Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Constitution Hills, Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No._____ 
________________________________________________________________ 
Introduced by: REPRESENTATIVE EDWIN L. OLIVAREZ 
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A MANDATORY EVACUATION CENTER 
IN ALL CITIES, MUNICIPALITIES, AND PROVINCES, AND  
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The susceptibility of the Philippines to natural calamities has caused 
devastating effects to the country and its people throughout the years. In January 
2020, Taal Volcano which is located in the province of Batangas, suddenly awoke 
from its forty-three (43) years of rest and, to the surprise of the Filipinos, suddenly 
started to spew gases, ash, and lava into the air. The damage brought about by 
this explosion was so extensive that it even led to the displacement of hundreds 
of thousands of people living nearby said volcano. 
In 2013, the Philippines was hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda which was one 
of the strongest recorded typhoons in the world. The fury of this typhoon affected 
millions of people across different provinces in the Visayas. What was even 
worse was the fact that three (3) weeks before the said typhoon hit the country, 
Bohol Island was hit by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake which also caused damaging 
effects. 
The reason behind the frequency of natural disasters in the country is 
because geographically, the Philippine archipelago is located in an area where it 
is vulnerable to natural calamities. The country is at the junction of several 
tectonic plate boundaries and rests on the Pacific’s earthquake and volcano ring 
of fire making it susceptible to these natural calamities. To make matters worse, 
the Philippines is also located just above the equator and, as such, it faces the 
western Pacific having nothing else to take the force of storms and thereby 
directly making landfall in the country. In addition, according to the Global Peace 
January 4, 2023
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Index of 2019, the Philippines was ranked first as the most susceptible country to 
natural hazards brought about by the effects of climate change. 
 
While the geographical location of the country cannot be changed and the 
occurrence of natural disasters cannot be prevented in its entirety, the response to 
the effects of natural calamities or any other hazardous events can be improved. 
In order to reduce the harmful effects of natural calamities and other hazardous 
events in the Philippines, this Bill seeks for the establishment of permanent 
evacuation centers in every city, municipality, and province throughout the 
country. These evacuation centers shall not only serve as a temporary shelter for 
those displaced by natural calamities but shall also ensure their safety and shall 
become a venue where their basic needs in times of emergency are provided for. 
Through the passage of this Bill, the country shall become expedient in 
responding to natural calamities and at the same time will be able to adopt more 
efficient measures in reducing the damaging effects of natural calamities. 
Preparedness in responding to natural calamities and other hazardous events is 
vital in taking a step forward into making our country more disaster-resilient. 
 
In view of the foregoing, the passage of this Bill is earnestly sought. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EDWIN L. OLIVAREZ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Constitution Hills, Quezon City 
NINETEENTHCONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No._____ 
________________________________________________________________ 
Introduced by: REPRESENTATIVE EDWIN L. OLIVAREZ 
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A MANDATORY EVACUATION CENTER 
IN ALL CITIES, MUNICIPALITIES, AND PROVINCES AND  
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
Be it enacted in the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Republic of 
the Philippines in Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Mandatory 
Evacuation Center Act of 2023”. 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is hereby the declared policy of 
the State to protect the people’s right to life and property by creating measures 
for disaster response and relief in times of natural calamities and other hazardous 
events. Towards this end, the creation of evacuation centers in every province, 
city, and municipality in the Philippines is hereby proposed in order to be able to 
provide immediate help to afflicted Filipinos and at the same time ensure their 
safety in times of natural calamities and other hazardous events. 
SECTION 3. Establishment of Evacuation Centers. — There shall be an 
established evacuation center in every city, municipality, and province 
throughout the Philippines which shall provide basic needs and assistance to the 
people who will utilize the evacuation centers and shall serve as their temporary 
shelter. Said establishment center shall be a place where the safety and well-being 
of those who have become victims of natural calamities or any other hazardous 
events that may cause imminent danger to their life and property are guaranteed. 
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SECTION 4. Evacuation Center Requirements. — The following shall 
be the minimum requirement for every evacuation center that will be established 
under this Act: 
 
a. Location/Designation — Each location for every evacuation center 
shall be determined by the Department of Environment and Natural 
Resources (DENR) in close coordination with the Local Government 
Units (LGUs) concerned. The locational requirements shall be the 
following: 
 
