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EXPLAINER: Who's supposed to be
in charge during disasters?
Aug. 14th, 2018
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MANILA, Philippines – When over half a month’s expected rainfall poured in a
single day over several regions in the Philippines on Saturday, August
11, response from the government’s disaster management agency the National
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) was wanting.
With massive floods in Metro Manila and Rizal, alerts were sounding, rivers
were rising, and residents were forced to leave their homes. The Philippine
Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration
(PAGASA) issued several rainfall advisories on the same day, raising warning
levels from orange to red.
In an ideal scenario, the NDRRMC would have gone on red alert as soon as
PAGASA issued its red rainfall advisory – thus commencing 24/7 operations
needed to respond to the emergency. (FAST FACTS: The NDRRMC)
Yet the NDRRMC’s reponse was delayed as it announced it was on red alert a
day later on Sunday, August 12.
What should the public expect when emergency or calamity occurs and who’s
supposed to take charge?
Rappler breaks down the NDRRMC’s National Disaster Response Plan, which
outlines how the government is supposed to respond at the national and local
levels in times of emergency:
1. Pre-disaster Risk Assessment-Action, Plans, and
Protocols (PDRA-APP)
What it is: The PDRA-APP, internationally known as “Emergency Response
Preparedness”, is the first activity carried out in disaster response and
preparedness. This should happen before the event of a hazard or emergency.
The PDR-APP is a process where hazards such as a natural disasters, accidents,
conflict, or man-made emergencies are assessed to determine its possible risks.
In 2014, the NDRRMC made it a requirement for concerned officials to carry
out the PDRA-APP to properly prepare and respond to emergencies.
Trigger: Different emergencies call for the PDRA-APP to be conducted before
the onset of potential hazards. In the case of hazards brought about by weather
conditions, this is usually conducted 3 days prior to landfall of a typhoon or
upon PAGASA’s early warning.
It can also be carried out upon the NDRRMC’s advisory.
Who’s in charge? The PDRA-APP is convened by Department of National
Defense-Office of Civil Defense (DND-OCD) administrator Ricardo Jalad, who
sits as NDRRMC executive director.
It can also be convened by the secretaries of the Department of Social Welfare
Secretary (DSWD) and Department of the Interior and Local Government
(DILG), who both act as the NDRRMC’s vice chairpersons for response and
preparedness, respectively. Currently, the DSWD is headed by Acting Secretary
Virginia Orogo while the DILG is headed by Officer-in-Charge Eduardo Año.
The PDRA-APP core team is also composed of representatives from the
following member agencies:
Department of Science and Technology, to include PAGASA and the
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs)
Department of Environment and Natural Resources, to include the Mines
and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) and National Mapping and Resource
Information Authority (Namria)
DILG
DSWD
OCD
What happens: At this stage, officials from member-agencies assess the
potential impact of a hazard and plan how to move ahead.
Here, agencies determine the appropriate level of response from government at
the national and local levels. Action plans are usually based on historical data
from past emergencies and possible scenarios and risks. LGUs are also
assumed to have crafted disaster response and management plans.
At this point, plans should include actions needed for minimum preparedness,
response, and contingency planning. These should be hazard-specific, areafocused, and time-bound.
This is a crucial step in disaster response as it focuses efforts on being prepared
for hazards, rather than response to emergencies. It’s also essential to
achieving the government’s goal of “zero casualties.”
Once a hazard is detected and monitored, early action is required – moving
officials to the second phase in disaster response:
2. Response Cluster and Incident Management Teams
(IMTs) Activation
What it is: During a typhoon’s landfall or the onset of an emergency, several
teams are deployed to respond to affected civilians.
This is when crucial response and relief is provided to individuals in affected
areas.
Trigger: Requests for assistance from local government units (LGUs), absence
of information or communication from affected areas, or results from rapid
damage and needs assessment reports may call for the activation of the
response cluster and IMTs.
The National DRRMC is usually activated when two or more regions are
affected by an emergency.
Who’s in charge: DSWD Secretary Orogo, who sits as the NDRRMC Vice
Chairperson for response is in charge of activating the response cluster. IMTs,
meanwhile, are activated by NDRRMC executive director Jalad.
Response clusters and IMTs work hand in hand in providing assistance.
How? Resources and personnel during emergencies are provided to IMTs by
response clusters.
According to the NDRRMC, “resources shall be placed under the operations
control of the IMT, but remains to be under administrative control of the
response cluster.” This means that mandates, procedures, and technical
expertise lie with the response cluster while IMTs manage resources and
personnel for efficiency on site.
