Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS 
Third Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO.______ 
___________________________________________________________ 
Introduced by Representative Shirlyn L. Bañas-Nograles 
_________________________________________________________ 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
This bill seeks to establish evacuation centers in 
every barangay of the country and appropriate funds 
therefor. 
Section 5, Article II (Declaration of Principles and 
State Policies) of the 1987 Philippine Constitution states, 
among others, that “the maintenance of peace and order, the 
protection of life, liberty, and property, and promotion of the 
general welfare are essential for the enjoyment by all the 
people of the blessings of democracy.” 
Section 2 of Republic Act No. 10121, also known as 
the “Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act 
of 2010," provides that it shall be the policy of the State to 
uphold the people's constitutional rights to life and property 
by addressing the root causes of vulnerabilities to disasters, 
strengthening the country's institutional capacity for disaster 
risk reduction and management and building the resilience of 
local communities to disasters including climate change 
impacts. 
November 10, 2021
6:10 pm
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This proposed measure therefore seeks to address 
the importance of an evacuation center to the most vulnerable 
political unit in our society and actually our first responder, 
the barangay. Many barangays in the country are susceptible 
to disasters such as fires, rampant flooding, typhoons, heavy 
rains, tsunamis or sudden rise of water level, earthquakes, 
volcanic eruptions and other natural disasters. 
In fact, we already learned from previous disasters all 
over the Philippines, especially the earthquakes in Mindanao, 
the flooding in different areas of the country especially in the 
Metro Manila areas, volcanic eruptions, fires in different 
locations that engulfed houses and business establishments, 
that an evacuation center in every barangay is not only useful 
and important, but can also save lives.  
In view of the foregoing, the immediate approval of this 
bill is earnestly sought.    
SHIRLYN L. BAÑAS-NOGRALES 
Representative 
First District of South Cotabato 
& General Santos City 


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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS 
Second Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO.______ 
___________________________________________________________ 
Introduced by Representative Shirlyn L. Bañas-Nograles 
___________________________________________________________ 
AN ACT 
ESTABLISHING 
EVACUATION 
CENTERS 
IN 
EVERY 
BARANGAY AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the Philippines in Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Declaration of Policy. – It is the policy 
of the State to protect the life and property of the people, and 
promote their general welfare. Towards this end, the State, 
shall 
establish 
and 
maintain 
fully 
equipped 
and 
fully-operational evacuation centers, responsive to the 
environment or climatic events, in recognition of the 
vulnerability of the Philippines to climate change, severe 
floods, earthquakes, typhoons, occurrences of fires, and 
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other natural or human-induced disasters, illnesses, 
diseases and other factors that affect the environment. 
SEC. 2. Establishment of Evacuation Centers. – 
An evacuation center shall be established in every barangay 
in the country which shall provide immediate and temporary 
shelter or accommodation to people who have been evacuated 
or displaced from their homes due to emergency events such 
as fires, typhoons, earthquakes, floods, storm surges, 
drought and other severe climate disturbances or outbreak of 
illnesses and diseases that present imminent danger to life 
and property. 
 Existing government structure that is compliant 
with the requirements provided under this Act may be 
designated 
as 
evacuation 
center. 
Other 
government 
structures may be upgraded to serve as evacuation centers 
after complying with the requirements provided under this 
Act and other laws relevant thereto. 
The evacuation center must be compliant with 
Republic Act No. 9710, also known as “The Magna Carta of 
Women” and mindful of the needs of the senior citizens as 
well as the persons with disability (PWDs).  


[5] 
 
SEC. 3. Determination of Location. – The location 
for an evacuation center shall be determined by the 
Department of Environment and Natural Resources, in close 
coordination with the local government units (LGUs) 
concerned. 
The criteria for the determination of the location are 
as follows: 
a.  It must be centrally located in the community; 
b.  It must be of a safe distance from large trees, 
high-voltage power lines, or structures where hazardous 
materials are used and stored; 
c.  It must be near a health facility; 
d.  It must be located on geotechnically stable land 
to avoid risk of landslides or exposure to potential landslide; 
and 
e.  It must not be located near military base camps, 
power plants, factories, and other areas where the occurrence 
of human-induced disasters are very high. 
SEC. 4. Structural and Building Capacity. – The 
evacuation centers shall be constructed and designed to 
withstand super typhoons or wind speeds of at least three 
hundred kilometers per hour (300 Kph) and seismic activity 


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of at least 8.0 magnitude. The structure must be calamity 
resilient, built with sturdy materials and in accordance with 
the specifications of Presidential Decree No. 1096, Series of 
1977, also known as the “National Building Code of the 
Philippines.”  It must also be at par with the standards set 
by the International Building Code. 
The Department of Public Works and Highways 
(DPWH) shall supervise the construction of evacuation 
centers. 
The 
DPWH 
shall 
formulate 
the 
building 
specifications and shall ensure that the construction and 
completion of the evacuation center is in accordance with the 
National Building Code and its standards, issuances, and 
other guidelines, as well as gender sensitive, and attentive to 
the needs of the senior citizens and the PWDs.   
The DPWH shall review the specifications of the 
evacuation centers every three (3) years. 
SEC. 5. Building Parameters. – The building of 
evacuation center must meet the following parameters: 
a.  The structure must be elevated, in such a 
manner that is safely above the reach of a high tide storm 
surge level of at least ten (10) meters; 


