Loren Legarda - The Green Vice President

NPC condemns black propaganda vs Loren

2010-01-02T03:54:00.000-08:00

THE NATIONALIST PEOPLE’S COALITION ON SUNDAY NIGHT STRONGLY CONDEMNED THE “BLACK PROPAGANDA” BEING WAGED AGAINST SEN. LOREN LEGARDA, THE NPC-NP CANDIDATE FOR VICE PRESIDENT, AS “UNWARRANTED, BLATANTLY FALSE AND SCURRILOUS.”

Valenzuela City Rep. Rex Gatchalian, NPC spokesman, referred to text messages being circulated by anonymous sources claiming that Senator Legarda had filed a bill seeking to reduce the salaries of public school teachers and military personnel.
“Nothing could be farther from the truth,” Gatchalian said. “On the contrary, Senator Legarda had filed a bill precisely seeking to increase the salaries and upgrade the positions of teachers and she also co-authored a resolution seeking the same for uniformed military personnel and civilian employees of the Department of National Defense.”

Gatchalian said that Loren had filed Senate Bill No. 1611, titled “An Act Upgrading the Minimum Salary Grade Level of Teachers from Salary Grade 10 to 19.”
He also disclosed that Loren was also one of the authors and co-signors of Senate Resolution No. 26, entitled “Joint Resolution Authorizing the President of the Philippines to modify the position classification system of civilian personnel and the base pay schedule of the military and uniformed personnel in the government, and to implement the same initially effective July 1, 2009, and for other purposes.”

“This is on the record and is known to everybody who has followed up Loren’s activities in the Senate,” said Gatchalian. “Apparently those who are disseminating this manifestly false information are desperate that Senator Legarda is bound to win the vice presidential race. This disinformation is a disservice to our electorate who deserve to be told the truth.”

Gatchalian said that in budget deliberations,Loren had always moved for the increase in salaries and benefits of government employees, especially teachers and health workers, as well as military personnel, to uplift their living standards in view of the continuing rise in cost of living expenses.

Gatchalian pointed out that Loren had special concern for members of the military, having herself obtained a degree in National Security Administration from the National Defense College of the Philippines, graduating at the top of her class. She is now a reserve officer in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

“Senator Legarda has always demonstrated her compassion and concern for the rank-and-file employees of government, including civilian, military and police, teachers and health workers, because she believes that they are usually overworked and underpaid, considering the continuing rise in the cost of living,” said Gatchalian.

“In her two terms in the Senate, Loren has filed bills and supported legislation that would improve the economic security and future of our public servants, and ensure for them a decent standard of living,” Gatchalian added. “She also supported and pushed for larger appropriations in the budget for increase of salaries and benefits for government employees and officials.”

Loren to push green advocacy even more passionately this time

2010-01-02T03:51:00.000-08:00

SEN. LOREN LEGARDA WILL TAKE A MORE ACTIVE ROLE IN PUSHING HER ADVOCACY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND MORE GREEN TECHNOLOGY WITH THE ADVENT OF THE NEW YEAR.
As her New Year’s resolution, Loren said she would pursue her climate change advocacy “more passionately and bring it to the grassroots to show how it directly affects food and hunger.
Loren said she would also “try to convince business and industry to adopt green technology.”

“I will do these with even more fervor because time is not on our side,” Loren said.
In her New Year’s message, Loren said: “With a year of difficult crises and challenges behind us now, we embark anew not only on another calendar year but also on a new decade that could be the most daunting ever to humanity.”

Loren urged world leaders to “transcend territorial boundaries and unite to save the environment and protect the poor who suffer most from its destruction.”

The industrialized nations, Loren said, should “lead major progress on clean energy and climate protection and to provide the most vulnerable populations the resources and means to avoid, minimize and cope with the impact of the changing climate..”
At the same time, she called on national leaders to “accelerate action to improve urban governance, enhance rural livelihood and protect ecosystems to arrest the vicious cycle of disasters and poverty.”

Loren, who attended the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, pointed out: “The climate challenge prevails. The climate crisis persists. We cannot afford to be complacent. We need to act now.”

The senator, who is running as vice presidential candidate of the Nationalist People’s Coalition under the banner of the Nacionalista Party, said 2010 should “be a time for everyone to be the voices for change, in the choices we make and in the decisions we take” and usher in “a decade of empowered leaders, ready to take up the cudgels and fight for our future.”

Source: The Official Website of Loren Legarda

The ‘formidable’ duo

2009-12-10T20:22:00.000-08:00

by Nestor Mata
Malaya.com.ph
10 December 2009

‘Manny Villar and Loren Legarda have emerged as the team to beat.’

ELECTION DAY is still six months away, and already some presidential wannabes are already throwing partisan bombs, staging pep rallies and holding photo-ops instead of more serious gravitas-building appearances and statements about policies, goals and programs.

Of all the would-be presidents numbering over --- believe it or not! ---91, only two presidential and vice presidential teams have announced their platforms. They are Manny Villar and Loren Legarda of the Nacionalista Party and Noynoy Aquino and Mar Roxas of the Liberal Party.

And they are considered the frontrunners in the electoral race to replace Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who has been the temporary resident of Malacañang where she has squatted for nine long years of a faux presidency.

Unlike the Villar-Legarda tandem, who publicly announced their clear-cut platform of government during their proclamation as NP standard-bearers in Moriones, Tondo in Manila, however, Aquino and Roxas merely published theirs in paid newspaper ads in Manila newspapers. And the Aquino-Roxas platform contained nothing but an abundance of superfluous words and phrases which sounded very much like the time-worn mantras of politicos.

It was during that NP proclamation in Tondo, where he was born, that Villar urged the public and party supporters to join him and Legarda in pursuing a "new revolution" to fight poverty and "free our countrymen from the dire circumstances in their lives."

This, one political pundit has commented, was Villar’s "battlecry" to solve poverty and hunger that has beset millions of poor Filipinos under the present administration of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Indeed, as revealed by a recent public opinion survey, Filipinos are now looking at Manny Villar as "the one" who will take care of the poor and who can create more jobs for the unemployed. And it also reported that the respondents saw Villar as the leader who’s most accessible and really cares for the poor.

Of course, Villar is not alone in his crusade to uplift the poor. Former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada, too, has voiced his concern for them. But, unlike Villar, who was born poor in Tondo, Estrada was born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth, whose parents belonged to the moneyed class of society.

Villar knows how to help the poor because he well knows how it feels to be poor, unlike Aquino and Roxas who are not only scions of rich families but also grandees of political dynasties.

On the issue of change, which both the Villar-Legarda and the Aquino-Roxas camps have raised, Villar warned the people that not all those who trumpet change in government offer real change.

"What kind of change would they bring?" he asked. "Do they really understand the plight of the poor? Or are they just referring to change who is in power?"

One can’t help but be impressed by the pledge of Villar and Legarda never to engage in "personalities" or "personal attacks." That is, in dirty, name-calling, smearing campaign as practiced by politicos on their rivals during the campaign for the presidency.

Indeed, Villar and Legarda really don’t have to engage themselves in such dishonorable and old practice of dirty politics. They have already publicly revealed their program and policies of government, their dedication to fight against poverty and the greening of the environment. These are issues which have long been blithely neglected and ignored by past administrations since the time of Cory Cojuangco Aquino up to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The Villar-Legarda tandem, as a matter of fact, is considered "formidable" in letters to the editors if Manila’s mainstream newspapers.

One such letter called Villar and Legarda "a balanced tandem" and dubbed it the "Double E Team" for their shared advocacy for economics and environment.

"Our past and present presidents were all born rich and what happened?" another asked. "If we want to have a meaningful change, we should now have a leader who was born poor and knows how it is to be poor."

Quite remarkably, these unsolicited views reflected Manny Villar’s own vision of a new kind of presidency.

In his recent public statements he envisioned a presidency, far, far, different from past and present presidencies. "It’s a real change," to quote his own words, "…It’s not merely change in the presidency. It’s enriching the lives of millions of poor Filipinos."

Source: http://www.malaya.com.ph/12102009/edmata.html

SLL Statement on the Disqualification of AngLadlad Party for the 2010 Elections

2009-11-16T18:21:00.001-08:00

As citizen and Senator of the Republic, I question the recent rejection of AngLadlad Party to be a duly registered sectoral party by the Commission on Elections(COMELEC) because of allegations of ‘immorality.’ TheComelec invoked passages from the Holy Bible and the sacred Qu’ran to justify their decision on Ang Ladlad’s petition for party registration.

The Republic of the Philippines is a secular state, and as such, we must ensure the clear separation of church and state in our civil and political affairs, as enshrined in the Philippine Constitution, Article II, Section 6. Invoking justifications from sacred texts should not stand in the way of our secular and liberal democratic principles and the rights for political representation of all well-meaning Filipino citizens.

Every Filipino, regardless of sexual orientation, can exercise the fundamental right to be represented in the country’s political affairs, including the right to run for public office as political parties and individuals, and to present their platform to the Filipino electorate. There should be no room for discrimination and bigotry against any group representing gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation from within the ranks of our government.

We are now at a historic time when nation after nation hasbegun to decisively dismantle the barriers of the past – such as those that denied groups and individualsfrom being rightfully considered as equals. Many of these barriers were premised on differences based on gender, race and sexual orientation. While more and more countries have been embracing deserving homosexuals asstate leaders (e.g., Iceland ), as ministers (e.g., France), and as regular members of their armed forces (e.g., USA ), by its recent decision, our COMELEC isdangerouslyinstitutionalizing social exclusion and intolerance, and degradinga party like AngLadlad as political pariah.

A fair and honest election, fundamentally presupposes that every legal individual and party group aspiring for public office should be treated with respect, without bias, and with equality, irrespective of their religion, race, ethnicity, class and sexual orientation.

Loren issues debate challenge on ‘apocalyptic’ climate change

2009-11-16T02:47:00.000-08:00

Senator Loren Legarda yesterday challenged presidential and vice presidential candidates in next year’s elections to a debate on their environmental platforms and “on what they intend to do to address the apocalyptic effects of climate change.”

Loren 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.

“Thus, no candidate for 2010 cannot be without a platform and clear-cut solutions to environmental problems,” said the chair of the Senate Oversight Committee on Climate Change who is running for vice president.

Loren said that a candidate who has no platform of government dealing with environmental issues “has no right to lead.”

“Only 19 percent of our forest cover remains, resulting to erosion of about 50 percent of our mountains’ top soil. Where does the top soil goes? It buries villages at the foot of mountains while contributing to the siltation of our river systems,” she said.

The United Nations Champion for Climate Change Mitigation and Disaster Risk Reduction for the Asia-Pacific region, Loren said that the loss of the country’s forest cover results to animals losing their habitats, ultimately affecting forest biodiversity or the number of species thriving in any given area.

She said that with mountains being left bare of trees, low-lying communities are left to the mercy of cascading floodwater and landslides, citing as example the province or Rizal which went underwater during the onslaught of typhoon Ondoy.

Ondoy dumped on Metro Manila a record 340 milliliters of water in a few hours, the equivalent of the average total rainfall for the month, swamping the province of Rizal, and the cities of Marikina and Pasig, among others.

Loren lamented that the pollution of inland waters has been so wanton that, at present, only 36 percent of the country’s river systems can be used as water source, in itself a looming crisis as the supply of potable water diminishes.

The senator explained 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.

She echoed the warning of ecological experts that a rise by one meter in sea levels would result to the flooding of 28 of the about 80 provinces of the country.

Loren said that environmental disasters have the potential of becoming humanitarian crises, especially when a nation’s leaders do not prioritize climate change mitigation and disaster risk-reduction in their platforms and policies.

Source: http://www.lorenlegarda.com.ph/article-1258349375.html

Loren Warns Of Environmental Apocalypse

2009-11-14T09:51:00.000-08:00

ILIGAN CITY, Nov. 14 – Sen. Loren Legarda today warned of an environmental apocalypse in the Philippines unless the government and people act determinedly to reverse the current environmental deterioration.

Addressing a conference of the Philippine Society for the Study of Nature in this city, Loren said that “the state of the Philippine environment has deteriorated from a silent spring into the next stage, an apocalyptic one.

“All around us we are witnessing the birth of death, the refusal of life forms to flourish and to thrive, the black curtains that hang over former enclaves of bio-diversity.

She warned that “Only after the last tree has been felled, the last river poisoned, and the last fish caught, will man know that he cannot eat money.

“We have to reverse the onslaught to life, to usher in an environmental springtime, the surge of new life forms, the resurrection of forested mountains, clean air, clear rivers and bountiful seas.”

During the conference, Loren received a “Kalikasan award” from the society for her “valuable efforts” in saving and promoting the environment. For the past many years, Loren had planted over two million trees in the country through her foundation, Luntiang Pilipinas.

The foremost advocate of a green environment in the country, Loren declared that climate change has amplified the threat of catastrophic disasters arising from the steady deterioration of the environment in the Philippines over the past many years.

“We have seen what happened when the floods came. Communities that used to be impervious to floodwaters were inundated. Months after Ondoy and Pepeng, we still see the effects on the lakeshore municipalities of Laguna,” said Loren, who is the UN regional champion for climate change adaptation in Asia-Pacific, and chair of the Senate committee on climate change.
In describing the state of the Philippine environment, Loren pointed out that only 19 percent of the Philippines land area remain forested, while erosion has wiped away 50 percent of the soil’s fertile top layer in just over 10 years.

“Excavation, dredging, and coastal conversion for coastal zone development damage the marine environment, especially to coral reefs, mangroves, and sea-grasses.

“Only about 36% of the country’s river systems are classified as sources of public water supply.

“Agriculture encroachment into forestlands continues to threaten the stability of the whole forest ecosystem including the watershed areas.

“The Philippines has a 2.3% annual population growth rate and the projected total population is expected to reach 91 million. There is rapid urbanization and poor environmental governance and corruption.

“Because of overpopulation, the demand for water also rises. At least 30 million Filipinos have no access to potable water through water supply and distribution operations. Water demand nationwide is expected to grow from 43 million cubic meters per year in 2000 to 88 million cubic meters by 2025.”

While new legislation like the Climate Change Act, which she sponsored, have been passed, said Loren, the efforts to revert the trend would fail without total cooperation between government and people.

She called “for a new development thinking, a more holistic development philosophy. .. founded on sustainable and equitable socio-economic development, ecosystems protection, cultural resilience, and good governance”.

The Philippine Strategic Framework on Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and the Philippine Climate Change Adaptation Action Agenda would serve as the basis for the program for climate change planning, research and development, extension and monitoring of activities on climate change.

“In line with the framework and action agenda, each local government unit shall formulate its own local climate change action plan. Local government units will be in the frontline in the formulation, planning and implementation of climate change action plans in their respective areas.

“Meanwhile, the national government shall extend technical and financial assistance to local government units for the accomplishment of their climate change action plans. They can also appropriate and use their funds from their Internal Revenue Allotment to implement their local plans. “

Greening of the Philippines: Issues and Concerns 9th Philippine Society for the Study of Nature Iligan City,November 14, 2009 - SENATOR LOREN LEGARDA

2009-11-13T21:20:00.000-08:00

(GREETINGS)

I think we all agree that after Ondoy and Pepeng, Filipinos are not the same anymore. The people are more than ever conscious of the impact of climate change. We all have our own stories from our families, if not from our own experience with Ondoy or Pepeng. The lesson is simple. If we do not do protect the environment, our lives will just get harder and harder as weather conditions get more erratic and more extreme.

We have seen what happened when the floods came. Communities that used to be impervious to floodwaters were inundated. Months after Ondoy and Pepeng, we still see the effects on the lakeshore municipalities of Laguna. Water is claiming the land that used to accommodate long-standing communities.

Let us examine what the government has done in the past.

From 2005 to 2009, little progress was made in controlling environmental and natural resource degradation despite comprehensive legal and regulatory regime for environmental and natural resources management and the use of some advanced strategies.

There are new environmental challenges that have emerged from new development directions pursued by the government such as its active promotion of mining, agribusiness and bio-fuels production.

There is also devolution of responsibilities to local governments, but without additional financial resources.

The public resources for conservation and protection is still very low.

Climate change has gained recognition in policy circles, although this interest has not yet been sufficiently translated into actions.

At present, an estimated 19% of the country's land area remains forested. Deforestation has made many poor communities more vulnerable to natural calamities such as landslides.

