THE City Government of Davao has created the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emergency Socioeconomic Crisis Response (IATF-Crisis) to address the continuous oil price hike brought about by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Through Executive Order No. 7, series of 2026, Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte created the IATF-Crsis, citing that the city needs a team that would prepare and manage response actions and resources to address the fuel crisis that has been affecting the city.
“The committee shall convene whenever deemed necessary, with or without the IATF-Crisis subcommittee. It shall promptly disseminate necessary plans, guidelines, and actions to the sub-committee to ensure coordinated government action,” the executive order stated.
The executive order cited Republic Act No. 7581, otherwise known as the Price Act, which states that the state should ensure the availability of basic necessities and prime commodities at reasonable prices and protect consumers from hoarding, profiteering, cartelization, and illegal price manipulation, especially during emergencies, calamities, or abnormal market conditions.
It also cited Presidential Executive Order No. 110, which was issued on March 24, 2026, declaring the Philippines in a state of national energy emergency following geopolitical tensions between the United States of America and Iran, which drove the oil price hike affecting basic commodities, transportation, and overall economic activities.
Under the executive order, the task force is composed of the mayor as chairperson, with the vice chairperson being a representative from the City Planning and Development Coordinator.
The members of the task force are the City Information Office, the City Vice Mayor, City Administrator, the City Legal Office, the City Engineer's Office, the City Accountant's Office, the City Budget Office, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government–Davao City Operations Office.
Under the IATF-Crisis, there will also be subcommittees, namely the Peace, Safety, and Security Committee; the Employment Committee; Social Intervention Committee; Economic Committee; Health and Emergency Committee; and the Energy Committee.
The task force is in charge of implementing the necessary preparations as well as response actions to any crisis that affects the city, coordinating with the Davao City Price Coordinating Council (DCPCC) to monitor the prices of basic commodities to prevent any exploitative market practices, and implementing the necessary plans that would protect consumers and entrepreneurs.
The group will ensure the availability of necessities and the supply of prime commodities and provide measures for affected communities. They will also ensure proper coordination among all government offices so that they can manage and integrate responses to address the emergency socioeconomic crisis.
The IATF-Crisis will come up with programs and policies that will help restore socioeconomic normalcy and perform any necessary measures to maintain peace and order in Davao City.
The funding to be used by the IATF-Crisis will be sourced from the available funds of the City Government of Davao, subject to budgeting, accounting, and auditing rules and regulations.
The IATF-Crisis conducted its first official meeting through an executive meeting on April 6, 2026. RGP