Phl disaster law draws ASEAN interest

The Philippines’ new law allowing authorities to act before disasters strike is attracting attention from other ASEAN countries seeking to strengthen their own disaster preparedness systems.

Undersecretary Harold N. Cabreros said the Philippines is sharing its experience with Republic Act No. 12287, or the Declaration of the State of Imminent Disaster Act, during the ASEAN Ministerial Conference on Disaster Resilience in Manila.

The law allows local governments to take action when a disaster is imminent, shifting the country’s approach from responding after an event to preparing for its likely impacts in advance.

“One of the things we share is our newly enacted law on anticipatory action. We are sharing this law, and I think other member states will be looking at it and studying it to consider for their own framework of disaster resilience,” Cabreros said.

Cabreros, who also serves as Office of Civil Defense administrator and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council executive director, said the policy forms part of a broader move toward more proactive and predictive disaster management.

The Philippines’ experience is particularly relevant to ASEAN because of its exposure to recurring natural hazards.

“Our country is still the number one in World Risk Index,” Cabreros said.

He stressed, however, that regional resilience cannot be built by one country alone. The Philippines has also benefited from training and assistance from other ASEAN members, including Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.

The exchange of policies and operational experience allows member states to study approaches that may be adapted to their own disaster management systems..