Soil erosion has accelerated dramatically with an estimated loss of 50% of the fertile top layer in the last 10 years.

Excavation, dredging, and coastal conversion for coastal zone development damage the marine environment, especially to coral reefs, mangroves, and sea-grasses.

Only about 36% of the country’s river systems are classified as sources of public water supply.

The water resource concerns include recurring seasonal problem of access to clean water in many areas, water pollution, wasteful, inefficient water use, saltwater intrusion, pipe leaks, illegal connections, and continued denudation of forest cover in watersheds.

Agriculture encroachment into forestlands continues to threaten the stability of the whole forest ecosystem including the watershed areas.

While there are positive trends in efforts to curb illegal logging, provide better watershed and promote the use of renewable energy sources, these are offset by the pressure of overpopulation.

The Philippines has a 2.3% annual population growth rate and the projected total population is expected to reach 91 million. There is rapid urbanization and poor environmental governance and corruption.

There are likewise new challenges such as the promotion of bio-fuels and agribusiness and mining policies that may aggravate the condition of natural resources.

Because of overpopulation, the demand for water also rises. At least 30 million Filipinos have no access to potable water through water supply and distribution operations. Water demand nationwide is expected to grow from 43 million cubic meters per year in 2000 to 88 million cubic meters by 2025.

While programs and projects to make the Philippines more green are necessary, the work to mitigate, if not arrest climate change requires an all-encompassing effort.

We need to change our over-all ways. Many of our actions have been inappropriate and are doomed to failure because they are founded on the traditional notion that economic activities alone matter for development.

I have called for a new development thinking, a more holistic development philosophy. This kind of development is founded on sustainable and equitable socio-economic development, ecosystems protection, cultural resilience, and good governance, all of which must be adopted by world leaders in order to address growing disaster risks.

The Climate Change Act of 2009, a bill that I have authored in the Senate, is one of laws that are cognizant of the need to come up with new adaptation needs and strategies across various sectors and themes.

This law ensures the mainstreaming of climate change in various phases of policy formulation, development plans, poverty reduction strategies and other development tools and techniques by all government agencies.

It provides a Climate Change Commission with the President as the chairperson, three Commissioners who are experts in climate change by virtue of their training and experience.

There is also an advisory board, the Secretaries of different government agencies, the President of the League of Cities, Municipalities and Barangay, and representatives from the academe, business sector, non-governmental organizations and civil society.

The commission will ensure the mainstreaming of climate change in synergy with disaster risk reduction into the national, sectoral and local development plans and programs.

The Philippine Strategic Framework on Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and the Philippine Climate Change Adaptation Action Agenda will serve as the basis for the program for climate change planning, research and development, extension and monitoring of activities on climate change.

In line with the framework and action agenda, each local government unit shall formulate its own local climate change action plan.

Local government units will be in the frontline in the formulation, planning and implementation of climate change action plans in their respective areas.

Meanwhile, the national government shall extend technical and financial assistance to local government units for the accomplishment of their climate change action plans. They can also appropriate and use their funds from their Internal Revenue Allotment to implement their local plans.

I would like to mention another one of my proposals in the Senate. This is the Disaster Risk Reduction, Management, and Recovery Bill, which was recently passed in the Senate on third reading.

The bill seeks to formulate a comprehensive all-hazards, multi-sectoral, inter-agency, and community-based approach to disaster risk reduction, management and recovery through the formulation of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management and Recovery Framework.

The sad reality is that Climate change will continue to put additional stress on already heavily stressed watersheds, which in turn will affect downstream and coastal areas.

As the environment is exacerbated by population growth, poverty, weak policies, deforestation, urbanization and industrialization, we can expect to experience more extreme weather events, temperature rise, and excessive rainfall.

Climate change may also exacerbate water pollution and water stress due to increasing demand from population growth and economic development.

Moreover, risks on sea level rise and saltwater intrusion to groundwater may increase significantly.

What else must be done? We need policy changes in the allocation of resources, food production, livelihoods, and land use.

There is a need to clarify rules governing roles of various stakeholders in the water sector.

Decentralization and building capacity of local agencies must be supported. Watershed related research and technology development must be prioritized.

Water use efficiency must be enhanced by improving technologies and crop varieties, reducing of transmission losses thru regular maintenance of system, monitoring and auditing of irrigation systems performance, and improving water pricing and cost recovery.

For demand management, public education programs, recycling, and economic valuation of water must be implemented.

Planning and decision making must be improved through enhancing data collection and management, gathering of more aggressive information, technology generation, mainstreaming of water resource conservation in the national and local development planning, and formulating watershed-based local development planning.

Through watershed-based local development planning, the interlinked concerns on climate change, poverty, biodiversity, and water may be addressed.

Clearly, the work to stop climate change does not end in policy. We must practice what we preach. There is the constant need to follow through in implementation.

As early as 1998, I have established Luntiang Pilipinas as a nationwide urban forestry program, to promote public awareness on various environmental issues and to enjoin multi-sectoral participation in helping address such concerns.

Ten years after, Luntiang Pilipinas remains committed in doing its share in saving the environment, with the launch of 10@10: The 10 Million Trees Campaign.

The latest project is an online campaign to plant 10 million trees to encourage the “valuable contribution of individuals, private corporations and businesses, and national and local government agencies in planting 10 million trees by year 2011.

Those who want to participate can enter pledges to plant as many trees as they can online through www.luntiangpilipinas.com.ph.

Those who made pledges must actually plant the trees. Those who were responsible for the actual tree planting at their chosen locations are encouraged to send in photos or videos to document their activities.

Registered pledges are acknowledged in the form of a ‘pledge of commitment card’ to be issued in the participant’s name.

These pledge cards also serve as discount cards in selected establishments, courtesy of Luntiang Pilipinas merchant partners.

Let me tell you a story about how a grandson spent in just ten days what took his grandfather 82 years to accumulate, to show how we, as a people, intend to destroy what took billions of years to form, unless we change our mindset and undertake a paradigm shift on the environment.

A grandfather died intestate and left his only grandson 100 million pesos as inheritance.

Prior to his death, he told his grandson to spend only the income of his inheritance and preserve the capital of P100 million.

However, contrary to his grandfather's wishes, the grandson gambled and spent 10 million a day on losses. Thus, by the end of the tenth day, the whole inheritance was gone.

But instead of treating this as a loss, the grandson asked that the money he spent for gambling be reported by his accountant as losses that are allowable deductions on his gross income.

This story demonstrates how we treat the environment. The Earth has taken 4.5 billion years to put together; Man, 1 million years, and Civilization, 6,000-7,000 years.

Ladies and gentlemen, the state of the Philippine environment has deteriorated from a gloomy silent spring into the next stage, an apocalyptic one. All around us we are witnessing the birth of death, the refusal of life forms to flourish and to thrive, the black curtains that hang over former enclaves of bio-diversity.

Only after the last tree has been felled, the last river poisoned, and the last fish caught, will man know that he cannot eat money.

We have to reverse the onslaught to life, to usher in an environmental springtime, the surge of new life forms, the explosion of forested mountains, clean air, clear rivers and bountiful seas.

Let it be said that in our time and during our watch, while gifted with intelligence and insight, with privilege and position, with the wealth of wisdom, and with the freedom and power of the human will, let it be said that we did our share.

And maybe, just maybe, we will make a little difference.

Thank you very much and good afternoon.

Source: http://www.lorenlegarda.com.ph/article-1258167241.html

Loren Urges More Gov't Support For Vaccination

2009-11-11T22:10:00.000-08:00

Sen. Loren Legarda today (Nov. 12) called on the national government to provide more support for the national immunization program and partner with the private sector in order to ensure a healthy citizenry.

Addressing the National Immunization Conference at the Hyatt Hotel, Manila, Loren stressed that preventive measures are more effective and less expensive in ensuring health than curative measures.

“When it comes to vaccination and immunization, it cannot be reiterated enough that vaccines are the very foundation of public health providing inexpensive, safe, and life-long protection,” said Loren, who is the chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography.

However, Loren deplored, because of an inadequate budget the government had never had enough resources for the vaccination of the entire citizenry. For the year 2010, the proposed P33.7 billion budget for the Department of Health is a mere 2.2 percent of the total national budget, she said.

“That is just a drop in the bucket for the health needs of our people,” she stressed.

Loren noted that many kinds of diseases and strains of viruses have sprouted lately, like the A-H1N1. “Experts say it has the potential of replicating the Influenza Pandemic of 1918 which killed somewhere between 20 and 40 million people and which has been cited as the most devastating epidemic in recorded world history.”

She also said that while many new vaccines are available now and even more will be ready over the next years, these new vaccines have not been included in the national immunization program. Another obstacle is the lack of knowledge of how much illness, disability and death the pathogen causes.

“Many vaccines are not part of the National Immunization Program for the usual reason that our government cannot afford, or at least it claims to be unable to afford, the addition of vaccines,” Loren lamented.

”In the meantime, we cannot let our children be stricken with preventable diseases that have lifelong consequences ranging from hearing loss and speech defects to more severe ones such as brain abscess and meningitis. “

She declared that the best solution to the problem of lack of resources is the partnership between the private and the public sectors. “The private sector is an ideal partner because they have the funding and facility for research while the public sector, particularly institutions such as the Philippine General Hospital, is home to skilled, intelligent and most of all, dedicated health professionals and scientists who are passionate about serving the people. “

She urged the health sector to constantly get in touch with the leaders in government to acquaint them with their needs to ensure a healthy citizenry. For her part, as a legislator, she assured the doctors, nurses, health workers and members of the health industry of her support for their programs and activities.

Source: http://www.lorenlegarda.com.ph/article-1258007104.html

Senator Loren Legarda: National Immunization Conference The Ballroom, Hyatt Hotel Manila November 12, 2009

2009-11-11T21:31:00.000-08:00

(GREETINGS)

I am honored to be with you once again. I had several occasions before to express my gratitude to our country’s leading doctors, nurses, paramedical workers, private and public health officials, NGOs, media and other health workers for you are the ones in the forefront in defending our people against sicknesses and death.

Preventive rather than curative: that has always been my preference when we speak about health. And I am glad that the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination, a leading organization that seeks to protect and advocate for the promotion of vaccination as essential to disease prevention, has been our constant partner in propounding the wisdom of the preventive approach in protecting the health of our people.

The government has countless programs, but I think one stands out as vital for it could determine the state of health of our children and of all our citizenry. It could determine the future of our nation. I am referring to the National Immunization Program. As reflected in the theme for this year’s conference, “Looking Back…Moving Forward 10 years of Immunizing for…Life”, this year gives us an opportunity to reflect on our efforts in vaccination and immunization.
When it comes to vaccination and immunization, it cannot be reiterated enough that vaccines are the very foundation of public health providing inexpensive, safe, and life-long protection.

And as in any government program, we must assess the challenges of implementation, the role of partnership to better the implementation, and the introduction of new vaccines in order to make our efforts produce more positive impacts for our citizens.

Through a decade of holding the Philippine National Immunization Conference, many of you here today already know the history of immunization and vaccination programs in our country. Those years are years where our people, the poorest of them, look up to the government for the protection of their health.

Ladies and gentlemen, I know that you are fully aware that the history of vaccination and immunization in our country could also be characterized as a history of frustrations and disappointments. Successive budget allocations for health over the past years show that the government has never had enough resources for the vaccination of the entire citizenry. For the year 2010, the P33.7 billion proposed budget for the DOH is a mere 2.2 percent of the total government budget. That is just a drop in the bucket for the health needs of our people.

One such health need is vaccination and immunization. These are the best methods of safeguarding health and unless diseases stopped spreading and mutating, we cannot do without administering vaccination and immunization to our people.

Many kinds of diseases and strains of viruses have sprouted lately. Some have mutated into more deadly ones. Take the A-H1N1 as an example. Experts say it has the potential of replicating the Influenza Pandemic of 1918 which killed somewhere between 20 and 40 million people and which has been cited as the most devastating epidemic in recorded world history (Source: Stanford University, http://virus.stanford.edu/uda/).
Some diseases, even potential pandemics like A-H1N1, need not even have to be a cause of worry. There are ways to prevent the spread of the flu; all we need is just the addition of one more shot in our National Immunization Program. While governments are busy stocking up on medicine, would it not be better to immunize our citizens against the sickness and from its life-threatening complications?

Many new vaccines are available now and even more will be ready over the next years. They include vaccines for diseases that are not now immunized against, improvements to existing vaccines, and combination vaccines. These new vaccines could save millions of Filipino lives a year.
Unfortunately, these new vaccines have not been included in our national immunization program, despite immunization being among the most cost-effective health interventions. Policy-makers may not consider a vaccine because of cost, even though an expensive vaccine may be more cost-effective than other government expense. Another obstacle is the lack of knowledge of how much illness, disability and death the pathogen causes.

Many vaccines are not part of the National Immunization Program for the usual reason that our government cannot afford, or at least it claims to be unable to afford, the addition of vaccines. It is important to keep in our minds that vaccines are worthless if not used.

In the meantime, we cannot let our children be stricken with preventable diseases that have lifelong consequences ranging from hearing loss and speech defects to more severe ones such as brain abscess and meningitis.

As I look at the situation from a legislator’s point of view, the best solution to the problem of lack of resources is the partnership between the private and the public sectors. The private sector is an ideal partner because they have the funding and facility for research while the public sector, particularly institutions such as the Philippine General Hospital, is home to skilled, intelligent and most of all, dedicated health professionals and scientists who are passionate about serving the people.

Based on the program, I am supposed to speak on vaccines and health politics in our country. To my mind, this sort of politics is as much a lack of knowledge as differences in beliefs and priorities.

A rational decision on vaccines and immunization program requires substantial information on cost accounting, safety and effectiveness, and impact. The decision to add a new vaccine to an immunization program is also often influenced by social values, perceptions, and political concerns and is not just a technical one. Policy makers would be able to make better decisions on new vaccines by clarifying the technical and operational issues through a series of technical questions.

But the issues posed by vaccination could not be reduced to mere technicalities. Ultimately, these are matters of life and death for our people. The health outcomes prevented by a vaccine cannot be quantified for these involve days of illness, time spent in hospitals, disabilities and deaths.

Doctors, nurses, health workers, and members of the health industry, once again, let me urge you to focus your sights on our common aspiration: the elimination of sickness and death caused by vaccine-preventable diseases through the development of strong, sustainable national immunization programs capable of delivering high quality vaccines in a safe and effective way to our children and even adults who need them.

I urge you to continue approaching your leaders, your legislators and present them your proposals in order for us to come up with a successful National Immunization Program.

On my part, rest assured that I have my keen eyes on the budget of the Department of Health at the Senate in my capacity as the Chairperson of the Committee on Health and Demography. And should it be necessary, I will not hesitate to propose amendments to it at the appropriate time so that it could be more responsive to the needs of our people.

Thank you very much.

Source: http://www.lorenlegarda.com.ph/article-1258006948.html

Loren appeals for displaced persons

2009-11-11T21:27:00.000-08:00

Senator Loren B. Legarda has once again called on the national government, various NGOs, and the private sector to extend assistance to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the country.

Legarda also sought educational, medical and livelihood development assistance for IDPs, particularly those caught between the recent tensions in Mindanao.

She also urged the national government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to “faithfully observe their truce and to facilitate their peace talks in order to establish permanent peace in Mindanao. We must stop this fighting among brothers and sisters,” she pleaded.

More than 2.5 million people have been displaced by armed conflict in the Philippines since 2000, the vast majority in Mindanao, where 62,000 families (or 370,000 persons) are displaced; most of them in Maguindanao Province. Another 3,800 families are reported to be still displaced in Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat Provinces; and 260 families in Lanao del Norte Province.

The Philippines ranked first in the number of IDPs worldwide by registering 600,000 evacuees in 2008, according to Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), a Geneva-based body monitoring conflict-induced internal displacement. Tension between the MILF and government forces has caused the displacement of more than 950,000 persons since early August, 2008.

Legarda stressed that the Philippines is a signatory to both the 1949 Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and the 1977 Additional Protocol to the [1949] Geneva Conventions on the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts.

DPs are persons or groups who have been forced to leave their homes to avoid the effects of armed conflict, violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters.

