Marikina mayor backs proposal to declare national climate emergency

Marikina Mayor Marcy Teodoro visits Provident Village which was hard-hit by Typhoon Ulysses. Image from the Marikina PIO Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — Marikina City Mayor Marcelino Teodoro on Tuesday backed the proposed declaration of a national climate emergency as he also called for a whole-of-government approach to address the effects of climate change.

Teodoro, in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel, said he is in agreement with the recommendation of Greenpeace Philippines for President Rodrigo Duterte to declare a national climate emergency, citing for instance the billions in damages being caused by climate change to the agriculture sector.

“Yes, I agree with that. There is an emergency. For example in our agricultural sector, the damage would run into billions of pesos brought about by the effect of climate change,” he said.

“We should address this issue not rhetorically or by mere pronouncements but with a statutory framework that would comply everybody to provide programs and activities to address the effects of climate change,” the mayor added.

Marikina recently suffered severe flooding during the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses, which is being likened to the deluge caused by Typhoon Ondoy in 2009.

But even as the city government has implemented interventions to mitigate flooding in the area, Teodoro said an integrated approach with other local government units is necessary to prevent similar situations from arising in the future during strong typhoons.

For instance, he explained that the Marikina River is part of a bigger river system that also covers other bodies of water in Metro Manila.

“If there is no rehabilitation in the whole river system, everything is for nothing. So our call really is for an integrated approach, a whole-of-government approach, so that we could effectively collaborate and address the problems brought about by climate change,” he said.

Teodoro added that the Marikina Watershed located in other areas should likewise be rehabilitated, and that quarrying activities in the upstream area of Marikina River “should be stopped at least at this point in time and be properly regulated.”

Aside from these measures, the mayor said an effective weather forecast, on-time completion of flood-control projects, and utilization of funds for mitigation and preparedness for calamities should also be observed.

Meanwhile, Teodoro said that proper implementation of existing laws and utilization of existing institutional frameworks will better address the problem of flooding and other effects of calamities instead of creating another task force.

“If we create another task force, I think it will divert or simply put away the obligation mandated to the particular agency concerned. Let us optimize the capacity of the existing agency,” he said.

“A task force would be I think simply on an interim basis, transitory lang (only), pero ‘yung effect ng (but the effect of) climate change is something now permanent, fixed, and a solution would be on a long-term basis,” he added.

EDV