Aapti — Data on the Move

Digital divides and bridges

Approaches to climate-induced displacement in the Philippines

by Nandini Jiva, Rohan Pai

At a Glance

This study on the Philippines examines the nexus between data, disasters, and the resulting displacement within the country.

The journey of those displaced, towards safety as well as social protection, takes various forms in the country. While institutional policies frame disaster management as an essential part of Philippine society (through its whole-of-society approach), this framing overlooks the welfare and recognition of displaced persons.

Our assessment looks at the interlinkages of digital public infrastructure (DPI) with disaster management in the country: through the PhilSys (digital ID), the digital payment providers in the country, and the disaster data sharing ecosystem and its governance in the disaster management cycle. The presence of DPI has, in many ways, enhanced connectivity for Filipino migrants across the world to aid communities back home unlock welfare through prompt means. However, inclusion can prove challenging for those unable to access technology to further avail social services.

This study analyses this ecosystem by highlighting alternative, bottom-up approaches to disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) efforts that emerge from local capacities and aspirations, and that bridge digital divides through community solidarity.

It offers stakeholder-specific recommendations for participation in DRRM and social protection, involving actors to re-examine migration-centric policy in disaster contexts, leveraging community-recognised DPI to deliver public good, and infusing community data and insights into institutional decision-making.

Lay of the Land

Through a Community Lens

Along the Periphery

Across Data and the Digital

Through a Community Lens

Along the Periphery

Across Data and the Digital

Within our Framework

The Path Forward

Acknowledgements

Lay of the Land

An overview of the political economy, broad systems and infrastructure, and the evolution of the history of migration, its regulation, and public perception, touching upon gaps in policy development.

Since the 1950s, the Philippines has developed an institutionalised system of overseas migration which has created a steady remittance economy. This formal labour migration movement has organised around a new category of workers known as ‘Overseas Filipino Workers’ (OFWs).

Internal migration or displacement also plays a significant role in shaping the Philippine migratory experience; however, it does not enjoy the same institutional recognition and support that cross-border movement receives.

A combination of governmental and non-governmental agencies in the Philippines collectively create a support mechanism for the entire migration life cycle, right from pre-departure to integration, including return and re-integration, to accommodate both temporary and permanent migration. The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), established to coordinate welfare and support services for OFWs, brings together various bodies established under other government departments. Alongside the Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA), it manages education and training, recruitment, skill development, services in destination countries, and return and re-integration.

Identifying internal migration

IDPs in the Philippines are mainly categorised as being displaced by armed conflict. In Mindanao, one of the three large island clusters in the Philippines, more than 1,05,000 persons have been recorded as displaced, resulting in humanitarian presence in the BARMM region (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao) in particular, and Mindanao in general to provide humanitarian aid during ongoing conflicts.

Secondarily, although terms like evacuees, relocated families or persons are synonymous with IDPs, they are not officially recognised in the current definition, as will be elaborated in the subsequent section. Usually referred to as evacuees, relocated families or persons, the Philippines has nearly 43 million disaster-induced displacements between 2014 and 2023, making it, by far, the most disaster-prone country in the world. The country experiences north of 20 typhoons each year, along with several recurring earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, storm surges, and so on. While DRRM laws have an institutional setup for managing different response needs, they do not highlight the resulting displacement and its implications on affected communities.

The country’s policy apparatus covers a range of protections and plans to prepare for and better respond to and mitigate disaster impacts. These extend throughout the disaster management cycle, demonstrated through the figure below.

The country’s institutional stance on DRRM and the shift to technology-mediated efforts can be understood through some of its key policy formulations.

Policy

Provisions/Mandate

The Philippines National Disaster Risk Management Plan for 2020−2030

Adopts a whole-of-society approach to address four thematic areas through governmental interventions and non-state initiatives:

Disaster prevention and mitigation
Disaster preparedness
Disaster response and early recovery
Disaster rehabilitation and recovery

National Climate Change Action Plan for 2011−2028

Focuses on strategies for climate change adaptation and mitigation, with a focus on community adaptive capacity and resilience. Underscores the value of establishing climate information systems and databases for agriculture and fisheries.

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Act, 2010 (Republic Act No. 10121)

Strengthens the Philippine DRRM system by providing for a framework to institutionalise the Philippines National Disaster Risk Management Plan, specifically for fund appropriation.

Mandates the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (LDRRMO) to maintain databases on human resources, equipment, directories, and the location of critical infrastructure and capacities such as evacuation centres and hospitals.

Makes space for community disaster volunteers to be recorded under a database within the Office of Civil Defence (OCD).

Declaration of State of Imminent Disaster Act, 2025 (Republic Act No. 12287)

Brings anticipatory action to formal disaster management frameworks, providing for coverage of certain hazards and the declaration of a state of imminent disaster to ramp up preparedness efforts.

Ligtas Pinoy Centers Act of 2024 (Republic Act No. 12076)

Establishes evacuation centres for every city and municipality, and invites a whole-of-government approach to set up and maintain these centres.

Presidential Decree No. 1566 (1978) – Strengthening Disaster Control & Community Preparedness

Opens up the ambit of who takes responsibility for disaster control and management according to departmental capabilities.

Recognises the role of regional and local governments in coordination and for emergency operations; later replaced by the National DRRM Act of 2010.

Local Government Code of 1991 (Republic Act No. 7160)

Affords the territorial and political subdivisions of the State the autonomy to create self-reliant and decentralised communities. This extends to assessing what local needs and capacities are, as well as understanding how resources can be allocated effectively during disasters and calamities.

Climate Change Act of 2009 (Republic Act No. 9729)

Mainstreams climate change as a lens in government policy formulations, and invites multiple departments to perform various roles on the theme that relate to their mandates.

Data Privacy Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10173)

Protects individual personal information in communication systems within the government and private sector, creating channels to use information to promote growth and innovation.

Establishes the National Privacy Commission (NPC) to ensure compliance with international standards for data protection.

Philippine Identification System Act of 2017 (Republic Act No. 11055)

Establishes a single national identification system called ‘PhilSys’ for all Filipinos to promote efficient and targeted delivery of services for beneficiaries.

Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap 2020-2023

Envisions an efficient, inclusive, safe, and secure digital payments ecosystem in the Philippines, to support diverse needs of individuals and firms within and beyond the nation’s borders.

National Broadband Plan 2017

Provides a blueprint for a broadband infrastructure in the Philippines, laying the foundation for the deployment of fibre optic cables and wireless technologies to improve internet speed and affordability and extending to isolated areas in the archipelago.

