Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the strategy was adopted during a meeting of the Cabinet Cluster on Climate Change, which Philippine President Benigno Aquino III presided over on Wednesday.
"Discussed in yesterday's meeting were the action programs of the various departments and agencies. The cluster's joint strategy for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and management includes standardization of policies, capacity building programs, and risk-based local plans," he said in a statement.
During the meeting, he said Aquino stressed the need to promote a sense of urgency among all national agencies and local government units in the aspect of capability building, considering the country's vulnerability to natural disasters.
For instance, there must be broad awareness on the use of geo- hazard maps that indicate landslide and flood-prone areas in each province, municipality or city so that the local disaster risk- reduction and management councils can respond in a timely and appropriate manner, he said.
In the aspect of climate change mitigation, Coloma said the focal points were carbon sequestration through forests and oceans, energy efficiency and conservation, renewable energy development, and greater reliance on cleaner energy sources, such as natural gas and geothermal energy.
Of the 543 natural disasters recorded in the Philippines from 1900 to 2014, 58 percent were storms and 25 percent were floods, said Coloma.