Vulnerable groups like children, the elderly or women experience profound psychosocial distress related to displacement, and the removal from sources of income and livelihood may add to physical and psychosocial vulnerability for displaced people. Schooling for children and adolescents may be disrupted.

Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/229072/loren-appeals-displaced-persons

Legarda Urges Protection, Revival Of Displaced Pinoys

2009-11-10T23:31:00.000-08:00

DATU PIANG, Maguindanao (ARMM) – Senator Loren B. Legarda has once again called on the national government, various NGOs and the private sector to extend assistance to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the country. Legarda sought educational, medical and livelihood development assistance for IDPs, particularly those caught between the recent tensions in Mindanao.

Legarda also urged the national government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to “faithfully observe their truce and to facilitate their peace talks in order to establish permanent peace in Mindanao. We must stop this fighting among brothers and sisters,” she pleaded.

More than 2.5 million people have been displaced by armed conflict in the Philippines since 2000, the vast majority in Mindanao, where 62,000 families (or 370,000 persons) are displaced; most of them in Maguindanao Province. Another 3,800 families are reported to be still displaced in Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat Provinces; and 260 families in Lanao del Norte Province.

The Philippines ranked first in the number of IDPs worldwide by registering 600,000 evacuees in 2008, according to Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), a Geneva-based body monitoring conflict-induced internal displacement. Tension between the MILF and government forces has caused the displacement of more than 950,000 persons since early August 2008.

Legarda stressed that the Philippines is a signatory to both the 1949 Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and the 1977 Additional Protocol to the [1949] Geneva Conventions on the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts. As such, she added, “we must continually

IDPs are persons or groups who have been forced to leave their homes to avoid the effects of armed conflict, violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters. Vulnerable groups like children, the elderly or women experience profound psychosocial distress related to displacement, and the removal from sources of income and livelihood may add to physical and psychosocial vulnerability for displaced people. Schooling for children and adolescents may be disrupted.

Conditions of internal displacement may raise suspicions of or lead to abuse by armed combatants, or other parties to conflict. At worse IDPs may lack identity documents essential to receiving benefits or legal recognition; in some cases, fearing persecution, displaced persons have sometimes got rid of such documents.

“Although these IDPs would simply want to receive humanitarian aid to recover from the trauma of the experience, we as a nation are morally obliged to extend assistance that would institute stable rules that protect them from violence, end any ensuing conflict in their area and rehabilitate them back to their normal.

Source: http://www.lorenlegarda.com.ph/article-1257924176.html

Loren: Implement Climate Change Act nationwide, now!

2009-11-10T20:12:00.000-08:00

ISULAN, Sultan Kudarat (Nov. 11) –Senator Loren Legarda today urged the immediate implementation nationwide of the 2009 Climate Change Act, including IN THOSE areas in Mindanao threatened by natural disasters.

The chair of the Senate Climate Change Oversight Committee, Loren issued the statement in keynoting the National Conference on Climate Change Adaptation in Watershed Context organized by the Philippine Watershed Management Coalition.

The senator stressed that the conference’s theme highlights the multifarious environmental challenges the country is facing because of climate change.

“One such challenge is on our watersheds. With climate change, exacerbated poverty, weak policies, deforestation, urbanization and industrialization, extreme whether events, temperature rise and excessive rainfall are expected to happen,” said Loren.

“Monsoon rains alone account for more than 60 percent of the total rainfall in the country and is associated with high intensity rains which are responsible for most of the soil erosion and sedimentation problems in the watershed. These cause changes in our land cover and water quantity, quality and demand.”

While typhoons Ondoy, Pepeng and Santi had raised calls for the immediate implementation of the recently enacted Climate Change Act in Luzon, Loren said that the law must also be IMPLEMENTED immediately in many areas of the country, including Sultan Kudarat, where poverty had been aggravated by the flash floods and massive soil erosion along the riverbanks in 2008.

She said that torrential rains easily caused the thinning of the tree cover in the mountainous areas of the Allah Valley and the subsequent overflow of the Allah River, a disaster that flooded farmlands and affected the livelihoods.

“I think the lack of a comprehensive national attention and action on that disaster is one of the reasons this conference is so important. Our experts and local government leaders are on the front lines in our efforts to safeguard our country’s watersheds. With you, we can give people who are suffering the impact of climate change but have largely been unnoticed the chance to make their voices heard all the way to the national government and to various international fora.”

Principally authored by Loren, the Climate Change Act incorporates climate change concerns, measures and actions, as well as disaster-risk reduction programs into government policies, programs and budgeting.

It creates a Climate Change Commission which will oversee all climate change related measures undertaken in the country, while seeking to empower local government units (LGUs) on climate change initiatives and disaster-risk reduction, LGUs being the first responders to disasters like those resulting from strong typhoons, floods, landslides and earthquakes.

“A basic premise of this legislation is that locally-designed initiatives can provide an effective way to achieve local, national and global sustainability objectives. It is my objective to put all local governments on top of the global climate agenda and send a message to our national leaders that climate change compels no less than a nationally coordinated action,” Loren said.

“With the Climate Change Act, we have moved to adaptation plans. The theme of this conference is appropriate because it emphasizes and recognizes that a key solution to the problems being spawned by climate change is adaptation. And in the watershed context as well as in other areas necessitating climate change action, adaptation requires putting all communities at the heart of the relevant programs and policies and gathering collective action that is rooted in a sense of solidarity and shared responsibility.”

Source: http://www.lorenlegarda.com.ph/article-1257912537.html

Loren, the 'green' leader

2009-11-10T01:57:00.000-08:00

Amid the recent outbreak of leptospirosis that killed over a hundred in several flood-stricken areas in Metro Manila and other provinces, our national and local government health officials have effectively contained the deadly disease to date. Thank God for that. Thus, I was rather bothered when I saw the photo
of Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro who waded last week in knee-deep flood in Sta.Cruz, Laguna. Hopefully, he had his boots on, behind the blue jeans he was wearing.

The other day, it was the turn of Sen. Loren Legarda who conducted her public hearing on climate change adaptation and disaster mitigation in the still flooded Sta. Cruz, Laguna. But in Loren’s case, her photo release showed she wore boots for protection.

As chairperson of the Senate Oversight Committee on Climate Change, she dramatically called for a Senate public hearing right at the flooded ricefields in Sitio Butuanan, Sta. Cruz, Laguna. Ricefields surrounding Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the Philippines and the third biggest in Southeast Asia, have been flooded for more than a month now since storm Ondoy lashed northern and central Luzon on Sept. 26.

Ondoy caused the waters of the Laguna de Bay to overflow by a historic high of 10.4 meters that left 28 towns and cities submerged in flood waters, and damaged thousands of hectares of rice crops. From the testimony of experts, it was learned that Ondoy poured some 3,300 cubic meters of rainwater on Marikina and Antipolo which should have flowed through the Napindan Channel into the Pasig River and then all the way to Manila Bay at the rate of 150 cubic meters per second.

A study released by the Asian Development Bank in 2004 stated that the Napindan Channel was initially operated by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). But its operation and control were turned over to the Metro Manila Development
Authority in 2003.

It’s now clear that the DPWH has assumed full jurisdiction as they announced the eviction of some 2,070 families of squatters (informal settlers), as we bluntly call them, out of the floodway in Napindan and in Manggahan. These families who have put up their shanties at the two floodways are being relocated for their own safety and for the general welfare of the public. The squatting problem at the floodways have been largely blamed for unduly causing the catastrophic flooding in the cities of Marikina and Pasig.

The Senate public hearing in Laguna was the second round of Loren’s climate change dialogues since this was signed into law last month. She first conducted the Senate hearing at Provident Village in Marikina City, one of the hardest hit by flashfloods when Ondoy unleashed its fury.

Speaking of Loren, The Manila Standard ran yesterday a front page main photo of her side by side with a photo release of Gibo with a catchy caption “Testing the waters.” As the presidential standard-bearer of the ruling administration Lakas-CMD-Kampi, Gibo is reportedly being paired with Loren as his possible vice presidential running mate for the May 2010 elections. After all, the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) of Loren remains coalesced with the administration of President Arroyo.

During his weekly press conference at Malacañang, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita who is the Lakas-CMD-Kampi president, was quoted as saying the administration is willing to welcome back Loren to return as the “prodigal daughter.” She was once a Lakas-CMD before she left the party to join NPC where she was drafted as the vice presidential running mate of the late actor, Fernando Poe Jr. in the May 2004 presidential elections.

But as history unfolded, she lost to her compadre, Vice President Noli de Castro who won as the running mate of President Arroyo under the Lakas-CMD banner. Two years after her successful Senate comeback, the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) junked Loren’s election protest against Noli.

Although the PET ended their election feud, the competition between Loren and Vice President De Castro continued through the mock polls among presidentiables. Early in the game, the Vice President consistently topped the opinion surveys as the most preferred presidential candidate with Loren a near second.

However, as events are now unfolding, Loren has decided to make a second round and re-launched her vice presidential bid instead. As of today, De Castro remains undecided whether or not to run for the presidency or opt for re-election as Vice President.

As the presidential standard-bearer of the Nacionalista Party (NP) opposition Sen. Manny Villar earlier revealed he has been trying to convince Vice President De Castro to be his running mate. But apparently, their talks have not made any headway up to now. In fact, among the declared presidential candidates, Villar and Gibo are both without any vice presidential running mates as of yet.

Unlike in the United States, our election system provides for separate election for the President and the Vice President. There have been proposals in the past that the Philippines should adopt the US system where the President and the Vice President are elected as one team. But this has not gained support here.

Villar and Gibo have also one thing in common. Their respective camps are also reportedly wooing Loren to become their respective vice presidential candidate. Loren, though, is playing it to the hilt as she, too, keeps the public guessing as to who she would give her nod to.

As the designated UN advocate for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, Loren gained stature as a “green” leader.

When a person is plainly called “green,” it means he or she is still raw (not ripe yet or young). But certainly, Loren is neither raw nor young to be called “green” by this color definition. As an impassioned advocate for climate change, her “green” leadership represents the fresh color of life.

As the most sought after vice presidential running mate, Loren’s detractors are “green” with envy.

Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=520820&publicationSubCategoryId=64

Loren to set example by picking litter on streets

2009-11-10T01:17:00.000-08:00

MANILA, Philippines -- Unless the weather is stormy, Sen. Loren Legarda will be picking up litter in the streets of Metro Manila this week.

Legarda said on Sunday she was planning to pick up litter in the streets to show people that "we need not look far and wide" in looking for solution of problems to the environment.

She mentioned the Solid Waste Management law, which she authored and which provided for local government units to be responsible for the disposal of garbage in their respective backyards.

“I am going to set the example and pick up litter,'' she said in a phone interview. “There should be less talk. Let's just do things.''

The senator, who was a successful broadcast journalist before she entered politics, said she was known to be prickly about litter in her former office.

She said she would pick up candy wrappers or trash if she spotted them.

Legarda said she was very much moved with what she saw during an inspection of lakeshore towns in Laguna Lake last Saturday.

“It was pitiful and an eye opener,” she said as she recalled seeing for instance dead rats drifting in the still flooded waters of poor communities she visited during the weekend.

Legarda visited Lupang Arenda, a reclaimed former dumpsite situated in the Taytay-Pasig border, and which experts recently said was in danger of being swallowed up along with some 6,000 families living there should an earthquake happen there.

The land there was prone to liquefaction and experts said the former dumpsite could suffer the fate of a community in Dagupan during the 1991 earthquake where buildings and other structures collapsed.

“These are really subhuman conditions and we should really get them out of there,” Legarda said.

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20091018-230778/Loren-to-set-example-by-picking-litter-on-streets

NPC’s Joan of Arc in search of a Dauphin

2009-11-10T01:10:00.000-08:00

In an earlier column, I wrote that self-declared vice-presidential candidate Loren Legarda, descending upon what looked like a wake of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, rallied its members after their erstwhile presidential candidate Francis Escudero deserted them. Loren roused the troops a la Joan of Arc, promising to “lead you to victory.” I recounted the remark of a party elder, former Gov. Tomas Joson, as he watched the white-shirted lady senator sounding the clarion call to battle, “Yan ang tunay na lalaki.”

Now Joan of Arc is in furious search of her Dauphin, for whom she would do battle in the coming months up to May 2010. If reports are to be believed, she’s choosing between NP bet Manny Villar and Lakas bet Gilbert Teodoro. Villar offers entrepreneurship and a home for every poor Filipino as the pillar of his economic platform, while Teodoro doubtless would make the reconstruction of this storm-ravaged country his main preoccupation in the succeeding years, which will be filled with fears and uncertainties over the onslaught of climate change.

Pairing Loren off with either presidential candidate would be to the latter’s advantage, as her unique brand of political machismo has apparently not been lost on voters, especially after her former political partner, Chiz Escudero, proved faint-hearted. A prominent businessman who’s a regular fixture in the dinner circuit recounted to me recently that in various polling of candidate preferences in several dinners he attended, Loren always came out ahead in the VP race. His conclusion: Hindi nakakaseguro si Mar Roxas.

Source: http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20091110-235281/NPCs-Joan-of-Arc-in-search-of-a-Dauphin

Loren seeks JOBS and PEACE for evacuees in Mindanao

2009-11-09T21:25:00.000-08:00

DATU PIANG, North Cotabato – Sen. Loren Legarda yesterday called on the national government to provide a “viable livelihood program” for hundreds of thousands of Filipinos who have been displaced by the armed conflict in Mindanao.

In a visit here, Loren noted that the Philippines was ranked first in the number of internally displaced persons worldwide by registering 600,000 evacuees in 2008 The ranking was made by Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), a Geneva-based leading international body monitoring conflict-induced internal displacement.

Loren also called on the national government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to “faithfully observe their truce and to facilitate their peace talks in order to establish permanent peace in Mindanao. We must stop this fighting among brothers and sisters.”

Loren also asked the Department of Health to provide more medical assistance to the evacuees after receiving reports that many of them are suffering from diseases, arising from overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and malnutrion.

Loren said that the upsurge in fighting between the Moro Islamic Liberation Forces and the government has caused the displacement of more than 950,000 persons since early August 2008. As of the end of August 2009, based on data from the government’s National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), an estimated 66,000 families, or between 330,000 and 400,000 people, remained displaced in Mindanao.

Loren said that aside from their immediate needs for food, clothing and shelter, the evacuees desire to have jobs or to engage in livelihood activities in order that they can support themselves and their families and not be forever dependent on local and international aid.

“These evacuees from war do not want to be forever dependent upon charity. They desire to keep their dignity and secure their future by having stable employment and livelihood activities in farming, handicraft, small and medium industries, fishing and other productive activities,” said Loren.

Loren called on the government national agencies like the departments of agriculture, trade and industry, Technical Skills and Development Authority, and others to provide assistance to local governments in Mindanao to provide livelihood projects for the Mindanao war refugees.

Loren also called on the Department of Education to establish temporary schools in the evacuation centers so as not to disrupt the studies of children of school age among the evacuees.

The overwhelming majority of the displaced are located in the Autnomous Region for Muslim Mindanao, where 62,000 families or 310,000-370,000 live in evacuation centers, most of them in Maguindanao Province.

A further 3,800 families were reported to be still displaced in Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat Provinces and 260 families in Lanao del Norte Province (NDCC IDP Taskforce, 26 August 2009).

In addition to people displaced in 2008, many who had fled the 2000 and 2003 wars are still unable to return or have not found durable solutions, said Loren.

On Sora

2009-11-09T01:39:00.000-08:00

In his fifth State of the Region Address, ARMM Governor Datu Zaldy Ampatuan outlined the many challenges, issues and problems facing our Muslim brothers and sisters living within the ARMM. Foremost among these, as everybody knows, are the problems of dehumanizing poverty and the unabated fighting in the region.

As one who has cultivated a deep affection for Mindanao in general, I would like to express solidarity with the aspirations and hopes of our people in ARMM, specifically on their desire for peace, equality, justice and economic prosperity.

Likewise, I would like to add my voice to the deafening clamor not only of the people of ARMM or even of Mindanao in general, but the clamor of the entire nation. I call for the renewal of the Mindanao peace process -- one that is marked by full consultation of all parties involved, one that would fully hew to the provisions of our Constitution, and, most importantly, one that would not result to the Philippines being disemboweled or the separation of any of its parts.