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b.  The location must be strategic and away from 
possible source of fire or in a distant location within the 
barangay that may not be affected by a raging fire; 
c.  The structure must be built with a minimum of 
one (1) meter above the average flood level in the area; and 
d.  The structure must not be less than nine (9) 
meters in height and must be designed in accordance with 
earthquake load standards. 
 SEC. 6. Amenities and Accessibility. – The 
evacuation center must be well ventilated and must be able to 
accommodate a large number of evacuees. It must also have 
the following minimum amenities: 
a.  Sleeping quarters for the evacuees; 
b.  Adequate water supply to serve the evacuees 
and a fire water hydrant system; 
c.  Separate shower and toilet facilities designated 
for males and females with a ratio of one (1) facility for every 
twenty (20) persons; 
d. Barrier-free facilities to enable access by persons 
with disabilities; 
e. Emergency exit doors with LED illuminating  


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emergency lights in case of sudden brownouts for the 
evacuees to safely navigate the area; 
 f. Food 
preparation 
areas 
with 
adequate 
ventilation; 
 g. Trash and waste segregation and collection 
areas; 
 h. Health-care areas which include an isolation or 
quarantine area for potentially infectious persons; 
 i. Rainwater harvesting and collection facilities; 
and  
 j. Other amenities as may be prescribed by the 
appropriate authorities. 
SEC. 7. Operation and Management. – The 
barangay and the city or municipality concerned shall be 
primarily responsible for the operation, supervision, and 
management of evacuation centers established under this 
Act. The city or municipality shall issue rules and regulations 
for the proper use and maintenance of evacuation centers. 
 The rules and regulation shall likewise prescribe the 
guidelines on the utilization of the evacuation center when it 
is not used as such. Provided, that the evacuation center may 
only be used for such other activities or purposes which may 


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not compromise its serviceability or impede the use thereof in 
case a disaster occurs.  
The barangay, city or municipality shall undertake 
the necessary legal action against any person against the 
organizers of any authorized activity in case the evacuation 
center suffers any damage, defacement, or loss during or as a 
result of such activity. 
The mandatory audit of infrastructure used as 
evacuation centers shall be conducted by the barangay, city 
or municipality at least once every year and immediately after 
the occurrence of a hazard or disaster. 
SEC. 8. Role of the National Disaster Risk 
Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). – The 
NDRRMC shall be the lead implementing agency of this Act. It 
shall give utmost priority to those barangays that (a) are 
identified as disaster prone; (b) are financially incapable to 
establish their own evacuation centers; and (c) do not have 
existing evacuation centers of their own. 
 The NDRRMC shall enter into a memorandum of 
agreement (MOA) with the concerned barangay, cities or 
municipalities 
for 
the 
maintenance, 
operation, 
and 
management of a permanent evacuation center in their 


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respective areas of jurisdiction. It shall provide technical 
assistance and support services to these barangay, cities and 
municipalities in the management of the facility. 
 Local 
chief 
executives 
of 
the 
cities 
and 
municipalities concerned shall evaluate and provide suitable 
sites for evacuation centers to determine their geographical 
stability, and public accessibility in times of disasters. They 
shall 
provide 
for 
the 
maintenance, 
operation, 
and 
management of the facility taking into consideration the goal 
of life preservation and meeting the basic subsistence needs 
of affected population based on acceptable standards during 
or immediately after a disaster. 
 SEC. 9. Coordination Among Agencies. – The 
NDRRMC shall coordinate with the DPWH, the Department of 
Science and Technology (DOST) and the barangay concerned 
regarding the design, specifications, cost estimates, and 
construction details of the evacuation centers that may be 
constructed pursuant to this Act. 
 Other government agencies and instrumentalities, 
when necessary, shall assist the NDRRMC to ensure the 
effective and efficient implementation of this Act. 


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 SEC. 10. Implementing Rules and Regulations – 
Within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of this Act, the 
NDRRMC shall, in consultation with the DPWH, DOST, 
League of Cities of the Philippines, League of Municipalities of 
the Philippines, and other concerned government and private 
agencies, promulgate the necessary rules and regulations to 
carry out the provisions of this Act. 
 SEC. 11. Appropriations. – The amount necessary 
for the initial implementation to fund the construction and 
maintenance of evacuation centers shall be charged against 
the budget provided for the purpose under the DPWH. 
Thereafter, such amounts necessary for the construction of 
evacuation centers shall be included in the annual General 
Appropriations Act. The LGU concerned shall provide the 
continued maintenance, operation and management of the 
facility. 
SEC. 12. Separability Clause. – If any provision or 
part thereof, is held invalid or unconstitutional, the 
remainder of the law or the provisions not otherwise affected 
shall remain valid and subsisting. 
SEC. 13. Repealing Clause. – Any law, presidential 
decree or issuance, executive order, letter of instruction, 


[12] 
 
administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to, or 
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed 
or amended accordingly.    
SEC. 14. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect 
fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or 
in a newspaper of general circulation. 
Approved,