Politics could ultimately kill the cat

There is that old saying “curiosity can kill a cat” – and in our country, too much politics could ultimately kill all of us. As the May 2025 midterm election draws near with the filing of certificates of candidacy just around the corner, we can expect shifts in the political landscape with new party coalitions or alliances, realignments and even defections to happen.

While Senate and congressional hearings continue to take centerstage with Filipinos riveted to the TV or the screens of their smart gadgets waiting for the latest episode of the Alice PO-Guo story, let’s not lose sight of the fact that we are faced with so many serious challenges that can potentially impact the future of our country and people.

In the 2024 World Risk Report published two weeks ago by the Germany-based Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft and the Ruhr University Bochum-Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict, the Philippines topped the list of countries that are most at-risk to extreme natural events and negative climate change, followed by Indonesia, India, Colombia, Mexico, Myanmar, Mozambique, Russia and Bangladesh with Pakistan at number 10.

This is the third time in a row that the Philippines has topped the report’s “World Risk Index” that breaks down the disaster risks of 193 United Nations member-states based on their “exposure to natural hazards, the vulnerability of the population and the coping and adaptive capacities of societies.”

According to the report, climate change is “increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme natural events, leaving less and less time for regeneration. As soon as one disaster is overcome, the next threat is already looming.”

With the Philippines getting hit by an average of 20 typhoons every year that also result in massive flooding in many parts of the country, the impact has been devastating, with the displacement of hundreds of thousands of families, damage to infrastructure and agriculture worth billions of pesos that could ultimately affect the economy.

A recent example was Super Typhoon Enteng (international name Yagi) that cut a swathe of destruction in its wake, causing massive flooding and landslides, cancellation of classes and disruption of power supply and telecommunication services. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, damage to infrastructure across six regions in the country is estimated at P700 million, with agricultural losses estimated at over P650 million.

Seeing the devastation caused by Typhoon Enteng and the bare forests in many areas, the President said government must have stricter implementation of laws against illegal logging because this has become a matter of “life and death.”

Another cause for concern is a recent study made by the University of the Philippines Resilience Institute titled “Ground subsidence in major Philippine metropolitan cities from 2014 to 2020” that highlights the threat of “gradual sinking or sudden collapse” faced by Metro Manila and other urban areas due to “excessive groundwater extraction, rapid urbanization and natural sediment compaction, exacerbated by climate change through rising sea levels.”

A major result of the study reveals the significant ground subsidence in Iloilo with rates reaching as high as nine millimeters per year – no doubt exacerbated by groundwater extraction.

In a business column over a decade ago, I remember writing about the excessive extraction of groundwater that is causing cities to sink slowly, with overpopulated areas like Metro Manila at high risk due to the overwhelming demand for water for drinking, bathing and other needs. The situation was also aggravated by the construction of deep wells by private subdivision owners and businesses whose operations require large amounts of water. As early as then, several areas aside from Metro Manila were identified as water critical; among them are Baguio, Davao, Metro Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod, Angeles in Pampanga and Iloilo.

Aside from climate change and natural disasters, one other problem that impacts future generations is quality education. This was highlighted in a U-Report survey conducted by the UNICEF that showed climate change, natural disasters and education being the top concerns among the 3,000 survey respondents.

The very low ranking of the Philippines (bottom four among 64 countries) in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) that tested the creative thinking abilities of students underscores the need to improve the country’s educational system, with Filipino students ranked as among the world’s weakest in math, science and reading which are considered basic or fundamental competencies.

A lot of hope is riding on the shoulders of Education Secretary Sonny Angara who, I’m glad, is on the right track, starting with an increase in the salary of teachers, with plans to incorporate coding in the curriculum and utilize technology that would allow teachers to concentrate on the job of teaching instead of being burdened by administrative work.

“We are working to incorporate coding into our curriculum and are utilizing educational technology, such as analytics, to assess learners in real-time. This will allow teachers to focus more on teaching and less on administrative tasks, ultimately improving the quality of education,” Secretary Angara said during the most recent Philippines-Singapore Business and Investment Summit.

Externally, the Philippines is facing the most serious challenge to our sovereignty and existence as a free country – not because of climate change or rising sea levels – but by force coming from a foreign country claiming large portions of our territory.

Climate change, defense and security, low quality of education – these are just a few of the issues that our political leaders must seriously tackle as these could impact the future of our country – because undoubtedly, too much politics could ultimately “kill the cat.”

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