Legarda pushes bill setting up LGUs ‘survival funds’
MANILA, Philippines—Sen. Loren Legarda has pushed for a bill setting up a “survival fund” to help local government units adapt to powerful storms, sea level rise, drought and other climate change crisis.
After the “disappointing” 2009 Copenhagen round of talks on climate change, and the “dismal” outcome of the 2010 Cancun meeting, Legarda stressed the need for “stronger domestic steps” focused on preparing local government and communities for the effects of climate change.
Crucial to these steps would be a “survival fund” that would provide resources toward supporting “ground-level work” of local governments and communities for climate change adaptation, she said.
“This proposal is anchored on the fact that we need to decentralize responsibilities and resources for climate change efforts. It is time we provide the means to motivate local participation and create programs that matter to our people,” she said in her sponsorship speech of the bill.
The “survival fund” will serve as a trust fund to finance adaptation programs and projects based on the National Strategic Framework and the National Climate Change Action Plan, Legarda said.
It will also be used to support local government’s adaptation activities in water resources management, land management, agriculture and fisheries, health, infrastructure development and natural ecosystems.
It will be used to boost the monitoring of vector-borne diseases spawned by climate change, as well as forecasting and early warning systems; support planning, preparedness and management of impacts of climate change, and if necessary, establish regional centers for rapid response to extreme climate events, among others.
In effect, the bill will amend the Climate Change Act of 2009.
The fund will be sourced from cash dividends of government-owned and controlled corporations, proceeds from the sale of emissions reduction carbon credits; and funds collected from the Motor Vehicle User’s Charge.
As seed money, some P50 million will be allotted from the President’s contingency fund.
“Without early adaptive action, the continued annual rise in sea levels can decimate the livelihood of entire Filipino coastal communities irretrievably and through the intrusion of saltwater, irrevocably damage countless farms,” Legarda said.
Without such an action, rising temperatures could irreparably destroy soil and crop productivity, and changes in average rainfall could inundate communities, she added.
