Republic of the Philippines
House Or REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Fifteenth Con
Second Regular

HOUSE BILL No. 6003

Introduced by Honorable Georgina P. De Venecia

EXPLANATORY NOTE

* This bill seeks to establish the National Inter-Agency Dam Safety
Monitoring Committee

Like most countries, dams and watersheds are constructed in the
Philippines primarily for the purpose of irrigation, drainage and flood control.
However, flooding. destructions of crops, infrastructure and other properties,
not to mention the loss of lives still occur everytime the country is battered by
20 or more typhoons each year even with the presence of dams. One could still
remember the heavy and extensive flooding in 2011 caused by typhoons
Pedring and Quiel in Pangasinan and most of Central Luzon where large dams
are located. In both instances. there had been a lot of finger-pointing on who.
was responsible for the devastation. Dam managers had been blamed for
untimely release of w from the dams. One government agency criticized
another government agency for not allowing them to release water from a
certain dam which they insisted could have prevented heavy flooding in a
certain province. Meanwhile. an environment activist group had been blaming
the government of being irresponsible for not doing much to prevent flooding
knowing the impact of c'imate change on the weather.

Enough is enough. It is about time to stop blaming each other everytime
floods occur. Instead, the government agencies should work hand in hand in
order to help prevent fisods and other devastations caused by spilling waters
from dams. A national inter-agency dam safety monitoring committee must be
established, as the main body responsible for the management, supervision and

Bill Drafting Service


control of dams and watersheds in the country. Likewise, a local dam safety
watch task force shall be established in the locality where the dams are located
This is so because the local government units (LGUs) where the dams are
located are the most knowledgeable of the circumstances of the facility, and the
most affected in case of Hoods.

In view of the foregoing, and to prevent confusion as to what agency of
the government is responsible on matters that involve dams and watersheds in
the country especially during typhoons and other natural calamities, approval of
this bill is highly and earnestly recommended.

lay Ac
GEPRGINA P. DE VENECIA


House Or REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Fifteenth Congress
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No, ___ 6008

Introduced by Honorable Georgina P. De Venecia

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL INTER-AGENCY DAM SAFETY
MONITORING COMMITTEE FOR PROPER AND EFFECTIVE
DAM MONITORING SYSTEM

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

SECTION J Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the
“Dam Safety Monitoring Act.”

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — \t is hereby declared the policy
of the State to protect life and property and promote the general welfare of
the people which are essential in the enjoyment of the blessing of democracy
through the provision of timely, clear, comprehensive dissemination of flood
warning from the proper authorities to the people. For this purpose, a
national inter-agency dam safety monitoring committee shall be established
to rationalize and unify the management of dams and watersheds in the
country, improve and strengthen the organization and be responsible for the
dissemination of information and warning of impending discharge of dam

water and improve its manpower for a better delivery of its services to the

nation

Bill Drafting Service


SEC. 3. National Inter-Agency Dam Safety Monitoring
Committee, — A National Inter-Agency Dam Safety Monitoring Committee,
hereinafter referred to as the Committee, is hereby established for the overall
management, supervision and regulation of all dams in the Philippines.

The Committee shall be composed of the following:

1 Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, as
chairperson;

2. Secretary of the Interior and Local Government;

Secretary of National Defense;
Secretary of Public Works and Highways;
Secretary of Health;

Secretary of Agriculture;

2 a4 ee

Secretary of Social Welfare and Development:

8. Administrator of the Manila Waterworks and Sewerage System
(MWSS);

9 Chairperson of the National Water Review Board (NWRB);
and

10. Head of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and
Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), as members.

