SEVENTTENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
First Regular Session 
)
f SENATE^ n  
S. B. No. _ _ L y
RECEIVED
DATE?
iP  TIME;
BILLS
€
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR ALAN PETER "COMPANERO" S. CAYETANO
AN ACT CREATING THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE DEPARTMENT (ERD), APPROPRIATING 
FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
"...for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
- Galatians 6:7 (KjV)
"Today is the worst of times, today is also the best of times.” Today is the best time to 
prepare our nation against calamities and disasters. Today is the best of times to plant the seeds of 
preparedness.
Disaster preparedness and mitigation findbasis in this biblical principle. The more that we 
prepare, the more we are able to cope with disasters. The readiness and resilience of our nation 
against disasters and calamities lie significantly in our own actions. In general, this concerns 
protecting the environment. In particular, this deals with enactingproper regulation, ensuring 
preparations for disasters are in place, raising awareness on disaster risk reduction, andconducting 
trainings towards disaster resilience.
In the 2012 World Risk Report, the Philippines ranked third out of 173 countries in terms of 
disaster risk. Manila, the country’s capital has also been ranked by the Climate Change 
Vulnerabilitylndex (CCVl) as the most vulnerable of the world’s 20 "high growth cities" to the 
effects of climate change. Further, according to Berlin-based environmental organization 
Germanwatch, the Philippines ranked 2nd among countries most affected by climate-related 
weather catastrophes in 2012.The Philippines came in second only to Haiti in terms ofrelative and 
absolute number of human victims, and relative and absolute economic damage" caused by natural 
disasters.
In today’s world, disasters are a fact of life. Some emergencies may be totally prevented, 
while others may not beaverted. We may not be able to stop disasters, however, we can empower 
ourselves with knowledge, training/education, equipment/tools, and the right infrastructure to 
cope with disasters, so many lives would not be lost and there would be less devastation. A window 
of opportunity exists to sow seeds of preparedness in order to reap resilience to disasters.
The Philippines is considered one of the nations "mostat risk" of being struck by disasters 
and recurring hazards, such as typhoons, floods, earthquakes, and landslides, due to its 
geographical location.The country sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire, rendering it susceptible to 
various natural catastrophes. The problem is compounded by gaps in the implementation of laws 
and regulations. These include, but are not limited to, non-compliance with laws such as the 
National Building Code and Fire Code of the Philippines, the lack of evacuation procedures, the 
prevalence of illegal logging, the building of structures on rivers and waterways which impede the 
flow of water, and the non-segregation of garbage in violation of law.
According to the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, there are different models on disaster 
management.The traditional approach to disaster management has been to regard it as a number of