Disaster risk reduction a must in PH school curriculum – Legarda

FILE PHOTO: This banana plantation in Roxas, Palawan, is submerged in flood on September 16, 2024, amid torrential rains for a week in the province. – Raising disaster risk awareness may start in schools, according to Sen. Loren Legarda, a staunch advocate for environmental protection. ROXAS MUNICIPAL AGRICULTURE OFFICE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Raising disaster risk awareness may start in schools.

Sen. Loren Legarda had this in mind when she presented the idea during a dinner in Malacañang with UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) head Kamal Kishore, and Education Secretary  Sonny Angara, among others.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos hosted the dinner in Malacanang early this week.

“I suggested that we develop a module for DepEd  (Department of Education) schools for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation and Secretary Angara was very excited,” Legarda said in an interview with Senate reporters on Thursday.

“We could help develop modules for the Department of Education,” she added, referring to other concerned agencies like the  Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Climate Change  Commission.

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

The module, she said, could be a part of the curriculum –  a subject in schools or a part of Araling Panlipunan.

“When there’s a module to be taught in the DepEd, isn’t that great? The children will learn, and from a young age, they will appreciate the importance of preparation,” Legarda, a known fierce advocate for environmental protection, said in Filipino.

“We should start them young. And not just teach them when they’re already a grown-up,” she added in mixed Filipino and English.

This initiative is also in line with the existing Environmental Awareness and Education law, according to the senator.

Signed in 2008, the law mandates the promotion of environmental awareness by integrating environmental education into school curricula at all levels, whether public or private.

READ: ‘Much still has to be done’ to mitigate, adapt to climate change – Legarda

In another meeting with the UNDRR chief, Legarda said she hopes to learn more about how other countries integrate disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in their basic education.

“Other countries, of course, have their own vulnerabilities, right? Bangladesh, even Indonesia, Vietnam, because everywhere, no one is spared, right?” she said, also noting the flooding in other parts of the world, including Europe.

“So each country has its own hazards and risks. So each also has its own adaptation to those things,” she further explained.

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