Constitutional authority and strategy basis
- The Executive Order is issued under the President’s constitutional authority under Section 17, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution.
- The order is grounded on the need to strengthen the country’s resilience against earthquakes to ensure public safety, government and business continuity, and national security.
- The order treats the Valley Fault System (the West and East Valley Faults) as a major threat of a potentially catastrophic earthquake affecting Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
- The order defines the affected region as the Greater Metro Manila Area (GMMA), including Pampanga, Bataan, Zambales, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Batangas, and Quezon, among others.
- The order adopts a “Two-Pronged Strategy Towards an Earthquake Resilient GMMA” consisting of immediate and long-term measures to reduce risks and vulnerabilities of communities and strengthen critical infrastructures.
Mandate of the PMO-ERG
- The PMO-ERG spearheads the immediate operationalization of the “Two-Pronged Strategy Towards an Earthquake Resilient GMMA”.
- The PMO-ERG integrates all government efforts to enhance GMMA’s earthquake resiliency, fills bureaucratic gaps, and builds on existing resiliency plans and programs.
- The PMO-ERG undertakes actions to fast-track urgently-needed interventions, including the action points contained in the Metro Manila Earthquake Impact Reduction Study (MMEIRS) and the “Key Result Areas in the Earth Resiliency of GMMA”.
- The PMO-ERG collaborates closely with relevant government agencies, LGUs, the private sector, civil society, and communities.
Core functions and operational duties
- The PMO-ERG is the primary body for spearheading, orchestrating, and integrating all efforts aimed at enhancing GMMA earthquake resiliency in preparation for major earthquakes.
- The PMO-ERG formulates and operationalizes the GMMA Resiliency Plan, including the overall government service continuity plan, anchored on specific area needs and aligned with MMEIRS and the Guide to Earthquake Resiliency of GMMA.
- The PMO-ERG ensures the availability and adequacy of key lifelines mobilizable immediately after a major earthquake, including:
- Basic needs and utilities—water, food, shelter, electric supply, and medical services—pre-positioned adequately and strategically in every community and/or LGU; and
- Effective response mechanisms—command control and communications, search, rescue and management of dead bodies, fire protection, law and order, and transport and mobility—provided by well-trained personnel with necessary competencies, resources, and technologies.
- The PMO-ERG may use existing government facilities, including the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) 24/7 Operations Center and other existing command/operations centers and facilities.
- The PMO-ERG facilitates structural assessment and retrofitting in coordination with Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and monitors/enhances resiliency measures such as enforcement of zoning ordinances and adoption of resilient building and construction standards.
- The PMO-ERG reviews, audits, monitors, and provides feedback on earthquake resiliency plans and investment programs of government agencies, LGUs, and the private sector.
- The PMO-ERG mobilizes Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils (LDRRMCs) for effective synergy on earthquake-resiliency interventions on the ground.
- The PMO-ERG facilitates advocacy and communication programs, drills, and exercises to promote preparedness and resiliency at the household and community levels.
- The PMO-ERG performs other responsibilities assigned by the Chair of the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation and Disaster Risk Reduction (CCAM-DRR) Cabinet Cluster and/or the NDRRMC Chairperson in accordance with their mandates.
Operational control and coordination framework
- The PMO-ERG operates under the operational control of the President through the CCAM-DRR Cabinet Cluster.
- The PMO-ERG reports to the President through the CCAM-DRR Cabinet Cluster Chair.
- During the pre-disaster phase, the PMO-ERG is primarily responsible for earthquake preparedness, mitigation, and resiliency measures in the GMMA.
- During and after a disaster scenario, the NDRRMC-OCD remains responsible for disaster response during and post-earthquake scenario in the GMMA.
- The PMO-ERG aligns its GMMA Resiliency Programs, Projects, and Activities (RPPAs) with the DRRM policies of the NDRRMC, in coordination with the OCD.
- The PMO-ERG integrates and operationalizes the RPPAs in collaboration with the CCAM-DRR Cabinet Cluster.
- The PMO-ERG assists the NDRRMC Chairperson in the effective and responsive implementation of RPPAs during the post-earthquake scenario.
- Key agencies, including LDRRMCs and NDRRMC-OCD Regional Offices for the NCR, Regions III and IV-A, and the Metro Manila Development Authority, must actively collaborate and seek guidance and inputs from the PMO-ERG.
- The PMO-ERG, NDRRMC-OCD, MMDA, key agencies, and LDRRMCs must ensure the seamlessness of their operations, systems, protocols, and procedures for earthquake preparedness and resiliency of the GMMA.
Governance structure and staffing
- The PMO-ERG is headed by an Executive Director with the rank and emoluments of an Undersecretary.
- The PMO-ERG is assisted by a Deputy Executive Director with the rank and emoluments of an Assistant Secretary.
- The Executive Director must craft and submit to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) a proposed organizational and staffing pattern that provides for the hiring of experts in disaster preparedness and management, other highly specialized skills, and other personnel needed to carry out the mandate.
- The DBM must prioritize and facilitate the urgent establishment of the PMO-ERG.
Resilient infrastructure requirements
- All concerned government agencies must take proactive steps to guarantee the resiliency of all public infrastructures in the GMMA, including roads, bridges, buildings, hospitals, ports, and airports.
- All LGUs in the GMMA must ensure the resiliency of private infrastructure and compliance by private entities with the National Building Code of the Philippines.
- Agencies and private entities are highly encouraged to go beyond the minimum standards in the Building Code to ensure that future infrastructures are fully earthquake resilient and compliant with international earthquake-resistant designs and standards.
Reporting and funding rules
- The PMO-ERG must submit periodic reports on its operations and accomplishments to the CCAM-DRR Cabinet Cluster Chair, and a copy must be furnished to the NDRRMC.
- Funding for the operationalization of the PMO-ERG comes from the existing budget of the OP and such other funding sources determined by the DBM, subject to the usual government accounting and auditing laws, rules, and regulations.
- Appropriations for succeeding years must be incorporated in the regular budget of the OP.
Effect of invalidity; repeal; continued operation
- If any provision is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected remain valid and subsisting.
- All issuances, orders, rules, and regulations or parts inconsistent with the Executive Order are repealed or modified accordingly.
- The PMO-ERG exists until Congress passes a law creating a permanent office or until the President dissolves it.