Who are you gonna call when a volcano erupts in the Philippines

Being located in the proverbial area of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines has been devastated by several high-magnitude earthquakes and highly-explosive volcanic eruptions.  These two natural calamities beset the Philippines several times in the very recent past, wreaking havoc to its land, environment, economy and its people.

There are several players in the game of mitigating the risks, arresting the hazards, preparing for the consequences of the dangers, applying control measures towards safety and in just plain saving those that can be saved.

This article attempts to enumerate and discuss these several players in the most complete prevention of the numerous negative outcomes of one of the two most devastating natural calamities in the Philippines – volcanic eruption.  Among the concerned entities in the topic of natural calamity would be those from a) the government sector; b) the private sector; and c) those not belonging to either of the two.  For each of these main subsets, we can further divide each subgroup into sectors such as 1) science and technology; 2) media; 3) legislature; 4) executive; and 5) the common people.

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Concerned agencies from the government

In May 2010, the responsible agency for ensuring the protection and welfare of the people during disasters or emergencies – the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) – underwent a reorganization including a change in its name.  By virtue of Republic Act No. 10121 (aka Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010), the new name of NDCC is National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).  The name is not the only one that becomes longer; its membership becomes expanded also with the addition to the council of 15 more members.  NDCC-member agencies were 21 while membership of NDRRMC is 41.

The members of NDCC were as follows: 1)      Department of National Defense (DND); 2)      Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP); 3)      Office of the Civil Defense (OCD); 4)      Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD); 5)      Department of Science and Technology (DOST); 6)      Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical  and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA); 7)      Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS); 8)      Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG); 9)      Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH); 10)   Department of Health (DOH); 11)   Department of Education (DepEd); 12)   Department of Agriculture (DA); 13)   Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); 14)   Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC); 15)   Department of Finance (DOF); 16)   Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE); 17)   Department of Budget Management (DBM); 18)   Department of Trade and Industry (DTI); 19)   Philippine Information Agency (PIA); 20)   Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC); 21)   Office of Civil Defense

NDCC was created by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1566 on 11 June 1978.

Meanwhile, NDRRMC or the National Council has the following members: 1)      Department of National Defense (DND); 2)      Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG); 3)      Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD); 4)      Department of Science and Technology; 5)      National Economic Development Authority (NEDA); 6)      Department of Health (DOH); 7)      Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); 8)      Department of Agriculture (DA); 9)      Department of Education (DepEd); 10)   Department of Energy (DOE); 11)   Department of Finance (DOF); 12)   Department of Trade and Industry (DTI); 13)   Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC); 14)   Department of Budget Management (DBM); 15)   Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH); 16)   Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA); 17)   Department of Justice (DOJ); 18)   Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE); 19)   Department of Tourism (DOT); 20)   The Executive Secretary; 21)   Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP); 22)   Commission on Higher Education (CHED); 23)   Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP); 24)   Philippine National Police (PNP); 25)   The Press Secretary; 26)   Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC); 27)   National Anti-Poverty Commission – Victims of Disaster and Calamities Sector (NAPC – VDC); 28)   National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women; 29)   Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC); 30)   Climate Change Office of the Climate Change Commission; 31)   Government Service Insurance System (GSIS); 32)   Social Security System (SSS); 33)   Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHILHEALTH); 34)   Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP); 35)   League of Provinces in the Philippines (LPP); 36)   League of Cities in the Philippines (LCP); 37)   League of Municipalities in the Philippines n(LMP); 38)   Liga ng mga Barangay (LMB); 39)   Four (4) representatives from the CSOs; 40)   One representative from the Private Sector; and 41)   Office of the Civil Defense (OCD).