Summary
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The Logistics Cluster Cell/Manila
In response to the call for international assistance following Tropical Storm Ketsana on September 26, a Logistics Cluster Cell (LCC) was activated upon request from the Humanitarian Country Team. An initial Logistics Officer was embedded in the NDCC Operations Center as of October 29, and further LCC staff were deployed over the next two weeks, in parallel with an UNHAS team deployed to manage air operations.
The LCC in the Philippines has been providing coordination and services in the areas of cargo point-of-entry facilitation, access to ad-hoc transport and storage services, access to UNHAS helicopter deliveries, Civil-Military Coordination, Logistics Information Management and GIS. The LCC provides a link between the international humanitarian community and the National Disaster Coordination Council (NDCC) to address logistics issues and bottlenecks.
Civil Military Coordination
The humanitarian operation in the Philippines has been taking place under the lead of the National Disaster Coordination Council (NDCC), which was created to provide a coordinated response in cases of natural disaster. It is chaired by the Secretary of National Defense and incorporates 18 departments and member agencies, including the Armed Forces, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Health (DOH), the National Red Cross, the Philippines Information Agency, and the Office of Civil Defense.
The NDCC Operations Center on the Camp Aguinaldo military base was established to provide and disseminate disaster response guidelines and coordinate disaster management. During emergency situations, it is activated into an emergency Cell for alert and monitoring, response facilitation and information management, bringing together representatives of all the government agencies and organizations involved in the operation. The OpCEN served as the base for the initial international response, and representatives of UNDAC, OCHA, the Logistics Cluster, and UNHAS maintain a permanent presence there. It has also been the base for much of the mapping in the operation, with GIS officers from MapAction, OCHA and the Logistics Cluster, Pacific Disaster Center and NAMRIA (the National Mapping and Resource Information Agency).
The principal focus of LCC operations in the Philippines has been assisting the government in their relief activities. In this capacity, one logistics officer has been based at the NDCC since the start of the operation, and another liaison has now been added to facilitate cargo movement.