Yolanda dead remembered

Tacloban City mayor Alfred Romualdez has invited representatives from donor countries to join the activities scheduled this Saturday in remembrance of super Typhoon Yolanda that wreaked havoc on provinces in Western Visayas, killing over 6,000 people with 1,800 still missing and destroying over a million houses. Mayor Alfred has also invited President Aquino and DILG Secretary Mar Roxas who everyone knows had a tiff with the mayor in the aftermath of the typhoon. The Catholic Church has also declared Nov. 8 a National Day of Prayer, and bells from 50,000 churches all over the country will simultaneously ring.

A year after the devastation, recovery work is still ongoing with local and private firms helping victims rebuild their lives. One of those at the forefront is the SM Group through its SM Cares Foundation that is raising P200 million to build 1,000 disaster-resilient houses in selected areas in Cebu, Tacloban, Ormoc and Iloilo. Needless to say, the response has been overwhelming with the general public and private companies giving donations for the construction of the houses, with groundbreaking conducted for 400 permanent houses in New Kawayan Village in Tacloban.

Livelihood training programs are also being held to help the survivors find employment – something that will go a long way in making the people piece together their shattered lives. If there’s one thing positive that has come out of the Yolanda tragedy, it is the display of resilience and faith of Filipinos, not to mention the compassion and sympathy from the international community.  Hopefully, the activities on Nov. 8 will not be tainted by partisan politics.

UN warning: Time running out on climate change

A new report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) disclosed that the earth is headed for an irreversible course of dangerous climatic disruptions, with the temperature going warmer by at least four degrees Celsius if pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and carbon levels are not managed.

According to the report – only the fifth one issued by the IPCC in its 26-year history – the degree of global warming has to be limited to two degrees Celsius as the current trend will bring about more severe droughts and floods and worse, “species extinction.” Add to that the specter of rising sea levels, extreme weather patterns and melting ice caps and you have a recipe for disaster. And even if all fossil fuel emissions were to stop, some impacts of climate change could continue for centuries, the report also noted. 

Experts agree that climate change is strongly connected with human activity, but this time, the warning issued by IPCC is stronger, saying in no uncertain terms that the increased carbon dioxide emissions as well as methane and other greenhouse gases in the last 60 years are the culprit. Data by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration seems to underscore the report, with hot temperatures recorded in May, June and August this year breaking previous records. According to experts, 2014 may yet be the hottest year ever.

The IPCC panel also stressed that climate change risks are so serious that they could set back any kind of progress made on poverty and hunger reduction as it can cause the “mass extinction” of plants and animals resulting in food and water shortage. As the warming continues to increase in unmanageable levels, the time could come when it would be dangerous – fatally so – for people to go out under the sun when the temperatures are hottest, some experts also noted.

The report comes before the conference in Lima, Peru where international delegates will convene to hopefully, arrive at a new agreement to limit carbon emissions that the panel said were at the highest in more than 800,000 years. No doubt the report was serious enough for US President Barack Obama – through his science adviser – to remark that it is “yet another wakeup call to the global community that we must act together swiftly and aggressively in order to stem climate change and avoid its worst impacts.” 

While governments are urged to consider the issue of climate change a priority and develop stronger policy towards limiting carbon emissions, it’s clear that people must do their share to take care of the environment. For instance, simple acts like indiscriminately throwing garbage can have far-reaching and disastrous consequences because these can exacerbate floods as they clog esteros and waterways.

Many people were totally disgusted to hear about the 834 tons of garbage left by the people who visited the Manila North and South cemeteries during All Saints Day and All Souls Day – the rubbish filling 60 trucks. According to MMDA chair Francis Tolentino, garbage collected at North Cemetery filled 27 trucks while South Cemetery needed 30 trucks. It would be so simple for people to bring garbage bags for their trash. Unfortunately, they find it easier to complain and blame authorities when disaster strikes.

UNISDR, SM Group hold disaster risk forum

The United Nations has identified the Philippines as the third most vulnerable to climate change and natural disaster, which is why many welcome the initiative of the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) and SM Prime Holdings in convening the Top Leaders Forum where challenges and opportunities for disaster risk reduction and resilience will be tackled by both the private and public sector.

To be held Nov. 10 at the SMX Convention Center, this year’s theme of “Multi-stakeholder collaboration in disaster risk reduction management” will see experts and private sector leaders exchanging ideas on how we can develop a disaster-resilient society through better planning and preparedness. Forum speakers are Margaretha Wahlstrom, UN Special Representative of the Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction; Minister Tetsuro Amano, Japanese Deputy Chief of Mission; New Zealand Charge D’Affairs Stefan Corbett; Undersecretary Joseph Pama of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council; and Meralco SVP Al Panlilio

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