The five-point agenda that had been laid down by Governor Ampatuan – concerning peace and security, infrastructure, stimulating its regional economy, social services and good governance – is indeed at the crux of all the issues facing the ARMM.

For without peace and order, no economy could possibly take off; and without good governance, the people cannot expect to get the most basic of social services. Without both, any and all infrastructure within the ARMM would be mere white elephants – roads hardly used for commerce, buildings that bear silent witness to still-born industries, and farmlands that are perpetually threatened by war.

Add to these the problem of Climate Change, ARMM, like the rest of the Philippines, has its work cut out for it.

At last a candidate with a Vision! Loren Legarda tops all candidates

2009-11-09T00:23:00.000-08:00

Loren Legarda just announced that she'll be running for the vice presidential post come 2010. Her Luneta announcement last night is better than all the other candidates running for the top post. Instead of a melodramatic speech, peppered with necropolitical imagery, Loren presented a platform.

At last! A candidate with a vision, a candidate who has the strong will to say what she truly wants to do and what she intends to fulfill should she be elected for the top post. Let me quote her "six-point must-do" Pro-People Agenda from an Inquirer report :

First, the country’s resources, including government funds, should go toward affording all Filipinos housing, sanitation, potable water, access to medicines and proper health care, education for the youth and skills training.

Second, government must recognize the contributions of overseas Filipino workers by facilitating their gainful employment, providing them ample protection against abuses and by continuously upgrading their skills and knowledge.

third, the new administration must really crack down on corruption, which wastes the country’s limited resources, destroys institutions and undermines the trust of the people and of the international community, including foreign investors.

Fourth, protection of the environment and initiation of pro-active measures to address the problem of climate change and the disasters related to it by strictly following geohazard maps in pursuing development plans, flood control and solid waste management systems.

Fifth, forge a genuine peace, especially in Mindanao, not only through law enforcement but through the resolution of the root causes of the conflicts in the countryside, poverty and social injustice to name a few.

Sixth, forge a cultural renaissance for Filipino culture and traits to be recognized, rejuvenated and passed on to future generations “because they are what makes Filipinos unique as a people.”

I asked all New Patriots to vote for Loren Legarda. I ask my fellow brothers and sisters in the Islamic faith and all other faiths, to campaign for her.

With Loren's entry, the vice presidential derby has become more interesting than the presidential. Imagine, two political heavyweights, namely Mar Roxas and Loren Legarda, will be fighting headlong in this. Loren enjoys an edge since based on SWS surveys, she has a solid mass base support of 26%, far from the 13-14% mass base support of Roxas.

Roxas has the money but Loren has the support of local government officials and of course, Danding Cojuangco.

If the Estrada oppositionist camp wants to win, it must convince Binay to just give way to Loren Legarda. Now, if Loren runs with Chiz as her presidentiable, they might possibly clinch it. A Chiz-Loren tandem has better chances than, say, a Villar-Loren or a Teodoro-Loren, although this tandem is really very, very ideal for one simple fact---both are highly intelligent and with a vision. Sadly, this cannot be because of a misconception that it is a kiss of death to align with the administration.

Source:http://newphilrevolution.blogspot.com/2009/10/at-last-candidate-with-vision-loren.html

‘Polluters must pay,’ says Loren To push at UN debt-for-climate adaptation swap

2009-11-08T22:18:00.000-08:00

Senator Loren Legarda yesterday proposed a ”novel” way to fund the country’s climate change adaptation and reconstruction initiatives in view of the fact that half of the country’s annual budget, pegged at P1.5 trillion for 2010, is allocated for foreign-debt servicing.

Loren said that the country’s reconstruction efforts from the devastations wrought by typhoons Ondoy, Pepeng and Santi, as well as its implementation of the landmark 2009 Climate Change Act, are hobbled primarily by lack of funds.

“I am proposing for our creditors, including the World Bank and the United States, to consider a Debt for Climate Change Adaptation Swap, in which portions of our payments for our foreign debts will be used by us instead for reconstruction and climate adaptation measures,” said Loren.

The chair of the Senate Oversight Committee on Climate Change, Loren revealed that she would formalize her proposal during the United Nations Conference on Climate Change Adaptation to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark from December 7 to 18.

Appointed by the UN as its Climate Change Mitigation and Disaster Risk-Reduction Champion for the Asia-Pacific Region, Loren will co-head the Philippine delegation to the Copenhagen conference.

She explained that under her proposal, the World Bank and the US, for example, may allow the Philippines to use US$1 billion (roughly P47 billion at the present exchange rate) for climate change related activities.

Among those that may be funded by the swap are the reforestation of three to eight million hectares each year, relocation of families displaced by the recent typhoons, and the refurbishing and/or the building of new schools, hospitals and mass settlements to higher standards, away from geographically hazardous areas.

Loren said international lending institutions and rich, highly developed nations like the US and Japan must also help poor and developing countries like the Philippines grapple with the effects of climate change.

She explained that as the primary user of fossil fuel like oil and coal, rich nations have the lion’s share in the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which is blamed for global warming.

“Under my Polluters Must Pay Principle, the international community of nations must press developed countries not only to lower their greenhouse gas emissions, but to contribute financially to a Climate Adaptation Fund,” Loren said.

She said that poor countries affected by climate change such as the Maldives, whose coasts are being swamped; Bhutan, which is hounded by perennial flooding and earthquakes; and the Philippines, may tap into the fund.

She pressed immediate action by the Philippines for the 60,000 families living under a mountain of garbage in Lupang Arenda in Taytay, Rizal, the thousands of farmers from Laguna whose farmlands had been flooded and had become part of Laguna de Bay; and the many other Filipinos in Bulacan whose livestock and poultry had been washed away by the flood.

“Farmers in Laguna had been forced to become fisher folks as their lands had come under water. Such an irony manifests the gravity of our problem,” Loren said.

During the Global Humanitarian Forum held last June in Geneva, Switzerland, Loren already presented her concepts on how poor nations can have access to climate adaptation funds, including those culled from the gross domestic products of rich nations.

She recalled the ideas being received enthusiastically by the forum, with UN Undersecretary for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes describing them as “noble ideas.”

Source:http://www.lorenlegarda.com.ph/article-1257747411.html

Senator Loren Legarda Speech on Philippine Forest

2009-11-08T19:11:00.001-08:00

Ladies and gentlemen, officers and members of the Society of Filipino Foresters, Incorporated, my partners in environmental protection, a pleasant day to all of you.

Across the years, Philippine forests continuously declined in physical and environmental terms. Forest land area alarmingly went down from 36.3 percent or more than one-third of the country’s land area in 1970 to 18 percent in 2001. Evidently, most of our country’s once rich forests are now gone.

This is tragic because forests are indispensable in the overall ecological balance of the world by acting as a home for biodiversity and by protecting vital water and soil resources. Also, forests serve as major carbon sinks that absorb great quantities of carbon dioxide that otherwise would add to the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming and rapid climate change.

Recent events have shown us the grim scenario of climate change impact. The intense and record-high rainfall by Ondoy, Pepeng and Santi, as well as the consequent fatalities and damages have shown us that the price we pay for denuding our forests and abusing the environment is well beyond our means.

It is therefore an imperative for us to do everything in our power to protect the forests left for our children and for humanity. It is an uphill climb but we must gather courage. We must pool in our knowledge, our skills, our commitment, and our passion. Essentially, we could find the know-how, the skills, and the passion among our foresters.

Our foresters are the ones who are literally “on the ground” in protecting our forests from abuse and misuse. They are the foot soldiers. They are our forests’ caretakers. And incident to their vocation, foresters are also our partners in reducing poverty in the rural areas. Indeed, many are already rising to the challenge, and our gathering here today is a testament to this.

Let me reiterate that forest protection, like environmental protection, is not its own end. As always, the strong environmental thrust of my advocacy is part of my larger plan and vision of eradicating poverty in the grassroots. Taking care of our forests not only responds to climate change and other environmental concerns but also deals with persistent local poverty because forests are a vital part of the development in the rural areas. I envision every part of the country, every nook and cranny, to be planted with trees so as to be eventually capable of developing to their fullest potential.

The recently passed Climate Change Act gives a window of opportunity for us to respond to the challenges of climate change in a comprehensive manner. As the principal author and sponsor of the law, I set out to give more stakeholders and communities greater responsibility and opportunity to initiate programs in their respective areas of responsibility that are aligned to the national and global goal of sustainable development.

This legislation mandates the creation of a Climate Change Commission which will create an enabling environment for multi-stakeholder participation. Moreover, it will provide technical and financial support to local research and development programs and projects in vulnerable communities. Financial packages for climate change related projects will be provided by government financial institutions.

Given the global condition of the environment, foresters are becoming more important in the future. Rest assured that my advocacy of tree-growing and rejuvenating our forests has not been a case of missing the foresters for the trees. You have my ears in matters of environmental protection and so feel free to tell me your concerns. We will find ways to address them.

In conclusion, I wish you success in your convention this year. As I read your theme, “Sustainable Forests: Key to Climate Change Adaptation and Biodiversity Conservation," I am gladdened because it is aligned with my advocacy of environmental protection and sustainable development. It is aligned with our efforts in finding the best ways to put forests to work for the benefit of the poor in rural communities and in the world. It is aligned with our efforts in making forests adapt to the adverse effects of climate change. Forests make the world safe for habitation and you, foresters, are instrumental for making this world a better place.

Source: http://www.lorenlegarda.com.ph/article-1257562801.html

Loren to Press Debt Swap for Disasters in UN Meet

2009-11-08T18:39:00.000-08:00

Sen. Loren Legarda, chair of the Senate committee on climate change, will press for the adoption of her proposal to swap foreign debt for disaster mitigation and adaptation projects in developing countries during the United Nations Conference on Climate Change Adaptation to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on December 7 to 18.

Loren, who is also UN champion for disaster risk reduction in Asia-Pacific, initially made the
proposal during the world parliamentarians’ Global Platform 2009 in Geneva last June as a creative solution to raise funds for disaster risk reduction programs.

In announcing her plan to push her proposal at the Copenhagen conference, Loren said that the “huge devastation and the horrific casualties caused by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng, as well as rising threats of even greater natural catastrophes in the future, make international cooperation more urgent in combating climate change.”

World parliamentarians adopted Loren’s proposal for a debt-for-risk reduction swap at the Global
Platform 2009 meeting in Geneva as a practical approach to climate change adaptation involving both developed and developing countries.

“It’s a new concept adopted at the UN Global Platform on DRR. This is the easiest because no new funds, financing or resources, are needed. This is a creative way of paying for debt and it’s a creative collaboration between the developed and poor developing nations. In this effort, nobody loses, humanity wins,” said Senator Loren Legarda, the United Nation’s International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) champion for disaster risk reduction and climate change
adaptation in the Asia Pacific region.

In a summary report on the global platform proceedings, the Chair said, “The Global Platform recognized a drastic mismatch between the resources required to address disaster risk in developing countries and those actually available. A massive scaling up of action is needed. Put bluntly, many countries must dedicate substantially more funds from national budgets – or increasingly suffer the consequences. This is also a must for the international community, since some countries suffer from institutional and capacity weaknesses and unless their capacities are strengthened implementation will not succeed.”

“A variety of innovations, such as incentives for retrofitting, risk transfer tools, risk-sensitive development, private sector involvement, debt swaps to finance disaster reduction measures and linkages with adaptation financing were proposed at the Global Platform,” the conference report said.

“Institutional innovations proposed included more direct resourcing of local initiatives and groups that are effective in reducing risks, such as grassroots women’s organizations.”

The Philippines has a foreign debt of around $52 billion, draining a huge portion for the national budget for payment of amortizations and interests every year and contributing to a huge deficit.

Through a debt swap, the creditor country cancels a portion of debt. In return, the debtor country invests the canceled amount in development projects according to conditions previously agreed by both parties.

Championed by the Philippines in the United Nations’ system, debt swaps have surfaced on the agenda of some donor or lending countries as a novel way to finance the UN Millennium Development goals.

Some of the projects that can be funded to lessen risks during disasters are the building of safe hospitals and schools, planting mangroves in coastal areas, cleaning up rivers in blighted urban areas and retrofitting unsafe public infrastructures as a protection against imminent earthquake, said the senator.

The Legarda proposal was commended by no less than UN Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes who considered it “a noble idea” along with the proposal to use 30 percent of the UN climate adaptation funds for DRR. Presently, 45 percent of the Philippine annual budget goes to debt service.

Source: http://www.lorenlegarda.com.ph/article-1257677621.html

Every other Pinoy family considers itself poor, says SWS

2009-11-06T00:56:00.000-08:00

FIFTY-THREE percent of Filipino families consider themselves poor while a little less than 50 percent believe they are food-poor, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey from Sept. 18-21 showed.

These figures were taken before tropical storm "Ondoy" flooded Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Southern Tagalog and typhoon "Pepeng" did the same to northern Luzon. Damage brought about by the two weather disturbances has reached P36 billion.

The survey polled 1,800 respondents and had an error margin range of plus/minus 2.3-6 percent.

SWS also found that 28 percent of Filipino families said they are on the borderline while only 20 percent claimed they are not poor.

The figure is 3 points higher than the 50 percent in June 2009. It has been at the 50 percent level since March 2008, except February 2009 when it was at 47 percent.

Similarly, the Self-Rated Food Poverty also rose to 41 percent from 39 percent in June. About 35 percent put themselves in the food-borderline while 24 percent said they are not food-poor.

Self-rated poverty dropped in Mindanao (62 percent to 57 percent), but it rose in Luzon (44 percent to 51 percent) and in the Visayas (56 percent to 60 percent). It barely changed in Metro Manila (42 percent to 41 percent).

Self-rated food poverty also declined in Mindanao (47 percent to 43 percent) but it went up in the Visayas (42 percent to 48 percent), in Metro Manila (32 percent to 35 percent), and in Luzon (35 percent to 38 percent).

SWS said poor families have been lowering their living standards or tightening their belts to cope with poverty, as shown by the sluggishness of the self-rated poverty threshold, or the monthly budget that families need in order not to consider themselves as poor.

As of September 2009, the threshold rose to P15,000 in Metro Manila and to P10,000 in Luzon, although these levels have already been reached in the past. It stayed at P5,000 in Mindanao while dipping in the Visayas from P8,000 to P5,000.

The food-poverty threshold also went up in Metro Manila from P5,000 to P6,500 and in Luzon from P3,000 to P5,000. It remained at P3,000 in Mindanao and dropped to P3,000 in the Visayas.

SWS said the P15,000 Metro Manila poverty threshold is equivalent to only P9,536 in base year 2000 purchasing power, after deflation by the Consumer Price Index. It said the deflated poverty threshold of below P10,000 per month is similar to living standards of over a decade ago.

The median food-poverty threshold of P6,500 in Metro Manila is equivalent to only P4,257 in base year 2000 purchasing power for food.

Sen. Loren Legarda criticized what she said was government’s "sugar-coated" statistics on poverty incidence.

"There is great disparity between the 53 percent of Filipinos who consider themselves poor in the latest Social Weather Station survey and the 32.9 percent of poor Filipinos as determined by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB)," she said.

Source: http://kakkampi.blogspot.com/2009/11/every-other-pinoy-family-considers.html

Group backs Legarda, Cayetano’s pro-environment stance Reiterates need to make 2010 budget ‘climate-sensitive’

2009-11-06T00:47:00.000-08:00

HE policy research and advocacy group La Liga Policy Institute (La Liga) on Thursday backed the proposal of Senators Loren Legarda and Piya Cayetano to ‘recast’ the proposed P1.541-trillion budget for 2010 to make it more ‘climate-sensitive’ and responsive to the need to prepare for the adverse impacts of climate change.

Jonathan Ronquillo, La Liga’s Envi-Campaigner, reminded lawmakers that the Philippines will remain vulnerable to climate change because of its unique geographic location.

He noted that Senators Legarda and Cayetano’s proposals supports La Liga’s alternative budget proposal.

In its alternative budget proposal entitled “Financing Climate Change Actions: A Must for the 2010 Budget”, La Liga underscored the urgent need for the Philippines to shift to a climate-sensitive development path to better respond to threats of Climate Change.

La Liga urged Malacanang to use its P140-billion ‘savings’ in 2008 to strengthen its disaster response strategy, starting with funding the ongoing rehabilitation efforts in typhoon-affected areas that were ravaged by typhoons Ondoy, Pepeng and recently, Ramil.

