Senator Loren Legarda said on a debate on climate change that a candidate who has no plans of including environmental protection in his platform has no right to lead. It is certainly true as the Philippines is facing serious problems in dealing with the catastrophic damages resulted by the instances of destructive floods nationwide due to apocalyptic storms.
According to the senator, only 19 percent of our forest covers remains, resulting to erosion of about 50 percent of our mountains’ top soil. She also added that the top soil buries villages at the foot of mountains while contributing to the siltation of our river systems. This was what happened to the flooded areas in Marikina, Rizal and other areas in Metro Manila during the onslaught of typhoon Ondoy.
The senator, who conducted broad investigation on climate change, explained further that global warming increases water evaporation and the volume of rainfall, even as it raises sea levels due to the melting of the polar ice caps. This will further increase the possibilities of flooding in lowland areas.
Loren also warned that climate change threatens the very survival of man, as can be seen from the recent natural catastrophes such as the storms and floods in the Philippines and Maldives and the earthquakes in Indonesia. This shows that climate change is not just experienced in our country but worldwide. This is why the senator has been an advocate of environmental concern for decades in her service as a government official.
Environmental disasters have the potential of becoming humanitarian crises. This indeed can threaten humanity if not taken seriously especially when a nation’s leader does not prioritize climate change alleviation and disaster risk-reduction in their platforms and policies.
Every Filipino, not just leaders, should be very well aware of the disastrous effects of climate change. According to a cliché, “prevention is better than cure”. There should be no place for negligence on a crisis that gets worst.
