Presidential aspirant Senator Manny Pacquiao and his runningmate, House Deputy Speaker and BUHAY Partylist Rep. Lito Atienza on Monday, Dec 20 called on all Filipinos to join the international community in taking swift and concrete steps to reduce pollution in the country.

Pacquiao and Atienza said everybody must listen to the United Nations Climate Change Commission to fight pollution as it noted that this is one of the reasons for climate change that has severely affected the Philippines.

Experts believe that the severity of the effects of typhoons, including the recent typhoon Odette, and its timing is triggered climate change “We should all take climate change seriously. The government must immediately take concrete steps to be ready for the disasters and calamities that our country has been facing and will still face as a result of climate change,” Pacquiao said.

The senator is currently in General Santos City to personally supervise relief efforts for the victims of the supertyphoon.

Odette has just exited the country, leaving over a dozen people dead, and devastating several provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao, which are now without power and off from the rest of the country.

“Aside from being prepared with relief efforts, government should have ensured that basic and essential equipment such as satellite phones should have been distributed to all provinces. Hindi pwedeng lagi tayong umaasa sa tulong ng private sector,” Pacquiao said.

Pacquiao pointed out that pollution is the main cause of climate change which has triggered powerful typhoons such as Odette.

“Pollution is the main cause of climate change, such as the emissions from vehicles and the improper disposal of garbage. These all contribute to the continued destruction of our environment. These powerful typhoons were a result of this shift in our climate,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, Atienza echoed Pacquiao’s call, saying he was there as the country’s representative in that meeting in Bali, Indonesia in 2007.

“ The U.N. Climate Change Commission warned us in 2007 of what would happen if we did not act to mitigate the devastating effects of climate change on countries such as ours. These would include more severe tropical cyclones, storm surges, and rising sea levels which could reach up to 20 feet – endangering the lives of our people,” said Atienza, formerly secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

"Sustainable development remains an enormous challenge. Wanton destruction of natural resources makes the country prone to natural and manmade disasters. When disaster strikes, it is the poor, the people least responsible for the destruction of the environment, who suffer the most," Atienza noted.