The paper, copies of which were submitted by La Liga to members of the Philippine senate, noted the lack of over-all national framework for climate change, highlighting the need for harmonization to ensure maximum impact of the various mitigation and adaptation initiatives of the government and various stakeholders.

“The Philippines is composed of 7,100 island and islet and is situated along the typhoon belt, which makes us more prone to natural disasters. We need to strengthen our disaster response, first by financing climate-change mitigation and adaptation measures,” he said.

La Liga, which serves as the secretariat of the Environment Cluster of the Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI) insists on allocating an additional P11.4-billion for the environment and natural resources sector to better prepare the country to extreme weather effects such as drought and super typhoons.

The amount will cover specific climate change mitigation and adaptation measures to be implemented across the various government agencies, most specially the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Ronquillo noted that the DENR, the agency mandated to protect and promote the environment, was allotted P9.58-billion for 2010, which is 17.6% or P2-billion lower compared to the current year’s budget of P11.63-billion, which is “way below” what is expected for a country severely affected and supposedly preparing for the worst impacts of climate change.

The alternative budget proposal, Ronquillo said, will hopefully cover climate change mitigation and adaptation measures anchored on (1) renewable/sustainable energy systems; (2) biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, fisheries and forestry; (3) clean and green industrial technology; and (4) ecological waste management.

The group also reminded lawmakers to give priority to protecting the environment by funding projects for the rehabilitation and development of the country’s protected areas and national parks, and the timely release of such funds “so that concerned government agencies will be able to do its job.”

Senator Legarda wants funding for the Climate Change Act of 2009, which she authored. Signed into law by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Oct. 23, the act calls for the creation of a Climate Change Commission. Priority expenditures include the purchase of more pump boats and other rescue equipment; development of water-submersible crops; and improvement of local area disaster response operations. It also calls for steps to reduce carbon emissions and increase forest cover as risk reduction measures.

Senator Cayetano, on the other hand, called for budget realignments to finance other pro-environment laws and programs including the reinstatement of the P2-billion slash in the proposed budget of the DENR.

Source: http://envicluster.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/group-backs-legarda-cayetano%E2%80%99s-pro-environment-stance-reiterates-need-to-make-2010-budget-%E2%80%98climate-sensitive%E2%80%99/

The Voice of Unity

2009-11-05T23:51:00.000-08:00

I grew up thinking the world revolves only around the affluent, the rich and the influential. I grew up thinking we in the rural, ethnic, marginalized societies will remain as we have always been—unheard of, unnoticed, neglected. My parents, even grandparents, all succumbed to the submission that we will remain invisible to the eyes of the country’s leaders. Worse, they had to fight countless inequities and injustice, only to end up ironically, they still remained disadvantaged.

It’s been more than three presidencies and we are still in the same shadow. Which makes me think: will we stay here for the rest of our lives?

But a few weeks ago I had my hopes see some spark. Someone as larger-than-life as Loren Legarda took the stage to announce, very well candidly, that her candidacy does not only mean a journey to victory.

She assured that in the midst of all the noise and secret whispers, the interests of a cooperative versus a mayor’s, that of a local party leader needing campaign fund for a political post versus that of a small farmers’ group, in the midst of threats from political interest groups of withdrawal of support if their leaders are not given funds—despite all these, she will listen and be the voice of truth, parity and kindness.

She believes those who manage the commons have reason to work together for the benefit of the majority. Her decision-making on issues like agriculture and environment reflects the needs for our cooperatives and farmers’ associations to prepare us for the future. She strongly advocates to teach farmers and fisherfolk in the most productive and sustainable way, and to channel resources to the farm management mechanism to integrate fragmented landholdings and attain economies of scale in production and marketing. She believes that we all can work through a collaborative action. This alone gives me a feeling of hope that she believes in the potential for greatness that every Filipino has.

Loren also believes that the root of all evil in the society lies within the smallest selfish motives of even the most ordinary citizen, which boils down to depriving others of the truth and justice. On the other hand, she pushes for an attitude than marks the tapping of everyone’s innate goodness as a milestone to attaining small achievements. Collectively, all these ‘small’ achievements will collate into one big success. Hence eventually, our society will slowly but continuously rise from the Black Hole of poverty and corruption. Loren believes that just as we have to be responsible for our own actions, we also have to be responsible to and with each other. After all, one’s failure is everyone’s downfall in the long run. Again, collectivity.

I am confident that one whisper to Loren from me will not be in vain because I know she will listen. Not just to my one voice, but to everyone else’s—irrespective of the perspective. And with this, I am equally confident that she as a leader and as person will make wise, fair and learned judgments that will benefit the majority not only because that is her obligation as a legislator and public official. She will do so because as a person, she knows very well that the dynamics of an entire country is easily likened to the minutest group wherein every voice counts.

There is hope, at least for me and my family, that she will listen to us and to all Filipinos. I am optimistic that she will be the voice of unity.

Source: http://climatewatchphilippines.blogspot.com/2009/11/voice-of-unity.html

Join Team Loren on Facebook

2009-11-05T21:21:00.001-08:00

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=155742109914&v=wall&ref=mf

Poverty, climate change is next admin’s biggest challenge -- Loren

2009-11-05T01:51:00.000-08:00

Senator Loren Legarda said today that the next administration must implement real solutions to the problems of joblessness, poverty and hunger among Filipinos, even as she chided government’s “sugar-coated” statistics on the incidence of poverty in the country.

“There is great disparity between the 53 percent of Filipinos who consider themselves poor in the latest Social Weather Station (SWS) survey and the 32.9 percent of poor Filipinos as determined by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB),” said Loren.

The chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, Loren said that the discrepancy arises not only from the three-year difference when the NSCB last estimated poverty in the Philippines in 2006 and when the SWS conducted the survey for the month of September 2009.

“There’s a 20-percent difference that could only be blamed on the unrealistic paramaters set by the outgoing administration in determining who among Filipinos are poor,” said Loren.

“I am, of course, referring to the NSCB’s poverty threshold of P15,057 for a family composed of five members, which is just too low and unrealistic,” she stressed.

Loren cited the finding of an independent think-tank that based on the government-set poverty threshold, a Filipino would just need P41.25 a day to meet both his food and non-food needs each day. “That’s even less than a dollar a day considering the present exchange rate of P47.50 to a US dollar,” said Loren.

The senator said that the next administration that would be voted into office in next year’s election must come up with more realistic poverty indicators because undereportage of real poverty incidence results to government’s policies, actions and programs not being based on reality.

“If government is to be effective in helping provide livelihood, boosting the economy and ensuring food sufficiency for the 88.57 million Filipinos (as of August 2007), it must first determine where we really stand and must shed off its blinders,” said Loren.

The Philippine population is projected to hit 92.3 million this year.

Reacting to the SWS survey, a Malacañang official blamed the economic slowdown and the recent typhoons that hit the country for the increase in the poverty incidence.

“There may be a grain of truth in that claim by Malacañang, considering that the SWS survey for September must have been undertaken at least after the first of three typhoons, Ondoy, had hit the country,” said Loren.

“But typhoons Ondoy, Pepeng and Santi primarily hit Luzon, while the SWS survey was nationwide in scope. So, it’s not at all factual, this claim by the government.”

Just the same, Loren said that the devastations caused by the typhoons would indeed necessitate a review of the 2010 national budget because the same had been proposed well before the three typhoons devastated the country.

“The next administration will have its work cut out for it. It must address worsening poverty, which is expected to be aggravated by climate change related concerns, such as what we’ve seen with Ondoy, Pepeng and Santi,” said Loren.

Source:
http://www.lorenlegarda.com.ph/article-1257413487.html

http://ofwjournalism.blogspot.com/2009/11/poverty-climate-change-is-next-admins.html

Loren meets Laguna local leaders to find solutions to flooded rice fields

2009-11-05T01:48:00.000-08:00

STA CRUZ, LAGUNA - Senator Loren Legarda yesterday met local leaders and government officials here to find solutions to the rice fields being flooded during typhoons.

Rice fields surrounding Laguna de Bay, the largest freshwater lake in the Philippines and the third biggest Southeast Asia, have been flooded for more than a month now since typhoon Ondoy lashed northern and central Luzon.

Loren, chairperson of the Senate Oversight Committee on Climate Change, held a Senate hearing in a flooded rice field in Sitio Butuanan, Sta. Cruz, Laguna. More than a dozen mayors of lakeshore towns as well as other local and national government officials attended the hearing.

The aftermath of Typhoon Ondoy late September caused the waters of the Laguna de Bay to overflow by 10.4 meters leaving 28 towns and cities submerged in flood waters, and damaging thousands of hectares of ricecrops.

Ondoy poured some 3,300 cubic meters of rainwater on Marikina and Antipolo which should have flowed through the Napindan channel to the Pasig River and thence to Manila bay at the rate of 150 cubic meters per second, Loren learned.

The fisherfork group Pamalakaya blamed the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) for its refusal to open up the Napindan Channel. They claimed that LLDA General Manager Edgardo Manda refused to open the Napindan Channel that should have flushed excess water from the lake.

Manda denied responsibility for the operation of the Napindan Channel and pointed to the Metro Manila Development Authority as the agency responsible.

Loren, however, noted that a study released by the Asian Development Bank in 2004 stated that the Napindan Channel was initially operated by the Department of Public Works and Highways but its operation and control was turned over to the Metro Manila Development Authority in 2003.

The senator proposed that it must be made clear which government agency has jurisdiction over the operation of the Napindan Channel.

Loren also distributed relief goods to poor families in Barangay Gatid, Sta. Cruz, Laguna on the way to the public hearing.. She was assisted by Rep. San Luis of the 4th district of Laguna and by Mayor Ariel Magcalas of Sta. Cruz, Laguna.

After the hearing ended in the afternoon, Loren visited an evacuation site in Pedro Guevarra Memorial National High School, Sta. Cruz where she also distributed relief goods to 200 families.

Source: http://www.lorenlegarda.com.ph/article-1257327925.html

Arroyo certifies bill creating Mindanao body

2009-11-04T19:43:00.000-08:00

In her bill, Legarda said in her explanatory note that “Mindanao’s unique socioeconomic and peace issues call for an agency that goes beyond regional paradigm to spearhead and integrate peace-and-development efforts at a Mindanao-wide perspective.”

Medco said that, so far, Mindanao “continues to lag behind in terms of economic growth, poverty and human development.”

Six out of the 10 poorest provinces of the country were in Mindanao, while four of the five provinces that ranked lowest in human development were also located in Mindanao.

“Compared with Luzon and Visayas, Mindanao has the highest percentage of unpaved national roads at 37.81 percent; the lowest in irrigation development at 31.5 percent and the least in terms of farm-to-market roads paved at 19.68 percent,” the Medco said.

Legarda said that while Medco has been doing planning and development work for the past 16 years, “there is a need to strengthen it and make it more permanent through the creation of the Meda, allowing for the prioritization of this development agenda.”

Medco said the bill was awaiting the final report of the joint House committees on Mindanao Affairs and on Government Enterprises and Privatization, which approved the Meda. Their report would be grilled in a plenary discussion that Congress would schedule.

Source: http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/regions/18093-arroyo-certifies-bill-creating-mindanao-body.html

Loren pushes Climate Change Act funding

2009-11-04T19:38:00.000-08:00

Senator Loren Legarda pushed yesterday for the inclusion in the 2010 national budget of the much-needed funding for the disaster-risk reduction and climate-change mitigation measures envisioned in the Climate Change Act of 2009.

“A report of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) says that our government agencies have a ‘low capacity to adapt to climate change,’” said Loren.

“That’s the very problem which the Climate Change Act seeks to address, thus the urgency of funding and implementing the salient provisions of this new law whose passage had been hailed by the international community.”

Loren pointed out that since the executive department drafted the proposed budget for next year even before typhoons Ondoy, Pepeng and Santi devastated the country, the funding for disaster-risk reduction and climate-change mitigation may not have been prioritized.

The senator called for a review of the proposed budget, the report for which is already being finalized by the Senate Committee on Finance.

“Powerful typhoons wrought havoc on our country and showed how unprepared we are in dealing with disasters, including in conducting rescue and relief operations. We must resign ourselves to the fact that more powerful calamities are coming our way due to climate change,” said Loren.

“But we must not be caught again with our guards down,” she stressed.

Loren identified the following climate change programs whose funding must be included in next year’s budget:

· Immediate creation of the Climate Change Commission which will coordinate and monitor all of the climate change-related programs and policies of the country;

· Strengthening the capabilities of local government units (LGUs) to deal with disasters by allocating portions of the national budget for the purpose, such as the purchase of pump boats and other rescue equipment;

· Helping the agriculture sector adapt to climate change (e.g. the planting of water-submersible crops and the identification of alternative marketing routes during floods and landslides)

· Ensuring the provision of more efficient health services during disasters, including for the thousands of people who are sheltered in evacuation and relief centers;

· Funding environmental programs and activities like reducing carbon emissions and increasing the country’s forest cover as a way to help in the global effort against climate change

Loren said that on her many visits to relief centers, many evacuees had complained to her of the lack of health services afforded them, making them wonder whether they had survived past calamities only to get sick or, worse, to die in evacuation centers.

“We must think out of the box when it comes to agriculture because the typhoons, floods and other calamities are here to stay. We must pour money to research and development of, say, rice varities that can still be harvested despite being submerged in flood water,” said Loren.

“Our food supply routes must also be given more consideration against being cut so as to avert our experince last month when Pepeng cut the supply of vegetables from Mountain Province.”

Source: http://www.luntiangpilipinas.com.ph/2009/11/loren-pushes-climate-change-act-funding/

Loren, Pia seek budget for climate change

2009-11-04T19:35:00.000-08:00

MANILA, Philippines—Senators Loren Legarda and Pia Cayetano Wednesday sought to recast next year’s proposed P1.541-trillion budget to make it more responsive to disaster mitigation and preparedness.

Both senators said deliberations on the General Appropriations Act of 2010, which will resume on Monday, should focus on giving more funds to programs that will help the country cope with the effects of climate change.

The Senate hopes to pass the budget before adjourning for the Christmas break.

Legarda wants funding for the Climate Change Act of 2009, which she authored. Signed into law by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Oct. 23, the act calls for the creation of a Climate Change Commission. It seeks the purchase of more pump boats and other rescue equipment; development of water-submersible crops; and improvement of local area disaster response operations. It also calls for steps to reduce carbon emissions and increase forest cover as risk reduction measures.

Cayetano, on the other hand, called for budget realignments to finance other pro-environment laws and programs.

Cayetano wants to reinstate the P2-billion slash in the proposed budget of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

In a statement, Cayetano, chair of the Senate committee on social justice, noted that the budget of the DENR had been reduced from P12.9 billion this year to only P10.7 billion in 2010.

The budget cut will affect, among others, existing programs such as watershed rehabilitation, cadastral surveys and biodiversity conservation, she said.

Capital outlays for forest restoration and the acquisition of modern equipment for pollution monitoring and geo-hazard mapping will also be affected, Cayetano said.

Cayetano also wants to see money allocated for the relocation of more than half a million squatters living around waterways in Metro Manila.

She said the government would need P3.2 billion annually in the next 10 years to build 22,689 social housing units to accommodate 545,000 households.

Both Legarda and Cayetano said the recent calamities brought on by Tropical Storm “Ondoy” and Typhoons “Pepeng” and “Santi” should serve as eye openers for the people and the government.

Copyright INQUIRER.net and content partners. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.inquirer.net/propertyguide/aroundtown/view.php?db=1&article=20091105-234285

Loren leads signing of commitment against ‘Deadly Trio’

2009-11-04T07:11:00.000-08:00

Senator Loren Legarda conducted an on-site public hearing on the disaster wrought by typhoon Ondoy and launched the 2009 Global Assessment Report (GAR) on Disaster Risk Reduction prepared by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) where it cited three primary reasons that heighten disaster risks from natural calamities, which, in turn, cause poverty in the Philippines to worsen.

The 2009 GAR identified the factors that heighten disasters as poor urban governance, ecosystems decline and the vulnerability of the sources of livelihoods in rural areas.

"The deadly trio of haphazard urban development, ecosystems decline and unstable rural livelihood – individually and in combination – drives disaster risk and provokes catastrophe, especially in poor communities,” said Loren.

