Super typhoon Yolanda has shown the Philippines that climate change must be a vital part of its national policies, President Marcos said.
Speaking at the 10th year commemoration of the super typhoon Yolanda in Tacloban City on Wednesday, Nov. 8, Marcos stressed that climate change will continue to exacerbate the impact of natural disasters.
Thus, he said, it must be considered as a key concern in all national policies.
"It is also crucial to be reminded that climate change will keep exacerbating the impact of natural disasters. As I have said, we must make climate change a vital component of our national policies," Marcos said.
"We must make sure that we apply our knowledge on climate change to every plan, to every decision, and initiative so we can build stronger and more resilient communities," he added.
The President recalled the first forecast on how strong Yolanda was going to become, which reached 370 km gusts.
"And up to now, we have not seen that kind of weather anywhere around the world and that is why we have now recognized that this was the onset of the worst effects of climate change," he said.
He pointed out that the onslaught Yolanda brought has become an indicator of what the country and the world need to face in terms of climate change.
"[T]he suffering that we went through during Yolanda will not go to naught because we have shown the rest of the country and the rest of the world what needs to be done. The suffering that we went through is now a bellwether of what the world needs to face when we talk about climate change," he said.
The Chief Executive said the government will ensure that "such tragedies of this magnitude will be avoided and will be adapted to."
He said the country will continue to build disaster-resilient evacuation centers and emergency operations centers and put in place more centralized and efficient early warning systems, incident command systems, and disaster response strategies.
"The development and deployment of new technologies, such as GeoRiskPH and PlanSmart, along with the continuous conduct of information and education campaigns and simulation drills are also aimed to save lives," he also said.
Marcos expressed belief that it is "an opportunity to become stronger, wiser, and better" as a nation.