RA 9729: Philippine Climate Change Act of 2009

2 Responses to “RA 9729: Philippine Climate Change Act of 2009”

1. Mariel Bitanga on October 26th, 2009 4:47 am

   Dear Blogger,

   Ateneo’s Collegiate Society of Advertising (COSA) will be having its first-ever Fun Run on January 24, 2010 (Sunday) at the Ateneo campus grounds called, “RUN AGAINST THE ELEMENTS: Ateneo COSA Fun Run 2010″ with our slogan: Stand Up to Climate Change. We have partnered with social entrepreneur, Illac Diaz, who started “Design Against the Elements.” This is an international design competition that responds to the call for social and climate adaptation by building sustainable homes. This was launched to international architects last June 16, 2009 at the Institute of International Education (IIE) at the United Nations Plaza in New York with the support of the IIE, the Philippine Consulate, Gov. Lray Villafuerte, Gawad Kalinga, United Architects of the Philippines and My Shelter Foundation.

   We are going beyond the spirit of volunteerism. By choosing Design Against the Elements as the cause for our fun run, we will also be promoting its anthem, “Stand Up”, a collaboration of 50 of the Philippines’ finest artists like Kjwan, Cookie Chua, Karl Roy, Jett Pangan, Noel Cabangon, Barbie Almalbis, Migs Escueta, etc. We are asking for your help in the simultaneous online release of the video we (Ateneo COSA) are creating for the song. This unreleased single will be launched online via a video which will be sent to you on TUESDAY for posting on your blogs. TUESDAY (OCT 27) is the targeted date, so if you would like to help us promote this global campaign and fun run event, please do post this video on your blogs. Below is a forwarded message from Illac Diaz if you would like to know more details about the campaign.

   We hope you help us in promoting ACTION against and not just mere AWARENESS regarding climate change. Climate change is here and now—we want to be able to properly handle another calamity like Ondoy next time. Don’t we?

   We look forward to hearing from you.

   Ally Lim
   Project Head
   RUN AGAINST THE ELEMENTS (Ateneo COSA Fun Run 2010)
   0927-5075426

   ———- Forwarded message ———-
   From: Illac Diaz
   Date: Sun, Oct 25, 2009 at 2:13 AM
   Subject: Philippine Bloggers Appeal Letter (Tuesday Video Launch)

   Dear Blogger

   These last month has been an incredible trial for the Philippines and its people. As the floodwater begins to receed, a new challenge will need to be met, which is rebuilding many areas that have been affected by the storm. This crisis may have an opportunity by allowing us to work with you and help you rebuild better. Specially since, the incident is not a singular occurence, but is going to be a pattern of challenges for the coming decades due to the changes in climate and a longer view must be implimanted.

   We would like to ask you to help us with a mega-band campaign song to raise awareness on the need to move awareness to climate adaptability in the Philippines over mere carbon reduction as the country is not a significant emitter, but one of the world’s communities most vulnerable; and least able to adapt.
   We have united almost 50 of the top icons of music to sing the campaign song to arouse attention not only of the Philippines, but a global audience that we must move to greater awareness and policies for raising awareness to climate adaptability in the Philippines over mere carbon reduction as the country is not a significant emitter, but that we are also one of the world’s communities most vulnerable; and least able to adapt.

   Like the Blog Action Day we shall be releasing a video simultaneously over the web that we are editing now. Here is a rough sample http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol2×22rFtBg

   We ask you if you could help us with the simltaneous release.

   …..

   The projected impact of climate change in Philippines is extreme typhoons (top four in the world according to the Global Climate Index). This is due mainly to the high vulnerability of rural areas and very little capacity for adaptation (poverty and lack of awareness of the rising dangers) of the people at risk. These upcoming humanitarian disasters, and climate refugee mass migration, and will lead to a high state of conflict and insecurity for the poor below the poverty line.

   This project, Design Against the Elements will focus on the climate displaced communities in Metro Manila, Philippines. Combined with research recently completed by the Manila Observatory on the future challenges of climate in the Naga region ( which is a sample of similar challenges in other areas of the Philippines), it contribute to design and build a redesigned low income community which will be the new blueprint of how people in the vulnerable coastal areas can successfully cope with impacts of climate variability. The knowledge generated from this study will facilitate the development of policies that address these humanitarian challenges.

   The main objective of this competition is to contribute to rural adaptability to climate change impacts, in the form of architectural resiliency to strong typhoon winds and heavy rains. Capacity building in the present social networks such as community, non-government, and government organizations involved with these areas will allow a shift into post disaster mitigation to preparing ahead of the storm. The main hypothesis of this project is having a safer structures “ahead of time” will lead to less injury, number of climate refugees, and loss of life and property.
   The main partner and benificiary will be Gawad Kalinga who will recieve the winning designs of which the winner of the competition will have 100 houses built with the new design.