Loren’s committee has been holding public hearings at the Senate on the devastations caused by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. She presided over the on-site public hearing in Marikina at Barangay Nangka along the banks of the Marikina River that was the scene of devastation at the height of Typhoon Ondoy. Some of the victims in the area served as resource persons who shared their experiences during the ordeal. The GAR launch was capped by a signing ceremony where participants pledged their commitment themed "Bagong tugon sa hamon ng panahon” to improve urban governance, enhance rural livelihoods and protect ecosystems.

Last week, Loren also led an inspection of Laguna de Bay and neighboring areas, including Lupang Arenda in Taytay, Rizal, which came under water when the bay overflowed.

Comparing the disaster risk management in Japan, where approximately 22.5 million people are exposed annually to typhoons, Loren said that the estimated annual death toll in the Philippines is almost 17 times greater than that of Japan because of our lack of disaster management systems in the form of early warning systems, awareness and preparation.

She added that poor rural livelihoods, dependent on rain-fed agriculture and on a single main harvest for annual food and income, are highly vulnerable to weather fluctuations and hazards, which can lead to crop or livestock loss. Poor and indebted households have little or no surplus capacity to absorb these losses and to recover from extreme weather events.

“Climate change and disaster risks have become one of the greatest challenges to human development the world faces today. About 70 to 80 per cent of disasters have been climate-related,” she said.

Loren stressed that disaster risks will only be reduced if government successfully addresses the three underlying drivers of risk: poor urban governance ecosystem decline, and vulnerable rural livelihoods.

If these drivers are not addressed, climate change will lead to dramatic increases in disaster risk and associated poverty outcomes in developing countries, she said.

“Dealing with climate change and disaster risks decisively is the key to reducing poverty,” she said.

The hearings being conducted by Loren’s committee seeks to identify the gaps in planning, preparation and response to the major devastations wrought by Ondoy in Metro Manila, as well as to set directions for effective disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.

Loren Listens to that Still, Small Voice and the Emerging Natural Resource Governance Theory of the Times: The Governance by the Group

2009-11-04T02:03:00.000-08:00

“In the midst of all the noise and secret whispers; The interest of a cooperative versus a mayor’s, that of a local party leader needing campaign fund for a political post versus that of a small farmers’ group, in the midst of threats from political interest groups of withdrawal of support if their leaders are not given funds— Whom should I listen to? That still, small voice of God’s spirit should reign supreme. ”

Green vice presidential candidate Loren Legarda declares that she will listen to the voice of the many—in her decision making on crucial matters such as allocation of funds for agriculture and environment. She calls on agricultural cooperatives and other farmers’ associations to prepare themselves as she is bent on passing the National Extension Bill. She said the bill will allot funds for agricultural activities of municipalities through demonstration farms on communal irrigation systems (CIS), high-yielding and climate-change tolerant crop varieties and environmentally safe inputs, use and maintenance of agricultural machineries and equipment as well as teaching the farmers and fisherfolk how to access credit and market their products.

“This is the best way I know how to turn around our agricultural performance. We have to teach our farmers and fisherfolk how to farm and fish in the most productive and sustainable way. And we have to channel our resources to the farm management mechanism that will integrate fragmented landholdings to attain economies of scale in production and marketing. We have to believe that human beings can work through a team or collaborative action. This is why Elinor Ostrom, a political scientist, is now the Nobel Prize winner, because of her belief that those who manage the commons can have reason to work together for the benefit of the majority.”, Loren said.

“Maybe Ostrom’s victory is a sign that we should heed her policy imperatives in managing our natural resources. We should work collaboratively. And we should give incentives for people to work together—I challenge the Cooperative Development Authority to study the work of Elinor Ostrom and know the secret of the most successful irrigation system the country has ever produced—the irrigation of the rice terraces—and other such collaborative systems in natural resource management in the world. Maybe we should also think of collaborative action by families. Plato thought the “kaibigan and kamag-anak” system is the root of all evil so he built his imaginary state on the foundation of communal governance of the republic among the guardians who do not know their children. The Chinese thought that was unnatural and built their economy on filial piety. The Chinese is now an economic giant. The Filipinos love their families, that is natural, therefore we should not fight it. And like the Chinese, we are Asians, we are not the individualistic Westerners in whom Adam Smith built his theory of individualism in the 1800s”, Loren theorized.

Source: http://www.lorenlegarda.com.ph/

Loren calls for climate change sensitive 2010 budget

2009-11-02T21:37:00.001-08:00

As Vice Chair of the Committee on Finance and as Chair of the Committee on Climate Change, Sen. Loren Legarda vows to make sure that the budget for fiscal year 2010 will give utmost priority to addressing the issues of climate change and disaster risk reduction.

“The 1.541-trillion budget for next year was formulated by the Executive Department before the super typhoons hit our country, killed hundreds of our people, destroyed millions worth of properties and infrastructure, and devastated our people’s main sources of livelihood,” Legarda said.

In the President’s budget message, priorities were given to infrastructure, agriculture, education, health, poverty reduction, and good governance. “This is the first time that the Executive Department has given priority to environment and climate change in its budget preparations. But we must make sure that funds for these priority concerns are properly utilized and disbursed.”

“Now that the Senate Committee on Finance is finalizing its committee report on the general appropriations bill, we must re-evaluate and recast government priorities so that our agencies and local government units will be better equipped and our people will be better prepared for impending typhoons and calamities that may once again strike our country.”

First and foremost, the 2010 GAA must incorporate funding for the implementation of the Climate

hange Act which was signed into law on October 23, 2009 long after the President’s National Expenditure Program was submitted to Congress. Loren, principal author and sponsor of Republic Act 9729, pushes for the full implementation and funding of the landmark legislation. The new law mandates the development of a framework strategy and local action plans on climate change.

The Climate Change Act provides for the creation of the Commission on Climate Change that will be the sole policy-making body of the government tasked to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the programs and action plans of the government relating to climate change

“We should protect our agricultural and fishery sector by first providing for the identification of the Strategic Agriculture and Fisheries Development Zones or SAFDZs that would delineate the biophysical properties of agri and fisheries areas including climate change adaptabilities of crops, poultry and livestock. The zones will also be the physical planning base for agri and fisheries programs and should be guarded against conversion, destructive activities like excessive quarrying and mining, forest fires, overfishing and other illegal activities in coastal areas. Second , we should enable and empower local government units to determine and prepare for their own disaster mitigation through strong counterparting of funds for agricultural and fisheries activities by correcting the inequity in salaries of local extension workers and devolving the wherewithals of extension that have been kept by the national government since the passage of the Local Government Code. But to strengthen this budgetary provision, we should pass the National Extension Bill before the passage of the GAA. Third, we should allow the farmers to produce the country’s buffer stock—especially in times of calamities—and lessen dependence on imported food to enable them to determine and produce for their—and the country’s— needs as we enter the liberalization regime in ASEAN. , Fourth, we should provide for the National Agriculture and Fisheries Education System—to ensure that the curriculum in all ladders of education strategically incorporate climate change in lifelong learning. Fifth, we should ensure that the farm-to-market roads are strategically networked in production and marketing routes and are quality-controlled to last typhoons and floods through the preparation of an Agriculture and Fisheries Infrastructure Plan. Sixth, we should identify the Basic Needs Communities in agricultural and fisheries areas to focus on the distinct basic needs intervention for the impoverished producers of our food whether in times of calamities or in between harvests. And seventh, we should ensure that the food our people eat are safe at all times by providing for a strengthened food-safety regulations in the Department of Agriculture (DA). And seventh, we should ensure that the 2010 budget should implement all the provisions of the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA) through an adequate monitoring budget. Included in the monitoring is putting in place and implementing a planning-programming-budgeting system for AFMA which I—as chair of the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries— have already asked the DA to follow.

“We should also provide more efficient health services for our people, particularly Hospitals and health facilities that are Safe from Disasters because these are frontline facilities when floods, hurricanes, cyclones, and earthquakes strike. We have learned from bitter experiences in the past that many are adversely impacted because safety measures in hospitals were not integrated in their design, construction and functionality. Provisions for medicines and vaccines should also be allocated for the potential outbreak of diseases like leptospirosis borne by typhoons.”

The 2010 GAA should likewise provide for the implementation of environment protection programs that will help our local communities prevent, prepare for and minimize the potential risks they will have to suffer from the same severe weather patterns that we are experiencing now. Loren is keen on finding a budget for green jobs and resilient livelihoods to be able to offer diversified income opportunities to the most vulnerable populations to climate change in the rural areas.

Specifically, Loren wants to develop rural livelihoods through agro-forestry. There is a way to improve the livelihoods of our people in the countryside while at the same time protecting the environment and adapting to climate change.

According to Loren, “unutilized and marginal lands can be planted with trees, such as rubber trees, which can be a source of income for Filipinos. ”

“If there’s one important lesson that we must learn from the super typhoons that ravaged not only our countryside, but Metro Manila as well, it is that the government, both at the national and local levels, must draw up preventive measures so that our people and our communities will remain safe and protected.”

“The 2010 budget must not be maintenance budget. Waking up from the country’s vulnerability to disasters and climate change, next year’s budget must be instrumental in financing our climate change work to save lives and livelihoods. The 2010 budget will reveal if our leaders and decision-makers in the government have learned to finally mainstream climate change in the budgeting process. ”

Source:

http://lorenlegarda.com.ph/

http://balita.ph/2009/11/05/lawmaker-supports-move-to-realign-2010-budget-to-fund-climate-change-programs/

Loren, Loren Sinta

2009-11-01T19:48:00.001-08:00

During Loren’s Luneta rally, my investigative reporter James Macaquecquec reported that he overheard Loren asked someone, “Where’s the money?” But James wasn’t sure if Loren meant to say, “Where’s Manny?”

Well, Manny has been singing, “Loren, Loren sinta, madami akong pera kaya sa akin ka na lang pumunta.” (Loren, Loren my love, I got lots of money so come to me.) Like they say, “Follow the scent of money.”

Manny must be out of tune!

Now that Sen. Loren Legarda has declared her intention to seek a higher office in 2010, faultfinders will surely be a common sight everywhere, everyday and every time waiting every opportunity to distort every word that comes out of Loren’s and construe every move of the lady senator.

Take for instance the Luneta rally of Senator Loren Legarda where she enumerated her 6-point agenda before a throng of supporters.

How come one overheard Loren saying, “Where’s the money?” or “Where’s Manny?” amidst a thunderous applause, yelling and excitement of thousands of people listening to her speech?

Maybe Loren was actually saying, “People are so many! Too many!” Faultfinders can simply twist the truth. Many people were at the Luneta to follow the ‘scent of a woman’.

If Manny has been singing, “Loren, Loren sinta…” while sniffing the scent of money, he must be singing out of tune.

LOREN, An Iron Butterfly

2009-10-30T02:36:00.000-07:00

She maybe a butterfly, yes, but Loren Legarda is not the kind of butterfly sashaying around the sweet and scented political garden like most nectar sucking bees do to advance their own political end.

Maybe she is more than a butterfly to many presidentiables that’s why she is sandwiched in their tug of war. Maybe majority of local chief executives in the provinces are convinced that a tandem with Loren Legarda will make the chances of administration bet bloom like wild flowers in the polls.

Like a butterfly, Loren Legarda exudes a magnetic field to flora and fauna in the political arena. Maybe because of her ironed and principled nature as a person that she has always been lured to join from one party to another. They believed and respected the credibility and advocacy of Loren - that is the simple equation.

Now, that she is orphaned by the sudden decision of her party mate Chiz Escudero and presidential hopeful to bolt NPC, Loren is geared up like an iron butterfly to rally her party mates in the NPC.

In this time of uncertainty and adversity, we need a decisive and respected individual to lead this country. We need an iron butterfly that can pollinate the democratic vineyard and adapt to a changing environment not noisy buzzing bees swarming around to pollute the minds of the people and extract them dry.

Loren urges for more government support for local agriculture to compete

2009-10-29T18:12:00.000-07:00

PASSI CITY, Iloilo, Oct. 29 - Sen. Loren Legarda today urged for more government support and “safety nets” for agricultural industries, including sugar, in the light of the free trade agreement among members of the Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN).

Loren made the appeal in the light of the of the signing of the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) during the 14th ASEAN Ministers’ summit in Thailand on February 26, 2009, drastically lowering tariffs on agricultural products like rice and sugar in ASEAN trade.

“The industry needs to brace itself for the impact of trade liberalization within the ASEAN,” said Loren, referring to the agreement. While the objective is to establish a free flow of goods in the ASEAN market, Philippine agricultural products like sugar and rice will be placed at a disadvantage in the short run because of their being uncompetitive.”

The Philippines is the world’s biggest rice importer, importing rice mostly from Vietnam and Thailand, while the Philippines’ sugar production has been on a decline.

“Economic integration can be a two-edged sword. There is hope that our commitments to the ATIGA will provide the impetus for our industries to align themselves along areas of competitive advantage in the long run. However the adjustment process in the immediate term is quite worrisome, especially in the light of the impending fiscal crisis and the havoc wreaked on our agriculture by the recent natural disasters,” said Loren.

Addressing the 39th annual meeting of the Jalasig Sugarcane Planters Association here, Loren, who is the chair of the Senate committee on food and agriculture, warned that unless “we succeed in listing sugar in the highly sensitive list, tariff on imported sugar under the AFTA will be slashed from 38% to 28% in 2010.

“Even if we succeed, the measure will provide only transitory relief. Beyond the short term, our government needs to overcome the utter neglect that has characterized its past performance, and provide real safety nets and support mechanisms that will help agriculture become competitive. That is my vision for the sugar industry, and for Philippine agriculture as a whole.”

The Philippines is also negotiating with Thailand for a 35 percent tariff on rice imports, while Thailand wants the Philippines to cut the tariff to 20 percent. This would place the local rice industry under a graver threat from more massive rice importations as the world’s largest importer of the staple.

Lower tariffs on Philippine agricultural products would place them at a disadvantage in competition with similar products from ASEAN countries because of the higher cost of local agricultural production. This would give less incentive for Filipino farmers to produce more to cover the local market.

In the case of the sugar sector, Loren noted that there has been a decline in sugar production.

“I understand that this year has been relatively benign for the domestic sugar industry. Philippine Sugar Millers Association President (PSMA) Archimedes Amarra said that we already completed shipments to US on March 20, 2009 and by the end of 2009 we could ship to the world market 100,000 metric tons. He assures us that that there is enough supply to cope with the demand even though production has been declining due to high input costs.

“Actual sugar production at 2.197 million metric tons has enabled the country’s ending inventory of domestic sugar to regain reasonably normal levels. However this is a big dip from the 2007/2008 crop year output of 2.45 million metric tons …”

Loren said that as chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, she had initiated measures aimed at reshaping government policy towards agriculture.

“At the end of my term, I hope to leave behind a legacy that will promote competitiveness in agriculture. This legacy consists of three major pieces of legislation, namely the Agricultural Extension Bill, the Agri Agra Bill which has already passed the Bicameral Conference Committee, and the reorientation and restructuring of the budget of the Department of Agriculture,” said Loren.

Under the agricultural extension bill which she is sponsoring, Loren hopes to further strengthen and expand agricultural extension aid to farmers by providing more incentives such as higher salaries and more technical equipment to the country’s 20,000 extension workers. These workers spread more knowledge and technical expertise to farmers in improving their production.

The Agri-Agra bill would provide more credits to farmers and agricultural workers through the private commercial banks by amending the presidential decree currently governing such loans, enabling banks to provide easier credits to agriculture.

Loren wants to provide more budgetary support to critical areas of agriculture and fisheries to increase production and provide more income farmers and fisherfolk.

Source: http://www.lorenlegarda.com.ph/article-1256796881.html

Luntiang Pilipinas Revisited

2009-10-28T20:21:00.000-07:00

A nationwide forestry program committed to the promotion of environmental protection.

THE CHALLENGE

The deterioration of the country's forest areas is the root of our water crisis, flooding and imbalanced ecosystem.

Illegal loggers plundern hardwood wherever they are: in precious and life-giving watershed areas, and even in protected areas like our national parks and forest reservations.

Most of our 125 proclaimed watershed areas are covering a total of 1.5M hectares have been classified as deteriorating or dying. We lose 1.4 percent of our forest cover every year.

