Next CSE-PPT: 14 March 2027 · Professional & Subprofessional
Civil Service Exam reviewer on climate change and disaster risk reduction in the Philippines: RA 9729, RA 10121, the NDRRMC, local DRRM funds, PAGASA and PHIVOLCS, typhoons, earthquakes and preparedness.
Environment Management and Protection in the Civil Service Exam includes climate change and disaster preparedness, topics that matter in one of the world's most disaster-exposed countries. This set covers the Climate Change Act and the People's Survival Fund, the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, the roles of the NDRRMC, PAGASA and PHIVOLCS, and basic facts about typhoons, earthquakes, volcanoes and preparedness.
Remember the structure set by RA 10121: one national council, four thematic areas each led by a department, and local DRRM offices funded by at least five percent of local revenue. Many questions are built on this structure.
Correct answer: A. 10121
RA 10121 created the Philippine DRRM System and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, moving the country from disaster response to risk reduction and preparedness.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. Secretary of National Defense
The Secretary of National Defense chairs the NDRRMC, and the Office of Civil Defense serves as its secretariat and executive arm.
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. DSWD
RA 10121 names four vice-chairpersons for the thematic areas: DILG for disaster preparedness, DSWD for disaster response, DOST for disaster prevention and mitigation, and the socioeconomic planning agency for rehabilitation and recovery.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. Disaster prevention and mitigation
The DOST leads disaster prevention and mitigation, an area that relies on science agencies under it such as PAGASA and PHIVOLCS for forecasts, hazard maps and warnings.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. 5 percent
Section 21 sets the Local DRRM Fund at not less than five percent of the estimated revenue from regular sources. Thirty percent of the fund is set aside as a Quick Response Fund for relief and recovery.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. 30 percent
RA 10121 allocates thirty percent of the Local DRRM Fund as a Quick Response Fund, so that communities can recover quickly. The remaining seventy percent supports prevention, mitigation and preparedness.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. 9729
RA 9729, the Climate Change Act of 2009, mainstreamed climate change into government policy and created the Climate Change Commission, attached to the Office of the President and chaired by the President.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. RA 10174 (2012)
RA 10174 of 2012 amended the Climate Change Act to create the People's Survival Fund, which provides long-term financing for adaptation programmes of local governments and communities.
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. PAGASA
PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration), an agency of the DOST, provides weather forecasts, tropical cyclone warnings, flood information and climate data.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. PHIVOLCS
PHIVOLCS (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology), also under the DOST, monitors volcanic activity, earthquakes and tsunamis, issues alert levels and prepares hazard maps.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Pacific Ring of Fire
The Philippines lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a belt of active faults and volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean where tectonic plates meet. This explains its many earthquakes and volcanoes, such as Mayon and Taal.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. 20
PAGASA reports that about twenty tropical cyclones enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility each year, and several of them make landfall. This is why typhoon preparedness is part of public service training.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Storm surge
A storm surge is a rise in sea level driven by a storm's winds and low pressure. Typhoon Yolanda's storm surge devastated Tacloban and other coastal areas in November 2013. A tsunami, by contrast, is caused by undersea earthquakes or eruptions.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Signal No. 5
PAGASA's Tropical Cyclone Wind Signals run from No. 1 to No. 5. Signal No. 5 warns of typhoon-force winds of 185 km/h or higher, the most destructive category of tropical cyclone.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. Drop, cover and hold on
"Drop, cover and hold on" means dropping to the ground, taking cover under a sturdy table or protecting your head and neck, and holding on until the shaking stops. Running outside during shaking risks injury from falling objects.
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. National Disaster Resilience Month
July is National Disaster Resilience Month under Executive Order No. 29 of 2017, during the start of the rainy season. June is Environment Month and March is Fire Prevention Month.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Below-normal rainfall and drought
El Niño, the warming of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, usually brings below-normal rainfall to the Philippines, which can lead to dry spells and drought that hurt farming and water supply. La Niña tends to bring above-normal rainfall.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. Mitigation
Mitigation lessens the harmful effects of hazards before they occur, for example through structural works, land-use rules and stronger buildings. Response and relief happen during or right after a disaster, and rehabilitation comes afterwards.
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
Each party to the Paris Agreement prepares Nationally Determined Contributions describing its own emission reduction and adaptation goals. The Philippines submitted its first NDC in 2021.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Office of Civil Defense
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD), under the Department of National Defense, serves as the secretariat and executive arm of the NDRRMC and coordinates disaster risk reduction work across government.
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