NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING OF PROPOSED ORDINANCES OF CEBU CITY

NOTICE is hereby given to the public that the 15th Sangguniang Panlungsod of Cebu City will conduct a PUBLIC HEARING on January 27, 2021 (Wednesday) at 2:00 in the afternoon at Doña Macaraeg Macapagal Session Hall, 4th Floor, Legislative Building, Cebu City Hall.

1. Proposed Ordinance of City Councilor Philip S. Zafra entitled: “AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A CRISIS MANAGEMENT OFFICE AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREOF FOR ITS OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE AND OTHER PURPOSES,” per SP Resolution Nos. 15-0995-2020 and 150995A-2020 dated December 18, 2020.

The proposed ordinance seeks to establish a Crisis Management Office (CMO) and appropriate funds for its operation and maintenance, and other purposes.

Section 4. Crisis Management Office. There shall be created a Crisis Management Office (CMO) under the direct supervision of the Office of the City Administrator which shall have the following duties and responsibilities such as but not limited to;

a. Serve as Secretariat to the CMC;

b. Operate, manage and maintain the Crisis Command Center;

c. Systematically conduct scanning for emerging threats and conveying strategic warnings of any crisis; and undertake situation awareness processes at the strategic, operational and tactical levels;

d. Prepare and update intra- and inter-agency contingency and crisis action plans and responses;

e. Systematically undertake Prepare activities: organize, train, equip, exercise and evaluate/improve. It shall also undertake capability building enhancement activities, trainings, seminars and formulate for these Prepare procedures;

f. Systematically determine and recommend to the CMC to declare an incident as approaching crisis level based on continuous and thorough assessment of the situation. The assessment must consider the severity and nature of the crisis and the capability of forces, units and resources;

g. Systematically provide Post Action and Assessment Reports;

h. Formulate and undertake simulation exercise to respond and resolve a specific crisis;

i. Formulate Local Crisis Management Manuals, procedures and protocols and to align such manuals, procedure and protocols with the national crisis management policy;

j. Prepare, recommend and implement policy, action plan, contingency plan, procedure and protocol to address a specific crisis;

k. Prepare and store data base on natural, capital and human resources, directories, statistics, records, directories, analysis, documents, orders, issuances, ordinance, manual, procedure, protocol, minutes of meeting and the like and any information in relation to or in connection with any crisis or the workings of the CMC;

l. Make and regularly update list of local stockpile (food, medicines, PPE, shelter, equipment, supplies, etc.) to adequately respond to any crisis;

m. Identify and recommend policy issues, direction, ordinance, executive orders, programs, projects, strategy, tactics and the like for approval by the CMC;

n. Regularly render accomplishment reports at least once a month; and

o. Such other duties and functions in relation to or in connection with a crisis or the CMC.

Section 5. Staffing. The Crisis Management Office (CMO) shall be headed by a Crisis Management Officer and initially supported by three (3) qualified Section Chiefs responsible for: (1) administration and training; (2) planning and research; and (3) assessment and information.

Section 6 of the proposed Ordinance states the qualifications of being the Crisis Management Officer, quoted to wit:

Section 6. Qualifications. a) The Crisis Management Officer shall be primarily accountable and responsible to the overall administration and operation of the CMO and who shall possess the following minimum qualification, subject to the qualifications standards set by the Civil Service Commission (CSC):

1. Proficient skills in computer and information and technology; 2. At least ten (10) years of extensive managerial experience and proven track record in crisis management;

3. Preferably a retired member of the law enforcement or military with a rank of full Colonel; an employee in the public sector with a rank of Director or an employee in the private sector of major industries with a rank of manager; and 4. Possess a degree preferably in law enforcement, military science, defense, law, business, public health, economics and management.

Sections 7 and 8 of the proposed Ordinance state the Crisis Management Council and its Composition, quoted to wit:

Section 7. Crisis Management Council. The Crisis Management Council (CMC) is the highest policy and decision-making body formed to respond, manage, and resolve an emerging or current crisis. It shall review, act, and approve any proposed policy, protocol, procedure, reports, plan and other matters in relation to a crisis formulated by the Crisis Management Office.

Section 8. Composition. a) The CMC is a seventeen (17) member council composed of the Cebu City Mayor as Chairperson and assisted by the Cebu City Vice-Mayor as Deputy Chairperson with the following Members; to wit:

1. City Administrator;

2. City Treasurer;

3. City Legal Officer;

4. City Budget Officer;

5. Cebu City Health Officer;

6. Head, Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO);

7. Head, Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS); 8. Head, Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (LDRRMO);

9. Cebu City PNP Director;

10. Majority Floor Leader of the City Council; 11. Chairperson, Committee on Barangay Affairs; 12. Chairperson, Committee on Health, Hospital Services and Sanitation;

13. Chairperson, Committee on Budget and Finance; 14. Chairperson, Committee on Public Order; and 15. Chairperson, Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management and Climate Change Adaptation.

b) No member shall represent more than one department or office in the CMC nor shall any member from the City Council shall represent more than one seat in the CMC. In which event, the affected member from the City Council shall nominate any member of the City Council’s committee where the affected member belongs to be a member of the CMC.

