THE VIEW FROM RIZAL
We were privileged to be invited to make a brief presentation at the recent Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR), an event spearheaded by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). Our participation in this event allowed us to hear President Bongbong Marcos Jr.’s timely call for collaboration to mitigate the impact of climate-related disasters.
The event also gave the participants the privilege of hearing officials of international organizations pay tribute to our country’s gains in our bid to level up our capabilities in addressing these adverse situations.
The weeklong conference took place at a time when climate change-related disasters had just taken place in parts of the world where these events seemed unlikely in the past. For example, in the southeastern part of the United States, more than 200 persons perished following the onslaught of Hurricane Helene. The damage was estimated at $45 billion. Just a few weeks later, Hurricane Milton traversed the same areas, leaving around 30 people dead.
The devastation wrought by the two howlers was so massive that even the resources of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) appeared to have been stretched too thin. Our thought was if the government of the world’s richest and most powerful country could be sent to its knees by a powerful weather disturbance, imagine the toll that such occurrences could take on small countries like ours.
President Marcos Jr. opened the gathering attended by an estimated 4,000 participants from here and abroad. The President made a call which may have provided the key to our ability to cope with the increasing intensity of weather disturbances. He called for “a safer, inclusive, adaptive and disaster-resilient future” in the face of drastic climate challenges.
“We must harmonize our approaches and pursue meaningful actions to secure a sustainable and climate-resilient future,” he told the audience. He underscored that all stakeholders need to strive more “to create a future where the need for recovery becomes less frequent.”
Based on the remarks of one of the important speakers of the event, much of what the President had said in his call had already borne fruit for the country.
Kamal Kishore, the special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, called our country a “lighthouse to the world.”
This was Mr. Kishore’s unabashed tribute to what our country has achieved in this field.
He said, “I think the work that has been done in the Philippines can be a lighthouse to the rest of the region and in the world.”
What impressed the UN official was what he called our country’s approach of “walking across sectors.” He was referring to the “inclusive” strategy of dealing with disasters where all stakeholders pitch in and help in order to mitigate the impact of adverse events triggered by climate change. He said the Philippines’ collaborative approach has put us ahead in disaster risk reduction initiatives.
In a way, the UN official was paying tribute to our spirit and culture of “Bayanihan.”
In our report before a sub-group at the conference, we shared how this spirit and culture has guided our planning and execution of our disaster response and mitigation efforts.
We had made sure that disaster risk reduction measures were integrated into the planning of our infrastructure, our policy issuance and ordinances, and our budget calls. We made sure we underscored that the various stakeholders are actively involved in our bid to reduce vulnerabilities and raise resiliency.
The results of the Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment are integrated into the vital planning components of our response. Among these are, one, our Comprehensive Development Plan; two, our Comprehensive Land Use Plan; three, our Zoning Ordinances; four, our Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan; and fifth, our Climate Change Action Plan.
In the Budget Call for 2025, we made sure that the following items are given priority in the allocation of scarce financial resources: first, the building of green and resilient infrastructure; second, socio-economic and poverty reduction programs to mitigate community vulnerabilities; and, third, mechanisms that will ensure the continuity of the conduct of business enterprises and public service even when disasters strike.
We made sure stakeholders were fully involved in our aspiration to raise the level of resiliency and diminish vulnerabilities. Our Investment and Incentives Code encourages the entry of industries and businesses with minimum impact on the environment; encourages the optimum use of natural resources without degrading the environment and ecology; and, encourages them to create a safe and healthy working environment for the labor force.
The involvement of stakeholders in this effort is clear. An outstanding example is the voluntary action on the part of the SM Group. They built a huge water-impounding facility under its building — a valuable flood mitigation infrastructure. Moreover, members of the academe, non-governmental organizations, and civic groups are working together to replant our mountains with trees needed to protect the topsoil of our mountains and prevent further erosion.
We may not have the resources that rich countries have. However, we have the spirit and culture needed to mitigate the impact of climate-related disasters. The international community has recognized that.
(The author is the mayor of Antipolo City, former Rizal governor, DENR assistant secretary and LLDA general manager. Email: [email protected])