These past few years have been really difficult for our planet. The rise in the Earth’s core temperature is a terrible indication of how badly Mother Nature is suffering and how important it is going to be for all the nations of the world to pitch in and help make a difference. I know I have written about it before but the problem is a continuous one and we all need to constantly be aware of our actions. It’s reaching critical mass with the number of people in the world and our emissions and waste. The planet won’t be able to sustain us at this pace for much longer.
Climate change has been a rallying cry of staunch environmentalists for years, but for the bulk of that time their cries fell on deaf ears. People didn’t realize the seriousness of the matter because they didn’t see the effects yet. It’s a pity we didn’t act then when it wasn’t so bad. Now, people are finally starting to change their tune because the devastating effects of climate change are being felt around the world – polar ice caps are melting, temperatures are rising, and weather patterns are going crazy.
Here in the Philippines we can attest to crazy weather. For several years our weather was quite predictable. Rainy season began roughly in June and lasted maybe until October at the latest. Scattered rains through November and by December until around early February it is cooler until summer hits us in March. Now though that is all out the window. Seasons have shifted and rains can start as late as September and last well throughout the holiday season. What’s more, the typhoons are much stronger now too. It’s only in recent years that super typhoons such as Yolanda were a real threat and the scary part is, weather experts say storms like that will soon be the norm unless things change.
I am very grateful that President Rodrigo Duterte changed his mind on Monday and agreed to allow the country’s ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. As I always say in my columns, we are not an island drifting alone in the middle of the ocean anymore, we are part of a global community and we must play our part in doing what we can to protect the environment and bring global temperatures down. What we do in the Philippines no longer affects just us. It affects the whole world too, just like every other nation. We need to work together.
I was quite surprised when the President initially said he did not want to sign the agreement. I understand why he was hesitant just because it was unfair for developing countries to face the same sanctions and the same cutbacks on carbon emissions as more developed countries considering these developed nations have given more than twice the amount of emissions over the last decade. However, there’s really nothing we can do about that now. As awful as it is, what’s done is done and we have to focus on the future. We all need to take responsibility and make things better.
Fortunately, the majority of the president’s Cabinet was for ratification so the president adhered and said that he would sign it, stating that it was the Cabinet’s decision. We need to be on the right side of this so when we look back years from now we’ll know we did our part in trying to repair the damage we have all done to our world.
The Paris Agreement happened last December, with then President Benigno Aquino III, and nearly 200 other countries. They agreed on a binding global agreement to slash greenhouse gases and keep global temperature below two degrees Celsius. On our part, Manila promised to cut carbon emissions by 70 percent by the year 2030 despite the fact that the Philippines is not a major emitter. Wealthy developed countries were also asked to set aside money amounting to at least $100 billion yearly as financial assistance to developing countries to enable all countries of the world to find renewable energy sources by the year 2020.
I know that we have a long journey ahead of us, but we need to remember that we did not destroy the planet overnight. This happened from years of misuse and abuse and it’s going to take equally long if not longer to repair. The agreement is an important step the world is taking together to ensure the planet’s future and I’m glad that the Philippines is finally onboard.
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Yesterday the Supreme Court, in a 9-5 vote, decided that former dictator Ferdinand Marcos can be buried in Libingan ng mga Bayani. It was a devastating blow to the martial law victims who have been fighting this for so long. I personally can’t believe I lived to see this day. How can a country that fought so hard to oust a dictator that bled the nation just turn tail and allow him to be buried in a cemetery reserved for the nation’s heroes?
With this decision we have become the laughingstock of the international community. It’s like we just decided to forget our history and pretend the atrocities never happened.
We may as well rewrite the history books now because how can we explain to our children that the man destroyed so many Filipino lives is buried next to those that fought and bled for our nation? I don’t buy that this burial is going to help “heal the scars of the past.” No one ever learned from their past by choosing to ignore it. Just because you want to pretend it never happened doesn’t make it true.
I am deeply saddened by this development. This burial may be happening, but it doesn’t erase the past and there are still so many of us that will never forget.