   This competition will begin in November 2009. We are setting the land and the global partners.

   The competition brief ( which is how the architects design the village based on the key points of climate change challenges, data on the site and province, ect) is still being done by the United Architects of the Philippines.Last 2008, it was for building safer schools for shelter (http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2008/05.08/31-designs.html)

   It will be from the top marketing using the United Architects of the Philippines writing to all architect associations in the world linked to them BUT the exciting one is the grassroots marketing of the global Gawad Kalinga members asking architects they can reach (inspire) to be involved. We expect 4000 entries.

   The song is composed by Joey Ayala and Boogie Romero and is about to be finished by 50 of the top Filipino bands and personalities who are now finishing the “Stand Up” theme song for the campaign.

   I look forward to hearing from you.

   Illac Angelo Diaz
   Executive Director
   Global Designer Village Challenge
   0918-9403513

2. Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr. on November 10th, 2009 9:03 am

   Nov.10,2009
   Mandatory Implementation Of Alternative Fuel Will Gradually Reverse Climate Change
   By Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr
   The unabated rising prices of crude oil and other petroleum products in the international market is now unbearable to the millions of Filipinos, rich and poor. Its influential power of creating a chain reaction of prices in all prime commodities and manufactured goods in the market and stores are irresistible to businessmen who do not want to be left behind by their counterparts in business and escalate as well the prices of all their products. With the spiraling increase in prices of all kinds of consumable goods, the poor and the rich alike are feeling the bitterness of coping with their daily needs. Those who have very low income Filipinos have forced themselves to refrain from buying other household needs, which decades ago were also affordable to them. They reduced their consumption of some goods so that they can still buy something they need for the next two or three days. That’s why the entire Filipinos are suffering because of our overdependence on gasoline and crude oil. The Philippine government is spending millions and millions of pesos yearly on gasoline and other oil products for vehicles and factories.
   Because of our current hardships and economic miseries our government must not remain callous and insensitive to act. Members of both the Lower and the Upper House must muster their political will to hasten the approval of a House Bill aim at making mandatory for all operators and drivers nationwide to use the Compressed Natural Gas(CNG)to run the vehicles and factories. The aforesaid HB was co-authored by House energy committee chairman Mikey Arroyo of Pampanga and Parañaque City Representative Eduardo Zialcita. With the immediate implementation of this economic measure, our country can do away with being overdependence on imported fossil fuels, which greatly contribute to the heavy pollution in our big cities and the environment. When this goal would be realized, the Philippines can have a huge reduction on fuel expenditures and its unabated heavy pollution in big metropolis where all types of utilities and factories abound would be greatly reduced.
   Since we have no vehicles and cars suitable for the utilization of Compressed Natural Gas, big financing institutions should come to rescue and help the government to buy the needed vehicles in places like the USA,Canada,India,China and in other countries where vehicles design for compressed natural gas fuel are being manufactured. The Malampaya-Palawan oil and gas fields in the country must be mined now and tap other potential oil and gas fields in various places of our nation to sustain our fuel needs. On the other hand, our big capitalists who choose to be consignees in this kind of business should not be tempted in the near future to mix compressed natural gas with crude oil like we have in all gasoline stations throughout the country, called kerosene by other name.
   The mixture of two elements, we’ve just mentioned, like we are buying at gas station, especially if there is a blackout, will surely result to additional pollution in all our areas. The additional pollution due to crude oil mixture with the natural gas is very evident by the soots gathered inside our noses the night before when we resort to kerosene use as temporary substitute for the absence of electric power. Have you not observe that in your home, especially in the households of poor Filipinos? In contrast, unadulterated natural gas, if there’s a detection of any soot, is so insignificantly negligible to consider as pollution. Some of emission of kerosene (a mixture of natural gas and crude oil) put inside the lamps would also pollute our rooms the following day, if you have observed that as well. This means that if in the near future some tricky and hoarding businessmen would be tempted to do this deplorable thing, the pollution in our environment would re-emerged. Hence, there’s an urgent necessity to screen the attitude of businessmen/capitalists who would like to participate in the Government’s venture in this kind of undertaking where the issue on environment-friendly fuel is at stake.
   Considering this probable prediction of the money-oriented rather than service-oriented attitude of some businessmen to rake huge profit in the name of mixture elements, the House Bill must include as one of its provisions prohibiting any capitalist/consignee to mix CNG with crude oil. A monitoring task force must be created that would include as members the Energy Committee Chairman, energy official and some honest and prudent NGO environmentalists for the purpose of monitoring and regular checking of CNG’s natural content before dispensing the fuel for private and public use. Those businessmen who would violate the law must be slapped with huge fine and imprisonment. We seriously need honest and prudent investors/capitalists in the strict application of such law in order to achieve our goal to greatly reduced our environmental pollution which make adults and children in this country suffer from illness and eventual death to countless of lives. According to reports pollution also causes chronic coughing in millions of children across the globe.
   Other alternative fuel or energy that has been tapped to provide electricity and run vehicles is the solar energy. It has already been experimented and found to be feasibly usable and suitably applicable in running vehicles and providing electricity in numerous households in the country. It’s a free source of limitless energy and is non-pollutant: one of the greatest gifts from Mother Nature that remain untapped for centuries by man. The emergence of Great Minds in the field of Science and Technology are responsible for a huge leap in inventions and discoveries that have provided man his amenities including some of his needs in life more obtainable than before. We can also use electricity to run jeepneys and buses, which is also pollution-free. Makati’s current use of electric jeepneys plying in various areas of the city, which is much lesser in fuel expenses for the drivers and operators compared to gasoline and crude oil, is very encouraging and worthy of emulation for other cities and provinces. The experiments that our scientists, technical men and the experts have been doing are enough proof that the Philippine Government has the capability and the capacity to relentlessly pursue on these projects. A huge budget proportionate enough for its continual implementation must be made now for its effective realization.
   The two alternative sources of fuel and energy that we are discussing are sure ways that will eventually release us from our overdependence on gasoline and crude oil which is now very prohibitive to obtain.
   Global warming (the root cause of climate change) caused by unregulated heavy environmental pollution, which also damaged the ozone layer according to the scientists, is not only a Philippine concern and problem. It is also a concern and a problem of every country, every nation throughout the world, whether the industrialized or the developing because we breathe the same air and we live in the same planet. Therefore, it is of urgent necessity that all the nations and other countries of the world, including the United States of America, China, England, Australia, India, Russia, Japan, European countries, UK and Germany should also shift to alternative fuel like Compressed Natural Gas, solar energy to run their vehicles, cars and factories, biofuel or biomass, deuterium in order to achieve the highest degree of pollution reduction in our Planet Earth.
   To those countries whose climate condition is similar to the Philippines, Nobel Prize winner Dr. Hartmut Michel during his recent visit to Manila has also advised its respective governments to tap wind power and hydro power that are environment-friendly to generate electricity

