Implementing Agency:
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC)
Year Implemented:
2017-present
Themes:
Management for Productivity, Quality and Agility, Digitization & New Technologies, and Perspectives on Productivity, Governance, and Development
General Description
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) established an Operations Center in 2017 to enhance communication and coordination among government agencies before, during, and after disaster events. Designed to be operational around the clock, it is equipped with working areas for its member agencies, a monitoring area, and a media center for instantaneous dissemination for the citizens.
Background and Problem
Because of its geographic location, the Philippines is considered as one of the most high-risk countries when it comes to natural disasters. The country is located in the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” a region where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. It is also in the region called the Typhoon Belt, hosting an average of 20 typhoons per year, five of which are often destructive (ADRC, 2018).
Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name “Haiyan”) entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on 8 November 2013. It made its first landfall over Guiuan, Eastern Samar, and swept through provinces in the central part of the Philippines. Yolanda left in its wake 6,300 people dead, 1,062 missing, and 28,688 injured. Economic losses were estimated to be around USD 13 billion (Prevention Web, 2018). The Post-Disaster Needs Assessment conducted by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) pegged the damages and losses to be worth PHP 89.6 billion and PHP 42.8 billion respectively, while recovery and reconstruction would require about PHP 104.6 billion (NDRRMC, 2014).
According to former Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Yolanda highlighted the importance of prioritizing communication and coordination among government agencies during disasters (Interaksyon, 2018).
Solution and Impact
The construction of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center (NDRRMOC) started in 2014 and was completed in 2017. A three-storey building situated inside Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, the NDRRMOC manages to house with its total floor area of 600 square meters the nerve center of the country’s disaster response efforts (Philstar, 2014).
NDRRMC Operation Center’s Situation Room (Source: MatthewLorenz, 2018)
NDRRMOC functions as a regular office during normal conditions with a skeletal team during off-office hours (5:00 pm onwards), weekends, and holidays. During emergency conditions and other disaster situations, the NDRRMOC activates its Duty Alert System where personnel work 24/7 to monitor the situation (NDRRMC 2016). This allows the NDRRMC to regulate and vet the information used by operations on the ground, logged in official reports, and released to the media for dissemination to the public.
The NDRRMOC facilities include a situation room—with a video wall used to monitor any developing disaster situations—a communications room, a dedicated IT department that all technical equipment are fully functional, and multiple conference rooms used for coordination with relevant parties and concerned member agencies.
Milestones
The NDRRMC established Alternate Government Command and Control Centers (GCCCs) in three major islands: New Clark City in Tarlac for Luzon; General Benito N. Ebuen Air Base in Mactan for Visayas; and Lumbia Airport in Cagayan de Oro City for Mindanao. These centers operate in the same manner as the NDRRMC Operations Center, and often in conjunction with it, ensuring continuity of operations even if Metro Manila itself is struck by disaster (OCD, 2019).
Photos
NDRRMC Operations Center’s Facilities (Source: OCD)
Sources
Asian Disaster Reduction Center. (2018, May 8). Information on disaster risk reduction of the member countries – Philippines. Retrieved from https://www.adrc.asia/nationinformation.php?NationCode=608&Lang=en
Office of Civil Defense. (2019). The civil defense gazette: 2019 special edition [PDF file]. Retrieved from http://www.ocd.gov.ph/attachments/category/31/2019-Special-Edition-Gazette.pdf
Malasig, J. (2018, September 18). The story behind NDRRMC’s Intelligent Operations Center. Interaksyon. Retrieved from https://interaksyon.philstar.com/breaking-news/2018/09/18/134136/the-story-behind-ndrrmcs-intelligent-operations-center/.
MatthewLorenz. (2018, September 15). NDRRMC at work!. Retrieved from https://www.reddit.com/r/Philippines/comments/9g09zn/ndrrmc_at_work/
NDRRMC. (2016). National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management operations center
– standard operating procedures and guidelines
NDRRMC. (2014). Y it happened: learning from Typhoon Yolanda [PDF file]. Retrieved from https://ndrrmc.gov.ph/attachments/article/2926/Y_It_Happened.pdf
Romero, A. (2014, July 9). NDRRMC to have new operations center. Philstar. Retrieved from https://www.philstar.com/metro/2014/07/09/1344089/ndrrmc-have-new-operations-center.
Prevention Web. (2018, November 8). Five years on: How Haiyan shocked the world. Retrieved from https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/61777#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Philippines%20National,92%20percent%20were%20from%20Leyte.