The Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CPDRRMO) is once again elevated into a full-fledged department status, according to the Cebu Provincial Government. 

During the regular session of the Provincial Board (PB) on September 15, 2025, an ordinance reconstituting the CPDRRMO as a separate department within the provincial government was approved on third and final reading, greatly bolstering the province’s disaster preparedness and response capabilities moving forward, according to a post by the Cebu Provincial Information Office (PIO).

“We will grow fast and stay safe. Disaster protocols will be institutionalized, not improvised. Early-warning systems, data dashboards, and LGU [local government units] hotlines will be integrated. Climate-smart infrastructure—flood control, slope protection, coastal defense—will be planned with discipline,” Governor Pamela Baricuatro said during her State of the Province Address in August 2025.

“Reinforcing her issuance of Executive Order 23 reconstituting the disaster office was among her first initiative[s] immediately after taking her oath as the new governor of the Province of Cebu,” the post added.

The CPDRRMO Ordinance of 2025, authored by PB Member Celestino (Tining) Martinez III, "institutionalizes the CPDRRMO’s authority to conduct research, strengthen early warning systems, coordinate with LGUs, and mobilize emergency response teams." 

The ordinance also provides an initial ₱10 million allocation for its operations, with regular funding to be included in future budgets, Capitol PIO added.

“Making the office a department is good for our capability, good for our personnel fill-up, and good in terms of how we can perform our mandate,” said Ret. Colonel Dennis Francis Pastor, chief of the CPDRRMO, adding that the move empowers his team to deliver faster and more effective response when needed.

The CPDRRMO was a department during the time of former governor Hilario Davide III. 

However, Cebu PIO pointed out that the  immediate past administration “downgraded the department into a mere division under the Office of the Governor for the past six years now, greatly limiting its capability to perform its mandate under the law.”

(Courtesy: Cebu Province/Capitol PIO)