Compensations for Disaster Volunteer Workers

The State shall develop and promote self-reliance by encouraging the spirit of self-help and mutual assistance among local officials and constituents.
The government shall enhance people’s participation in emergency operations because the State alone, with meager resources, cannot achieve desired results.
The State shall encourage participation through voluntary involvement in activities of disaster coordinating councils, particularly during disaster or emergency operations.
Voluntary involvement shall be made effective by making disaster volunteers aware of their responsibilities and by providing compensatory benefits for injuries or death sustained in disaster operations.

A Disaster Volunteer Worker (DVW) is a duly accredited member of any of the task units of a local disaster coordinating council (Section 1[a]).
A Local Disaster Coordinating Council (Local DCC) is a group of persons at the provincial, municipal, or barangay level, duly organized pursuant to PD 1566 (Section 1[b]).
Disaster Operations are efforts by one or more agencies, whether government and/or otherwise, to provide emergency assistance in relief to victims of a disaster or calamity, including medical supplies/equipment and emergency medical treatment; food, water and shelter; rescue and firefighting services; police protection; route clearance and traffic control; prevention of panic; communications; and restoration of facilities (Section 1[c]).
Legal dependents, total and permanent disability, and permanent partial disability use the definitions in the Workers Compensation Act, as amended (Section 1[d]).

Compensatory benefits apply to a disaster volunteer worker or his legal dependents for injuries or death resulting from performance of work in disaster operations (Section 2).
Claims are administered through the local government via its disaster coordinating council as the principal body for hearing and deciding claims (Section 4).

Death resulting from performance of work in disaster operations entitles a DVW’s legal dependents to Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00) or the current rate of GSIS or SSS law, whichever is higher (Section 2[a]).
Injury resulting in total and permanent disability entitles a DVW to Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00) (Section 2[b]).
Injury resulting in permanent partial disability entitles a DVW to Three Thousand Pesos (P3,000.00) (Section 2[c]).
Injury requiring hospitalization for more than fifteen (15) days entitles a DVW to Two Thousand Pesos (P2,000.00) (Section 2[d]).
Injury requiring hospitalization for more than five (5) days but not more than fifteen (15) days entitles a DVW to One Thousand Pesos (P1,000.00) (Section 2[e]).
Injury requiring hospitalization for more than one (1) day but not more than five (5) days entitles a DVW to Three Hundred Pesos (P300.00) (Section 2[f]).

A DVW who suffers injury while performing duties as such is entitled to free medical care in any government hospital or institution, in addition to the compensatory benefits (Section 3).

The disaster coordinating council (DCC) at the local government level is the principal body to hear and decide all claims for compensatory benefits under the Executive Order (Section 4).
The DCC shall be governed by rules and regulations issued by the Ministry of Local Government to implement the Executive Order (Section 4).

No compensatory benefits are paid unless the local government through the DCC is given notice of the injury as soon as possible after it is received or contracted, and the notice is verified and attested to by the rural health doctor of the area (Section 5[a]).
A claim for compensation must be made not later than two (2) weeks after the date of the injury or death, regardless of whether the compensation is claimed by the DVW himself (Section 5[a]).
The notice and claim must be in writing (Section 6[a]).
The notice must contain: (1) the name and address of the DVW; (2) the name of the disaster coordinating council and the particular task unit where the DVW belongs; and (3) the time, place, nature, and cause of the injury or death, signed by the DVW or any person in his behalf (Section 6[a]).

The notice is served on the Chairman of the disaster coordinating council or his representative through the leader of the task unit where the DVW is assigned (Section 7[a]).
Service must be made by personal delivery or courier to the official address of the DCC (Section 7[a]).
A notice given under Section 6 is not invalid or insufficient due to incorrectness in the statement of time, place, nature, or cause of injury or death, unless it is shown that the local DCC was actually misinformed about the injury (Section 8[a]).
Failure to or delay in giving notice does not bar the proceeding if it is shown that any of the members of the DCC concerned had knowledge of the accident (Section 8[a]).

Provincial, city, or municipal governments, through their respective DCC, must maintain a roster of DVW in their locality (Section 9[a]).
Copies of the roster must be furnished to the nearest local Civil Defense Office and to the OCD main office at Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City for verification and accreditation purposes (Section 9[a]).

Compensatory benefits are chargeable against the national calamity fund, subject to the current General Appropriations Act, executive orders, or other legislations issued for that purpose (Section 10[a]).
An initial amount of P1M is released to the MLG at the start of the fiscal year, and it is replenished whenever the need arises (Section 10[a]).
All unobligated balances revert to the general fund at the end of each year (Section 10[a]).

The provincial, city, or municipal government must enact a supplemental budget, in the same manner as provided for in PD 477, to effectuate the fund provisions (Section 11[a]).
Supplemental budgeting is subject to the limitations provided for in Sections 28 and 44 of PD 477 (Section 11[a]).

The Ministry of Local Government must issue the rules and regulations to implement the Executive Order (Section 12[a]).

If any part or provision is held unconstitutional or invalid, the remaining parts not affected continue in full force and effect (Section 13[a]).
All laws, acts, decrees, executive orders, proclamations, and administrative regulations, or parts thereof, inconsistent with the Executive Order are repealed or modified accordingly, except as otherwise provided (Section 14[a]).
The Executive Order takes effect upon publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines, unless otherwise specifically provided (Section 15[a]).