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Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

House Bill No. 7867

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE ERIC L. OLIVAREZ

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The susceptibility of the Philippines to natural calamities has caused
devastating effects to the country and its people throughout the years. In
January 2020, Taal Volcano which is located in the province of Batangas,
suddenly awoke from its forty-three (43) years of rest and, to the surprise of
the Filipinos, suddenly started to spew gases, ash, and lava into the air. The
damage brought about by this explosion was so extensive that it even led to
the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people living nearby said
volcano.

In 2013, moreover, the Philippines was hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda
which was one of the strongest recorded typhoons in the world. The fury of
this typhoon affected millions of people across different provinces in the
Visayas. What was even worse was the fact that three (3) weeks before the
said typhoon hit the country, Bohol Island was hit by a 7.2 magnitude
earthquake which also caused damaging effects.


The reason behind the frequency of natural disasters in the country is
because geographically, the Philippine archipelago is located at an area
where it is vulnerable to natural calamities. The country is at the junction of
several tectonic plate boundaries and rests on the Pacific's earthquake and
volcano ring of fire making it susceptible to these natural calamities. To make
matters worse, the Philippines is also located just above the equator and, as
such, the it faces the western Pacific having nothing else to take the force of
storms and thereby directly making landfall in the country. In addition,
according to the Global Peace Index of 2019, the Philippines was ranked first
as the most susceptible country to natural hazards brought about by the
effects of climate change.

While the geographical location of the country cannot be changed and
the occurrence of natural disasters cannot be prevented in its entirety, the
response to the effects of natural calamities or any other hazardous events
can be improved. In order to reduce the harmful effects of natural calamities
and other hazardous events in the Philippines, this Bill seeks for the
establishment of permanent evacuation centers in every city, province and
municipality throughout the country. These evacuation centers shall not only
serve as a temporary shelter for those displaced by natural calamities but
shall also ensure their safety and shall become a venue where their basic
needs in times of emergency are provided for. Through the passage of this
Bill, the country shall become expedient in responding to natural calamities
and at the same time will be able to adopt more efficient measures in
reducing the damaging effects of natural calamities. Preparedness in
responding to natural calamities and other hazardous events is vital in taking
a step forward into making our country more disaster-resilient.

In view of the foregoing, the passage of this Bill is earnestly sought.

Eve

ERIC OLIVAREZ q


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Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

House Bill No.___7867

~Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE ERICL.OLIVAREZ
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A MANDATORY EVACUATION CENTER IN
ALL CITIES, PROVINCES AND MUNICIPALITIES AND
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFORE

Be it enacted in the Senate and the House of Representatives of the

Republic of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Mandatory

Evacuation Center Act of 2020”.

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. — \t is hereby the declared policy

of the State to protect the people’s right to life and property by creating


1 measures for disaster response and relief in times of natural calamities and
2 other hazardous events. Towards this end, the creation of evacuation
3 centers in every province, city, and municipality in the Philippines is hereby
4 proposed in order to be able to provide immediate help to afflicted Filipinos
5 and at the same time ensure their safety in times of natural calamities and

6 other hazardous events.

7 SECTION 3. Establishment of Evacuation Centers. — There shall be an
8 established evacuation center in every city, province, and municipality throughout
9 the Philippines which shall provide basic needs and assistance to the people who
10 will utilize the evacuation centers and shall serve as their temporary shelter. Said
11 establishment center shall be a place where the safety and well-being of those who
12 have become victims of natural calamities or any other hazardous events that may

13 Cause imminent danger to their life and property are guaranteed.

4 SECTION 4. Evacuation Center Requirements. — The following shall
15 be the minimum requirement for every evacuation center that will be
1s eStablished under this Act:

7 a. Location/Designation — Each location for every evacuation center
18 shall be determined by the Department of Environment and Natural

19 Resources (DENR) in close coordination with the Local Government


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Units (LGUs) concerned. The locational requirements shall be the
following:

1. It must be centrally located in the community;

2. It must be of safe distance away from large trees, structures
where hazardous materials are used and/or stored, or high-
voltage power lines;

3. It must be near a health facility;

4. It must not be located on geotechnical stable land. This is to
avoid risk of landslides and exposure to potential landslide of
adjacent lands;

5. It must not be located near military base camps, camps of
insurgent groups, power plants, factories, and other areas

where the chances of human-induced disasters are high.

b. Structural Building Capacity - The evacuation centers shall be
constructed and designed to withstand typhoons and seismic
activities. Evacuation centers must be constructed to be calamity-
resilient built with sturdy materials and be compliant to the
specifications of Republic Act No. 654, otherwise known as the

“National Building Code of the Philippines’ and should be at par with


the standards set by the International Building Code. The structural

capacity requirements shall be the following:

1. The structure must be elevated in such a manner that it will
withstand likely impact from a high tide storm surge level of at
least ten (10) meters;

2. The structure must be a minimum of one (1) meter above the
average flood level in the area where the same shall be built;
and

3. The structure shall not be less than nine (9) meters in height

and designed in accordance with earthquake load standards.

c. Amenities and Accessibility of the Evacuation Center. - The
evacuation centers shall be well-ventilated and shall have the
capacity to accommodate a large number of evacuees. The centers

shall have the following minimum amenities:

1. Sleeping quarters for the evacuees;

2. Separate shower and toilet facilities designated for males and
females with a facility-to-user ratio of persons;

3. Amenities to enable access thereto by and for the
accommodation of the disabled;

4. Provisions for emergency/exit doors;


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5. Food preparation areas which are provided with adequate
ventilation;

6. Trash and waste segregation and collection areas;

7. Health care areas which shall include an isolation and/or
quarantine area for persons who are suspected with infectious
diseases;

8. Rainwater harvesting and collection facilities; and

9. Such other facilities that shall be deemed necessary in the

establishment of the evacuation centers.

SECTION 5. Operations and Management of the Evacuation
Center. - The LGUs concerned shall be primarily responsible for the
operation, supervision, and management of evacuation centers established
under this Act. They are also hereby authorized to issue rules and

regulations on the proper use and maintenance of the evacuation centers.

The mandatory audit of infrastructures used as evacuation centers
shall be conducted by the Provincial/City/Municipal Engineer and/or the
building official at least once every year and immediately after the occurrence

of a calamity or hazardous event.


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SECTION 6. Role of the Department of Public Work and Highways.
— The Department of Public Work and Highways (DPWH) shall be in charge
of the construction of evacuation centers and formulation of the building
specifications therefor based on standards, issuances, and other guidelines
set by the DPWH. The DPVWH shall also ensure that the construction of
such evacuation centers is in accordance with the abovementioned
requirements during its construction phase. The specifications of the
evacuation centers shall be periodically reviewed and, if necessary, revised

by the DPWH every three (3) years.

SECTION 7. Role of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Council. — The National Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Council (NDRRMC), or its successor, shall be the primary lead
agency which shall oversee the implementation of this Act.

SECTION 8. Appropriations. - The amount necessary to fund the
construction and maintenance of the evacuation centers under this Act shall
be sourced from a portion of the general appropriations of the DPWH. Every
year thereafter, the amounts necessary for the constructions and
maintenance of evacuation shall be included in the list of programs as part

of the annual budget in the General Appropriations Act.


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SECTION 9. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within ninety
(90) days after effectivity of this Act, the Department of Local Interior and
Local Government (DILG) and the DPWH, in coordination with the
appropriate government agencies concerned, shall formulate the

necessary rules and regulations to carry out the objectives of this Act.

SECTION 10. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act is
declared invalid or unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected

thereby shall remain valid and subsisting.

SECTION 11. Repealing Clause. - All acts, executive orders,
memorandum circulars, guidelines and other issuances or parts thereof,
which are inconsistent with this Act, are hereby repealed or modified

accordingly.

SECTION 12. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days
after its complete publication in the Official Gazette or at least two (2)

national newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,