Case Study: Climate-smart disaster law in the Philippines

This case study looks at the ongoing work of the Philippines’ Government to strengthen and integrate disaster and climate-related laws and policies, and the work of the Philippine Red Cross to support Government efforts, namely through community-level implementation. The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world and, as a result, has developed a relatively advanced legal framework for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

This study finds that despite a strong disaster law framework, there is still a challenge in implementing disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation programmes at the community level. The Philippines’ national regulatory environment provides an enabling environment that incentivises integrated approaches downstream, but this requires technical support for sub-national and community stakeholders. To effectively reduce disaster and climate risks, cooperation between communities and the different levels and sectors of government is needed. The establishment of the Department of Disaster Resilience – which would replace the previous Climate Change Commission and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council – is designed to favour more comprehensive and cross-sectoral actions to reduce climate and disaster risks, as well as the continuous development of programmes and actions ensuring climate resilience.