task GRP PN Task GRP

VC, PA VC, PAF VC, PN

Eng’r Bdes. AFPLC Health SVC Commel

Task Group Task Group Task Group Task Group

Area Commands RDCC

Coordinating Center
ACP AFPDRTF PDCC
C/MDCC
BDCC

52
 The AFP DRTF also has provisions for engineering, medical and
communications services capabilities and has direct, lateral links with the
DCCs at the different levels.

SOP Number 15 provides for the following in case of calamities or

disasters:

 Establish communications linkages

 Organize disaster reaction units in all military camps and bases
 Render medical assistance to calamity or disaster stricken areas
 Provide land, air and sea transport facilities for the rapid delivery
of relief goods and supplies, personnel, equipment and victims
 Assist the PNP in providing security coverage in disaster
stricken areas
 Assist in the reconstruction of damaged national and local
roads, bridges and other facilities

Disaster management activities is organized and undertaken by

phases. Phase one is the Pre-Disaster Phase. The activities undertaken
during this phase are the following:

(1) Planning for disaster/calamities activities

(2) Organizing and training
(3) Public information driver
(4) Communications and warning activities

During the planning sub-phase, the AFP DRTF reviews and evaluates
all documented plans submitted by AFP field units and ensures that these are
in compliance with GHQ SOP Nr 15 and conforms with the national calamities
and disaster preparedness plan. Contingency plans are also formulated at
this time.

53
 Aside from planning activities, organizing and training are also
undertaken. The task groups in the major services, AFP Wide Support and
Separate Units and Area Commands carry out exercises and drills in
coordination with the RCCs..

Public information is an important sub-phase because it aims to inform

the public on disaster prevention, control and safety measures. In
coordination with the NDCC and OCD, the AFP DRTF distributes manuals,
handouts and other publications as well as audio-visual materials related to
disaster prevention control and related matters.

In communications and warning activities, close coordination between

the area commands and the local DCCs are maintained in order to ensure
that communications links are maintained before, during and immediately
after the occurrence of disasters and calamities. The appropriate warning
codes and signals are also established and updated.

Phase two of disaster management is the Emergency Phase. It is at

this phase that the bulk of disaster management is carried out. It is during this
time that the months and years of training and preparing are put to the test.
This phase include rescue and engineering, evacuation of casualties and
refugees, first aid and medical relief, police assistance and security coverage,
and fire and transportation services.

The third phase is the Post – Emergency Phase. Here, the AFP
DRTF carries out three tasks:

(1) Through the local DCCs, the task force determines the nature
and extent of the rehabilitation effort to be undertaken and
submits the same to the NDCC for referral to the appropriate
government agencies.

54
 (2) Assess the available resources for rehabilitation purposes by
cross checking all the information gathered during and before
the emergency.
(3) The AFP task units coordinates and synchronizes efforts with
the concerned government agencies in the hiring of the labor
force from the affected population needed for restoration, repair
and construction of public buildings, roads, bridges, dams,
harbors, airport and the like damaged by disasters or calamities.

These disaster response operations are carried out through the normal
AFP chain of command. Upon announcement of an impending natural
calamity or disaster by the concerned government agency such as the PAG-
ASA, PHILVOCS or the fire department, tasked units for disaster rescue
operations are automatically placed on red alert.

When the disaster finally occurs, the disaster relief operations are
immediately undertaken by the area commands using its OPCON units while
awaiting support to be provided on orders from the AFP DRTF. All AFP
rescue and engineering operations and activities are conducted in accordance
with the provisions of emergency services and objectives. During such
operations, lateral coordination are carried out at all levels with national and
local government agencies and, in some cases, with private organizations.

55
 CHAPTER VI

PN DISASTER RESPONSE TASK GROUP

As part of the AFP Disaster Response Task Force, PN Disaster

Response Task Group is organized as follows:

Organizational Chart

COMDR, PN DISASTER RESPONSE TASK GROUP

V/COM, PN

DEP COMDR, PN DRTG

COMREADFOR

Chief of Staff
AC of NS, N3

Dep N1 Dep N2 DNOC Dep N4

Dep N7 Dep N8 DepN9

Dep N10 Dep N5 DepN11

CNTF 80 DCNETC DCNFN DCNFC DCNFS DCNFW DCNCBde

CNTU 90.5.2 CNTU 90.5.6 CNFU 90.5.1 CNFU 90.5.4 CNFU 90.5.5 CNFU 90.5.3 CNFU 90.5.7

PHILFT
PMC NETC NS Poro NS Legapi NS Zambo NS Palawan NCBdc
PCG NRCI MNOB NS Davao NRC 4 3 Platoons
NSSC NRC3 NRC 6
NRC NRC5 NRC 7
NBC
BNS
NLC
MNH
CNH

56
PNDRTG Mission

The mission of PN Disaster Response Task Group is: “To organize,

train, equip, maintain and deploy units of the Naval Disaster Response Task
Group and conduct rescue, relief and rehabilitation operation, in order to save
lives and protect properties caused by, but not limited to natural disaster and
calamities.”

