Disaster Response

DSWD has been leading disaster response for more than six (6) decades yet the demand to continually improve and live up to the expectations of the "New Normal" has increased. The passage of Republic Act 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Act of 2010 transformed Philippine disaster management and created a system that allows effective and coordinated humanitarian assistance and disaster response to save lives and protect the vulnerable groups. It reconstituted the Council, renamed it National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and designated the Department of Social Welfare and Development (D5WD) as Vice Chair for Disaster Response. Therefore, DSWD’s task is no longer limited to the delivery of disaster response programs and services of the agency. 

RA 10121, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan and the National Disaster Response Plan (NDRP) for Hydro-meteorological Hazards inked the task of the agency to coordinate and synchronize the delivery of national level disaster response programs and services. The New Normal and the two main responsibilities that the agency has during disaster response (direct implementer of disaster response operations and Vice Chair for disaster response) require an all-agency response strategy especially during massive disasters. Therefore, disaster operations, though primarily lodged with the Disaster Risk Reduction and Response Operations Office (DRRROO), is a major task assigned to each and every staff of the DSWD. Thus the need to come up with a document that will allow every DSWD employee to understand the framework and the tasks that need to be undertaken during disaster response operations.