The keynote message of Robert E. A. Borje, vice chairperson and executive director of the Climate Change Commission, emphasized to local government leaders the impacts of climate change on lives and the environment, and community response towards resiliency.
According to its website, the Climate Change Commission is the “lead policy-making body of the government tasked to coordinate, monitor, and evaluate government programs and ensure the mainstreaming of climate change in national, local, and sectoral development plans towards a climate-resilient and climate-smart Philippines.”
“The Philippines ranks high in risk indices due to its exposure to multiple hazards and frequent high intensity events,” Borje said, echoing the observation of Sen. Loren Legarda, who sent a video message at the hybrid forum LGUs in Action: Local Innovations for Sustainable Communities (LGUs in Action) at the Novotel Manila in Araneta Center.
Joefe B. Santarita, PhD, former UP Diliman Asian Center dean, and the forum’s moderator, said that “the primary objective of this activity [hybrid forum] is to showcase exemplary sustainable and climate-oriented initiatives by the LGUs in the archipelago while facilitating discussions and potential collaborations across sectors. So the mayoral forum aims to highlight and disseminate climate change mitigation and adaptation practices implemented by the LGUs in the Philippines and collaborative initiatives and partnerships for sustainable development.”
Explaining further, Borje said, “Our nation faces increasing temperatures, prolonged droughts, intensified winds, more frequent intensified cyclones, heavy precipitation resulting in floods, landslides, and rising sea levels.” He added, “When we talk about climate change, our lives, livelihood, and collective future are on the line. Buhay, kabuhayan, at kinabukasan po nating lahat ang nakataya.” Santarita rephrased this as “life, livelihood, and likelihood.”
In response to the challenges, Borje said the country has developed national policies that will guide actions to address climate impacts.
“The Philippines has recently completed its first national adaptation plan (NAP), becoming only the third ASEAN country and 56th in the world to submit a NAP to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,” Borje said.
According to Borje, NAP aids in reducing climate-related losses and damages and building “the country’s adaptive capacity toward transformative, resilient, and sustainable economic development by 2050. The NAP serves as a national instrument to pursue efforts at all levels of governance to address climate risk and reduce the country’s vulnerabilities to climate change impacts.”
“Similarly, the Philippines’ Nationally Determined Contribution Implementation Plan (NDCIP) is a comprehensive roadmap aimed at reducing emissions and enhancing resilience to climate change… With the NAP and NDCIP in place, our local government units (LGUs) will be better equipped to address climate challenges with clear national guidance. These plans—science-based and data-driven—provide a roadmap that empowers LGUs to align their local actions with the country’s broader climate goals,” he said.
Borje mentioned the significance of science in addressing climate change. He said, “climate change is the governance challenge of our generation. It is global, historic, systemic, but it is also a scientific phenomena [and] science provides the solutions.”
In closing, Borje also touched on the important role of LGUs in the country’s efforts to address climate change and the efforts of the national government.
“The national government is doing its part to ensure climate financed mechanisms are made accessible to local communities to help support your adaptation initiatives,” Borje said. “The LGUs are the frontline of climate response as they directly experience the impacts of climate change and possess a deep understanding of local realities… They are also able to transform communities through planning based on support of the national government. The Climate Change Commission is committed to providing the tools, the resources, and technical assistance that the LGUs need to implement effective climate action plans,” he added.
Aside from Borje, Mario L. Iringan, undersecretary for local government of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), gave his message at the forum, where nine LGUs from across the country presented their climate change mitigation and adaptation practices.
The hybrid forum LGUs in Action was organized by UP-Centre International de Formation des Autorités et Leaders Philippines (UP-CIFAL Philippines) on Aug. 16.
Director Michelle R. Palumbarit of UP-CIFAL Philippines, said her office “serves as a hub for capacity building and research on the interwoven themes of the 2030 agenda on sustainable development, migration, gender equality, and inclusive business.”
“The mission of the center is to strengthen the capacities of government authorities and civil society leaders, thus empowering them to advance sustainable development at the local level,” Palumbarit said.
The event was held in partnership with the DILG, UP Resilience Institute, Greenpeace Philippines, Galing Pook Foundation, and Ateneo Institute of Sustainability.