Tracing the evolution of the country’s digital infrastructure

The government’s focus on adaptation to a digital economy has increased with the years, considering that 82 percent of the country’s mobile-centric population engages with social media channels. Social media, e-commerce, and mobile banking are some of the digitally-mediated services that have grown in the past decade to further governmental interventions on digitalisation. Despite these initiatives, digital infrastructure is limited and riddled with challenges around cybersecurity, literacy, and economic challenges accessing them in remote areas.

What goes missing in this political economy?

The Philippines has placed disasters and calamities, and more recently, climate change, as a priority. A study of the political economy and policy evolution brings out two main takeaways to dive deeper into:

Technological advancements and duplication   of disaster management data    
With the National DRRM Act passed in 2010, the Philippines adopted a more proactive approach to disaster management that mainstreamed risk reduction and mitigation. However, this framework had to catch up to technological advancements that would enable better collection and dissemination of data for governments at the national, provincial, and local levels.   
While real-time data on disasters is growing in the Philippines through the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and its many databases on geospatial data, this is read alongside traditional data on loss and damage and vulnerability assessments of geography, shelter, health, among others. With the increase in the use of non-traditional data, some of this information can be acquired through satellite imagery. Various departments, like the DOST, DSWD, OCD, DILG, PSA, among others, collect similar data on a variety of metrics, creating a data ecosystem that is fragmented due to the duplication of efforts.
Questioning this fragmentation through a policy lens involves critiquing this whole-of-government approach, as discussed in the Across Data and the Digital section in this report.

Recognising the role of political incentives in effective implementation    
What also emerged as a gap from interviews and conversations with experts and practitioners in the field was the political consequences of the aspiration of this whole-of-government approach. Most DRRM policies in the Philippines emphasise adopting this or a whole-of-society approach. While this is formally documented and mandated through policy, vested political interests outside this policy landscape influence who receives access to data and bigger share of budgetary allocations.
This will be reflected upon further in Across Data and the Digital. Further exploration can help us understand how different sources of data can come together to enable effective service delivery to people on the move at the receiving end.

Through a Community Lens

An understanding of the specific journeys being traced within the case study, demonstrating barriers to accessing safe journeys and social protections, and reflecting on community networks and resilience.

Population Profile

Migration is multi-modal, mixed, and varied in what it offers to those undertaking it, as well as why they undertake it. In the scope of this study, disaster-induced internal displacement is the primary anchor for analysis because of the dearth of literature on how internal displacement, whether temporary or permanent, is represented through technological interfaces, infrastructure, and the institutions managing them. International law recognises the term internally displaced persons (IDPs) to describe people forced or obliged to leave their place of habitual residence due to armed conflict, violence, human rights violations, or disasters, but without crossing an international border. Philippine law, in contrast to this, defines IDPs mainly in the context of armed conflict; however, a big section of IDPs in the country are evacuees and relocated persons/families affected by natural disasters or rapid-onset events, and recognition for these demographics is limited in jurisprudence.

This study primarily focuses on persons affected by and displaced due to natural disasters. While this study focuses dominantly on rapid-onset events, the role of slow-onset effects of climate change, bringing with it a shift in what sustainable livelihoods look like, is also a big driver for long-term migration. The distinction between climate migration and displacement must be made here, to differentiate between sudden, rapid-onset disaster events creating a situation of low agency and decision-making (climate displacement), and slow onset events contributing to movement that is more preemptive and proactive, leaving room for some planning and preparation (climate migration). The latter is outside the ambit of this study. The major focus is on those displaced due to rapid-onset natural disasters within the country, their interactions, tech-enabled or otherwise, with data infrastructure, and how they trust in welfare systems and technological tools.

Journey Map

The Philippines offers an interesting perspective on the journeys people undertake as a result of both rapid-onset and slow-onset movements. Below is a visual representation of these flows.

Migration in the Philippines proves to be more complicated than a linear trajectory. It is important to highlight these journeys as a way to show the ever-changing nature of movement and its drivers. While some of these movements are a result of climatic factors, many also tie into the larger driver of labour and better economic opportunities that tend to get distorted in the islands due to the changing nature of disaster events. A limited number of studies have compared the impact of rapid- and slow-onset events on the period of migration and eventual return.

Throughout the Philippines, journeys can be both temporary and permanent in nature, with residents of coastal and low-lying areas being especially prone to displacement due to climate change. Many of them are forced to move to urban settlements or informal settlements, and face challenges in accessing secure housing, jobs, and other essential services. It is difficult to pin-point events that stand at the intersection of labour and climate migration; often they are not mutually exclusive. Therefore, it is essential to scope out all these flows when understanding rapid-onset events leading to displacement.

Internal migration between the three islands in the Philippines (Mindanao, Visayas, and Luzon)

Migration patterns slightly vary amongst the three islands. In Mindanao, due to land-related conflicts between Muslims and Christians residing in the region at different periods of time, mobility is a consequence of armed conflict. Additionally, the onset of unsustainable livelihoods due to erosion and unpredictable weather conditions is an important factor for the need for a change in living conditions.

In Visayas, migration is a result of better opportunities in more urban areas in Luzon and Metro Manila (the National Capital Region, or NCR). For many in Mindanao, Visayas is a transit location to make their journey to metropolitan areas in the country. Overseas migration from Visayas is not as frequent, and moving communities preferred going toward Metro Manila first. Many did not see overseas migration as an aspiration, because of a lack of funds or little clarity on the journey itself.

In Luzon, climate-induced migration from Mindanao and Visayas establishes the island as the prime destination country for migrants to then consider moving overseas.
The location of Metro Manila within this island has prompted this movement and brought with it assumptions of improved governance in the region due to its proximity to the capital.

Overseas Migration

As elaborated upon in the previous section, OFW narratives have been historically shaped through large-scale emigration in the 1970s, and push factors include GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries raising demand for a workforce to realise their infrastructure projects. Economic safeguarding is a major reason for this movement; however, temporary migration is commonplace and generally encouraged by the government through its policies on migrant worker welfare.

Return and/or reintegration

Due to the contractual nature of many OFW jobs, temporary migration is a common occurrence. The return journey is also seen through the lens of an influx of financial and social remittances, through upward mobility for those left behind, and cultural influences from destination countries. As mentioned above, return and reintegration forms an integral part of migration policy in the Philippines, and reintegration programmes focus on ensuring that returnees have adequate economic opportunities that can deter re-migration.

