Philippines

An offshore residence in Beton, Palawan. Mavic Matillano/WWF "We like fiestas, and we like coming together and celebrating meaningful things," Ibay said, noting that the Philippines has topped participation records from 2009 to 2013.The switch-off will be held from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Quezon City Memorial Circle. The WWF urged attendees to come in sporty attire and bright colors for a…

Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) chairman Rosendo So said that unlike in urban areas where people can immediately continue with their daily routine when floods subside, people in rural communities have to bear the brunt of lost livelihoods, lost income, and the difficulty of rebuilding their homes. As such, he said there is an urgent need to increase private investments and public expenditures to protect…

In a press forum held at the University of Immaculate Conception Saturday, CCC vice chair Lucille Sering said the move was one of many options that local government units can tap. She said the commission and the Department of Interior and Local Government had issued a joint memorandum mandating LGUs to track and tag climate change related expenditures in the local budget. Sering was referring…

Spanning 40 days and covering 1,000 km, participants will walk from Luneta to Tacloban, the site where supertyphoon Yolanda made landfall. They aim to arrive there on November 8, exactly one year since Yolanda hit. According to a press release, the Walk is expected to continue even after participants reach Tacloban, onto Cebu, Negros, Panay Island, and Palawan. These provinces were also damaged during supertyphoon…

Climate Change Commission vice chair Lucille Sering told a Senate panel deliberating the agency's proposed 2015 budget on Wednesday, October 1, that the initiative is to be major undertaking of the commission. The Senate approved that day the agency's proposed budget of P78.25 million (US$1.7 million*), which the House of Representatives approved on September 26. Nearly half of this amount, or P37.5 million ($834,000), will…

The 3rd Year Round of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction – Battle of the Brain, Talents and Skills was launched last August 12 – 13, 2014 at Santiago Beach Resort, Santiago, San Francisco, Cebu in which different competitions were highlighted and education campaign was integrated. This activity is in line in preparation for the forthcoming celebration for the International Disaster Risk Reduction Day on October…

The Pangasinan leg of the campus tour last September 10 was part of the climate change advocacy campaign of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) with the theme “Nagbabago na ang Panahon, Panahon na Para Magbago.” The DENR and PIA also partnered with Pilipinas Natin, the volunteer arm of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCCO), to help…

In the study titled “Contributors to the Frequency of Intense Climate Disasters in Asia-Pacific Countries,” the ADB said an increase in average rainfall would amplify the frequency of strong typhoons and floods in the Philippines. “If the increase in average precipitation hits 12 mm per month, greater increases in the frequency of these disasters can be expected: one additional event every four years in Indonesia…

(https://www.ipcc.ch/organization/organization_history.shtml). Almost three decades have passed but the phrase “global warming and climate change” still has to create real significance in the minds of the Filipino majority. Climate Change Commissioner Vice Chairperson Lucille Sering noted this in her talk in August last year during a seminar on “Building Critical Mass Awareness of Climate Change – engaging Media, Advertising and Entertainment Sectors”. While some Filipinos had…

“Organic agriculture works in harmony with nature rather than against it,” said DA-6 Regional Technical Director Dr. Joyce Wendam during the 2nd Regional Organic Agriculture Summit Opening Program held Monday at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol. Wendam said that organic farming involves using techniques to achieve good cropping yields without harming the natural environment or the people who live and work in it. She said that…

Attending the Public Advocacy on Climate Change for Local Chief Executives on Aug. 5, they signed the “LakasLikasan Pledge of Local Chief Executives” which stated their vow of commitment to go an extra mile of safeguarding the environment. The signing of the pledge wrapped up the one-day Public Advocacy on Climate Change for LCEs organized by the Regional Task Force on Public Advocacy on Climate…

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…

“Global warming is likely to lead to drier conditions, which will result to a decrease in area planted, hence, affecting rice overall production in the Philippines,” according to the study titled “Impact on Climate Change on the Philippine Rice Sector: Supply/Demand Projections and Policy.” The study, a collaboration between Searca and the IRRI, concludes the impact of climate change on rice farming in the…

The fund was given based on a memorandum of agreement signed by the province and the US, which aims to increase risk reduction initiatives in nine provincial governments, 23 municipal governments and eight cities outside Metro Manila by strengthening their capacity for climate change adaptation. The MOA signing was part of the US commitment to advance the disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation…

Climate change affects migration Taken from a viewpoint of the founding and current member of the Asian Disaster Reduction and Response Network, Merlie “Milet” Mendoza who enunciated in details her topic during the Information Officers’ Summit on Climate Change Advocacy conducted by the Philippine Information Agency and Department of Environment and Natural Resources Caraga on Wednesday in this city, she expressed that climate change can…

While the island state struggles to repair the damage wreaked by typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 6,000 people, preparations have long been under way for the next season. The Philippine meteorological agency, Pagasa, recently announced the beginning of this year's rainy season and warned that 18 typhoons could hit the country by the end of December. For the country's Climate Change Commission, discussions on…

According to Yumul, the Philippine economy remains stagnant due to various disasters that hit the country. “When government funds are supposed to maximize development of our emerging sectors, we keep on donating to those devastated, repairing the cities or barangays, etc.,” he said. Yumul stressed that helping those in need is not wrong, but it will hinder the country’s growth especially in the imminent ASEAN…

The initial findings of the report were presented on Wednesday, July 9, as part of an outreach event of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC is a Nobel Prize-winning group of hundreds of scientists from all over the world collating and assessing findings on climate change. The IPCC’s most recent report, the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), concluded that global warming is unequivocal…

Filipino scientists joined over 500 other researchers, natural resource managers, policy makers, representatives of non-government organizations, and stakeholders from 39 other counties at the event in order to find answers to the coral reef crisis in the Asia Pacific region. Danger from climate change Research presented at the conference revealed new insights into how humans and human-driven climate change are affecting coral reefs, such as…

Guiding the World Bank Group's engagement in the Philippines from 2015 until 2018, the new CPS supports the country's development programs in five key engagement areas: Transparent and accountable governance: strengthening public financial management,improving fiscal transparency and financial accountability, and supporting greater demand from citizens for government accountability. Empowerment of the poor and vulnerable: improving health and education outcomes, strengthening social protection and ensuring…