Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

Eighteenth Congress
First Regular Session

5927

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by Representative’ 'E SALCEDA

AN ACT
CREATING THE TAAL COMMISSION AS PRIMARY AGENCY OF THE
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT FOR RELIEF, RESETTLEMENT, REHABILITATION
AND LIVELIHOOD SERVICES, FOR STRATEGIC ADVANCED
COMPREHENSIVE INTEGRATED RECONSTRUCTION OF TAAL ERUPTION-
VULNERABLE AREAS, ADOPTING THE TAAL ERUPTION RECOVERY,
REHABILITATION, AND ADAPTATION (TERRA) PLAN,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Taal Eruption Recovery,
Rehabilitation, and Adaptation (TERRA) Act of 2020.”

Section 2. Declaration of Policy. — It shall be the policy of the State to address the
immediate need for assistance and disaster relief among communities adversely affected by
severe volcanic activity of Mt. Taal and the after-effects of such activity, so that economic and
social life may return to a state of normalcy at the earliest possible time. Furthermore, it shall
be the policy of the State to develop a long-term socioeconomic reconstruction program for
communities most directly impacted by Taal’s activity, embedding adaptation in infrastructure
and social investments.

Towards this end, the State shall mobilize significant public resources and encourage
private investment into both short-term relief and long-term reconstruction into safer, more

resilient economic development in the Eastern Batangas — Southern Cavite - Western Laguna


area. The State shall expedite the construction of strategic infrastructure, develop a critical
mass of skilled and highly-employable workers, expand access to recovery capital and credit,
and map safe areas for industrial, commercial, and residential development to promote safe,
sustainable, long-term development of what shall hereinafter be referred to as the South of
Manila Growth Corridor (SMGC).

Section 3. Creation of Taal Commission. — For purposes of this Act, there is hereby
created the Taal Commission, hereinafter referred to as the Commission. It shall be organized
within thirty (30) days after the approval of this Act. It shall have a term of seven (7) years
from its organization: provided, that the President by proclamation or Executive Order may,
within six (6) months prior to the expiration of the term, extend the period of its existence once
for not more than three (3) years. Such amount as may be necessary for the initial organization
and/or operational expenses of the Commission shall be set aside from the amount herein
appropriated. For administrative purposes, the Commission shalll be attached to the Office of
the President.

Section 4. Powers of the Commission. — To carry out its objectives under this Act, the
Commission shall have the following powers:

a) To formulate policies, plans, programs and projects for the relief, rehabilitation, re-
settlement and livelihood services as well as infrastructure development in coordination
with local government units and in harmony with the other plans and policies of the
National Government and other agencies;

b)

To prioritize the programs and projects for the reconstruction effort and coordinate the
implementation of the various programs and projects of the Commission;
¢)

To tap the resources of the private sector and to enhance and facilitate the cooperation
and coordination between the Philippine Government and the private sector in
formulating and implementing the Philippine Government’s reconstruction strategy;

qd)
e)

To raise funds, especially grants and deeply concessional loans, to fund reconstruction;

To apply for, receive and accept grants and donation of funds, equipment, materials and
services needed for the development of the area, within and outside the Philippines;

f) To serve as clearing house for the international assistance implemented by the donors
them-selves using the cluster approach;


&

To request the United Nations and the World Bank to coordinate an International
Pledging Session.
h

To monitor the progress of the relief, rehabilitation, resettlement and livelihood as well
as infrastructure support programs and projects;

i) To coordinate and consult with concerned national and local officials, both elective and
appointive, as well as accredited non-government organizations (NGOs) in the
prioritization and prosecution of the programs and projects;

To call upon any department, office, instrumentality, agency, or any political
subdivision of the Government for such assistance as may be necessary for the
attainment of the objectives of the Commission;

k) To encourage equitable Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) where government
liabilities will not be onerous; and

1) To raise funds for its programs and projects, Provided that the Commission shall seek
prior and explicit approval of the Department of Finance, through applicable processes
for the grant of sovereign guarantees, before the Commission may contract any
obligations;

m) To seek and mobilize grants and take advantage of deeply concessional loans, in due
compliance with applicable rules and regulations for government owned and controlled
corporations doing the same;

n) To assume a corporate status and thus operate as a Government Owned and Con-trolled
Corporation subject to all the rules, regulations, and laws governing the same; and

©) In general, to perform such other powers as may be necessary and proper to carry out

the purposes of this Act.

Section 5. Composition of the Commission. ~ The Commission shall be composed of
eight (8) members to be appointed by the President: four (4) coming from the Cabinet, three
(3) from the private sector and the Executive Director. The members of the Commission shall
serve for six (7) years unless sooner removed for cause. The President shall designate from
among the members of the Commission the Chairman thereof.

