President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday signed an executive order (EO) designating the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) as members of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
Under the executive order no. 32 titled “Inclusion of the Department of Information and Communications Technology as members of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council,” both DOTr and DICT are now part of the NDDRMC, a department mandated to develop a multi-sectoral framework monitoring and addressing disasters in the Philippines.
“Both the DOTr and the DICT play important roles in providing life preservation systems based on acceptable standards, during or immediately after a disaster,” the EO, signed on July 12, read.
The DOTr, according to the mandate, will take care of transportation systems during rescue and relief operations, while the DICT is for the dissemination of timely and accurate information in times of emergency and disaster.
Among the existing members of the NDRRMC are the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), and the Department of National Defense (DND). Winona S. Sadia, INQUIRER.net trainee