1. Planning Assumptions
Government will declare state of national calamity, with UN and member states instantaneously offering humanitarian assistance. The UN will declare a Level-3 emergency, global clusters will be activated, surge teams and foreign military assets of assisting states will be deployed.
International coordination will start outside of the country with regional/global headquarters and/or field offices of humanitarian agencies assuming/augmenting operations of their Manila offices.
Metro Manila airport and seaport will be not be operational and all flights will be diverted to Clark and/or Subic airports. Access to and mobility within Metro Manila will be difficult, and will be limited to light vehicles and helicopter flights.
Only available in-country supplies of the government and humanitarian agencies will be used for the first week and most of the population will not be able to access assistance. Disorder will ensue in some parts of the city.
Any available open space will be used as camps and a significant number of people will migrate towards the provinces for temporary settlement thus prolonging displacement.
Supply chain networks will be disrupted and markets will not be functioning for a few weeks. Commercial telecommunications will be severely affected, affecting the information needs and preferred communication channels of the population.
Seasonal hazards will exacerbate humanitarian conditions and further hamper the response.
Development work of agencies will be interrupted to focus on humanitarian response.
Government and HCT are not responding to other emergencies.
Agencies have developed and tested their Business Continuity Plans and communications/reporting protocols in an emergency.

2. Strategic Objectives
The HCT contingency plan is designed to complement government’s response to the immediate, life-saving, and early recovery needs of the affected population
Save lives and alleviate human suffering by providing and ensuring access to life-saving humanitarian assistance within the first week, and basic and time-critical needs up to six months of the response.
Ensure the protection of rights of the most vulnerable, promote inclusive access to equitable and prompt humanitarian assistance.
Support the early recovery and rehabilitation of the affected population by promoting their well-being and restoring their livelihoods.