Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 8) – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed an Executive Order (EO) which creates a Disaster Response and Crisis Management Task Force (DRCMTF).
EO No. 24 was signed last April 30 to form an agency that “focuses only on disaster preparedness and response, and with a clear unity of command to lead the government’s efforts in confronting the challenges brought about by natural disasters, using evidence-driven and science-based approach in crisis-management.”
The DRCMTF is composed of the Office of the Executive Secretary, Department of National Defense, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Transportation, and the Office of Civil Defense.
The task force’s chairperson and vice chairperson will be selected from among its members, while the included agencies may designate a senior official to act as permanent representatives.
Its functions include overseeing and coordinating the preparation, implementation, and evaluation of disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) plans.
It is tasked with establishing a calibrated and graduated national disaster mobilization system, “including a pre-disaster risk assessment as a decision making tool, in coordination with relevant agencies.”
The DRCMTF will also have to organize “Quick Response Groups” which are to be deployed during or in anticipation of imminent disaster.