Section 6. Executive Director; Powers and Responsibilities. ~ The President shall
appoint a professional manager as the Executive Director of the Commission, who shall serve

as the chief executive officer. He shall serve until such time as the Commission is dissolved or


unless sooner removed from office by the President. He shall have the following powers and
functions:
a) Execute and administer the policies and decisions of the Commission;
b) Directly coordinate the activities of all agencies and instrumentalities of the
Government in the planning and implementation of projects on site;

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Monitor the programs and projects and evaluate the effects of execution by these
agencies and instrumentalities and submit to the Commission periodic reports relating
to the development of the areas; and

d

Perform such other functions as are inherently necessary in the operational management
of the areas developed in accordance with the policies and guidelines formulated by the

Commission.

Section 7. Preference for Local Residents, — Residents in the affected areas, especially
the victims, shall be given preference in hiring or employment in the construction or repair and
reconstruction of damaged or destroyed government infrastructure and facilities and other labor
requirements in all other projects

Section 8. Infrastructure and capital outlays insurance. ~ All projects, activities, and
programs undertaken by the Commission shall be covered by the procurement procedure
adopted during the State of Calamity. This shall include major infrastructure flagship projects,
including PNR South Long Haul, Cavite-Tagaytay-Batangas Expressway Project , SLEX-TR4
(Southern Luzon Expressway Toll Road) and Expansion of Batangas Port.

The Commission shall enroll all infrastructure projects undertaken under this Act in a
calamity insurance plan as recommended by the National Treasurer and the Insurance
Commission. As far as practicable, equipment and other tangible properties acquired by the
Commission or procured through this Act shall be also be insured.

Section 9. Regional tourism and investment promotion strategies — Whenever
applicable, the Commission shall endeavor to promote the SMGC and its environs as one
investment and tourist destination. Towards this end, the Commission shall establish an inter-
provincial tourism development plan and a medium-term SMGC growth and investment
strategy which employs the comparative advantages of SMGC and its surrounding provinces.


Section 10. Adaptive Social and Landscape Planning — The Commission shall engage
dedicated research institutions to map out the safe areas for the south growth corridor based on
geo-logical sciences and past volcanic eruptions of Taal Volcano in order to better understand
the probabilities of small, medium and large-scale eruption that may happen in the future. It
shall also endeavor to establish linkages with the academe and with credible research
institutions and planning firms to create a SMGC Socio-environmental Plan which shall
incorporate the following elements:

a) Urban-rural infrastructure linkages;
b)

Land-value capture strategies to ensure that the public is able to recover some of its
investments in infrastructure and planning from the resulting rise in property values;
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Sustainable, accessible, and affordable transport modalities to link workers and
workplaces;

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Infrastructure systems that can function as evacuation routes;

Centers for learning and areas for investment in research and development;
f) Tourist and convention-friendly development; and

g) Adequate green space in urban and semi-urban communities.

Section 11. Report to Congress. - The Commission shall submit to the President and to
Congress a detailed quarterly report on the funds allocated indicating the amount released,
obligated and disbursed for: (a) Aid, relief, resettlement, rehabilitation and livelihood services,
including the list of names of approved individual beneficiaries and contractors and the
evaluation of the effectiveness of the delivery systems of such services; (b) Construction or
repair and reconstruction of infrastructure projects, including the list of contractors and projects
being financed, and the accomplishments for the expended appropriations, including the
percentage of completion (c) programs in pursuit of long term strategic redevelopment of Taal
Eruption-vulnerable areas particularly under the South of Manila Growth Corridor (SMGC)
(d) a list of local and foreign donors and the nature of their donations.

Section 12. Joint Congressional Oversight Committee. — There is hereby created the
Joint Congressional Oversight Committee to monitor the implementation of this Act. The
Committee shall be composed of five (5) senators and five (5) representatives to be appointed
by the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively. The
Over-sight Committee shall be co-chaired by a senator and a representative designated by the
Sen-ate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively. The mandate


given to the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee under this Act shall be without prejudice
to the performance of the duties and functions by the respective existing oversight committees

of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Section 13. Rules and Regulations. — The President shall, within ten (10) days after the
organization of the Commission, issue the necessary rules and regulations for the effective
implementation of this Act.

Section 14. Appropriations Clause. ~ To carry out the purposes of this Act, the sum of
ONE HUNDRED billion pesos (P100,000,000,000) is hereby appropriated out of any available
funds in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated.

Section 15. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act shall be held
unconstitutional or invalid, the other provisions not otherwise affected shall remain in full force

and effect.

Section 16. Repealing Clause. ~ Any law, decree, or rules and regulations which are
inconsistent with or contrary to the provisions of this Act are hereby amended or repealed.

Section 17. Effectivity Clause. ~ This Act shall take effect upon its publication in at

least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,