REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

7067

House Bill No.

Introduced by MAGDALO Party-List Representative
HON. MANUEL DG. CABOCHAN IIT

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Coordination in government agencies and local government units is critical before,
during, and after any emergency situation. This is often overlooked but greatly
affects emergency management. Coordination ensures that the government's actions
are in harmony and there are no problems left unaddressed. To achieve this, there
should be ready and accessible lines of communication in levels of government all
the time.

A national emergency communication system is a necessary mechanism to facilitate
coordination within the government. Information sharing and dissemination becomes
easier, This in turn hastens the conduct of preparation, response and recovery
efforts and delivery of public services to the affected population. This is crucial
especially during emergency situations where time is of the essence and a matter of
life and death. Overall, having an emergency communication system increases
efficiency and effectiveness in the government's response.

This bill seeks to establish the National Emergency Communication System. It shall
be comprised of a national and regional network that would support voice, video and
data communication system between and among national government agencies and

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local government units. This proposed measure also mandates every local
government unit to set up command and operation centers. Further, this bill ensures
the 24/7 operation of command, control and communication centers with dedicated

personnel and facility.

In view of the foregoing, urgent approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

MANUEL DG,)CABOCHAN III
Representative
Magdalo Para Sa Pilipino Party-List


REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

Second Regular Session

House Bill No. 2067

Introduced by MAGDALO Party-List Representative
HON. MANUEL DG. CABOCHAN III

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippine in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title This Act shall be known as the “National Emergency
Communication System Act.”

Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy.— It shall be the policy of the State to provide
mechanisms to ensure public safety and security, and prevent loss of lives and
destruction of property and the general environment. Towards this end, there shall
be a reliable and responsive national communication system that shall integrate not
only “all-incident/all-hazard” situations, but also all “any-to-any” situations ranging
from normalcy/peacetime state to disaster/crisis state and back to
normalcy/peacetime situation. Further, there shall be an established communication
protocols for national government agencies and local government units to facilitate

readiness, interoperability and resiliency.


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Sec. 3. The National Emergency Communication System. There is hereby
established a National Emergency Communication System (NECS). The NECS shall
have national and regional communication networks which shall be inter-connected
to support voice, video and data communication system between and among
national government agencies and local government units services that includes, but

not limited to, the following:

(a) Unified Communication System (UCS);
(b) Cloud-Serviced Situation Awareness (S/A) Tools; and
(©) Other ICT integration deemed necessary.

Sec. 4. National Communication Network.- There is hereby created a National
Communication Network (NCN) comprised of national government agencies (NGAs)
and specified command and operation centers, provided herein:

(a) Presidential Situation Room of the Office of the President;

(b) Office of Civil Defense of the Department of National Defense;

(©) Command Center of the Armed Forces of the Philippines;

(4) Command Center of the Philippine National Police;

(e) Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center of the
Department of Social Welfare and Development;

(f) Command Center of the Department of Health;

(g) Command Center of the Department of Education;

(h) Command Operations Center of the Bureau of Fire Protection;

(i) Command Center of the Philippine Coast Guard;

(i) Command Center of the Department of Agriculture;

(k)Regional Command, Control and Communication Centers of the
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG);

(1) Operation centers of the regional offices of the NGAs provided in this
Section; and

(m) Other NGAs deemed necessary for the implementation of this Act.


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Sec. 5. Regional Communication Network. - Every local government unit
(LGU) is hereby mandated to create their respective command and operation centers
that shall comprise the Regional Communication Network (RCN), provided herein:

(a) Command Centers of Provincial Governments;
(b) Command Centers of City Governments;

(c) Command Centers of Municipal Governments; and
(d) Operation Centers of Barangays.

Sec. 6. Command, Control and Communication Centers and Facility: There is
hereby established Command, Control and Communication Centers (C3s) with
building, equipment and facility, staffs and operating system accordingly activated at
the following levels:

(a) National Command, Control and Communication Center (NC3) — shall be
an attached agency of the DILG;

(b) Regional Command, Control and Communication Center (RC3) — shall be
directly under the Office of the DILG Regional Director;

(©) Provincial Command, Control and Communication Center (PC3) — shall be
under the Office of the Governor;

(d) City/Municipal Command, Control and Communication Center (C/MC3) —
shall be under the Office of the Mayor; and

(e) Barangay Operation Center (OpCen) — shall be under the Office of the
Barangay Chairman.

