Disaster Communication and Information Management of the Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council : A Research Proposal

Abstract

This study is about the disaster communication process of the Philippine government. It aims to provide readers with an overview of Philippine Disaster Management with emphasis on its communication functions. Information was gathered through a series of interviews with key officials of the Philippine government concerned with information dissemination, disaster management, and presidential communication. The main research problem presented in the paper asks: Is the current messaging process of the Philippine Government adequate and effective in communicating disaster-related information to the public? This is further divided into the three sub-problems: (1) Are members of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) coordinated in the formulation and dissemination of information?; (2) Is the current communication mechanism (message formulation and dissemination) of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council effective in informing the citizens?; and (3) Are the people receptive to the information given by the authorities? Christopher Hood’s theory of New Public Management (NPM) was used to guide the research with the doctrines of Explicit Standards of Measures and Performance and Greater Emphasis on Output Controls chosen as theories to address adequacy and effectiveness of communication. According to Hood (1991), Explicit Standards of Measures and Performance means that government should define goals, targets, and indicators of success, which are preferably expressed in quantitative terms, especially for professional services. Greater Emphasis on Output Controls on the other hand is seen as resource allocation and rewards linked to measured performance; breakup of centralized bureaucracy-wide personnel management. Its justification is to stress results rather than procedures. Being that this is a research proposal, the study cannot be deemed as completed since there is a need to go deeper in the fields of communication adequacy and effectiveness. More data and information on the Philippines’ disaster management office are currently being studied and evaluated for further research.