1. It must be centrally located in the community; 
 
2. It must be of safe distance away from large trees, structures where 
hazardous materials are used and/or stored, or high-voltage power 
lines; 
 
3. It must be near a health facility; 
 
4. It must not be located on geotechnical stable land. This is to avoid 
risk of landslides and exposure to potential landslide of adjacent 
lands; 
 
5. It must not be located near military base camps, camps of insurgent 
groups, power plants, factories, and other areas where the chances 
of human-induced disasters are high. 
 
b. Structural Building Capacity — The evacuation centers shall be 
constructed and designed to withstand typhoons and seismic activities. 
Evacuation centers must be constructed to be calamity-resilient built 
with sturdy materials and be compliant to the specifications of the 
“National Building Code of the Philippines” and should be at par with 
the standards set by the International Building Code. The structural 
capacity requirements shall be the following: 
 
1. The structure must be elevated in such a manner that it will withstand 
likely impact from a high tide storm surge level of at least ten (10) 
meters; 
 
2. The structure must be a minimum of one (1) meter above the average 
flood level in the area where the same shall be built; and 
 
3. The structure shall not be less than nine (9) meters in height and 
designed in accordance with earthquake load standards. 


 
c. Amenities and Accessibility of the Evacuation Center. — The 
evacuation centers shall be well-ventilated and shall have the capacity 
to accommodate a large number of evacuees. The centers shall have the 
following minimum amenities: 
 
1. Sleeping quarters for the evacuees; 
 
2. Separate shower and toilet facilities designated for males and 
females with a facility-to-user ratio of persons; 
 
3. Amenities to enable access thereto by and for the accommodation of 
the disabled; 
 
4. Provisions for emergency exit doors; 
 
5. Food preparation areas which are provided with adequate 
ventilation; 
 
6. Trash and waste segregation and collection areas; 
 
7. Health care areas which shall include an isolation and/or quarantine 
area for persons who are suspected with infectious diseases; 
 
8. Rainwater harvesting and collection facilities; and 
 
9. Such other facilities that shall be deemed necessary in the 
establishment of the evacuation centers. 
 
SECTION 5. Operations and Management of the Evacuation Center. — 
The LGUs concerned shall be primarily responsible for the operation, 
supervision, and management of evacuation centers established under this Act. 
They are also hereby authorized to issue rules and regulations on the proper use 
and maintenance of the evacuation centers. 
 
The mandatory audit of infrastructures used as evacuation centers shall be 
conducted by the Provincial/City/Municipal Engineer and/or the building official 
at least once every year and immediately after the occurrence of a calamity or 
hazardous event. 
 
SECTION 6. Role of the Department of Public Work and Highways. — 
The Department of Public Work and Highways (DPW) shall be in charge of the 
construction of evacuation centers and formulation of the building specifications 


therefor based on standards, issuances, and other guidelines set by the DPWH. 
The DPWH shall also ensure that the construction of such evacuation centers is 
in accordance with the abovementioned requirements during its construction 
phase. The specifications of the evacuation centers shall be periodically reviewed 
and, if necessary, revised by the DPWH every three (3) years. 
 
SECTION 7. Role of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and 
Management Council. — The National Disaster Risk Reduction and 
Management Council (NDRRMC), or its successor, shall be the primary lead 
agency which shall oversee the implementation of this Act. 
 
SECTION 8. Appropriations. — The amount necessary to fund the 
construction and maintenance of the evacuation centers under this Act shall be 
sourced from a portion of the general appropriations of the DPWH. Every year 
thereafter, the amounts necessary for the constructions and maintenance of 
evacuation shall be included in the list of programs as part of the annual budget 
in the General Appropriations Act. 
 
SECTION 9. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within ninety 
(90) days after effectivity of this Act, the Department of Local Interior and Local 
Government (DILG) and the DPWH, in coordination with the appropriate 
government agencies concerned, shall formulate the necessary rules and 
regulations to carry out the objectives of this Act. 
 
SECTION 10. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act is 
declared invalid or unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected thereby 
shall remain valid and subsisting. 
 
SECTION 11. Repealing Clause. — All acts, executive orders, 
memorandum circulars, guidelines and other issuances or parts thereof, which are 
inconsistent with this Act, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
 
SECTION 12. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days 
after its complete publication in the Official Gazette or at least two (2) national 
newspapers of general circulation. 
 
 
Approved,