Legarda: Disaster risk reduction must be an election issue

WASHED OUT A temporary bridge connecting Barangay Nalasin to the town center of Solsona in Ilocos Norte is destroyed by floodwaters caused by heavy rains dumped by Super Typhoon Julian on Monday, September 30, 2024. – Sen. Loren  Legarda said disaster risk reduction (DRR) must be an election issue. A  staunch advocate of environmental awareness and protection, Legarda stressed the importance of reducing disaster risk to limit losses in lives and livelihood during an interview on  Thursday, October 17, 2024. ALFONSO JEZIEL DE LOS REYES/CONTRIBUTOR

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Loren  Legarda said disaster risk reduction (DRR) must be an election issue.

A  staunch advocate of environmental awareness and protection, Legarda, during an interview on Thursday, stressed the importance of reducing disaster risk to limit losses in lives and livelihood.

According to her, voters should start asking, for example, how their leaders have reduced flooding in their area.

“For me, the issue of disaster risk reduction, the issue of climate change adaptation and mitigation is an everyday issue that should be an election issue,” the senator said.

Legarda pointed out that the Philippines is the world’s most at-risk country for natural disasters and the negative impacts of climate change.

But instead of spending on rehabilitation and disaster response, she said, Filipinos must prepare and manage the risks even before calamities hit.

“If we reduce disaster risk because we are prepared, then we will have more resources for economic development, for infrastructure, for basic health services, for quality education,”  Legarda said.

“But if we disregard preparedness – NDRR (national disaster risk reduction) and climate change adaptation – then forever our limited resources will always be eaten or used for dole-outs, response,” she added.

“That’s why I take this as the most important issue of our time. For me, this is a matter of human survival. It is a matter of survival of the 110 million Filipinos. It is the most important. It is the most important national security issues,” the senator stressed.

READ: PH a ‘lighthouse’ in disaster risk reduction, says top UN official

Legarda, nevertheless, cited the gains from the ongoing Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on DRR, which opened on October 14 and will run until October 18.

In this ministerial conference, she said, various countries share best practices to  reduce  and manage disaster risks.

READ: Climate change, no longer a distant threat, is hurting kids now

But it is more important for the Philippines to show that the country is a leader in  DRR and that it is taking its capabilities in preparedness, planning, and climate change mitigation seriously, according to the senator.

“We know that we have come a long way since the year 2000 and 2010 in terms of readiness and knowledge. However, there is still much work to be done, and what is truly needed is serious implementation on the ground,” Legarda said in mixed Filipino and English.

NOTE: The English translations in the article were AI-generated.