SEC. 4. Powers and Functions. ~ The Committee shall exercise
the following powers and functions:

1 Maintain proper operating conditions of all dams in the country;

2 Establish and maintain in the localities where dams are located,
a Local Dam Safety Watch Task Force;

3 Review and revise flood forecasting and warning systems
protocol in all existing and future dams;

4 Use hydrological data and information for the efficient

operations and management of reservoirs and dams;


5, Disseminate and discharge flood warnings or information to the
local, municipal and provincial government offices, disaster coordinating
councilor and the general public; and

6 Perform such other functions as may be necessary to carry out
the purposes of this Act.

SEC. 5: Local Dam Safety Watch Task Force. — The Local Dam
Safety Watch Task Force, hereinafter referred to as the Local Task Force, is
hereby established in each locality where the dam is located to provide the
necessary information for the safe and cost effective operation of the
existing dams in the country and to forewam the people in the flood plains
downstream of the damsites of the impending release of impounded water
through spillways during typhoons.

The Local Task Force is hereby mandated to:

1 Recommend the optimum use of the impounded water for
power generation, irrigation, flood control and domestic water supply;

Ds Mitigate flood damages, particularly loss of human lives, by
timely and adequate warnings of impending release of impounded water
through the spillways;

3h Assess the weather conditions affecting or expected to affect
the reservoir catchment areas;

4 Prepare, issue and disseminate warnings or flood bulletins and
flood information as the case may be;

5; Decide and act expeditiously on matters concerning dams in
times of emergencies and when the safety of the residents in the area are in
immediate danger;

6. Report regularly to the Committee, stating the condition of the
dams in the locality; and


7 Perform such other functions as may be necessary to carry out
the purposes of this Act.

SEC. 6 Composition. — The city or municipal mayor shall
organize the Local Task Force to be composed of the following

1 City or municipal mayor where the dam is located, as
chairperson;

2: Vice-mayor;

Members of the Sanggunian;

3h
4 Barangay Captains; and

Two (2) representatives from the private sector in the locality,
as members.

The city or municipal mayor shall appoint the representative from the
private sector in co-terminous capacity

SEC. 7. Flood and Dam Operations Watchman. — The
Committee shall, upon recommendation of the Local Task Force, appoint a

Flood and Dam Operations Watchman in each dam in the locality, who shall

take care and supervise all activities concerning flood and dam operations in
the area he is assigned.

The Flood and Dam Operations Watchman shall report directly to the
Local Task Force on matters concerning the dam assigned to him, and the
Local Task Force shall report the same to the Committee.

The qualifications and compensation of the Flood and Dam
Operations Watchman shall be determined by the Committee, and the
compensation shall be in conformity with prescribed compensation for local
government officials and employees in co-terminous capacity.

SEC.8. Coordination. — The Committee shall be the over-all
government agency responsible for all the dams in the Philippines. It shall

approve the use and release of water in the dams.


In times of emergency such as, but not limited to, the presence of
typhoons or discharge of water from the dams, the Local Task Force shall
immediately inform the Committee of the level of water in the dam in their
locality and its recommendation to discharge water from the dam based on
the analyses of hydrological data taken by the watchman assigned in the
dam.

In times of extreme urgency, the Local Task Force shall inform the
Committee of the date and time of the release of water from the dam and
shall proceed with the discharge of water without waiting for the formal
approval of the Committee

The Local Task Force and the Committee shall continue to coordinate
with PAGASA with respect to the monitoring of water levels of dams, and
PAGASA shall also tontinue to provide updates on flood forecasting and
warnings.

SEC. 9. Funding. — The amount necessary for the salary and other
operational expenses of the Flood and Dam Operations Watchmen shall be
taken from the regular appropriations of the Department of the Interior and
Local Government.

SEC. 10. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — The National
Water Review Board shall, in coordination with the Department of Public
Works and Highways, the Department of the Interior and Local Government
and the Department of National Defense, issue the necessary rules and
regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.

SEC. 11. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, executive orders,
rules and regulations or parts thereof, inconsistent with or contrary to the

provisions of this Act, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.



SEG. 12 Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days
after its publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) national newspapers
of general circulation

Approved,