Understanding internal migration in this corridor also comes with recognising immobilities in the region. Certain drivers make migration conducive, while some act as a deterrent - mobilities and immobilities. In a study conducted to understand migration patterns within and outside the Philippines, it was concluded that while climate events led to movement, factors like financial stability, familiarity with migratory experiences also contributed to a state of immobility, or a restriction of movement to safe pastures. Financial capacity is another crucial determinant of this phenomenon. The study of immobilities is an essential part of understanding narratives and aspirations around migration, especially in understanding the nexus between motive and means.

Internal displacement patterns are instigated by frequent natural disasters in the Philippines, and inadequately recognised in the institutional setup of the Philippines as mentioned previously. IDPs are legally recognised only in the context of armed conflict in BARMM through the IDP Bill that was introduced in their Parliament. Outside of that, the law on disaster management does not speak to affected communities through a rights-based lens, but more through a disaster management and response approach, focusing on actors responsible for the same instead of the needs on-ground. The NDRRM Act places essential focus on institutionalising disaster risk reduction and preparing institutions in handling emergencies, but without recognition of indigenous needs and capacities of communities on-ground. This creates a vacuum in welfare delivery for IDPs in the legal ecosystem, and can have repercussions in the effective implementation of relief programmes catered to specific needs.

A note on evacuation centres as points for sheltering displaced persons

In the Philippines, evacuation centres are instrumental in providing temporary shelter to those forced to relocate during disasters. These centres are mandated by law to be set up across the country under the Ligtas Pinoy Centres Act (Republic Act No. 12076). These centres are strategically located away from high-risk areas to minimise exposure to hazards, and include essential facilities like sanitation, kitchens, healthcare, and standby power. With climate-resilient design and multi-purpose use for community utility, evacuation centres are set up to play a key role in disaster aid and relief.

However, the number of evacuation centres is inadequate against the number of people residing in the barangay/city. In Metro Manila itself, which is the national capital region in the country, most cities do not have evacuation centres at all, and residents rely on schools and other existing public infrastructure to be repurposed. Centres are also not built in safe zones, and during disaster events, are usually packed to capacity, forcing many to seek refuge in other locations or with their families and friends. A study mapped the evacuation centres in the capital region and found that in the capital city of Manila, only two evacuation centres (with a capacity of approximately 3,700 people) were in official government records for a population that crossed 1.8 million people.

It is important to capture evacuation centres as crucial points of safety and security when mapping displacement journeys to accommodate temporary relocation within neighbourhoods and cities as a part of climate displacement. The Philippines has made significant strides in disaster response in the wake of deadly typhoons around the year, but there is still a long way to go in terms of expanding operations to better prepare for adverse events. The Declaration of State of Imminent Disaster Act passed in 2025 is another critical step forward in disaster preparedness efforts.

Barriers and Friction for Access

Factors affecting the access to social protection are varied in the Philippines. The overarching geographical disadvantage that the Philippines faces with its position along the Pacific Ring of Fire creates a need for sustainable, climate-resilient infrastructure. However, with inconsistent urbanisation due to rapidly increasing migration toward Metro Manila, urban planning for disaster-resilient settlements becomes a challenge. Some of these barriers manifest in digital spheres, some due to policy interventions or the lack thereof, and some that impact and concern community agency.

Digital Spheres

Policy Interventions

Community Agency

Low internet penetration in remote parts of the country leaves a majority of the archipelago aloof from digitally mediated services

Lack of recognition of persons displaced due to disasters as IDPs too. This creates grey areas in targeted policy interventions.

Lack of an understanding of communication gaps, needs assessment, and communities-in-the-loop in disaster management.

Willingness to interact with technology-mediated services is affected by a high degree of fraud and misinformation perpetrated through these channels. As a country that is social-media-forward in how it circulates information, there is a general aversion to digital services.

The economic implications of international migration dwarves the recognition of internal displacement and migration. This also impacts targeted responses.

In a country that has a vast digital divide, offline intermediation to complement digital initiatives is missing. Community consultations are often closed-door and exclusive.

Digital platforms are at different stages in their development cycle. While the major focus of the facilitators of the digital ID has been to increase uptake in registration, the next step of leveraging it to unlock services is delayed.

International aid delivery systems follow standards not always accurate with on-the-ground needs. For instance, many communities in need of aid are usually self-sufficient with food and may need assistance with shelter. This mismatch also comes with a largely administrative understanding of aid and what response entails – that it must move beyond administration to responding to real-time lived experiences.

With the introduction of DPGs, what has gone missing is awareness-building on what DPGs like the digital ID could imply for users. For instance, the PhilSys ID

Furthermore, while digital payment platforms have been able to further the government’s goal to make the Philippines a cashless economy, they are built for convenience and speed more so than safety and inclusion,

In terms of governance and implementation, disaster data is a fragmented ecosystem, as will be elaborated upon in the subsequent section. Duplication of efforts can hamper the impact of welfare schemes.

These are some of the many reasons why disaster management and response efforts fall short of community aspirations. For more insight into how these barriers reflect on access to services and alternative mechanisms, Aapti’s collaboration with Bike Scouts Project on highlighting some of these barriers can be found in our film here.

Community Networks

In the wake of frequent disaster-induced casualties and damage, the Philippines has emerged as a country where community as part of on-ground response forms a pivotal, if not primary, role in support. Community networks in the country emerge as agents that respond to situations quickly, with the necessary context required to address needs and assess vulnerabilities.
In our exploration of finding the crucial community link in the study of migration, the Philippines proved to be a frontrunner. This idea is institutionally reflected; the National DRRM Act of 2010 introduces ‘Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction and Management’ or CBDRRM, to recognise the active engagement of at-risk community in the entirety of the disaster management cycle. The Act mandates the creation of a database of accredited community disaster volunteers (ACDVs) to respond alongside institutions when disaster strikes. Additionally, policy instruments around disasters prescribe a delegated approach to preparedness and response to recognise the duty of each level of government (the national, provincial, and local) to undertake sincere and coordinated efforts in DRRM.

In the Philippines, this philosophy of communities coming together to support each other without any expectation of return is called ‘bayanihan,’ the Tagalog word ‘bayan’ implying country or community. Bayanihan is an effort to bring community spirit to the forefront of disaster response.

Within this context, many local, community-led organisations have emerged to play the role of first responders. These organisations have complemented, if not superseded, inadequate institutional efforts in reaching remote, rural, and highly vulnerable parts of the archipelago. We broadly term these initiatives ‘Resilient Technologies’ or ‘ResTech’, a tech-enabled layer in migration that resonates with community voices, fills gaps in institutional systems of social protections, and creates a counternarrative to the intentional or unintentional invisibilisation of communities in migration technologies. Some of the ResTech we encountered in the Philippines have been situated in a linked thought piece on ‘People-powered tech and data: Resilient technologies for climate action in the Philippines.’

