(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
Friday, November 13, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Loren Urges More Gov't Support For Vaccination
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
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
(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
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
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 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
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Legarda Urges Protection, Revival Of Displaced Pinoys
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Loren: Implement Climate Change Act nationwide, now!
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
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
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
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
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