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NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Third Regular Session
lb HAY 29 P4 57
SENATE
ill
s. No. 2999
(In Substitution of Senate Bili No. 2643 taking into consideration
House Bill No. 10422)
Prepared and submitted by the Committees on National Defense and Security, Peace, 
Unification and Reconciliation; and Finance with Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada as 
author thereof
AN ACT
ESTABLISHING A MECHANISM ON THE DECLARATION OF STATE OF 
IMMINENT DISASTER, PROVIDING THE CRITERIA FOR ITS DECLARATION 
AND LIFTING, ENABLING ANTICIPATORY MEASURES, AND 
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
ARTICLE I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Declaration of State of 
Imminent Disaster Act".
Sec. 2. Statement of Policy. - It shall be the policy of the State to:
a) Protect the lives, properties, and livelihoods of its citizens by addressing 
risks, particularly the root causes of vulnerabilities, exposure to hazards, 
and the capacity to anticipate and cope with such hazards;
b) Provide maximum care, assistance, protection, and services to individuals 
and families to be affected by a disaster, implement anticipatory action and 
response measures to lessen the impact of a disaster, and facilitate 
implementation of contingency plans to minimize disruptions to normal 
social and economic activities;


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c) Integrate Anticipatory Action principles into existing plans and policies at 
the national and local levels;
d) Acknowledge and strengthen the capacities of Local Government Units 
(LGUs), relevant national government agencies, and communities in 
preparing for, anticipating, responding to, and recovering from the impact 
of disasters;
e) Respond to the differentiated concerns and needs of vulnerable and 
marginalized groups with respect to disaster resilience and disaster 
management;
f) Provide various mechanisms that ensure transparency and accountability in 
disaster and climate risk governance; and
g) Establish a funding source for sustainable implementation of programs, 
projects, and activities for Anticipatory Actions.
Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act:
a) Anticipatory Action refers to action taken to reduce the adverse impacts of 
forecasted hazard before it occurs, or before its most acute impacts are felt. 
It is performed by any individual, organization or concerned government 
agencies to mitigate a disaster's impact on people, animals, and properties 
that are likely to be affected;
b) Cascading Hazards refer to hazards that are related in a systematic causal 
relationship and expressed in sequence of secondary events in natural and 
human systems that lead to physical, environmental, societal, or economic 
disruption;
c) Deciaration of a State of Imminent Disaster refers to the declaration made 
in anticipation of a highly probable disaster with projected catastrophic 
impacts based on forecast and the results of pre-disaster risk assessment 
to supplement national and local resources in preventing or mitigating 
damages and losses;
d) Hazard refers to hydrometeorological, geological, and climatic hazards that 
can be modeled and forecasted within the allowable or sufficient lead time 
before impact, such as but not limited to flood, typhoons, droughts, heat or 
cold waves, and storm surges;


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e) Imminent Disaster to a highly probable disaster with severe projected
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impacts;
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f) Lead Time refers to the period between the issuance of a forecast and the
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expected or estimated occurrence of a predicted event. The time span can
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range from hours to days which may depend on the nature and scale of the
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forecasted hazard;
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g) Pre-Disaster Risk Assessment refers to the process of evaluating a hazard's
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level of risk given the degrees of exposure and vulnerability in a specific
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area. It presents the possible impacts on the people, animals, production
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capacities, environmental services, and properties and forms as a basis to
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determine the appropriate level of response actions from the national
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government agencies down to LGUs; and
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h) Severe refers to a major, large-scale, and possibly catastrophic damage or
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disruption with anticipated collapse in the socio-economic systems in the
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affected areas.
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ARTICLE II
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STATE OF IMMINENT DISASTER
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Sec. 4. Coverage. -This Act shall cover hazards, as defined in Section 3, with
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projected catastrophic impacts based on forecast and the results of pre-disaster risk
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assessment.
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Sec. 5. Deciaration of State of Imminent Disaster. - The President of the
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Philippines, upon the recommendation of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and
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Management Council (NDRRMC) utilizing recognized and adopted pre-disaster risk
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assessment mechanism as informed by mandated national government agencies, may
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declare a State of Imminent Disaster over a cluster of barangays, municipalities, cities,
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provinces, and regions.
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The Local Chief Executive, upon the recommendation of the Regional Disaster
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Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) Councils, may declare a State of Imminent
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Disaster through an executive order in their respective jurisdictions that are forecasted
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to be affected by an imminent disaster.
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Sec. 6. Criteria for Deciaration of State of Imminent Disaster. - The NDRRMC
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or the Regional DRRM Councils shall conduct a pre-disaster risk assessment in


