Rules and Procedures to be Followed in Case of Fire, Earthquake or Other Disasters

January 19, 1976 REVENUE MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 05-76 SUBJECT : Rules and Procedures to be Followed in Case of Fire, Earthquake or Other Disasters TO : All Internal Revenue Personnel and others concerned Quoted hereunder is Department Order No. 57-72, dated November 22, 1972, of the Department of Finance which prescribes a line of action to be taken in case of fire or other emergencies: "November 22, 1972 "DEPARTMENT ORDER NO. 57-72 "In line with the proposal submitted by the Committee which was created to study and propose measures/plans to enable the personnel and the general public to vacate the Finance Building in an orderly and peaceful manner in case of fire or other emergencies when public safety so demands, the following FIRE PLAN is hereby adopted and made effective immediately for the guidance and information of all concerned: I. ORGANIZATION There shall be designated and/or organized in each floor of the Finance Building the following: a. One (1) Marshall b. Firefighting Force c. Physical Security Force The Marshalls and members of the Firefighting Force for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors of the building shall be designated by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue upon the recommendation of the Chief, General Services Division, BIR, while those for the 4th and 5th floors thereof shall be designated by the Secretary upon the recommendation of the Administrative Officer. The Physical Security Force shall be composed of the present members of the Finance Security Force and such augmentation troops as may subsequently be assigned to the building by the proper authorities. II. FUNCTIONS a. MARSHALL He shall be responsible for the peaceful and orderly evacuation of his place of assignment when public safety so demands and shall assign the most convenient exits which, insofar as practicable, shall be as follows: a. 1st and 4th floors MAIN DOOR b. 2nd and 3rd floors MARBLE HALL c. 5th floor DOORS FACING RIZAL PARK In addition, it shall be his duty to coordinate the activities of the Firefighting Force in his place of assignment until the regular firefighters shall have arrived. b. FIREFIGHTING FORCE The Firefighting Force shall be in charge of all firefighting equipment until the regular firefighters shall have arrived. The members thereof shall be designated from among the janitors at present assigned in the various floors of the building. c. PHYSICAL SECURITY FORCE This shall comprise the entire Finance Security Force. It shall be its duty, among others, to secure the building and cordon the area to prevent looting, etc. until the fire shall have been placed under control or the emergencies shall have subsided. It shall likewise be the responsibility of the Finance Security Force to sound the alarm 1. TWO (2) LONG BLASTS in case of fire 2. TWO (2) SHORT BLASTS in other emergencies when public safety demands the evacuation of the building. For this reason, everybody is advised to call up the Finance Security Force by dialing Tel. Nos. 47-08-91 (PLDT) and 22-24-22 (GTS) in case of fire or other emergencies, for immediate response. III. EVACUATION PLAN Once the alarm is sounded, the MARSHALL shall immediately activate the firefighting force within his area of responsibility and shall alert the personnel and oversee the orderly and peaceful evacuation. The personnel shall then proceed to their assigned exits stated above. Sign posters shall be posted at the corridors on each floor to indicate the exit for public convenience. IV. FIREFIGHTING EQUIPMENT The Department Administrative Officer and the Chief, General Services Division of the Bureau of Internal Revenue are hereby directed to conduct a physical inspection of the firefighting facilities at present installed in the building to determine their service ability and usefulness. Those that are found to be useless, obsolete and/or beyond repair should be condemned and replaced with those that are handy (portable) and simple to operate. The Bureau of Internal Revenue is hereby requested to provide sufficient funds from its present appropriation for the purchase of the necessary firefighting equipment. V. OVERALL COORDINATOR The Department Administrative Officer is hereby designated as OVERALL COORDINATOR. He shall be charged with the duty of coordinating the activities of the Marshalls, Firefighting Force and Physical Security Force and seeing to it that all security measures/plans adopted are properly implemented or enforced. VI. EFFECTIVITY This Order shall take effect immediately. "(SGD.) CESAR VIRATA Secretary" In order to implement the organization envisioned in the aforesaid Department Order insofar as the BIR is concerned, the following are named marshalls in the floors of the building shown opposite their official designations: Ground floor The Chief, Intelligence Division Second floor The Chief, General Services Division Third floor The Chief, Records Division The Chief, General Services Division shall coordinate with the Administrative Officer of the Department of Finance for the efficient implementation of the plan, more specifically on the following: a. Adequacy and serviceability of firefighting equipment; b. Organization and training of a firefighting force; c. Preparation of the diagram of the evacuation plan which shall be posted at convenient places near the stairs in all floors of the Finance Building. An evacuation drill shall be conducted at least once every six months, provided that arrangements for such drill shall be made at an early date after the promulgation of this Order. cdt In case of emergency or imminent occurrence thereof, any revenue personnel who has actual knowledge thereof or who receives information relative thereto shall immediately inform the Revenue Service Chief (Administrative) either personally or by telephone stating the nature of the occurrence. The Revenue Service Chief (Administrative) shall pass the information to the Department Administrative Officer and at the same time advise the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue thereof. The Revenue Service Chief (Administrative) shall cause the printing of adequate copies of this Order so that each revenue personnel shall have a copy thereof. He shall also prepare a schedule of seminars in order that the contents of this Order can be properly understood. He shall also take such steps as may be necessary for all regional and field offices to adopt similar plans for their purposes. This Order shall take effect immediately. EFREN I. PLANA Acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue TAN 1456-040-3