Marcos signs law for declaration of imminent disaster

President Marcos has signed into law measures seeking to ensure early preparations for disasters, institutionalizing a career progression system for public school teachers and reforming the acquisition of right-of-way for infrastructure projects by the national government and public service providers.

- By ALEXIS ROMERO

Republic Act 12287 enacted on Sept. 12 allows the government to declare a “state of imminent disaster” over areas forecast to be affected by a calamity.

Also known as the Declaration of State of Imminent Disaster Act, the law seeks to provide assistance, protection and services to persons and families to be affected by a disaster.

It also aims to implement anticipatory action and response measures to lessen the impact of a disaster and implement contingency plans to minimize disruptions to normal social and economic activities.

The law mandates the government to come up with a mechanism for declaring a state of imminent disaster and providing the criteria for its declaration and lifting.

Under the law, the President may declare a state of imminent disaster over a cluster of barangays, municipalities, cities, provinces and regions upon the recommendation of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.