The organization is in compliance with the AFP SOP Nr. 15, wherein
the Vice-Commander, Philippine Navy, is the Task Group Commander, in
concurrent capacity.

Auxiliary Service

In line with this, the Philippine Navy will tap/utilize the Affiliated Reserve
Units in accordance with the intent of RA 7077.

As provided for in RA 7077, Section 63 (Auxiliary Service), for the

purpose of helping maintain local peace and order, meeting local emergency
threat, assisting in rescue and relief operation during disaster and calamities,
health welfare activities and participating in socio-economic development
project, the President may call upon the reservists in the affected or
concerned localities to volunteer their services.

Along this line and in consonance with GHQ LOI 07/98

(PAGHAHANDA) dated 01 April 1998 the AFP Reserve Force in support to
AFPDRTF and in coordination with NDCC created Disaster Rescue and Relief
Unit (DRRU) for the conduct of search, rescue, evacuation and relief
operations throughout the country in the event of disaster or calamities. This
is further in compliance with the AFP Campaign Plan “KAISAGANAAN”, that
the Reserve Force as geographical component of the AFP’s Total Force will
organize DRRU in support to the regular force.

57
 The unit is composed of affiliated reserve units of the PN to support the
regular force for the conduct of search, rescue, and evacuation and relief
operations throughout the country. Accordingly and as provided for in the
MOA, between the PN and PNARUs, their floating assets will be committed in
times of emergencies (calamity/disaster and war).

With this, all Naval Reserve Centers of NAVRESCOM, will have at

least one (1) search and rescue company of reservists and affiliate shipping
companies with search and rescue capabilities. This is proven during the sea
mishap of MV Asia-South Korea. The DRRU is composed of 137 reservists.
DRRU
1ST DRRU NFN Poro Point, La Union NRC I
2ND DRRU - DO - Sangley Point, Cavite NRC II
3RD DRRU - DO - Legaspi, City NRC III
1ST DRRU NFW Puerto Princesa, Palawan NRC IV
1ST DRRU NFC Mactan, Cebu NRC V
1ST DRRU NFS Zamboanga City NRC VI
2ND DRRU NFS Davao City NRC VII

Affiliate Shipping (PNARUS Vessels)

M/V Maricel Misamis Institute of Technology

M/V Josefina University of Visayas
M/V Don Manuel University of Cebu

Based in the Organizational Set-Up as well as the role of PNARUS, the

strategic importance can be visualized in term of employment/deployment of
the existing naval disaster response units strategically located in the country.

PNART Organization and Deployment

58
UNIT COMDR NR OF PNART AREA
1. CNTU90.5.1 DCNFN NFN AOR
NS PORO 2 TMS – 2 O’S/28 EP
7CGD 1 TM – 1 O’S/14 EP
NRC1 1 TM – 1 O’S/14 EP
TOTAL 4 TMS
2. CNTU90.5.2 CNTF 80 NCR AOR
PHILFLT 4 TMS – 6 O’S/60EP
NAVRESCOM 1 TM – 1 O’S/14 EP
PCG 2 TMS – 2 O’S/28EP
PMC 4 TMS – 4 O’S/56 EP
NASCOM 1 TM – 1 O’S/14 EP
NBC 1 TM – 1 O’S/14 EP
BNS 1 TM – 1 O’S/14 EP
NLC 1 TM – 1 O’S/14 EP
TOTAL 15 TMS
3. CNTU 90.5.3 DCNFW NFW AOR
NS PALAWAN 2 TMS – 2 O’S/28EP
4CGD 1 TM – 1 O’S/14 EP
NRC4 1 TM – 1 O’S/14 EP
TOTAL 4 TMS
4. CNTU 90.5.4 DCNFC NFC AOR
NS LEGASPI 2 TMS – 2 O’S/28 EP
MNOB 2 TMS – 2 O’S/28 EP
2/5/6 CGD 2 TMS – 2 O’S/28 EP
NRC 3/5 2 TMS – 2 O’S/28 EP
TOTAL 8 TMS
5. CNTU90.5.5 DCNFS NFS AOR
NS ZAMBO 2 TMS – 2 O’S/28 EP
NS DAVAO 2 TMS – 2 O’S/28 EP
3/8 CGD 2 TMS – 2 O’S/28 EP
NRC 6/7 2 TMS – 2 O’S/28 EP
TOTAL 8 TMS
6. CNTU90.5.6 DCNETC 2 TMS – 2 O’S/28 EP HNETC
7. CNTU90.5.7 DCNCBDE 1 COY OF 3 PLATOONS HNCBDE

