Duterte:  Time to build stronger houses due to climate change

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

DAVAO CITY — President Duterte on Tuesday said he had told residents of Bicol and other typhoon-prone areas to build stronger houses.

Duterte, speaking before village officials here, said typhoons have become fiercer.

He attributed this to the climate change phenomenon.

President Duterte previously refused to support the Paris Agreement on Climate Change but changed his mind after majority of his Cabinet members urged him to do so.  The agreement allows member-countries to cut back on greenhouse emissions and adopt climate change mitigation measures in consonance with their development goals and needs.

Eastern Visayas was hit and devastated by Typhoon Yolanda, the strongest typhoon to ever hit land in the world.  SFM