Need for Crisis Management Manual Review
- Presidential memorandum dated March 22, 2011, tasked the National Security Adviser to review and harmonize existing crisis management manuals, including revising the 2000 Crisis Management Manual.
- A unified and integrated Crisis Management Manual is required for effective response.
Complex 21st Century Security Environment
- Current security challenges are increasingly complex.
- Demand for proactive, diverse, and collaborative approaches among government agencies and stakeholders in crisis preparation, prevention, mitigation, and recovery.
Essential Elements of Effective Crisis Management
- Situation Awareness
- Strategy
- Command and Control
- Capability Building and Enhancement
- Post-Action and Assessment
Establishment of Clear Authority and Crisis Management Organizations
- Need to establish and clearly define authority, responsibility, and accountability at national and local levels.
Development of Two Key Manuals from Workshops
- The Practical Guide for National Crisis Managers: a strategic guide for decision makers focusing on roles and responsibilities of Cabinet Officers Primarily Responsible (C-OPR).
- National Crisis Management Core Manual (Core Manual): harmonizes all government crisis management manuals to provide a general framework for detecting and responding to crises; covers strategic, operational, and tactical levels.
Components of Crisis Management Documents
- Operational manuals: agency/department principles, provisions, and functional guidelines.
- Contingency plans: scenario-based plans targeting prevention of threats, addressing root causes, and implementing preventive measures.
- Crisis action plans: specific courses of action aimed at mitigating effects of rapidly evolving crises.
Designation of Responsible Agencies and Dissemination
- A specific agency shall ensure dissemination of the Practical Guide and Core Manual.
- Adoption of prescribed policies and creation/designation of crisis response organizations at all government levels.
Section 1: Use of Core Manual and Practical Guide
- Core Manual is the overarching framework for national crisis management.
- All government levels must harmonize their operational manuals, contingency, and crisis action plans with the Core Manual.
- Practical Guide serves as a quick reference for National Crisis Managers/C-OPRs.
Section 2: Crisis Management Organizations and Structure
- EXECOM/NCMC (Executive Committee, National Security Council) is the highest national policy and decision-making body.
- EXECOM/NCMC chaired by the President or Executive Secretary; other key Cabinet members included as primary or secondary members.
- Sub-Committee, National Crisis Management Committee led by the NSA for strategic horizon scanning and policy recommendations.
- Local Crisis Management Committees at regional, provincial, municipal/city, and barangay levels serve local policy and decision-making roles.
- Agencies/departments must designate permanent offices for crisis management.
- Development and continuous updating of operational manuals, contingency, and crisis action plans mandatory.
Section 3: Roles and Responsibilities of C-OPRs
- EXECOM/NCMC, crisis organizations, and designated managers assume authority and accountability as prescribed by manuals.
- Specific cabinet roles include:
- Executive Secretary as C-OPR for terrorism, maritime borders (inter-agency), and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
- Secretary of National Defense as C-OPR for national security threats and co-manager for maritime borders (intra-agency).
- Secretary of Interior and Local Government as C-OPR for peace and order threats.
- Secretary of Foreign Affairs as C-OPR for OFW threats (intra-agency) and co-manager of maritime borders (intra-agency).
- Secretary of Health for public health threats.
- Secretaries of Finance and Trade and Industry for economic threats.
- Secretary of Energy for energy supply threats as Chair of Inter-Agency Energy Contingency Committee.
Section 4: 5Ps of Crisis Management
- Predict: systematic horizon scanning and situation awareness at all levels.
- Prevent: preparation and updating of contingency and crisis action plans.
- Prepare: organization, training, equipping, exercises, evaluations, and capability building.
- Perform: declare crisis levels, activate Incident Command System (ICS), appoint Incident Commander, review contingency plans, and create Crisis Action Plans where needed.
- Post-Action and Assessment: systematized reporting to higher crisis management bodies.
Section 5: Secretariat Role and Compliance Oversight
- Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) acts as Secretariat to EXECOM/NCMC.
- Ensures distribution of manuals from national to local levels.
- Organizes trainings on key crisis management skills.
- Facilitates regular exercises including desktop, simulation, and table-top exercises nationwide.
Section 6: Funding and Budgetary Provisions
- Initial P25 million allocated from the Presidential Contingency Fund for ONSA and EXECOM/NCMC operations.
- Future funding to be included in ONSA’s annual budget.
- National and local government agencies to allocate sufficient budget for crisis management aligned with RA 10121 and related memoranda.
Section 7: Repeal of Inconsistent Issuances
- All previous orders, rules, or regulations inconsistent with this Executive Order are repealed or amended accordingly.
Section 8: Effectivity
- The Executive Order takes immediate effect upon publication in a newspaper of general circulation.