c) The CMC may create a Sub-Crisis Committee (SCC) from among the members of the CMC as may be appropriate which shall formulate and recommend policy, procedure, protocol, or plan for approval by the CMC to respond and resolve any specific emerging or current crisis such as but not limited to crisis on public health; public safety, peace, order and security, natural calamity, fire, terrorism, labor, transportation, maritime borders, water supply, energy supply, local economy and the like crisis.

d) The Sub-Crisis Committee shall be composed of the City Administrator as SCC Chairperson with two (2) members: one (1) member who is preferably the head of the department or office whose department or office is directly involved or affected by the crisis and one (1) member representing the City Council whose committee has jurisdiction over the subject matter of the crisis.

e) When the gravity or extent of the crisis so demands, the CMC, by majority vote of all the members, may designate two (2) additional members who members or not of the CMC.

f) Pending the creation, staffing and operation of the CMO, the CMC may designate any of the 17-members of the CMC to act as the Crisis Manager, Co-Crisis Manager, and Crisis Spokesperson to respond and resolve an emerging or current crisis.

Section 11. Crisis Management Team. a) During an emerging or current crisis, a Crisis Management Team (CMT), which is primarily responsible and accountable to respond and resolve a specific crisis on the ground, shall be organized immediately.

b) The CMT shall be composed of three (3) members; namely:

1. The Crisis Management Officer who must be designated as the Crisis Manager;

2. A member of the CMC whose office or department is directly involved or affected by the crisis and who shall be designated as Co-Crisis Manager; and

3. Any member of the CMC as may be designated by the CMC as Member thereof.

c) The CMC shall make available all required personnel, unit, manpower, supplies and equipment of the Cebu City government under the command and authority of the CMT in coordination and approval with the CMC in order to adequately respond and resolve a crisis in an effective and efficient manner.

d) During an emerging and current crisis involving public health; public and safety, peace, order and security; and natural calamities, the City Health Officer, Cebu City PNP Director, Head of the LDRRMO, respectively, must be designated as Co-Crisis Manager. The CMC may designate the appropriate Co-Crisis Manager on other kinds of emerging or current crisis.

e) The CMC may expand the members of the CMT but not exceeding five (5) members as the gravity or extent of the crisis demand. The additional members may or may not be members of the CMC.

f) However, should the Crisis Manager or the Co-Crisis Manager or any member thereof, upon vote of the Majority members of the CMC, be found to be incapable or incompetent to respond and resolve the crisis to the satisfaction of the CMC, the CMC shall designate new members of the CMT.

g) Unless the CMC shall designate an official Spokesperson from among any of the 17-member council, the Crisis Manager shall also serve as the Spokesperson of the crisis. Nothing in this Ordinance shall prevent the CMC Chairperson to speak on any matter in relation to or in connection with the CMC or the emerging or current crisis.

h) The CMT shall personally, directly, and regularly report to the Chairperson or to the CMC at any time.

The 15th Sangguniang Panlungsod of the City of Cebu is cordially inviting the general public to attend and participate in this Public Hearing and submit Position Papers to express views on the matter in aid of legislation. Anyone interested may call the Sangguniang Panlungsod Secretariat Office at the 4th Floor, Legislative Building, Cebu City Hall through Rowena Lee Lagon, at telephone number 254-9004. A guide in making the position paper is provided below.

BY AUTHORITY OF THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD

ATTY. CHARISSE L. PIRAMIDE

Acting Secretary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod

GUIDE/ FORMAT IN MAKING POSITION PAPERS FOR STAKEHOLDERS

Title of the proposed resolution: _______________________________

1.) Do you find the proposed resolution commendable? Why or why not? What are the salient provisions of the proposed resolution that you agree with? Or you disagree?

2.) Please write your recommendations, if any.

3.) Please write additional questions that you want to be clarified, if any.

Name of Stakeholder:________________________________________ Or Name of representative of the group/company: _________________ Signature/s: Date:

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases is convinced that in some areas it has become safe enough to allow minors 10 years old and above to be out in public again.

This will be effective in areas under modified general community quarantine by February 1.

However, Dr. Tony Leachon, former advisor to the IATF, has reservations about the move. Particularly in the face of the new COVID-19 variant.

“We know that this particular variant is more common in less than 20 years of age and this has been proven in several studies in the UK and the US... The variant is highly transmissible, this is about 70% to 80%, and if the kids are allowed to go out they might actually be superspreaders who might be asymptomatic and carry this particular virus at home,” he is quoted as saying in a Philstar. com report.

We share the same view; children may become unwitting superspreaders. And it’s not just of the common COVID-19 virus, but the new variant as well.

We only have to look at the carefree and innocent nature of children, even those above 10 years old. They don’t think twice about close contact with others. They don’t care about personal space with the best of their friends. It is in their nature to gather and be close, and we cannot blame them for that.

It is also not in their nature to be worried or to be wary, considering their youth and the fact that they still have their whole lives ahead of them. So there is considerable reason to be concerned if we allow them outside again at this time.

We must not forget that the number of COVID-19 infections here are still on the rise. We are now at over 508,000. And there are no signs it is slowing down.

If we let our kids outside too early this may be a decision we will soon come to regret. The limited freedom they experience today is a small price to pay to secure the tomorrow we all should have.