Total protected area is only 2.5 million hectares or just 9 percent of total land area of the country. Protection is mostly nominal. There is only one forest guard for every four thousand hectares.

OUR EFFORTS

Luntiang Pilipinas is a nationwide tree-growing program that seeks to create Forest Parks in urban areas- in national and local government centers, school grounds, chruch yards and along roadsides.

The foundation envisions itself in the next ten years to be catalyst in the protecting and preserving the environment through the:

- Creation of an atmosphere for a sustainable Green Philippines.
- Institutionalization of a Corps of Green Crusaders among Filipinos, especially the youth to sustain the environmental program.
- Effecting change in values and attitudes through environmental information, education, and communication (IEC) and;
- Intensification of multi-stakeholder cooperation in sustainable development.

PROJECTS

It was on October 28, 1998 when Luntiang Pilipinas was launched by Senator Loren Legarda at the Rizal Park. It was institutionalized and operationalized as a complementing private initiative program on nationwide urban forestry with the primary aim of raising the level of consciousness of Filipinos to the value of trees.

REGULAR FOREST PARKS

This involves the development of Forest Parks in provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays nationwide and every conceivable areas such as church yards , town plazas, and many other available places. The partnership with the local government units is vital in institutionalizing environmental awareness and management in local governance. A number of Memoranda of Agreement have been entered into by Luntiang Pilipinas with various LGUs, NGOs and POS to effectively carry out the objectives of the program.

CAMPUS FOREST PARKS

This is part of the strategic approach of bringing the concept of environmental protection to the youth by creating Forest Parks in school campuses.

NORTH-SOUTH EXPRESSWAY (NSEW) GREENBELT PROJECT

The project calls for the creation of the Forest Park in each of the 52 loops of the 127-Kilometer stretch NSEW from Calamba, Laguna to Dau, Pampanga by planting 12, 000 to 15, 000 trees in each loop. At the same time trees are planted two to four meters apart depending on the tree specie. This is a joint undertaking with the Philippine National Construction Corporation (PNCC)and the Manila North Tollways Corporation.

TRAFFIC ISLAND FOREST PARKS

The inauguration of the Buendia Center Island Forest Park project gave impetus to the launching this new environmental endeavor. With the support and assistance of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and the mayors if the cities and municipalities in the National Capital Region, this project aims to create Forest Parks in selected traffic islands in various parts of Metro Manila.

THE FOUNDER

Senator Loren Legarda has been hailed as a "Green Crusader" because of her staunch advocacy of environmental issues, particularly those pertaining to forest and marine resources. As a legislator, she has authored and co-authored two landmark environmental legislattions: the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act (RA 9003).

In 2001, Loren was elected to the prestigious Global 500 Roll of Honor for environmental Achievement by the United Nations Environment Program in Turin, Italy and to the Global Leaders of tomorrow (GLTs) for 2000 by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. She was also awarded by the Priyadarshni Academy in India for her exemplary contributions to the environment. She was a Likas Yaman (Natural Treasure) awardee of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for her outstanding work as founding chair of the Save Our Seas (SOS) and Trees for Life Foundations.

As a broadcast journalist for more than 20 years, she championed the cause for a more healthful ecology for heightening public awareness of environmental problems through her television programs "Pep Talk" and "The Inside Story". Her subsequent newsmagazine program "Earth Link" became the first television documentary series on the environment and was awarded both the KBP Golden Dove Award and the EarthSavers Media Award on its maiden season.

Senator Loren continues to fight for Mother Nature and with your help, we will make our environment greener, in a more progressive and healthy Philippines.

SUMMARY OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

More than TWO MILLION TREES have been planted in approximately 5oo Hectares across the country visible in 33 provinces, 28 cities and 84 municipalities made possible through assistance of over 240 institutional partners including 28 corporate donors and benefactors, 22 national government agencies, 21 non-governmental organizations (NGO), 22educational institutions, two international/foreign entities and countless individuals backed up by a well planned information, education and communication (IEC) campaign with the primary aim of raising the level of consciousness among Filipinos to the value of trees.

Loren Legarda

2009-10-28T01:37:00.000-07:00

Friends in media, and her staff, texted me about Loren Legarda's planned declaration of candidacy at the Luneta Park last Friday. Loren right now stands to be a lone voice on the issue of climate change. That of course may change with the kind of "awakening" that we got from Ondoy and Pepeng. Candidates may now find it a worthy way to get more votes, especially in the hotly-contested and Ondoy-devasted Metro Manila.

So let's give Loren five green point for the simple reason of thinking ahead of the pack.Come to think of it, this means she has the foresight, the vision if you may, compared to other candidates whose campaigns are still anchored on cheesy messiahnic message of "lalaban tayo." Eh sino lalabanan mo?

Thousands gathered at the Luneta: not the kind of mob that televangelists usually gather, but impressive nonetheless as these are people she's been with in the past post-Ondoy weeks: the people of Potrero, Malabon; Lupang Arenda in Rizal - whose houses are threatened to obscurity by the overflowing Laguna Lake -- and the Moslem community of Quiapo. People from her political bailiwicks Batangas and Ilocos were also there.

Loren did not do what was expected of her during her speech. She did not reveal her intentions for 2010 during her speech but admitted later - in a press conference - that she is gunning for the vice presidency.

Many thought - me included - that she would still insist on running as president of the country which she stressed is the best platform for pursuing preparations for climate change. She may have probably realized that she has a better chance of getting what she wants done by pairing with a stronger candidate, who has the same vision.

That is something we will eagerly await for. Who will be Loren's number 1 and will the environment be a crucial part of his platform?

I've requested my friends involved in Loren's campaign for a copy of her speech. I wish to see it in detail, although I have a general idea of her platform.

Anyway, in that same morning, Loren came to witness the signing of the Climate Change Act in Malacanang. While Ondoy and Pepeng made these bills more urgent than ever, let's give Loren five more green points for the kind of work she put to get the bill passed. It is not easy to get a bill passed if you're a big opposition name and a serious presidential contender.

Source: http://thegreenvote.blogspot.com/2009/10/loren-legarda.html

Implement Law On Climate Change Adaptation

2009-10-28T01:32:00.000-07:00

Speaking at the National Conference on Climate Change Adaptation, Senator Loren Legarda today called for the serious implementation of her landmark legislation that will strengthen our country’s efforts in addressing the greatest humanitarian challenge, climate change.
“The passage of the Climate Change Act, could not have come to a time more ideal than today. And I am pleased to be with you again to further discuss this landmark legislation,” said Loren who chairs the Senate Committee on Climate Change.
The filing of this measure two years ago took inspiration from the Albay Declaration, the outcome document of the First National Conference on Climate Change Adaptation, as it called for “the passage of a policy prioritizing climate change adaptation in the national agenda”.
“The ensuing discussions on the threats of climate change to our basic human rights - food, potable water, shelter, decent livelihood and life itself, have occupied us for some time now. In response to these impacts, vulnerable countries like the Philippines should ramp up efforts to enhance the resilience of our people,” laments Loren.
She added, “Special attention should be given to the poorest of the poor, who are also the most vulnerable to the scourge of disasters. They are the small farmers, fisherfolk, upland dwellers, urban squatters living on riverbanks, forestlands, seashores, and low-lying areas. Without planning and assistance, more will lose their lives, homes and farms that make up their life's possession. Just a single extreme weather event can derail the achievement of our Millennium Development Goals' target.”
“While climate change has recently been at the forefront of international and local discourse, it is perhaps only now that we have seen its devastating impacts,” said Loren, citing the consequences of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng.
She said it took these two calamities “for us to realize the urgent need to confront the drivers of our vulnerability to disasters and climate change – poor urban governance, vulnerable rural livelihoods and ecosystems decline – in order to save lives and secure livelihoods.”
Climate Change Act will build resilience to the impacts of climate change. The Commission on Climate Change shall be the sole policy-making body of the government tasked to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the programs and action plans of the government relating to climate change.
The Climate Change Act mandates the Commission to:

1. Coordinate and synchronize climate change programs of national government agencies;
2. Recommend key development investments in climate-sensitive sectors such as water resources, agriculture, forestry, coastal and marine resources, health, and infrastructure to ensure the achievement of national sustainable development goals;

3. Create an enabling environment that shall promote broader multi-stakeholder participation and integrate climate change mitigation and adaptation;

4. Coordinate and establish a close partnership with the National Disaster Coordinating Council in order to increase efficiency and effectiveness in reducing the people’s vulnerability to climate-related disasters; and

5. Formulate the Framework Strategy and Program on Climate Change, the National Climate Change Action Plan and facilitate local action plans.
The Climate Change Act puts the local governments in the frontline of the formulation, planning and implementation of climate change action plans which includes risk reduction, in their respective areas speeding up the capacity building for local adaptation planning, implementation and monitoring of climate change initiatives in vulnerable communities.
Further, the new legislation places disaster risk reduction as the first line of defense against climate change risks. Recognizing that climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction are closely linked and effective disaster risk reduction enhances climate change adaptive capacity, the measure will ensure the integration of disaster risk reduction into policies, programs and initiatives on climate change.
The Climate Change Act, the first in Asia, sums up the country's great resolve to take the issue of climate change very seriously. It goes to show that we value above everything else the welfare of our people through the protection of the world where we all live.
“This law is for us, our children and the generations after them. Ensuring its full implementation is the great challenge and responsibility posed to us all,” said Loren. (30)

Dealing with climate change

2009-10-27T23:31:00.000-07:00

I am very happy, as so many others are too, that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed into law the Climate Change Act of 2009.

The Inquirer’s front page shows Sen. Loren Legarda beaming with joy after her bill was signed by the President and finally we have a law that would define and prescribe to our people and government concrete ways to protect the environment and deal with the effects of climate change.

For the past number of years, we have seen the failure of government agencies tasked to protect our environment. These agencies, in many instances, were even accused of asiding with institutions out to destroy what is left of our forests to the consternation of many honest but much maligned environmentalists.

I would like to think the anger of local government units and the public against envrionmentalists is misplaced. These green crusaders are here basically to speak in behalf of the planet that cannot protect itselft against abuse. We must be grateful for them for looking out for the protection of the public from possible ill effects of harardous elements dumped in our localities.

One thing is clear: nobody has the right to dump garbage just anywhere. There is a need for us to prepare for the impact of climate change and find ways to mitigate it. What happened in central and northern Luzon areas, which were badly hit by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng, should serve as a wakeup call for the entire country.

Even weathermen are confused by the way the new typhoon, “Ramil” is behaving. These past few days it they’ve had a hard time forecasting its path and its speed. Recent typhoons are more powerful, destroying dwellings, livelihood and lives.

I could have a litany of violations of environmental laws committed by citizens and government agencies, but what’s important now is to act and act swiftly.

Source: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/opinion/view/20091025-232180/Dealing-with-climate-change

GMA signs Climate Change Act

2009-10-27T23:20:00.000-07:00

President Arroyo holds up a copy of the Climate Change Act of 2009 after she formally signed it into law at Malacanang’s Ceremonial Hall yesterday. Looking on are (from left) Sen. Loren Legarda, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Laguna Rep. Maria Evita Arago, Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales Jr., Paranaque Rep. Roilo S. Golez, and Ilocos Sur Rep. Eric Singson. Willy Perez

| Zoom MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo approved yesterday a law seeking to lessen the impact of climate change in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, Britain warned yesterday that the country would experience more typhoons, floods, droughts, heat waves and crop production shortages as a result of climate change.

Republic Act 9729, the Philippine Climate Change Act of 2009, creates a powerful body that would formulate and implement plans for the country to better prepare for and respond to natural disasters.

It also aims to attract foreign financing for adaptation and risk reduction projects.

Mrs. Arroyo signed the bill into law at Rizal Hall in Malacañang with members of Congress, diplomats, local officials, business leaders, environment advocates, the academe, and religious leaders in attendance.

“The signing into law of the Climate Change Act of 2009 ushers in a new era in the way the Philippines will tackle climate change in both the short and long terms, for the benefit of Filipinos today and for Filipinos yet unborn,” Mrs. Arroyo said in a statement.

The law creates the Climate Change Commission, a policy making body attached to the Office of the President tasked with coordinating, monitoring and evaluating programs and action plans relating to climate change.

Headed by the President, the four-member commission will be autonomous and shall have the same status as a national government agency.

Members of the commission must be experts in the field and will hold office for six years and may be reappointed, provided that no person shall serve for more than two consecutive terms.

Backed by a panel of technical experts, the commission has six months upon the law’s effectivity to come up with the National Framework Strategy and Program on Climate Change.

The commission’s advisory board will be composed of heads of concerned government departments as well as representatives from the academe, the business sector, non-government organizations, and from the disaster-risk reduction community.

In a statement, British Embassy charge d’affaires Colin Crorkin said storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng” gave a glimpse of what’s in store if climate change is neglected.

“The UK congratulates the Philippine government’s step in the right direction with the Climate Change Act, which was signed into law by Pres. Arroyo today,” he said.

Crorkin was citing a new map illustrating the global consequences of failing to keep climate change in check.

“Food shortage, disease and conflict as a result become very real possibilities,” he said.

“We also welcome the Philippines’ strong stand on climate change issues in the international stage.”

The new map was launched today by the UK Government, with 45 days to go before international climate change talks begin in Copenhagen.

British ministers are pressing for the most ambitious deal possible in order to avoid these dangerous impacts.

The map, launched at the Science Museum by UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Climate and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, along with the UK’s Chief Scientist John Beddington, was developed using the latest peer-reviewed science from the Met Office Hadley Centre and other leading impact scientists.

The poster highlights some of the impacts that may occur if the global average temperature rises by four degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial climate average.

Ahead of December’s international climate change talks in Copenhagen, the Government is aiming for an agreement that limits climate change as far as possible to 2 degrees Celsius. Increases of more than 2 degrees will have huge impacts on the world.

The poster shows that the average land temperature will be 5.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. The impacts on human activity shown on the map are only a selection of those that may occur, and highlight the severe effects on water availability, agricultural productivity, extreme temperatures and drought, the risk of forest fires and sea level rise.

Paranaque Rep. Roilo Golez, principal author of RA 9729 in the House of Representatives, said an executive director to be appointed by the President would head the commission’s technical staff.

“It is hoped that a technically competent person with solid climate change and science credentials will be appointed executive director,” he said.

Golez said the first challenge for the commission is participation in the climate change conference in Copenhagen in December.

“Developing countries are worried that reducing carbon emissions would hinder their growth, while developed nations do not want climate change measures to slow down their economies and change the lifestyle of their peoples,” he said.– With Donnabelle Gatdula, Pia Lee-Brago, Jess Diaz

Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=517009&publicationSubCategoryId=63

Senator Loren Legarda may not be a trapo, but she’s smart and media-savvy.

2009-10-27T03:04:00.001-07:00

When she announced her vice presidential aspirations, she did not (intentionally, I think) mention whom she’ll be running with. That started a flurry of media speculations that she may opt to run with administration Lakas-Kampi candidate Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro, and even with Nacionalista Party standard-bearer, former Senate President Manny Villar.

Loren keeps on saying that she’ll remain with the opposition, but that did not stop media from speculating that she may not run with Senator Chiz Escudero of the Nationalist People’s Coalition.

All in all, Loren’s move boosted her stock. She drove home the point that she’s a candidate to contend with for the vice presidency.

Personally, I believe that Loren will give the other vice presidential hopefuls like Senator Mar Roxas and Makati Mayor Jojo Binay a run for their money. Note that in previous senatorial elections, Loren was always no. 1.

Source: http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideOpinion.htm?f=2009/october/27/emiljurado.isx&d=/2009/october/27

Implement 20-Year Old Rainwater Collection Law

2009-10-26T22:45:00.000-07:00

In the wake of twin typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng, and in preparation for upcoming typhoon Ramil, Senator Loren Legarda today called for the urgent implementation of the law mandating the collection of rainwater in all barangays. This would prevent flooding and ensure the continuous provision of clean water during dry seasons.

“If even half of the barangays in Manila had rainwater collection systems in place, there would be virtually no flooding during rainy seasons. And during dry seasons, we would have enough water to distribute despite the dropping water tables that cause problems in summer,” said Legarda, chair of the Senate Committee on Climate Change.