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anticipation of a highly probable disaster with projected catastrophic impacts which
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shall serve as the basis for the Declaration of a State of Imminent Disaster. The
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following conditions shall be present in the pre-disaster risk assessment:
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a) Classification of a forecasted hazard's impacts as severe or its equivalent
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with adverse effects on the concerned population, particularly vulnerable
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groups of the community, and on significant sectors such as, but not limited
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to, agricultural, business, and industrial sectors taking into consideration the
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local risk profiles, institutional capacities, and potential for occurrence of
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cascading hazards notwithstanding the forecasted impacts falling below the
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established thresholds for scenarios classified as severe; and
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b) An allowable or sufficient lead time of three (3) days, which may be
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extended up to five (5) days for the national or local government to
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implement Anticipatory Action interventions.
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Sec. 7. Duration and Lifting of the Deciaration of State of Imminent Disaster. -
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If the latest pre-disaster risk assessment states that the projected impacts are not
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met, the National or Regional DRRM Councils shall recommend the immediate lifting
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of such declaration to be undertaken by the President or the local chief executive.
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The State of Imminent Disaster shall automatically be lifted upon the incidence
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of the hazard.
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Sec. 8. Monitoring of Deciaration of State of Imminent Disaster. -The NDRRMC
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or the concerned government unit shall submit to the Office of Civil Defense the status
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of the: (a) place under a Declaration of State of Imminent Disaster; (b) Anticipatory
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Action Funds and utilization; and (c) estimated economic and social costs minimized.
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ARTICLE III
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MEASURES TO BE UNDERTAKEN UPON DECLARATION OF
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STATE OF IMMINENT DISASTER
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Sec. 9. Anticipatory Measures for the Disaster Risk Reduction Management
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Counciis. -The declaration of a State of Imminent Disaster shall allow the National,
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Regional and Local DRRM Councils the use of national and local resources and
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mechanisms to implement anticipatory actions within the identified or allowable lead
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time, including but not limited to the following:


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a) Issue and disseminate public information advisories on recommended
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actions to relevant sectors in consultation with experts from various
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concerned agencies;
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b) Mobilize and strategically preposition inter-agency response teams;
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c) Initiate pre-emptive or forced evacuation, as needed;
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d) Mobilize duly accredited and trained volunteers;
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e) Procure, mobilize, strategically preposition and distribute food and non-food
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items to forecasted affected population;
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f) Implement social amelioration program to the indigent and most vulnerable
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population of their jurisdiction;
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g) Create and implement contingency plans to mitigate damage to the
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agricultural products and food supply; and
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h) Provide technical and advisory assistance for the management, control and
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reduction of the immediate threats to public health and safety.
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Sec. 10. Funding. -The LGUs shall include anticipatory action measures in their
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regular Programs, Plans, and Activities (PPAs) lodged under their respective Local
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DRRM Funds, as reflected in their Local DRRM Plans. The unexpended fund from the
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70% portion of the Local DRRM Fund accrued to the Special Trust Fund may also be
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used for such purpose. Further, LGUs may source out funds from other sources to
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fulfill the objectives of this Act, subject to pertinent accounting and auditing laws and
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regulations.
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All relevant national government agencies shall ensure that anticipatory action
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measures are included in their regular agency PPAs to be funded by their regular
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agency budgets as Anticipatory Action Funds and be properly included in the General
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Appropriations Act. The National DRRM Fund may also be used to fund anticipatory
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action programs.
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Identified funds shall be disbursed immediately for this purpose and may be
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used until the lifting of the declaration of a State of Imminent Disaster.
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Sec. 11. Changes in Hazard Forecast - The following courses of action shall be
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observed in cases of non-occurrence of the situation despite the declaration of State
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of Imminent Disaster:


