This paper tackles the Philippines’ Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) system’s increased difficulties, particularly the use of evacuation centers and local funds during simultaneous natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic. Key findings include a severe shortage of dedicated evacuation centers, with less than 3% of usable shelters, missing or un-geotagged spatial data, and insufficient use of less than 20% of Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Funds (LDRRMF) by LGUs due to a lack of extensive, long-term planning regulations like CLUPs and CDPs. The author—Robert JA Basilo Jr.—suggests establishing the Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR) to coordinate facility standards, as well as conducting targeted consultations and technical assistance to assist local governments in aligning their disaster plans with long-term land-use strategies.
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