Abolition of Guam's Office of Civil Defense proposed

By Pacific Island Times News Staff

 Sen. Shawn Gumataotao today proposed the abolition of the Office of Civil Defense and the subsequent transfer of emergency preparedness and response activities to the Guam Fire Department.

Bill 179-38, the Guam Emergency Management Modernization Act of 2025, would create the Bureau of Emergency Management under the fire department.

“Since 1985, GFD continues to maintain a modern emergency response infrastructure and 24/7 readiness to protect life and property during times of natural and manmade disasters,”  said Gumataotao, oversight chair of emergency management.

 “Together with the Guam Police Department, the Mayor’s Council of Guam and other local emergency response agencies in cooperation with their federal and military counterparts, I believe that GFD has the vision and leadership to serve as the government of Guam’s lead department responsible for all emergency management coordination in Guam now and into the future,” he added.

In January, Gumataotao led an inquiry linked to two scathing reports by the Guam Office of Public Accountability focused on the Operating Costs of the Guam Homeland Security/Office of Civil Defense.

The OPA found that from fiscal 2018 to 2023, GHS/OCD’s operating costs were funded by the general fund without direct local appropriations despite claiming 100 percent federal funding for its operations.

 At the time of the OPA investigative audit, the general fund had yet to receive full reimbursement for transactions incurred due to FEMA holding funds because of GHS/OCD’s repeated noncompliance with guidelines and regulations.

Another OPA report found that the organization’s overtime costs in the same period were non-compliant with federal and local law and has led to indictments in the Superior Court of Guam by the Office of the Attorney General of Guam.

 Gumataotao led his committee on a May 6 “mission check” of the Emergency Operations Center in Agana Heights that revealed poor readiness and facility conditions and questioned priorities by GHS/OCD.

The measure provides the legal mechanism for the appropriation of emergency management funds provided to the government of Guam by the U.S. government and appropriations authorized by the legislature for expenditures supporting disaster preparedness and emergency response in Guam.

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