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:
Monday, October 26, 2009
Protect RP Agri Sector From Unfair Trade
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
“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
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:
“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
“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
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
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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)