Marcos Jr. enacts law enabling Loss and Damage Fund Board

MANILA, Philippines —  President Marcos has signed into law a measure granting juridical personality and legal capacity to the Loss and Damage Fund Board, the body that manages funds intended to help vulnerable countries cope with the effects of climate change.

Marcos affixed his signature on the Loss and Damage Fund Board Act or Republic Act 12019 last Wednesday.

The Philippines was elected to host the Loss and Damage Fund Board last month, a role that President Marcos said reinforces the country’s dedication to ensuring that the voices of those most affected by climate change would shape future global policies.

“To accelerate access to critical climate finance and investments for future-proofing the economy and ensuring sustainable and inclusive growth for all Filipinos, the State supports the hosting of the governing board of the fund in the Philippines,” the law said.

Under the new law, the board, as the governing body of the loss and damage fund, shall have juridical personality with full legal capacity to contract, acquire and dispose of immovable and movable property and to institute legal proceedings.

The law also gives the board the legal capacity to negotiate, conclude and enter into a hosting arrangement with the World Bank as the interim trustee and host of the loss and damage fund’s secretariat and undertake activities necessary to discharge its roles and functions.

“We will have a huge influence on our needs. We can express all of our views about the subject matter and we will have an influence... We will have a loud voice,” Marcos said in a recent interview.

The law noted that the Philippines, as a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, lauds the creation of a fund for responding to loss and damage under previous climate conferences and agreements.

The loss and damage fund was among the highlights of the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt in 2022. The Philippines secured a seat on the board at the COP28 in Dubai last December. –  Bella Cariaso