Along the Periphery

An analysis of the cross-cutting factors aggravating or mitigating the access
to social protection and agency for people on the move.

Data flows, actors, and the power they wield over one another seldom showcase the societal factors determining the success or failure of any intervention. Measuring the degrees of harm in each mobility experience is multi-dimensional. The measurement of vulnerability implies that certain populations are more susceptible to harm, and this harm is owing to a range of factors.

These factors are not mutually exclusive and one affects the other in aggravating or mitigating the nature of vulnerability. In criminal justice jurisprudence, the theory of aggravation and mitigation form a fundamental basis in determining whether a sentence can be made more severe or not. Juxtaposing this to understand greater and lesser risks in migration journeys and experiences can provide us with a setting to understanding redlining in the Philippines, across migrating personas.

Applying the DOMV Framework

The above figure is derived from the IOM’s Determinants of Migrant Vulnerability (DoMV) model. Through this framework, we can unpack migrant vulnerabilities across demographics - whether that is at the individual, household/family level, within communities, or in the broader structural and socio-political environment that migration occurs in. Vulnerability is aggravated or mitigated by four broad factors: individual, household and family, community, and structural.

Zooming in on the Philippines

Analysing the interplay of these factors

It is important to note that while these factors may have varied impacts, they affect each other depending on how an individual is placed in the migratory experience. Individual vulnerabilities might be mitigated by the presence of community solidarity, and an aggravating factor can coexist with a mitigating or protective circumstance. For instance, the geographical disadvantage of the Philippines along the Pacific Ring of Fire raises vulnerability, but the presence of a mature policy environment on disaster management is a crucial protective factor.

Across Data and the Digital

An analysis of the cross-cutting factors aggravating or mitigating the access
to social protection and agency for people on the move.

Ecosystem Map

Before we understand the ways in which data moves and serves communities during crises, it is useful to map the host of organisations and affiliates forming a part of the landscape catering to disaster management and its implications for communities affected. Below is a map of key ecosystem players in the Philippine landscape of data, disasters, and displacement. These organisations have been clustered on the basis of their primary functions even though they might play secondary and tertiary roles in another cluster.

Regulators

Government departments and agencies with the legal power to regulate migration, issue documentation and enable access to social protections before, during, and after crises.

Eg: DSWD, PSA, DOST, OCD, NDRRMC, DILG

Facilitators

Well-funded, large-scale organisations providing protective services, legal aid and humanitarian assistance in disaster management through formal programs or channels.

Eg: IOM, UNDP, UN-OCHA, FAO, UNHCR, WFP

Service Providers

Formal businesses or institutions providing commercial services to people on the move, although it need not be exclusive to them, which requires data collection or identity verification, and assists them in availing essential services and financial aid.

Eg: GCash, Maya, TikTok, Asia United Bank (AUB), X (formerly Twitter), Western Union, MOSIP

Advocacy

Organisations primarily focused on providing representation, rights and policy advocacy for those affected and displaced due to disasters.

Eg: MFA, CDP Foundation, Scalabrini Centre, Caritas Philippines, CMA, START Network

Community Actors

Community or bottom up organisations which are created by residents in disaster-affected areas and embody systems of care.

Eg: Bike Scouts Project, LPPWDFI

Research Organisations

Organisations or institutes which conduct research about disaster and its human impacts enabling further movement towards improved living conditions.

Eg: UPRI, Ateneo de Manila University, Manila Observatory, Philippine Institute   for Development Studies (PIDS), Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF)

Funders

Organisations or institutions funding activities or services targeting communities affected by disaster events and the resulting impact on accessing welfare.

Eg: ADB, World Bank Group, IOM, SM Foundation, UNDP

Mapping the flow of data and the actors involved

The data landscape in the Philippines is rich in its variety of actors and bodies involved in the collection of data, as laid down in the figure above, especially on disaster-related preparedness and response efforts. Each central government department in the Philippines is obligated to contribute to disaster response efforts in various capacities, whether directly mandated or not, as prescribed through the whole-of-government approach. This creates a cluster of datasets (as listed below) on disasters and disaster-related movement that is extensive and uncommon in other geographies due to the Philippines’ unique position as the most disaster-prone country in the world.

With response efforts requiring collaborative action from the many players that are situated at various touchpoints in the journey from preparedness to response and mitigation, it becomes crucial to investigate and understand how stakeholders create and utilise data across these stages. What emerged from this enquiry is that while there is an abundance of efforts and mandates on data collection before, during, and after disasters, these efforts and initiatives operate in silos, with contrasting, often clashing, motives.

There are a few reasons for this:

Different departments operate on different mandates, collecting data for different use cases. For instance, the DSWD maintains Filipino poverty data through the Listahanan database, which acts as a crucial resource for implementation partners to provide relief on ground. Additionally, the PSA also collects census data on Filipino citizens and OFWs, while the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) assesses on-ground needs for those at risk of being affected by disasters. There are many such examples from the fragmented yet comprehensive ecosystem around data on disasters in the Philippines. However, coordination between departments remains a challenge, impacting access at the beneficiary level when attempting to avail multiple services.

Different departments operate on different mandates, collecting data for different use cases. For instance, the DSWD maintains Filipino poverty data through the Listahanan database, which acts as a crucial resource for implementation partners to provide relief on ground. Additionally, the PSA also collects census data on Filipino citizens and OFWs, while the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) assesses on-ground needs for those at risk of being affected by disasters. There are many such examples from the fragmented yet comprehensive ecosystem around data on disasters in the Philippines. However, coordination between departments remains a challenge, impacting access at the beneficiary level when attempting to avail multiple services.

Political incentives influence decisions on higher budgetary allocations to departments based on higher numbers of families and communities they are serving or need to serve for disaster events. Department budgets are allocated based on barangay needs and require a demonstration of loss and damage that is often misrepresented to obtain more funds. For instance, for the budget preparation, each barangay prepares the annual budget by determining available and required resources for appropriation. In order to reflect a need for more funding, barangays often overshoot population figures and misrepresent the extent of damage in the area.
Lack of legislation or uniform procedures around data sharing, both within and across departments. The DPA is the sole governing law on data privacy matters in the Philippines. While this is a stepping stone for safeguarding sensitive personal information within and across borders, the Act does not explicitly highlight the processing of such data in times of crises or other emergencies. Data sharing agreements for this purpose remain heterogeneous and unclear across stakeholders.

