Marcos inks law allowing gov't to declare 'State of Imminent Disaster'

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has signed a law which allows the government to declare a “State of Imminent Disaster” even before a calamity hits. 

Republic Act No. 12287 or the Declaration of State of Imminent Disaster Act was inked so that preparations and emergency actions can be done in advance to protect communities, according to the Presidential Communications Office on Thursday. 

Under the new law, the government will establish a mechanism for declaring a State of Imminent Disaster and providing the criteria for its declaration and lifting. 

This will also include the necessary appropriations, the PCO said. 

The new law, signed by Marcos on September 12, authorizes the President to declare a State of Imminent Disaster over a cluster of barangays, municipalities, cities, provinces, and regions upon the recommendation of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

Further, local chief executives, upon the recommendation of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) Councils, may declare a State of Imminent Disaster through an executive order in their respective jurisdictions, which are forecast to be affected by an imminent disaster.

The NDRRMC or the Regional DRRM Councils shall also conduct a pre-disaster risk assessment in anticipation of a highly probable disaster with projected catastrophic impacts. 

This assessment will then be the basis for the declaration, the new law states. 

The classification of a forecasted hazard’s impacts as severe or its equivalent, with adverse effects on the population, and an allowable or sufficient three-day lead time for the national or local government to implement anticipatory action interventions must be present in the pre-disaster risk assessment. 

Under the new law, the allowable lead time may be extended to five days.

The Declaration of a State of Imminent Disaster shall allow the National, Regional, and Local DRRM Councils the use of national and local resources and mechanisms to implement anticipatory actions within identified or allowable lead time. — Anna Felicia Bajo/RSJ, GMA Integrated News