Amid rainy reason, Javi Benitez highlights move toward climate adaptability
At A Glance
- Science and research are indispensable when it comes to improving the Philippines' disaster preparedness. Thus, said Negros Occidental 3rd Rep. Javier Miguel "Javi" Benitez, who sought to upgrade the UP Resilience Institute (UPRI) as the National Resilience Institute.
(Unsplash)
Science and research are indispensable when it comes to improving the Philippines' disaster preparedness.
Thus, said Negros Occidental 3rd Rep. Javier Miguel "Javi" Benitez, who sought to upgrade the UP Resilience Institute (UPRI) as the National Resilience Institute.
"It is our fervent hope that the government will seriously consider the vital role of science and research as a strategic approach to the country's climate adaptability," Benitez, an assistant majority leader, said in a recent statement.
"To this end, as the vice chairman of the Disaster Resilience Committee of the 20th Congress, I filed bill seeking the conversion of the UP Resilience Institute (UPRI) into the National Resilience Institute," he noted.
According to Benitez, converting the UPRI into a national institute will institutionalize the government's climate resiliency efforts, amplify public knowledge on climate adaptability through education, and maximize resources for the mitigation and response to threats related to climate change.
"As a country at the top of the global list for disaster risk due to its high exposure and vulnerability to natural hazards, the UPRI conversion bill must be a priority," he underscored.
It is currently the rainy season in the Philippines, which gets visited by an average of 20 typhoons annually.
"We will continue to rally behind the creation of a national resilience institute throughout the deliberations in the 20th Philippine Congress until we see its full implementation," said the neophyte congressman.
Benitez also hailed the recent move of the Budget Amendment Review Sub-Committee (BARSc) to allocate P1 billion to Project NOAH, or the Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazard.
The BARSc replaced the abolished "small committee". It played a key role in identifying the needed realignments under the proposed P6.793-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or proposed national budget for 2026.
The 2026 outlay is undergoing plenary debates at the House of Representatives.