Political incentives influence decisions on higher budgetary allocations to departments based on higher numbers of families and communities they are serving or need to serve for disaster events. Department budgets are allocated based on barangay needs and require a demonstration of loss and damage that is often misrepresented to obtain more funds. For instance, for the budget preparation, each barangay prepares the annual budget by determining available and required resources for appropriation. In order to reflect a need for more funding, barangays often overshoot population figures and misrepresent the extent of damage in the area.
Lack of legislation or uniform procedures around data sharing, both within and across departments. The DPA is the sole governing law on data privacy matters in the Philippines. While this is a stepping stone for safeguarding sensitive personal information within and across borders, the Act does not explicitly highlight the processing of such data in times of crises or other emergencies. Data sharing agreements for this purpose remain heterogeneous and unclear across stakeholders.

A combination of these challenges results in the creation of siloes of information and an overall fragmented ecosystem that can make the downstream effects of service delivery muddled. To highlight these flows of data, along with commentaries on governance and community participation, we have created a data flow mapping of actors and the types of data in circulation in this ecosystem.

Imposition of digital infrastructure and top-down control over decision making

Mapping the landscape of data required us to understand two main flows:  
- Data: This includes raw datasets that concern the lifecycle of disaster management, and also those that impact access to social protections when a disaster event strikes. Examples include data on loss and damage, vulnerability, households, poverty, payments, beneficiaries, among others.
- Insights: This includes information exchanges that happen in the form of consultations, reports , feedback, knowledge sharing, policy interventions, advisory roles, among others.

The flows indicate either one of these aspects, while some indicate both, as specified in the legend. Through a mapping of actors, we have been able to dissect the role each actor plays in the ecosystem, what motivates them to fulfil said roles, and what these interactions can tell us about the incentives and relationships between each actor.
Through desk research and conversations with experts, officials, and community representatives in the Philippines, we were able to uncover and infer insights that can be distributed based on flows and actors.

On the flow of information:

Interplay between top-down and bottom-up flows: The flow of data involves players at each level of government for different departments: national, provincial/regional, and municipal/local. Philippine policy frameworks encode delegation of data and insight generation to each unit of government to make it a whole-of-government approach. Additionally, community volunteers and collectives play an important role in engaging with barangay (the local unit of government) officials on providing relevant insights on assessing needs and capacities, expanding the governance ambit to whole-of-society.
Role of academia: The academia bridges a critical gap in the flow of information between governments and civil society organisations. Academic institutions also assist local governments in advocacy efforts on disaster management and preparedness.
Community trust in social media: Social media platforms like Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok form a major source of information on disaster events and management for those at the risk of being affected. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) disseminates predictions on weather and most affected areas during calamity on X.

Interplay between top-down and bottom-up flows: The flow of data involves players at each level of government for different departments: national, provincial/regional, and municipal/local. Philippine policy frameworks encode delegation of data and insight generation to each unit of government to make it a whole-of-government approach. Additionally, community volunteers and collectives play an important role in engaging with barangay (the local unit of government) officials on providing relevant insights on assessing needs and capacities, expanding the governance ambit to whole-of-society.
Role of academia: The academia bridges a critical gap in the flow of information between governments and civil society organisations. Academic institutions also assist local governments in advocacy efforts on disaster management and preparedness.
Community trust in social media: Social media platforms like Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok form a major source of information on disaster events and management for those at the risk of being affected. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) disseminates predictions on weather and most affected areas during calamity on X.

Interplay between top-down and bottom-up flows: The flow of data involves players at each level of government for different departments: national, provincial/regional, and municipal/local. Philippine policy frameworks encode delegation of data and insight generation to each unit of government to make it a whole-of-government approach. Additionally, community volunteers and collectives play an important role in engaging with barangay (the local unit of government) officials on providing relevant insights on assessing needs and capacities, expanding the governance ambit to whole-of-society.
Role of academia: The academia bridges a critical gap in the flow of information between governments and civil society organisations. Academic institutions also assist local governments in advocacy efforts on disaster management and preparedness.
Community trust in social media: Social media platforms like Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok form a major source of information on disaster events and management for those at the risk of being affected. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) disseminates predictions on weather and most affected areas during calamity on X.

Interplay between top-down and bottom-up flows: The flow of data involves players at each level of government for different departments: national, provincial/regional, and municipal/local. Philippine policy frameworks encode delegation of data and insight generation to each unit of government to make it a whole-of-government approach. Additionally, community volunteers and collectives play an important role in engaging with barangay (the local unit of government) officials on providing relevant insights on assessing needs and capacities, expanding the governance ambit to whole-of-society.
Role of academia: The academia bridges a critical gap in the flow of information between governments and civil society organisations. Academic institutions also assist local governments in advocacy efforts on disaster management and preparedness.
Community trust in social media: Social media platforms like Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok form a major source of information on disaster events and management for those at the risk of being affected. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) disseminates predictions on weather and most affected areas during calamity on X.

On actors and their purview of authority:

DSWD as central regulating authority: Surrounded by other state and non-state actors, the DSWD plays a key role in carrying out data management endeavours, liaising with multiple different actors to create response mechanisms. While the role of the department is mainly to carry out relief efforts and disburse aid, it collates insights on other stages of the disaster management cycle with different stakeholders.
Whole-of-government and whole-of-society principles: Policy interventions and advocacy is a collaborative effort that involves departments beyond the ones listed in the map. Philippine jurisprudence recognises the role of every department in contributing to efforts made towards disaster management, irrespective of whether it fits within their mandate. These include the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDEV), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), among others, involved in rehabilitation and resilience-building efforts.
Duplication of data: As is depicted through filled in shapes in the map, many actors in this ecosystem have their own databases to record disaster and beneficiary data. Government departments are mandated to collect this data, but outside of this state ecosystem, multilateral and community organisations also maintain their own databases. The duplication of efforts raises questions around why there isn’t a greater push for interoperability, and what causes this fragmentation.

DSWD as central regulating authority: Surrounded by other state and non-state actors, the DSWD plays a key role in carrying out data management endeavours, liaising with multiple different actors to create response mechanisms. While the role of the department is mainly to carry out relief efforts and disburse aid, it collates insights on other stages of the disaster management cycle with different stakeholders.
Whole-of-government and whole-of-society principles: Policy interventions and advocacy is a collaborative effort that involves departments beyond the ones listed in the map. Philippine jurisprudence recognises the role of every department in contributing to efforts made towards disaster management, irrespective of whether it fits within their mandate. These include the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDEV), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), among others, involved in rehabilitation and resilience-building efforts.
Duplication of data: As is depicted through filled in shapes in the map, many actors in this ecosystem have their own databases to record disaster and beneficiary data. Government departments are mandated to collect this data, but outside of this state ecosystem, multilateral and community organisations also maintain their own databases. The duplication of efforts raises questions around why there isn’t a greater push for interoperability, and what causes this fragmentation.