Sec. 7. Communication Interoperability Board- There is hereby created
National and Local Communication Interoperability Board (CIB). The National CIB
(NCIB) shall be under the Office of the President, while the Local CIB (LCIB) shall be
under the respective Regional DILG offices and its counterparts. The CIB shall have
the following powers and functions:


(a)Serve as the governing body which shall supervise and administer the
NECS and its initiatives;

(b) Approve and publish communication protocols and standard operating
procedures in managing the NC3, RC3s, PC3s, C/MC3s and Barangay
OpCens;

(c) Set technical standards and specifications of communication equipment,
facilities, UCS and S/A operating systems of C3s;

(d) Set technical standards and best practices on data harvesting/gathering,
processing, storage/archive, sharing, collaboration and reporting system;

(e) Evaluate, validate and accredit yearly mission readiness of C3s for awards
and recognition by government awarding bodies and local/international
awarding institutions;

(f) Design, develop and formulate training modules/manuals for skills and
competencies for NC3, RC3s, PC3s, C/MC3s and Barangay OpCens;

(g) Conduct seminars, workshops, individual and/organizational trainings and
summits on NECs; and

(h) Exercise all other powers and functions which may be necessary to carry
out the provisions of this Act.

Sec. 8. Composition of the National Communication Interoperability Board.—

The NCIB shall be composed of Director-level representatives from the following

(a) Office of the President — Chairperson;
(b) Department of National Defense — Co-Vice Chairperson;

(c) Department of Interior and Local Government ~ Co-Vice Chairperson;
(d) Armed Forces of the Philippines;

(e) Philippine National Police;

(f) Bureau of Fire Protection;

(g) Department of Social Welfare and Development;

(h) Department of Health;

(i) Department of Education;


(j) Department of Public Works and Highways;

(k) Department of Transportation;

(I) Department of Science and Technology;

(m) Department of Budget and Management (DBM);

(n) Department of Agriculture;

(0) Representatives from non-governmental and civil society organizations,
emergency response volunteer groups, amateur radio clubs, ICT
professional organizations, and academe; and

(p) Secretariat

(i) DICT ~ RGECS and Staffs
(ji) NC3 — Director for Administration/Training and Staffs.

Sec. 9, Staffing Pattern- The NC3, RC3s and local C3s shall have permanent
personnel for 24/7 operations. The C3s must be headed by an Administrator who
shall be assisted by three (3) staff members each responsible for (1)
Administration/Training, (2) Operations and Protocol, and (3) ICT Support.

The budgetary source, compensation and hiring procedures for the C3s shall
conform to the rules and policies of the Civil Service Commission and the DBM, as
stipulated in the Implementing Rules and Regulations of this Act.

Sec. 10. Equipment and Facility Standards of the Command and Operation
Centers.- The equipment and facilities of the command and operation centers must
comply with the specifications and standards in accordance with its mission
readiness level as rated by the CIB.

Sec. 11. Support to National Government Agencies and Local Government
Units The DICT shall provide network infrastructure support and technical
assistance to NGAs and LGUs to ensure that all command and operation centers in
the NCN and RCN have the appropriate equipment, facilities, and resources.


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Sec. 12. Licenses and Permits from the National Telecommunications
Commission:- The National Telecommunications Commission is directed to grant, at
no cost to the government, the licenses and permits necessary for the establishment
of the NECS including, but not limited to, the following equipment:

(a) Any-To-Any/Cross-Platform Communication Integrator;
(b) Long-Haul HF Communications; and
(©) Land Mobile Radio.

Sec. 13. Jmplementing Rules and Regulations.— Within sixty (60) days, the
DICT, in coordination with the concerned NGAs and LGUs, shall promulgate the rules
and regulations to effectively implement the provisions of this Act.

Sec. 14. Appropriations.- As lead agency to carry out the provisions of this
Act, the NC3 shall be allotted a budget of One Billion Pesos (Php 1,000,000,000.00)
of revolving fund starting from the effectivity of this Act. Thereafter, such sums as
may be necessary for its continued implementation shall be included in the annual
General Appropriations Act.

The establishment and activation of NECS at the local C3s shall be funded
accordingly through the annual budget allocations of their respective LGUs.

Sec. 15. Separability Clause If any portion or provisions of this Act is
declared unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or any provisions not affected
thereby shall remain in force and effect.

Sec. 16. Repealing Clause— Any law, presidential decree or issuance,
executive order, letter of instruction, rule or regulation inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act is hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Sec. 17. Effectivity.— This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following
its complete publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation.

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Approved,