Respond to climate change

We in the Visayas are lucky because the bitter and unfortunate experience of our countrymen in Metro Manila and Luzon due to typhoons Pedring and Quiel did not happen to us.

The typhoons brought untold devastation to property and forced the evacuation of entire populations in Northern Luzon.

Some people said heavy rains that came with the storms were the culprit behind the flooding while others said the floods came with the release of waters from dams but Undersecretary Graciano Yumul of the Department of Science and Technology said the culprit is climate change.

Yumul said in the “next 20 years, the Philippines would find the dry seasons drier and the wet seasons wetter.”

“Scientists describe the phenomenon (climate change) as any distinct change, such as temperature, rainfall, wind and snow over a long period of time,” he said.

“A major factor is global warming—the increase in the oceanic and atmospheric temperature of the planet resulting of the melting of the ice caps and the rising of the seas.”

What can be done to save our country from the devastation that global warming will wreak? We Filipinos need to invest in policies and projects to mitigate climate change and there is no reason to delay and debate because the consequences of global warming are upon us.

What about us here in Cebu City? What should we do? The way I see  it, the recent disasters in Luzon are a wake-up call for us to indeed work on policies and projects that would really work to mitigate effects climate change.

It is about time that Cebu City puts up a better drainage system and clear  waterways of people. We don’t have the luxury of time for politicking unless we want what happened to Luzon and Metro Manila to happen to us.

Now is the time for our politicians to become statesmen who place the interests and welfare of the people above self. We need a City Council who will work with, not oppose Mayor Michael Rama in responding to climate change.

A classic example is the Mahiga Creek experience where the mayor decided to exercise political will to clear the river of illegal occupants.

One of the flood control measures is the removal of obstructions in our waterways so that water can flow freely to them and into the sea.

But some politicians tried to take advantage of the situation by siding with the occupants when in fact the decision to ask them to vacate was for their own good.

Should a relocation site have been given?  I think financial aid is more practicable. Why should one give relocation sites to these occupants when they are all aware that what they are doing is illegal? That’s like giving a premium to those who want to come to the city and squat because eventually the government will give them land for free.

I think Cebu City politicians should regulate migration to the city by working closely with the provincial government to provide livelihood to people in the towns so they don’t have to leave. City leaders should stop politicking if they really want the government to work in the interest of the people.

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The work stoppage by Philippine Airlines employees is detrimental to the nation’s flag carrier and the country.

I sympathize with the situation of the employees but I have to look the effect of the work stoppage on our country’s  economy and tourism industry.

Definitely the stoppage brought untold inconvenience to the riding public locally and internationally as many flights were either delayed or cancelled.

Our country lost economic opportunities because the employees refused to work.

Unfortunately for the strikers, the public is now saying that it was correct for PAL to outsource workers because PAL employees are abusive and leave their work, unmindful of the ensuing hassle to the public.