Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
Second Regular Session 
House Bill No. 9631
Introduced by CIBAC Party-List Representative 
HON. EDUARDO “BRO. EDDIE” C. VILLANUEVA 
AN ACT  
ESTABLISHING THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION 
SYSTEM 
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 local government units. This 
proposed measure also mandates every local government unit to set up 
November 28, 2023
6:26 pm


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. 
HON. EDUARDO “BRO. EDDIE” C. VILLANUEVA 


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
Second Regular Session 
House Bill No. 9631 
Introduced by CIBAC Party-List Representative 
HON. EDUARDO “BRO. EDDIE” C. VILLANUEVA 
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:  
Sec 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.  
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  
(c) 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;  
(c) Command Center of the Armed Forces of the Philippines;  
(d) 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;  
(j) 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.  


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  
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;  
(c) 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 NGAS:  
(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;  
(l) Department of Science and Technology;  
(m) Department of Budget and Management (DBM);  
(n) Department of Agriculture;  
(o) Representatives from non-governmental and civil society 
organizations, emergency response volunteer groups, amateur radio 
clubs, ICT professional organizations, and academe; and  
(p) Secretariat  
(q) DICT - RGECS and Staffs  
(r) 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.  
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  
(c) Land Mobile Radio.  
Sec. 13. Implementing 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.  
 
Approved,