Emergency preparedness in the Philippines: official guidance

Short answer. In the Philippines, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) asks every household to keep an emergency "Go Bag" with ready-to-eat food for three days and sealed drinking water, checked every three months ¹. Public protection relies on evacuation centers, which the Ligtas Pinoy Centers Act requires in every city and municipality ². 911 is the nationwide emergency number ³. Facts on these pages were verified on 2026-10-20.

Who is responsible for civil preparedness in the Philippines?

Disaster management is led by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), with the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) as its secretariat. Two agencies of the Department of Science and Technology issue warnings: PAGASA for weather and tropical cyclones ⁴, and PHIVOLCS for volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis ⁵. Evacuation centers built under the Ligtas Pinoy Centers Act are constructed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and inspected every year by the NDRRMC ². The 911 hotline is run under the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) ³.

What is on each page?

• Emergency supplies: the OCD Go Bag, three days of ready-to-eat food, sealed drinking water, a check every three months, and one bag per family member ¹⁶.
• Kit: the official Go Bag list, item by item.
• Public shelters: no blast or fallout shelter programme was found; evacuation centers are required in every city and municipality under Republic Act No. 12076 (6 December 2024) ².
• Alerts: free mobile disaster alerts under Republic Act No. 10639 ⁷, PAGASA Tropical Cyclone Wind Signals 1 to 5 ⁴ and PHIVOLCS volcano Alert Levels 0 to 5 ⁵. No national outdoor siren network was found.
• Iodine: no official potassium iodide guidance was found.
• Build a shelter: no law or official guidance on private shelters; ordinary building permits apply.
• Shelter standards: the only official standards are for evacuation centers, designed for winds of at least 300 km/h and earthquakes of at least magnitude 8.0 ².
• Emergency contacts: 911 for emergencies ³, 8888 for the government's Contact Center ng Bayan ⁸.

Is there a national preparedness booklet?

No single national printed household booklet was found. The OCD runs a recurring Go Bag campaign ¹, and July is National Disaster Resilience Month under Executive Order No. 29 of 28 June 2017 ⁹.

Did the Philippines ever plan fallout shelters?

Executive Order No. 116 of 1968 created an Advisory Committee on the Design and Construction of Fallout Shelters, tasked to "recommend for identification, existing buildings that could serve as emergency fallout shelters after due evaluation" ¹⁰. No current inventory or follow-up was found.

Where do I start?

Pack the Go Bag first (kit), learn the typhoon and volcano signals (alerts), and write down 911 (emergency contacts). For a household plan, see /guides/family-plan; for the hazards most relevant to the country, see /guides/hurricane-preparedness, /guides/earthquake-preparedness and /guides/volcanic-ash.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a Philippine household be prepared for?

The OCD Go Bag holds ready-to-eat food for three days ¹.

What is the emergency number in the Philippines?

911, the Nationwide Emergency Hotline Number since Executive Order No. 56 of 2018 ³.

Does the Philippines have public bomb shelters?

No public blast or fallout shelter programme was found. Public protection relies on evacuation centers ².

Sources

1. PTV News (relaying an Office of Civil Defense Facebook post of 24 July 2021) — What's in a 'go bag'? — https://ptvnews.ph/whats-in-a-go-bag/ (accessed 2026-10-20)
2. Congress of the Philippines (text via LawPhil; official PDF at legacy.senate.gov.ph/republic_acts/ra%2012076.pdf) — Republic Act No. 12076 – Ligtas Pinoy Centers Act — https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2024/ra_12076_2024.html (accessed 2026-10-20)
3. Office of the President (text via LawPhil) — Executive Order No. 56, s. 2018 – Institutionalizing the 911 Nationwide Emergency Hotline — https://lawphil.net/executive/execord/eo2018/eo_56_2018.html (accessed 2026-10-20)
4. PAGASA (DOST) — Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal — https://bagong.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/learning-tools/tropical-cyclone-wind-signal (accessed 2026-10-20)
5. PHIVOLCS (DOST) — Volcano Alert Levels — https://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/volcano-alert-levels/ (accessed 2026-10-20)
6. City Government of Davao — Prepare go bags for disaster – OCD XI — https://davaocity.gov.ph/disaster-risk-reduction-mitigation/prepare-go-bags-for-disaster-ocd-xi/ (accessed 2026-10-20)
7. Supreme Court of the Philippines E-Library — Republic Act No. 10639 – The Free Mobile Disaster Alerts Act — https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/2/59639 (accessed 2026-10-20)
8. Government of the Philippines — GOV.PH official portal (temporary 'coming soon' page naming the Contact Center ng Bayan 8888) — https://www.gov.ph/ (accessed 2026-10-20)
9. Office of the President (text via LawPhil) — Executive Order No. 29, s. 2017 – National Disaster Resilience Month — https://lawphil.net/executive/execord/eo2017/eo_29_2017.html (accessed 2026-10-20)
10. Office of the President (text via LawPhil) — Executive Order No. 116, s. 1968 – Creating an Advisory Committee on the Design and Construction of Fallout Shelters — https://lawphil.net/executive/execord/eo1968/eo_116_1968.html (accessed 2026-10-20)