DOST’s cluster of research institutions: The DOST, being the primary funding wing for real-time hazard assessments in the Philippines, carries out its operations with the support of multiple nodal agencies in the government, including DOST-PAGASA (weather-related information), DOST-PHIVOLCS (alerts on volcanic activity), DENR, Department of National Defence (DND), Department of Education (DEPED), and Department of Health (DOH), among others. Led by PHIVOLCS, this clutster of agencies assess critical facilities and collect information on responding to hazards.
Payment platforms as aid channel: The Philippines has a large OFW community, and social norms dictate that OFWs take up the responsibility to financially support their families and communities back home. This support, extended through remittances, is a way for communities to avail relief without going through other institutional channels, playing a vital role in disaster management in the country.
Civil society participation: Based on available information, the presence of civil society collaboration is low, and while consultations occur to a certain extent, spaces for dialogue among organisations is missing. What also emerged is civil society organisations supporting multilateral organisations in carrying out relief operations in at-risk locations in the country. This is also a consequence of governmental channels being inaccessible compared to those of multilaterals.
Multilateral efforts outside of state infrastructure: Although governments have data sharing arrangements with multilaterals on beneficiary data, they also have their own databases across agencies that track this information. The primary reason behind this is ambiguous data sharing agreements on the pretext of compliance with the DPA. The information shared is anonymised and aggregated, preventing agencies to carry out operations based on household needs. This prompts agencies to also set up their own data collection mechanisms that allow them to operate on-ground.

DOST’s cluster of research institutions: The DOST, being the primary funding wing for real-time hazard assessments in the Philippines, carries out its operations with the support of multiple nodal agencies in the government, including DOST-PAGASA (weather-related information), DOST-PHIVOLCS (alerts on volcanic activity), DENR, Department of National Defence (DND), Department of Education (DEPED), and Department of Health (DOH), among others. Led by PHIVOLCS, this clutster of agencies assess critical facilities and collect information on responding to hazards.
Payment platforms as aid channel: The Philippines has a large OFW community, and social norms dictate that OFWs take up the responsibility to financially support their families and communities back home. This support, extended through remittances, is a way for communities to avail relief without going through other institutional channels, playing a vital role in disaster management in the country.
Civil society participation: Based on available information, the presence of civil society collaboration is low, and while consultations occur to a certain extent, spaces for dialogue among organisations is missing. What also emerged is civil society organisations supporting multilateral organisations in carrying out relief operations in at-risk locations in the country. This is also a consequence of governmental channels being inaccessible compared to those of multilaterals.
Multilateral efforts outside of state infrastructure: Although governments have data sharing arrangements with multilaterals on beneficiary data, they also have their own databases across agencies that track this information. The primary reason behind this is ambiguous data sharing agreements on the pretext of compliance with the DPA. The information shared is anonymised and aggregated, preventing agencies to carry out operations based on household needs. This prompts agencies to also set up their own data collection mechanisms that allow them to operate on-ground.

Our findings through this exercise, as laid down above, point us to an ecosystem where actors are driven to respond due to different motivations, each of them playing a crucial role in preparing communities to avail safety and security during crises. However, while the purpose of each actor’s operations is clear, their efforts are fragmented and restricted by the same mandates, the politics of interoperability and taking a whole-of-society approach.

How does this impact those on the move? At the receiving end of this vast yet distributed ecosystem of welfare delivery, communities are often left to depend on non-state and community-led actors, who understand and respond to immediate needs within a quicker window.

Authors’ note on limitations of this mapping

The Philippine landscape on disaster and data management is vast and involves the participation of multiple actors. The data flows map primarily houses organisations that we had the opportunity to speak with, and understand better through consultations with experts with knowledge on the subject, we have made certain crucial additions to paint a broader picture of this landscape. The aim of the map is to show, with as much granularity, the data ecosystem in the Philippines, but it is not an exhaustive list of all the actors and organisations involved, in this exercise.

Lastly, the flows depicted are also a result of desk research and expert conversations and consultations, and may not include each and every flow there is to highlight. The authors are welcome to feedback and technical inputs on improving the accuracy of the exercise.

The assessment of DPI as a means to enable service delivery

In the ASEAN region, countries are placed at different stages in building their DPI tools. Part of the reason for why this push has come about is also due to the COVID-19 pandemic, creating the need for swifter and more direct disbursement of funds and information when needed.

The PhilSys digital ID  
In the Philippines, we examine the digital identity launched in the form of PhilSys, the digitally-backed ID system in the country. In order to set up a paperless, cashless digital economy, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) administered PhilSys with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in 2018. While the ID is promising in its technical architecture, safeguards, and rights-based implementation, there are gaps in the implementation plan, as well as awareness-building for communities on how the ID can affect their day-to-day challenges. The complexity of aid delivery through DPI can be addressed through integration with disaster preparedness and response efforts. Insights on what the ID could mean for persons displaced due to disasters have been situated in a thought-piece published as ‘PhilSys as a means of Digital Resilience’.

Digital payments infrastructure
Remittances form almost 10 percent of the Philippines’ GDP, making it a key income source that enables negotiating power and financial stability for Filipinos back home. Coupled with the government’s goals to move towards a cashless economy, the rise of digital banks has dramatically changed the way Filipinos transact. With the introduction of QR Ph, which acts as a unified payments interface (UPI) that connects multiple banks and e-wallet apps, the country has converted almost 60 percent of its payments into digital transactions. A study demonstrated that 80 percent of all remittances continue to be made in cash, resulting in high cost and lower productivity brought about by the manual payment process. The study also estimates that digitising welfare payments and converting cash cards into basic accounts to start off with, would already provide up to 11 million individuals with their first digital store of value.
For cross-border payments, remittances through e-wallet apps and digital banks can now be processed almost instantaneously, which also makes it possible for social benefit transfers (G2P) to be carried out. The DSWD, through a technical partnership with BSP, is setting up full-service transaction accounts for the distribution of cash grants under the 4Ps, the country’s largest social security scheme. The expansion of digital payments in disaster relief efforts can prove to be a gamechanger in aid delivery. Platforms like GCash have linked up with government departments to facilitate cash aid delivery for welfare scheme beneficiaries. Our assessment on the digital payments landscape in the Philippines has been discussed in our thought-piece published as ‘Migration and the Adoption of DPI in Asia: Designing Pathways for Gender-Intentional Remittances’.