Several government agencies are responsible for leading 11 emergency response
clusters:
Search rescue and retrieval (Armed Forces of the Philippines)
Health – with sub-clusters on health services, water sanitation, mental and
psycho-social support, and nutrition (Department of Health)
Protection of internally displaced persons (DSWD)
Coordination and management (DSWD)
Food and non-food items (DSWD)
Logistics – with sub-clusters on warehousing, transport, and services (OCD)
Law and order (Philippine National Police)
Emergency telecommunications (OCD)
Education (Department of Education)
International humanitarian assistance (Department of Foreign Affairs)
Management of the dead and missing (DILG)
What happens: When the response cluster and IMTs are activated, there are
two scenarios on the ground – either additional assistance or augmentation is
given to affected LGUs and regions, or the NDRRMC assumes command of
response activities.
Additional assistance is usually provided based on the results of damage
assessment reports done by affected LGUs or regions. This is validated by
response cluster leads and members of IMTs.
Things become a little more tricky when the NDRRMC assumes command of
response activities.
In this case, the NDRRMC may step in based on the declaration of a state of
calamity, requests for additional response from regional DRRMC teams, or
upon the directive of the defense secretary who sits as the NDRRMC
chairperson, or its executive director.
The NDRRMC also takes over if no information or communication is received
from an affected area within 6 to 12 hours after a typhoon’s landfall. In this
case, rapid deployment teams (RDTs) are deployed on the 12th hour.
At this point, RDTs on site conduct a rapid damage-and-needs assessment to
determine the following:
Extent of damage
Number of emergency operation centers needed and locations (should be
near air, land, and sea transport links)
Resources needed to sustain 3 to 7 days of rescue and relief operations
RDTs also play a key role in determining the emergency site plan which
includes where the 11 response clusters can operate on site, and identifying
emergency power and fuel stations.
When the RDT completes its assessment, results are given to the NDRRMC.
These requirements are discussed by the NDRRMC vice chairperson for
response, who then cascades instructions to response clusters within 24 hours
to immediately mobilize resources and manpower.
Among the first responses to be carried out is the mobilization of the law and
order cluster to restore peace and order in the affected area. Other clusters
should also activate teams to replace the RDT on ground within 7 days of
operation.
In either scenario of augmentation or assumption of control, support should be
given through the directive of cluster leads, the NDRRMC chairperson,
executive director, and vice chairperson for response; and the president of the
Philippines.
For international humanitarian aid, offers and requests for such should be
approved by the president.
Once displaced residents return to their homes, search and rescue operations
decrease, and businesses start to operate, a sense of normalcy is established,
allowing agencies to enter into the next phase: “early recovery.”
3. Response cluster and IMT demobilization and
deactivation
What it is: This point marks the 3rd phase of the national disaster response
plan and the start of the transition to recovery and rehabilitation.
Here, cluster teams slowly move out and cut down operations carried out
during the response cluster and IMT activation phase as “early recovery”
takes place.
Triggers: This happens when LGUs and regions are functioning, requests for
assistance decrease, some livelihood resumes, and communication lines and
basic services are reestablished.
Who’s in charge: DSWD Secretary Orogo, as NDRRMC vice chairperson for
response, should deactivate the response cluster upon the recommendation of
cluster leads.
In the event of a typhoon, this can happen when it has weakened or is no longer
in the Philippine area of responsibility.
What happens: At this point, post-disaster activities happen. These include the
start of post-disaster needs assessment (PDNA) and review of response
clusters’ activities.
Here, post-disaster needs are evaluated upon transition to the post-disaster
phase – which is declared by either Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana as
NDRRMC chairperson, NDRRMC executive director Jalad, or NDRRMC vice
chairperson for response Orogo. PDNA teams are organized by the OCD.
Response clusters should also start reviewing operations to document lessons
learned and best practices, which the NDRRMC can refer to when further
improving policies.
At this stage, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)
begins to step in when risks have been addressed and emergency responses
have been carried out. NEDA Director-General Ernesto Pernia’s participation as
NDRRMC vice chairperson for rehabilitation and recovery should effectively
signal the move from the response phase to the rehabilitation phase.
According to the NDRRMC, the entire disaster management plan – from
assessing and preparing for risks to responding during emergencies, and later
slowly pulling out to move toward rehabilitation – has no set timeline.
Oftentimes, these 3 phases overlap. Therefore, the key to its success is the
sharing of timely information and support from different government
agencies.
In times of emergencies and natural disasters, how well this process is carried
out may determine how many lives are lost or saved. – Rappler.com
Sources: OCD Operation Manual for Response, National Disaster Response Plan for
Hydro-Meteorological Hazards, NDRRMC Memorandums and NDRRMC Operation
Center standing operating procedures
TOP PHOTO: EVACUEES. Some 260 individuals from 111 families evacuate at
the Mabuhay Basketball Court in Tatalon, Quezon City as 4 to 5-meter-high
flood waters inundate their homes due to heavy rains caused by the southwest
monsoon on August 11, 2018. Photo by LeAnne Jazul/Rappler
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