The legal foundation which directs all policy regarding Civil Defense functions in the Territory of Guam is Public Law 1-21, known as the Civil Defense Act of 1951, codified in Title 10, Chapter 65, of the Guam Code Annotated (January 13, 1993). Under the provisions of this act, the Governor of Guam is empowered with the general direction and control of the Civil Defense and with those extraordinary powers required during an emergency, actual disaster or an enemy attack or war.

Prior to the late 1960’s, there were few historical documents relating to Guam’s Civil Defense. Since that time, Civil Defense has been a line agency directly under the Governor’s Office. As a reference, Executive Order No. 6804, dated March 7, 1968, promulgated the Typhoon Emergency Control Plan of 1968. Executive Order No. 75-48, signed by the Governor on December 19, 1975, delegated to the Director of Civil Defense the authority to direct and control the programs and activities of Civil Defense.

Executive Order No. 78-10, dated May 18, 1978, adopted the Interim Territorial Emergency Plan (ITEP), which established the Guam Emergency Services Office (GESO) to administer the ITEP and eventually the Territorial Emergency Plan. In addition, it authorized the GESO to maintain government coordination and control, in order to ensure prompt, efficient and effective utilization of the resources of the Territory in emergency situations.

On March 25, 1991, the Governor issued Executive Order No. 91-09 promulgating Guam’s Territorial Emergency Plan (TEP), which replaced the ITEP promulgated in 1978.

The federal statute governing emergency situations in all States and Territories is Public Law 93-288, as amended. This act is also known as the “Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act”, as amended. Just as each state and territory is tasked with responsibility of developing a State Emergency Operations Plan, the Federal Government is April, 1992 promulgated the Federal Response Plan. This Plan facilitates the delivery of all types of federal response assistance to the states and territories to assist them in dealing and recovering from the consequences of significant disasters.

In 1999, the Office of Office of Civil Defense was merged with the Department of Military Affairs under Public Law 24-298. The Department of Military Affairs will be the primary government agency responsible for all response and recovery activities. The Office of Civil Defense will remain the primary agency responsible for maintaining the Government of Emergency Response Plan and coordinating the response to all natural and man made emergencies and disasters.

On August 16, 2001, by virtue of Executive Order No. 2001-22, the Guam Emergency Response Plan (GERP), replacing the TEP, was implemented as a basis for recovery and emergency response for the island of Guam. The GERP is the current plan in use by the Government of Guam to prepare for, mitigate, respond to and recover from an emergency/disaster situation.

It is the duty of GovGuam officials and agencies to provide responsible leadership during emergency conditions and to develop plans and procedures necessary to protect lives, property and island resources. These officials must ensure continuity and cooperation in responding to the Government’s needs during various phases of the emergency utilizing the Unified Command System concept of operation.

These officials and agencies are responsible for carrying out their duties and responsibilities as delineated in this Guam Emergency Response Plan. Through their development of plans and procedures, responsible officials will be completely familiar with their emergency management roles in disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.