The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) is waiting for the successor of former Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno after he was appointed by President Marcos Jr. as the commissioner of the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

At present, the OCD is being supervised by Officer in Charge (OIC) Asec. Bernardo Rafaelito R. Alejandro IV, who is also the OCD’s deputy administrator for administration.

Nepomuceno, who served as deputy commissioner of the BOC's Enforcement Group and as an assistant commissioner of the bureau from 2013 to 2017, was appointed as the BOC commissioner last June 30.

“We’re waiting and under the leadership of Secretary [Gilberto] Teodoro [Jr.], ay tuluy-tuloy ang trabaho (our work continues). Siguro anytime soon nandyan na rin ang kapalit (Maybe anytime soon, the replacement will be there too),” Alejandro told reporters during an ambush interview in Makati City on Tuesday, July 1.

Teodoro, the defense secretary and concurrent chairman of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), directed the OCD to sustain its programs following Nepomuceno’s departure.

Among these programs is the “Panatag Pilipinas”, the OCD’s disaster preparedness campaign.

Alejandro led the expansion of the campaign where 60-second infotainment videos featuring key messages on what to do before, during, and after a disaster would now be shown on public screens in select malls, cinemas, and properties nationwide to address disaster misinformation and disinformation that is rampant on social media.

The OCD is also hopeful that Marcos would sign a bill on the declaration of state of imminent disaster, which was approved by the 19th Congress.

The proposed law aims to prevent the loss of lives, properties, and livelihoods in the event of a disaster or a calamity.

Under the bill, the NDRRMC and the DRRM councils shall conduct a pre-disaster risk assessment in anticipation of a highly probable disaster with projected catastrophic impacts, which shall serve as the basis for the declaration of a state of imminent disaster.

“We’re waiting, pumasa naman ito sa Kongreso kaya ang next step is it will be approved or vetoed by the President. So far, walang balita basta nandoon na po. We’re waiting primahan or maglapse into law (We’re waiting, it already passed in the Congress so the next step is for it to be approved or vetoed by the President. So far, there’s no news, but it’s already there. We’re waiting for it to either be signed or lapse into law,” Alejandro said.

The OCD has also been pushing for the establishment of the Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR), a new agency aimed at centralizing and strengthening the country’s disaster risk management.

However, Alejandro revealed that this might be unlikely to happen, saying no bill was passed during the 19th Congress.

“Wala pong naipasa sa 19th Congress. Walang naifile na Disaster Department Bill (None was passed in the 19th Congress. No such Disaster Department Bill was filed),” he said.

The House of Representatives approved a substitute bill on DDR in November 2024, consolidating 36 similar proposals filed by lawmakers. Camarines Sur 2nd Rep. LRay Villafuerte has urged the 20th Congress to pass the DDR bill this year.