Within our Framework

The Migration Infrastructure Assessment (MIA) is a diagnostic tool that allows us to evaluate migratory corridors across the world by understanding how data and digital spaces account for the needs of people on the move. This tool situates five pillars across three stages, as laid down below. More information on the parameters and diagnosis structure of the MIA can be found here.

This diagnosis offers us a peek into the data and digital ecosystem in the Philippines internal displacement corridor. It signposts the current stage at which the corridor lies according to each pillar. The report further expands on this diagnosis to suggest interventions through which the corridor can progress through the three stages in a manner that is rights-respecting for people on the move.

Entity

Nascent

Emerging

Mature

State of Digital Infrastructure

The rollout of the PhilSys ID as well as the legislative advancement in cross-border payment systems for remittances has promise but falls short due to implementation hurdles, and a mismatch in community awareness of what it promises to do. More on this can be found in the ‘Across Data and the Digital’ section.

Governance of Digital Infrastructure

Absence of rights-based legislation on recognising disaster-induced internal displacement leaves affected communities with no negotiating power to avail social protections. More on this can be found in the Lay of the Land section.

Community Agency

Governments and other institutions advocate for and support community-based response efforts, and DRR is inculcated at every unit of government to enable communities to play the role of first responders to assist in safe passage for those affected. More on this can be found in the ‘Through a Community Lens’ section.

Policy Environment

Policy on disaster management and coordination is a government priority, but this is not in tune with local needs and capacities that vary across the archipelago. Evacuation centres and government-mandated setups for shelter are not enough for on-ground needs. More on this can be found in the ‘Across Data and the Digital’ section.

Information Landscape

Information on mobility experiences is limited to international migration, and often riddled with misinformation. Additionally, due to low internet penetration in remote areas, offline channels of information are more accurate, trustworthy, and easier to access. More on this can be found in the ‘Through a Community Lens’ section.

The Path Forward

A collation of the pathways for change that can mitigate harm and positively impact people on the move, with interventions cut by the nature of the stakeholder responsible.

IMPLEMENTING STAKEHOLDER

CATEGORY

RECOMMENDATION

EXAMPLE & LINKS/REFERENCES

Regulator, Service Provider, Advocacy

Policy Environment

Government-mandated parametric insurance as a part of social security for all those at increased risk of disaster-induced displacement can create a systematic mechanism that targets climate-induced harms.

The Philippines launched its first parametric insurance programme for small-scale fishers as a pilot initiative to protect livelihoods from income losses caused by bad weather. While this exercise would require conducting an assessment of the displacement-related harms caused by climate catastrophes, this index-based insurance claim ensures that the triggering of a disaster event provides payouts to fisherfolk to combat the economic impact of adverse weather events.

FINTECHNEWS.PH

Funders, Regulator

Governance of Digital Infrastructure

Information Landscape

Funding mitigation and response more for slow-onset displacement to better prepare communities can target the long-term effects of disasters on livelihoods.

Indonesia launched its Indonesia Climate Change Trust Fund (ICCTF) in 2009 to raise funds for climate change control, focusing on communities that are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. It places a dominant focus on resilience and mitigation through a multi-stakeholder, multi-country funding pool. While political will plays an important role in enforcing the Fund, the ICCTF has made agri-based livelihoods sustainable and cost-efficient in the country.

ICCTF.OR.ID

Regulator

Policy Environment

Including provisions on disaster data collection within the DPA will enable its governance provisions to be adaptable in crisis contexts to ensure more tailored interpretations of data.

Indonesia's BNPB's Regulation on Indonesia One Disaster Data is a policy tool that standardises the collection and management of disaster data in line with the country's data principles and guidelines. However, a step such as this is possible only due to the national government's strategic focus on disaster data management.

UNESCAP.ORG

Regulator

Policy Environment

Shifting the focus of disaster management laws from solely addressing administrative hurdles to safeguarding and enforcing the rights of any affected will create room for individual rights to feature in policymaking.

The draft articles on the protection of persons in the event of disasters were introduced in the UN General Assembly to outline the need for human dignity to be respected and protected in the event of a disaster. The primary focus of the articles was to ensure that persons affected by disasters can demand protection, humanity, neutrality, and impartiality, instead of state apparatus to manage the crisis. The operationalisation of these principles require a political push for recognising rights-based DRR, but will find support within the Philippine government agenda.

LEGAL.UN.ORG

Regulator, Research Organisations

State of Digital Infrastructure

Leveraging newer, non-traditional forms of data to respond to disasters can create a more robust preparedness and predictive system to avert imminent harms before they impact communities at scale.

Facebook and Twitter data have been used to identify safe zones and keep track of those under threat during typhoons. Currently, the DOST-PAGASA system works with the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) to generate satellite imagery, which allows it to analyse tropical cyclonic movement in real time. While this may not be implementable without supporting physical infrastructure, cross-border data sharing agreements can bolster cooperation.

Regulator, Research Organisations

Governance of Digital Infrastructure

Inter-departmental efforts to visibilise publicly available data on disaster response and aid delivery should be consolidated in a larger dashboard that can assist non-state aid agencies in identifying nodal authorities at each stage of disaster management.

The Open Data Philippines (ODPH) initiative is a repository of open datasets across governmental agencies in the Philippines. Currently, the ODPH requires some amount of capacity building due to it not having categories on disaster management and displacement.

Regulator

Policy Environment

Including people displaced by disasters in the state definition of IDPs would initiate formal response mechanisms that beneficiaries can specifically avail.

The UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement mention IDPs to include those forced or obliged to flee due to the effects of natural or human-made disasters. This international definition is not used to define IDPs in the Philippines, where other terms like evacuees, relocated families, and so on, are used.

Regulator, Service Provider, Advocacy

Information Landscape

Cultivating an information ecosystem that educates people on the benefits and harms of digitally-mediated services can create public awareness on diagnosing and countering fraud.

The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), established by the Ministry of Home Affairs in India, collaborated with Amazon India to launch #ScamSmartIndia, a campaign to safeguard consumers from the growing threat of online scams and fraud, with the view to make it digestible and easy-to-understand. However, this requires financial support as well as rigorous capacity building to be implementable.

Regulator, Facilitator

State of Digital Infrastructure

Policy Environment

Data on climate-induced displacement recorded by a state department to definitively pinpoint the movement of persons within and beyond national borders can create greater bottom-up routes within disaster data infrastructure in the country.