59
 Knowing already the capabilities and limitation, the Philippine Navy
reorganized the PN Disaster Response Task Group into a lean and mean but
competent rescue task group composed of PN Disaster Response Task Units.
The PN units within NCR shall be primarily committed and automatically
OPCON to CNTU90.5.2 when the need arises. All naval forces also have
their own DRTU intended for the calamity/disaster in its area of responsibility.
However, CPNDRTG, is the overall lead in the command and control.

The PN disaster response task group shall integrate all rescue

operation activities committed to the PN nationwide by higher headquarters.
It will oversee the general conduct of rescue operation and will coordinate with
the different Local Government Agencies.

Similar to the AFPDRTF, the PNDRTG disaster management activities

has three (3) phases, namely, Phase I – Pre-Disaster Phase, Phase II –
Emergency Phase and Phase III – Post Emergency Phase.

Standing Operating Procedures Nr. 1 dated 02 February 1999

prescribes the Rules of Engagement in the conduct of disaster rescue, relief
and rehabilitation operations that will guide the members of the PNDRTG
either individually or collectively in handling the required interpersonal
contacts with the key local political leaders, government agencies, tri-media
and the disaster victims themselves.

60
 CHAPTER VII

AFP DISASTER RESPONSE ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR CY 2002

1. On disaster management program on mitigation,the AFP with its major

commands in coordination with local government units conducted
cleaning and desilting of Paranaque River, clearing of water lilies at
Angat River, Bulacan,desilting of Pasac River, in Pampanga,
conducted information drive on man made and natural calamities,
conducted cloud seeding, conducted training on search and rescue
operation and established disaster relief operation centers.
2. On preparedness program, the National Capital Region Disaster Relief
Task Group in coordination with CEISSAFP installed communication
equipments and acquired computer units. The Philippine Navy PNART
and PNARUS conducted training on rescue and assistance, medical
evacuation and first aid. The Philippine Army NCR Disaster Relief Task
Unit including PA reservist conducted showdown inspection of disaster
relief equipments. The PA in order to enhance its capabilities
participated in a capability demonstration on rescue and assistance
conducted by Philippine Coast Guard. The Philippine Air Force in
coordination with PAGASA and local government units issued weather
advisory, trained on medical evacuation. The NOLCOM conducted
training on disaster and rescue operation, burn care, basic life support
and first aid. The CENTCOM conducted training of its rescue units.
3. On disaster response program, the NCR Disaster Relief Task Group
provided relief and assistance to fire victims at Zone 68, District- V,
Bagong Lupa, Tondo, Manila, rescued flood victims and provided
transportation for project “ Libreng Sakay”. The Philippine Navy
distributed relief goods and evacuated flood victims in CAMANAVA
areas, Quezon City and Pangasinan, answer distress calls from 1 local
and 1 foreign fishing vessels, conducted search and rescue operation,
retrieved drowning victims in Bacnotan and Aringay, La Union and
provided purified water to flood victims. The Philippine Army conducted

61
 rescue and assistance and provided vehicle for project “ LIbreng
Sakay”. The Philippine Air Force conducted search and rescue
operation during a flash flood in Davao, fire aboard MV Carmela, barge
collision in Naga, Cebu, crash of Laoag Flight 585, search for a missing
Taiwanese fisherman, fire relief assistance, earthquake assistance in
General Santos City, EOD services in Cotabato and General Santos
City and rescue of flood victims. The NOLCOM, SOLCOM and
CENTCOM conducted rescue, recovery and evacuation to victims of
man made and natural calamities in their respective AOR.
4. On disaster rehabilitation program, the AFP conducted capability
enhancement, cloud seeding to lessen the effect of “El Nino”
phenomenon, reconstructed structures in Cabanatuan and in
Mabalacat, Pampanga, repaired and rehabilitate a crash area, repaired
Aras Asan Bridge in Sebaste, Antique and redeveloped a rice field
damaged by flash flood in Barangay Dulao, Bago City, Negros
Occidental.

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 CHAPTER VIII
ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION

With the preponderance and variety of disasters that befall the

Philippines at regular intervals, we have become very familiar with disaster
response operations. To some extent, the more familiar occurrences such as
typhoons and floods are no longer considered disasters but minor irritations.
We have the necessary mechanisms in place to meet the more predictable
disasters. However, due to the very nature of disasters which comes in
varying forms, intensity and magnitude with its attendant infinite permutation
of miseries, not all possible scenarios could be anticipated and prepared for.