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a) The unutilized funds in the case of LGUs shali accrue to the Special Trust 
Fund. Unutilized funds of the national government agency shall revert to 
the National Treasury as part of the General Funds upon the lifting or 
termination of the declaration of a State of Imminent Disaster.
b) For food or non-food items, the Department of Social Welfare and 
Development and the Local Social Welfare and Development Office 
concerned shall take charge of the storage of food and other non-food items 
at the national and local levels, respectively, if the concerned government 
agency, has already acquired the additional resources needed through the 
use of funds released for anticipatory action.
c) Services rendered by third parties shall be subject to a just compensation 
on a quantum meruit basis.
Sec. 12. Prohibited Acts. - In addition to the prohibited acts under Section 19, 
Republic Act 10121 or the "Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 
2010," any person, group, or corporation who commits any of the acts shall be held 
liable and be subjected to the penalties prescribed in Section 13 of this Act:
a) Spreading of any unverified, false or contradictory information from 
unofficial sources without the necessary competency;
b) Unauthorized generation, issuance, and dissemination of hazard and risk 
information; and
c) Deliberate use of hazard and risk information from domestic and foreign 
sources other than those provided by the mandated nationai government 
agencies;
d) Manipulation of assessment reports and related information to support 
improper declaration of state of imminent disaster.
Sec. 13. Penai Cause. - Any individuai, corporation, partnership, association, 
or other juridical entity that commits any of the prohibited acts provided for in Section 
12 of this Act shall be prosecuted and upon conviction shall suffer a fine of not less 
than Fifty thousand pesos (Php50,000.00) but not more than Five hundred thousand 
pesos (Php500,000.00) or imprisonment of not iess than six (6) years and one (1) day 
but not more than twelve (12) years, or both, at the discretion of the court, including 
perpetual disqualification from public office if the offender is a public officer, and


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confiscation or forfeiture in favor of the government of the objects and the
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instrumentalities used in committing any of herein prohibited acts.
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If the offender is a corporation, partnership or association, or other juridical
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entity, the penalty shall be imposed upon the officer or officers of the corporation,
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partnership, association, or entity responsible for the violation without prejudice to the
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cancellation or revocation of these entities' licenses or accreditation issued to them by
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any licensing or accredited body of the government. If such offender is an alien, he
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or she shall, in addition to the penalties prescribed in this Act, be deported without
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further proceedings after service of the sentence.
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However, the prosecution for offenses set forth in Section 12 of this Act shall
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be without prejudice to any liability for violation of Act No. 3815, as amended,
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otherwise known as the Revised Penal Code, and other civil liabilities.
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Persons who conspire to commit any of the prohibited acts under Section 12
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shall be punished by the same penalty prescribed herein.
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ARTICLE IV
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FINAL PROVISIONS
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Sec. 14. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The NDRRMC, through its
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Chairperson, upon consultation with the relevant stakeholders, shall issue the
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necessary rules and regulations, including operational guidelines and procedures, for
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the effective implementation of this Act within sixty (60) days after approval of this
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Act.
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Sec. 15. Separability Clause. - If for any reason, any provision or part of this
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Act is declared unconstitutional or invalid, such parts not affected thereby shall remain
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in full force and effect.
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Sec. 16. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and
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regulations and other issuances or parts thereof which are contrary to or inconsistent
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with this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.
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Sec. 17. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
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publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,