Under Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, the House is committed to pass the proposed Department of Disaster Resilience bill, which President Rodrigo Duterte endorsed in his last two SONAs.
As conceived, the DDR shall “guarantee unity of command, and science-based approach to and full-time focus on natural hazards and, even human-induced, disasters.”
Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, House Ways and Means Committee chairman and principal author of the bill, said DDR is envisioned as the primary government agency that “shall be responsible, accountable, and liable for leading, managing, and organizing national efforts to prevent and reduce disaster risks; prepare for and respond to disasters; and recover, rehabilitate, and build forward better after the destruction.”
The proposal was passed by the House in the 17th Congress but failed to pass the Senate due to lack of time.
Salceda said the journey of the DDR bill actually began with the sunset review of the NDRRM Act of 2010 as mandated by RA 10121. From 2015 until 2016, the review set the basis for the initial drafts of 34 bills and four House resolutions on disaster risk reduction and management.
The DDR measure gained traction under the principle of “Whole-of-Government and Whole-of-Nation approach.”
As proposed, the Office of Civil Defense will serve as the core organization of the DDR, a full-blown department headed by a Secretary and supported by undersecretaries, assistant secretaries and directors. Before RA 10121, OCD handled preparedness and response activities.
As conceived, the DDR will lead in the “continuous development of strategic, holistic and systematic approaches to disaster management, including prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery and rehabilitation, and anticipatory adaptation strategies, measures, techniques and options.”
The new department will also promote accelerated capacity building by local government units (LGUs) with relevant national agencies and other stakeholders for the implementation of disaster and climate change plans, programs, projects and activities. It will also be tasked to formulate “comprehensive guidelines on the initiation, entry, facilitation, transit and regulation of international relief goods and personnel, as well as eligibility guidelines on how to legally assist international players, as well as provide sanctions for prohibited acts by public officials and private persons or institutions,” Salceda added.
Aside from the OCD, the DDR will also absorb the Climate Change Office of the Climate Change Commission, the Geo-Hazard Assessment and Engineering Geology Section of the Mines of the Geosciences Bureau of DENR, the Health Emergency Management Bureau of the Department of Health, the DSWD Disaster Response Assistance and Management Bureau, and the DILG Bureau of Fire Protection shall be transferred, while PAGASA and PHIVOLCS, now under DOST will be attached to it.
The DDR will retain the OCD National Council with an expanded membership as the policy advisory board of the Department. It also creates a Multi-Stakeholders’ Convergence Unit to help align disaster resilience efforts of the private sector, CSOs, academe, and other stakeholders with those of the DDR by assisting, coordinating, or providing them services that strengthen public-private cooperation and coordination for disaster resilience.
Salceda said the DDR will also have a distinct National Disaster Resilience Fund scheme that allows fund inputs from both national and local government bodies. Under its new fund scheme, only 20 percent of resources can be used for quick response or stand-by fund, while the remaining 80 percent is for climate change adaptation, disaster risk and vulnerability reduction and mitigation, disaster risk transfer, disaster preparedness, recovery, rehabilitation and anticipatory adaptation.
The DDR will create a Disaster Resilience Support Fund that will be dedicated exclusively for the use of 3rd to 6th class provinces and towns in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating their programs, projects, and activities for climate change adaptation, disaster risk prevention and mitigation, disaster risk transfer, and disaster preparedness.
Based on the 2019 national expenditure program, Salceda said the budget of government agencies absorbed by DDR would amount to P31 billion. Together with the NDRRMF budget of P20 billion, the DRR would have a funding base of P50.1 billion. It is estimated that aside from the existing budgets, the DDR would require an initial P10 billion based on the new mandates. OCD would require P1 billion for new offices, especially field offices in the regions, excluding capital outlay.