What it is
Republic Act No. 10121 is the Philippines' Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act. It strengthens the national disaster risk reduction and management system, establishes the national framework, and organizes responsibilities across national agencies, local governments, and disaster risk reduction councils.
Governance function
The Act decentralizes and institutionalizes disaster risk management. It connects preparedness, prevention, response, rehabilitation, and recovery to local government structures, making local capacity central to displacement outcomes.
Who is included
Communities and households affected by disasters, including those evacuated or internally displaced by hazards, may be included through national and local DRRM mechanisms.
Who is left out
Displaced households may fall out when they move across local government jurisdictions, remain displaced beyond emergency cycles, lack documentation, or cannot access local recovery programmes.
Where continuity breaks
Continuity breaks between evacuation assistance and longer-term housing, livelihood, social protection, education, health, and local development planning.
Why it matters
The Philippines has one of the region's most developed disaster governance frameworks, but disaster displacement still exposes local fiscal and administrative capacity constraints. The political economy archetype is decentralized disaster governance with local fiscal exposure.
Governance coding table
| Political economy archetype | Decentralized responsibility with local fiscal exposure |
|---|---|
| Responsibility | The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, Office of Civil Defense, line agencies, local DRRM councils, and local government units carry major responsibilities. |
| Eligibility | Eligibility depends on disaster impact, local assessment, evacuation or affected-person status, and programme-specific criteria. |
| Financing | Financing comes through national and local DRRM funds, local government budgets, recovery allocations, and external support where available. |
| Data systems | Disaster assessments, evacuation records, local registries, damage and needs assessments, social welfare lists, and sectoral databases shape implementation. |
| Delivery system | Delivery runs through local governments, DRRM councils, emergency response systems, social welfare offices, schools, health facilities, and national agencies. |
| Portability | Portability is constrained when assistance is tied to the locality of origin or evacuation site and records do not transfer easily across jurisdictions. |
| Accountability | Accountability depends on statutory duties, local government oversight, audit, council structures, grievance mechanisms, and political accountability. |
| Time horizon | Prevention, preparedness, response, rehabilitation, and recovery, with displacement often continuing beyond formal response periods. |
Sources
Official sources
Secondary sources
No sources listed yet.