EDITORIAL - No time for finger-pointing

This is not the time for arguing and finger-pointing. The manifestations of climate change are now very clearly upon us. In fact the manifestations made themselves very apparent as early as a year back when Ondoy brought Luzon to its knees.

Interestingly, the series of storms that hit Luzon last week, and from which its people are still reeling from, came almost exactly on the first anniversary of Ondoy. That we should still be arguing and finger-pointing a year hence shows we did not heed the warnings then.

And because we are still arguing and finger-pointing at this time shows we may not heed the same warnings again. That we are still arguing and finger-pointing shows we are only bothered by events of the moment, not by what is still to come.

Congressional investigations and television talk shows are not the proper forums to start preparing for greater tragedies that are certain to come. They are good for letting off steam but are a waste of time because they never solve anything.

There should already be a blueprint for coping with climate change in the hands of the concerned government agencies. Why they have not been implemented we do not know. But finding out why is the least of our worries. There is another time for an accounting.

The point is, the time for talk has long been over. The time for action is upon us. We cannot wait for another year until what seems to be a pattern of bad weather again hits us where it hurts the most.

What President Aquino should do is convene the concerned agencies promptly and order them to set in motion what should already be ready for implementation. He must exercise political will and not mind the political consequences of his actions. Lives are at stake, after all.

The cost of waiting will be tremendous. There is no getting off the planet. We are stuck with it. As the planet starts to go haywire, only those who are best prepared to cope with its tantrums will survive. That is the mindset we should adopt — as survivors, not debaters.