In general, the group discerns that the government has responded

credibly in putting its resources into play when it comes to Disaster Response
Operations. But again, by the very nature of disasters, the government will
always be found wanting in this particular endeavor. Disasters bring out both
the best and the worst in our people. We have seen the admirable
participation of groups, individuals, NGOs, commercial and industrial firms in
augmenting the government’s scarce resources in terms of goods, services,
equipment and manpower in times of calamities. The past incidents highlight
the positive aspects of the Filipino culture particularly the people’s resilience
and generosity in the face of disasters.

The AFP by virtue of its capability to respond to crisis situations has

always been among the first to be called-upon to respond and render
necessary assistance when disaster strikes. It was able to integrate its efforts
with other government agencies both local and national and non- government
organizations in the disaster and relief and rehabilitation operations. The
accomplishments of the disaster response missions by the AFPDRTF and the
PNDRTG and volunteers from LGUs and NGOs could be attributed to the
following factors.

1. A workable organizational structure with clear command and

control structure.

63
 2. Inter-agency cooperation was achieved through the conduct of
conferences to identify and address areas of concern.

3. General support of the population and the international

community.

4. Establishment of operation and information center.

5. Media support for information dissemination.

6. Systematic distribution of relief goods although inadequate at

times.

7. Support extended by the local government during disaster

response operations.

On the other hand, much still has to be done in order to improve the
conduct of disaster response operations in the country. The group has
identified the following areas for improvement. These have been and will
continue to hamper our national efforts to respond promptly and effectively to
Disasters and Calamities:

a. Training for disaster preparedness is inadequate and if ever

done is mostly just for compliance.

b. In many cases it has been observed that the disaster relief

teams are ill-equipped and/or ill-clad with inadequate transportation
facilities.

c. Disinformation and rumors in some instances have led to chaos

and panic during disasters due to inadequate information
dissemination.

64
d. Effective command and control while conducting the disaster
relief operations has always been hampered by lack of communication
equipment.

65
 CHAPTER IX
RECOMMENDATIONS

In view of the foregoing observations the group recommends the

following:

1. Training on disaster preparedness should be given emphasis and

regularly undertaken not only by those tasked to undertake disaster response
operations but by all levels and sectors of society. For a disaster prone
country such as ours, training on this aspect should start as early as in grade
school. AFP and PN personnel should cross-train with other agencies to
ensure smooth coordination during actual disaster response operations.

2. Equipment, vehicles, materials and supplies necessary in the conduct

of disaster response operations should be procured and prepositioned in
strategic locations in the country. Such items procured should be used solely
for disaster response to ensure that they are available and functioning when
needed.
3. To preclude panic and morale problems due to disinformation and
rumors in times of disaster, information centers should to be organized for
proper and prompt dissemination of information to the general public. Media
centers should be put up and organized in the first opportunity for this
purpose.

4. Communication linkages utilizing standardized equipment should be

established between and among the various agencies involved. Equipment
should be procured, doctrines developed, and procedures rehearsed on a
regular basis to ensure speedy activation and employment of the response
mechanism when disaster strikes.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

AFP Approved RDF Program

AFP Circular Nr 06 dated 3 Jun 95.
AFP FRAGORD 01 to LOI 07/98 (PAGHAHANDA).
AFP Standing Operating Procedure Nr 15 dated 11 Dec 95 pp. 1-5.
HPN LOI Nr 27-97 dated 30 May 97, PN Disaster Response Task Group 90.5.
Implementing Rules and Regulations to RA 7077.
National Disaster Coordinating Center, “Calamities and Disaster
Preparedness Plan” dated 24 Aug 88 pp. 18-19.
National Disaster Coordinating Center, Statistical Report.
Pilar, Nestor Dr. “An Assessment of the Disaster Management in the
NCR/Metro Manila” (Quezon City: 1999) pp. 1-2.
Presidential Decree No. 1566 dated 11 June 78, “Strengthening the Philippine
Disaster Control Capability and Establishing the National Program on
Community Disaster Preparedness” pp. 41-43.
Republic Act No. 7077 (AFP Reservist Act)
Republic Act No. 7898 (AFP Modernization Act)
Rules and Regulations Implementing the National Defense Act as Amended
by RA 7077 or the AFP Reservist Act pp. 1-2.
Rules and Regulations Implementing the Provisions on PD 1566 pp. 44-48.
The Facts of Civil Defense: What You Should Know and Do to Help and Get
Help, Department of National Defense.

67