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) is currently the only organisation that records internal displacement due to disasters in the Philippines. It is a non-state actor and does not have access to state apparatus. This data helps us understand which barangays require displacement-specific assistance, and what drivers impact movement within the country. This data also further assists governments at the national level to allocate funds more realistically.

Regulator, Community Actors

State of Digital Infrastructure

Prioritising resilient foundational infrastructure before rolling out digital public goods and initiatives can close the last-mile gap and enhance connectivity in remote islands.

Standardised hashtags are very commonly implemented by organisations in the Philippines to make it easier to automate data curation. For instance, #TYYolanda was used to signify those in need of relief and safety during and in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda. While social media information could be unreliable too, it is a prompt way to identify affected regions and communities.

PREPARECENTER.ORG

Funders, Facilitator, Regulator

Governance of Digital Infrastructure

Policy Environment

Cross-border knowledge sharing on climate data and governance can bolster regional cooperation on climate models that can effectively predict and mitigate disasters and improve coordination between actors.

The ASEAN engagement on climate change preparedness and community engagement presents an opportunity to bring together implementation partners and strategies across nations grappling with issues similar to those faced by the Philippines. The ASEAN Climate Resilience Network working groups on climate, agriculture, and sustainability present opportunities for state and non-state actors to engage in climate change governance by representing their concerns and contexts without taking away from local knowledge to make it context-relevant.

JOURNALS.SAGEPUB.COM

Community Actors, Regulator

Governance of Digital Infrastructure

Community Agency

Data sharing arrangements that involve communities beyond formal institutions can invoke participation and trust in data infrastructure meant to serve communities.

The LPPWDFI census on disability-disaggregated data was an exercise that involved enumerators and organisers from the community. The initiative was funded by DSWD's Bottom-up Budgeting (BuB) plan. While this required capacity building for the enumerators, it ultimately allowed the DSWD to disburse welfare services during the COVID-19 pandemic to PwDs.

Behind the Research

A recap on the tools, methods, approaches, and limitations that informed the analysis of the case study.

Studying the Philippine landscape has been an exercise to understand data infrastructure through a broader, more people-centric lens. Taking a socio-technical approach to evaluating interfaces and infrastructure allowed us to look beyond top-down narratives of governing technology and data. Some methods adopted in the span of this work will be elaborated upon below.

We extend our sincere gratitude to the three Rohingya researchers whose lived experience shaped our questionnaire and whose conduct, translation and interpretation of the field interviews were invaluable to this work.

Desk Research on the socio-political history of Rohingya forced displacement, the stakeholder ecosystem coordinating response within the camps, the policy and governance environment in which it operates, and, most critically, its intersections with digital infrastructure and data governance. Sources spanned academic papers, government material, multilateral special rapporteurs, media coverage, and civil society reports.

On-ground interviews and conversations: Our visit to the Philippines in July-August 2025 yielded rich insights on intersecting conversations and themes data and disasters. Conversations with CSOs, digital banks, government departments, and community organisations and collectives opened up threads on diverse perspectives on data, gaps in interoperability, portability, and the importance of local voices in building governance models. More on this can be found in our ‘Insights from the Field’ blog.

Our partnership with the Bike Scouts Project on a film to depict lived experiences of disaster-affected communities also involved primary interviews with residents in select neighbourhoods of the country, along with government officials and service providers. These were conducted through our on-ground support from Bike Scouts Project.

Expert interviews: Numerous conversations with academicians and researchers working on migration, technology, and DPI contributed to finding interesting threads and further resources to make a stronger case for internal movement in the climate context. These interviews also helped us bring together these often siloed issues through this case study.
Multimedia: In collaboration with Bike Scouts Project, we were able to capture journeys, experiences, and challenges in welfare delivery and willingness and dexterity in utilising technology. More importantly, offering community-oriented solutions and approaches to respond to disaster-related challenges and services found voice in the film more than through our desk research. This formed an essential part of our analysis.
Frameworking tools: The use of existing tools and methods to framework specific parts of this research has proven helpful in attempting to offer answers to multiple questions within the case study. Mapping tools to understand data flows, ecosystem players and their influence in managing and operationalising these flows, as well as to elaborate on the journey map, power map, and systems map.
Taxonomy: Tabulating findings for our data flows exercise resulted in the creation of a repository of data points that could collectively map out a systemic understanding of who collects and gains access to what data. The taxonomy approach proved to be useful to also compare various databases across metrics of third-party access, use cases, to name a few.

Expert interviews: Numerous conversations with academicians and researchers working on migration, technology, and DPI contributed to finding interesting threads and further resources to make a stronger case for internal movement in the climate context. These interviews also helped us bring together these often siloed issues through this case study.
Multimedia: In collaboration with Bike Scouts Project, we were able to capture journeys, experiences, and challenges in welfare delivery and willingness and dexterity in utilising technology. More importantly, offering community-oriented solutions and approaches to respond to disaster-related challenges and services found voice in the film more than through our desk research. This formed an essential part of our analysis.
Frameworking tools: The use of existing tools and methods to framework specific parts of this research has proven helpful in attempting to offer answers to multiple questions within the case study. Mapping tools to understand data flows, ecosystem players and their influence in managing and operationalising these flows, as well as to elaborate on the journey map, power map, and systems map.
Taxonomy: Tabulating findings for our data flows exercise resulted in the creation of a repository of data points that could collectively map out a systemic understanding of who collects and gains access to what data. The taxonomy approach proved to be useful to also compare various databases across metrics of third-party access, use cases, to name a few.

Limitations and Scoping

To undertake a study that touched upon disasters and displacement in one of the most disaster prone countries in the world entailed a fairly iterative process of scoping the anchors. Firstly, this study solely focuses on internal migration in the Philippines. While there is a wealth of literature on international, outbound migration from the Philippines, the literature focusing on internal migration, specifically one that is disaster-induced, is limited, and our study aims to contribute to filling this gap. Moreover, this study mainly focuses on rapid-onset natural disasters and does not touch upon climate-induced slow-onset events and their impact on people’s displacement. The reason for this is that this study uses climate as a lever to evaluate policy and community practises as sustainable solutions, but its primary focus is on approaching this through rapidly-occurring disaster events.

Furthermore, as one of the anchors of the study is DPI, it is essential to highlight that this study dominantly focuses on data exchanges and sharing as a way to make a case for more efficient disaster management. The digital ID and digital payments infrastructure is used as a tool to bring out the larger theme of welfare delivery in times of crises.