RA 6716 provides for the construction of water wells, rainwater collectors, development of springs and rehabilitation of existing water wells in all barangays in the Philippines. A Barangay Waterworks and Sanitation Association shall be formed to operate and maintain the rainwater collection facilities. A rainwater collection facility has the following components: catchment, treatment and distribution. Rainwater is collected in rooftops, then purified in a central treatment system to be pumped, finally, to various water lines.

“We don’t even have to make a new law. We just have to implement an existing one. This 20-year old law solves two problems at once: flooding and water shortages,” she emphasized.

“Rainwater is a clean and costless source of water. A rain water collection system is not that expensive to install and once the initial investment is recouped everything is free.”

Ondoy brought 410mm of rain to the city of Manila over a total land area of 14.9 square miles. If collected, this could supply water to critical areas in Metro Manila experiencing seasonal water problems. In some middle class subdivisions, the faucets flow only for a few hours every day, and for some, every other day.

Metro Manila is one of nine major cities identified as “water-critical” in a study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The other 8 cities are Metro Cebu, Davao, Baguio, Angeles, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga.

“Climate change puts new pressures on our natural resources, and affects the way we distribute resources in entirely new and unpredictable ways. With the Philippines becoming increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather, rainwater collection is a simple and cost-effective way to secure precious water resources. Government should lead water conservation and push for green building,” she said.

Source:

Protect RP Agri Sector From Unfair Trade

2009-10-26T22:42:00.000-07:00

Senator Loren Legarda today warned that the Philippines is set to lose P100 from noncompetitive products if it concedes to the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) which will eliminate tariffs and non-tariff barriers for trade among ASEAN nations. She emphasized that the agriculture sector is especially vulnerable if said agreement is signed.

“While agriculture is recognized as the most vital industry to fight hunger and poverty, it is also the sector with the highest level of trade distortions. After we have suffered P18.4 billion in agriculture damage from Ondoy and Pepeng, we cannot afford to lose out further in our agriculture sector because of trade imbalance,” said Loren, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture.

Legarda stressed that the ATIGA should not come into full force without the ratification of the Senate, and that it should follow the constitution and the country’s laws.

“Before the Philippines concedes to this agreement, wider consultations should be done. With the Philippines being a primarily agricultural country, the sector contributes a fifth of our total GDP, providing jobs and support to tens of thousands of families, and almost one half of our labor force. It is a sector that must be protected because the livelihood of thousands of Filipino farmers depend on it,” she said.

Among the important concerns on the agreement is the lack of public consultations. It is required under Philippine tariff and customs laws, as well as under the setup of the Senate Committee on Trade that before negotiating a trade policy position, public hearings should be made so that the people could voice out their concerns over a pending trade agreement.

“We live today in an open trade regime where quality products at competitive prices are required to sell in the market. The farming sector needs safety nets to cushion it from the impact of liberalized trade in the agriculture sector,” said Legarda.

She pointed out that huge domestic support and export subsidies provided by developed countries to their farmers render developing countries' farm products uncompetitive.

“Contrary to WTO principles, advanced countries give their farmers huge subsidies, which developing countries cannot afford, thus creating an unfair playing field. The ATIGA will have an across-the-board impact on trade in agriculture if it is signed without first applying the necessary safety nets,” she said.

She added, “agriculture in developed countries is a big, integrated business. In addition, they are awash with subsidies from government. Developing countries like the Philippines simply cannot afford to provide its farmers the same subsidies that developed countries grant them. As a result of unfair trade, developing countries are inherent losers.”

ATIGA was endorsed by the AFTA Council in August 2008, and signed by its parties during the ASEAN Summit in February 2009.

“Free trade has not worked because it has never actually happened: trade agreements of the past have been neither free nor fair. They have been asymmetric, opening up markets of developing countries to goods from the advanced industrial countries without full reciprocation,” she said.

Source: http://www.lorenlegarda.com.ph/article-1256285928.html

Good Governance Vital to Climate Change Adaptation

2009-10-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

Sen. Loren Legarda, chair of the Senate committee on climate change adaptation, yesterday stressed the need for good governance for communities to meet the challenges of climate change and reduce disaster casualties and damage.

“Development cannot be focused only on economic gains without the accompanying responsibility of good governance. Development should not create risks for our people and our economy. We need to ensure the resilience of our development investments,” said Loren.

In a “Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction 2009: Executive Brief”, Loren said, “The world as a whole must act immediately to seize and reduce disaster risks. For the global picture has been grim. The world in the year 2008 alone saw 321 disasters which killed about a quarter of a million people and affected more than 200 million lives.

“The total economic cost was a stunning 180 billion US dollars, which is twice the average annual economic losses of the past seven years. And the region of the Asia and the Pacific has borne much of the brunt, accounting for more than 80 percent of the global loss of life.

“About 70 to 80 per cent of disasters have been climate-related. And yet, given the gloomy scenario of climate change, more disasters are expected to happen. Indeed, climate change and disaster risks have become one of the greatest challenges to human development the world faces today.”

Based on the recently released Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction, Loren stated, disaster risks will only be reduced if countries successfully address the three underlying drivers of risk: poor urban governance, ecosystem decline, and vulnerable rural livelihoods.

“If these drivers are not addressed, climate change will lead to dramatic increases in disaster risk and associated poverty outcomes in developing countries,” Loren warned. She cited the stagger ravages of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng in Luzon to illustrate her warning.

Explaining further, Loren said that improving urban governance involves stopping corruption and enforcing building codes, among others; protecting ecosystems which involves protecting forests, cleaning rivers, and stopping pollution, among others; and enhancing rural livelihoods means improving agricultural productivity and supporting farmers better.

For good governance, she cited Japan were 22.5 million people are exposed annually to typhoons, compared to 16 million people in the Philippines. However, the estimated annual death toll in the Philippines is almost 17 times greater than that of Japan. Overall, tropical cyclone mortality risk in low-income countries is approximately 200 times higher than in countries of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), for similar numbers exposed.

“Although we tend to focus only on the big disasters … the report has highlighted that it is the smaller disasters – the ones that kill less than 10 people and destroy less than 10 houses – which we should be especially wary about. This kind of disasters is on the rise – turbocharged by climate change. They diminish our capital, especially for the poor – human, economic, social and environmental capital – making us less resilient and unable to resist disasters and any crisis a typical household may face, be it disease, loss of jobs or livelihoods,” Loren said.

“Poor rural livelihoods, dependent on rain-fed agriculture and on a single main harvest for annual food and income, are highly vulnerable to weather fluctuations and hazards, which can lead to crop or livestock loss. Poor and indebted households have little or no surplus capacity to absorb these losses and to recover,” she declared.

On ecosystems, she said, over the last century, the proportion of land area covered by forest in the Philippines has fallen from 22 percent in 1990 to just 19.4 percent in 2000. As recorded, large area of forest lands were already converted to tree plantation, mining and marginal upland agriculture which gave a 1.4 per cent average deforestation rate from 1990 to 2000, the highest among Asian countries.

Source:

Loren urges climate change act's full implementation

2009-10-26T18:22:00.000-07:00

“A triumph for all Filipinos. A bold measure to ensure that our countrymen need not feel helpless against the devastation and disasters caused by climate change-related natural calamities.”

So said an ecstatic Senator Loren Legarda yesterday following the signing into law in Malacañang of the Climate Change bill which she authored and filed in 2007 to mainstream climate change actions and initiatives into government’s policies and programs.

“It was a long and arduous battle on my part to see through the passage of this law. But since man can never really measure up to the wrath of Mother Nature, I humbly submit that this Climate Change Act is but a small step in the right direction,” said Loren.

“The important thing is for all of us to ensure that all of the provisions of this law are translated into positive and concrete actions so that we, as a people, would have all the necessary infrastructure, capabilities and resources to deal with the devastating effects of climate change,” she added.

The new law will mainstream climate change initiatives and action into Philippine policy formulation, development planning, and poverty reduction programs.

The senator cautioned that many well-meaning laws had gone to waste due to poor or non-implementation of their provisions or the watering down of their intent when translated into action by government.

She cited as example the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, whose passage she shepherded during her first term as senator, but whose provisions on waste segregation and their proper disposal had not been strictly followed.

“Waste disposal, as can be seen from the garbage problems we have on our heavily silted river systems, bays, esteros and floodways, is at the core of the problem and is closely related to what should be done in helping mitigate the effects of climate change,” she said.

“We have crafted the necessary laws, right. But that’s winning just half the battle, because the proper implementation of pieces of laws holds the key.”

The law will also create a Commission on Climate Change, headed by the President and which would serve as the sole policy making body of the government, tasked to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the programs and action plans of the government relating to climate change.

“It was in November of 2007 that I filed this bill and through the help of our climate change experts, concerned government agencies and fellow legislators, we finally succeeded in having this signed after two years,” Loren recalls.

The senator said that the law would speed up the capacity

building for local adaptation planning, implementation and monitoring of climate change initiatives in vulnerable communities.

“Mainstreaming entails the integration of policies and measures that address climate change into development planning and decision-making,” said Loren, who chairs the Senate Standing and Oversight Committee on Climate Change.

“Climate change is a challenge that must be taken up by local and national governments for it is a reality that confronts our communities, families, our daily lives,” she said.

“It is here and now. It is both our debt and duty to the earth and our children’s children to make climate change our problem and solve it, not tomorrow, not in the next decade, but today. And we can do it.”

Source: Politicalarena.com
http://loren-legarda.politicalarena.com/news/loren-urges-climate-change-act-s-full-implementation

Loren Legarda: At Last, someone with a platform

2009-10-26T01:33:00.000-07:00

Loren Legarda, whom everybody thought as a weak presidential candidate (despite having a very consistent 26% mass base support; higher than Erap’s and Chiz Escudero’s), got my admiration yesterday. Instead of perorating about her past feats as a legislator or her advocacy work, Loren provided us with a six point “Pro-Poor, Pro-People, Pro-God” agenda, which was devoid of all necropolitical imagery nor the self-serving halleluyas of ass-lickers.

At last, a candidate with a platform. We may not agree with what she thinks is the direction to take, but, I, personally, appreciate that Loren took the time to analyze Filipino society and provide the direction for us to take in the next six years (or even ten).

Which leads me to think—Loren, probably, is not just the best for the vice presidency; she deserves the Highest Post, really.

Damn all those who think that gender is a serious election issue. All these men who came before us, and that includes necropolitician Noynoy Aquino, did not even care to provide us with their visions. They only expressed their self-serving dreams, but nary anything about service or a road-map towards rehabilitating our damaged institutions.

All these men who said they want the presidency for themselves, treated us shabbily, even with disdain, thinking that campaigns are showbiz affairs and the great masses are an un-thinking lot and just a waste of their precious time telling us what they intend to do.

Loren was brave enough to provide us with her six-point agenda, opening herself up to brickbats later on, but at least, a platform by which we will then use to measure her competence and performance. For some, maybe, presenting your platform this early is perceived to be a political death trap. For a trapo-nian mind, with a 60’s upbringing, that exposes you to attacks. Never mind, says Loren. It is important to give importance to the People.

Some might even think that Loren is your ordinary political prostitute; but her Luneta speech proved that she is not. Loren has her own mind, acts based on her own analysis and shows a steely political will—all we aspire for for a presidentiable to have.

Not a dilly-dallying teka-teka like Gibo Teodoro, nor a worshipper of dead icons like Noynoy or as gangster-minded like an Erap or a posterboy of Big Business or Big Real Estate Business personified, Loren is presidentiable material. Sorry for those who want me to include jokers like Bayani Fernando who dreams of carving his own Nottingham or La Mancha, or publicity-seekers like Gordon–these people do not deserve to be in the same sentence as she.

Whoever gets Loren to be his running mate is a very lucky man, indeed. You have brains and guts all rolled into one beautiful package. Even a Vilma Santos cannot top that.

Now, we can sleep soundly at night, thinking that should Erap win, we now have someone who will ascend the Highest post more competent than him.

I say, sige, Erap, sa iyo na ang pagka pangulo. At least, pag pumalpak ka ulit, merong Loren na papalit.

Source: http://filipinovoices.com/loren-legarda-at-last-someone-with-a-platform

Loren ‘plants seeds of hope’ at Luneta

2009-10-25T23:58:00.000-07:00

LUNETA PARK (Oct. 23) – Senator Loren Legarda came back here tonight since planting a thousand tree seedlings as a newly elected senator in 1998, vowing this time to “plant the seeds of hope for all Filipinos” in whatever capacity or office they may ask her to serve them.

But after presiding over an outreach program that included a well-attended jobs fair and a medical mission, Loren said that she would rather not talk about political aspirations at this time despite the fact that all five presidential aspirants in the 2010 elections had asked her to be their vice presidential running mate at one point.

She emphasized that the recent calamities that had struck the country had made it inappropriate for anyone to be looking beyond helping the many suffering Filipinos “right here, right now.”

“My countrymen, it is here at Luneta that I planted a thousand trees in 1998 as part of my environmental advocacy. Since then, over two million trees had already been planted. Tonight, I ask you to join me in planting the seeds of hope for all of us,” Loren told thousands of her supporters and the beneficiaries of her outreach program dubbed Lingkod Loren.

“Here at the Luneta, the new Filipino will rise for a new and much better Philippines,” she said. Loren pointed out that with typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng bringing down Filipinos on their collective knees, there is no better time than now to show their resiliency in getting back on their feet.

“We grew up with the adage that it is during trying times that new hope swells among people with convictions and who truly believe that they would emerge stronger by facing the challenges before them,” she said in Filipino. She added that no Filipinos should wallow in poverty, without food and shelter, reduced to the inhuman conditions.

“We see too many of our people living in esteros and railways, looking for food on heaps of garbage, of babies sleeping on cardboards and of children living on wooden push carts.We see children who hold guns fighting in the countryside instead of being in school wielding papers and pens,” said Loren. We see too many of our youth who are prostituted and who no longer know what a good future means,” said Loren.

“My countrymen, I have seen the depths of where we have found ourselves as a people, and like all of you, I have gotten tired of seeing ourselves mired in this predicament. But to do nothing is the biggest sin that we could possibly commit, something that is not an option for this public servant,” Loren said.

The senator stressed the need not only to revive the Filipino spirit and belief in himself, but also his self-respect and sense of patriotism. “Let’s bring back the honor of our being Filipinos,” she said.

While letting her audience read between the lines of her speech on whether she would run for vice president next year, Loren nonetheless laid bare a veritable platform of governance anchored on a strong anti-corruption stance, honest-to-goodness public service, and a strong commitment to help mitigate the effects of climate change.

She first identified the long-pestering problems of the Philippines as poor urban governance marked by improper or non-enforcement of laws, vulnerability of livelihood source in rural areas, and ecosystems decline.

Loren then unveiled a multi-pronged approach in helping the Philippines prosper economically, achieve lasting peace including in war-torn Mindanao, and to improve the quality of life Filipinos.

In all, she identified seven “must-do” for the new administration that would come out of the 2007 elections.

For starter, she said the country’s resources, including government funds, must be geared towards affording all Filipinos housing, sanitation, potable water, access to medicines and proper health care, education for the youth and skills training for all who can contribute as part of the labor force.

Secondly, government must recognize the contributions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) by facilitating their gainful employment, providing them ample protection against abuses and by continuously upgrading their skills and knowledge.

Thirdly, the new administration must really crack down on corruption which lays to waste limited resources, destroys institutions of government and undermines the trust of the people and even of the international community, including foreign investors.

Loren cited as a fourth area of concern the protection of the environment and the initiating of pro-active measures to address the problem of climate change and the disasters related to it.

“The rape of Mother Nature must stop. Otherwise, we would forever be facing her wrath. The threat of climate change is ever real and we have Ondoy and Pepeng to prove this, with the landslides, flashfloods, the siltation and overflowing of water systems,” she said.

Fifth, Loren said the country must forge genuine peace, especially in Mindanao, not only through law enforcement but through the resolution of the root causes of the conflicts in the countryside, poverty and social injustice to name a few.

She said government must always be ready to dialogue with groups engaged in the armed struggle like the NPA and the MILF because “they are not the enemies, but the poverty and helplessness being felt in the poorest of the poor Philippine communities.”

Lastly, she said that the Filipino culture and traits must be recognized, rejuvenated and passed on to future generations because they are what makes Filipinos as a people unique.

Source: The Official Website of Loren Legarda
http://www.lorenlegarda.com.ph/article-1256307271.html