   Series Of Rollback
   Although nowadays the prices of crude oil and gasoline have greatly reduced after a series of rollback, but this ups and downs in pricing activities of the fossil fuels cannot be relied upon by the users and consumers. These kind of dirty fuels have no permanently sustainable pricing movement. It is dependently influence by the law of supply and demand in the international market. The preoccupation of self-interest capitalists/investors who mostly want to rake huge profit in this kind of business undertaking is also something to be considered as contributory factor in the unpredictable and volatile pricing scheme hike.
   Hence, our businessmen and the government must not be callously complacent if there are days when crude oil, gasoline and other oil products will have decreased prices. The government must start implementing now the laws on Biofuel act of 2006 and the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 to tap and develop nature’s renewable energy resources that are readily available in our very own environment and are ecology-friendly.
   The plan of the government to recommission or revive the 30-year-old Bataan Nuclear Power Plant must be debunked. It was found out by a team of Scientists and Engineers that it has numerous defects in its construction, among other defects, which pose as health hazard detrimental and harmful to the health and welfare of the people and equally destructive to the immediate environment.
   Our high government officials, like Congressmen ,Senators,Scientists,Engineers,Technical men,The Experts, Educators and other concerned leaders should take heed seriously to what UP Professor Roland G. Simbulan was saying in his commentary article entitled “Is The BNPP Safe?”(PDI, Feb. 5, 2009 issue)
   And that of Rina Jimenez-David’s “Anti-Nuclear and Pro-Life” (PDI, Feb. 24, 2009 issue) on the danger of reopening the defective BNPP as energy source. Who has initiated this plan? Why do we have to disrupt our thinking with such kind of energy which produces radioactive wastes harmful to humanity and our already heavily polluted environment? Another kind of potential and unprecedented radioactive disaster will only add to the worsening of our already worst environmental condition.
   Common sense of wisdom and political will, unblemished with a sinister and wily scheme of acquiring more wealth thru greediness and self-centeredness, are the only 2 important things that our leaders really need to push thru in the realization, acquisition and the sustainable utilization of nature’s renewable energy resources that abound and are readily available in our environment. Like solar energy, hydropower (waterfalls), wind energy, biofuel from jatropha oil, coconut oil, corn, ethanol from sugar cane, biomass and reportedly a vast limitless deposits of deuterium lying in hibernation under the Surigao Deep also known as the Philippine Deep is waiting to be tapped.( Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.)

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