Even as the country has yet to shake off the impact of COVID-19, it has neglected to take steps to respond to climate change.
Senate aspirant Teodoro “Teddy” Baguilat Jr. lamented this double whammy besetting the country as he spoke at the “Pandesal Forum” on Oct. 28.
“It is understandable that the government put much attention to the COVID crisis. But while the handling of the crisis proved to be a disaster, it also exposed the government’s further failure to address the climate crisis,” Baguilat noted.
Baguilat cited as an example President Duterte’s decision to lift a nine-year moratorium on new mining permits, which was justified as a way to support the government’s COVID response and its Build-Build-Build program.
He also noted that the coal moratorium announced by the Department of Energy appears to be leniently enforced as at least 3,800 megawatts of coal-powered generators are still set to be built.
“The government’s response is an invitation to further environmental damage which can aggravate the global climate situation,” Baguilat observed.
He emphasized that climate change is very real, citing the recent torrential rains that hit both ends of the country.
“These events have serious consequences, like the disruption of the country’s food supply, which can further harm the country’s economy and development,” Baguilat said.
The government, he said, should focus more on building back better, that is, encourage economic activities that shift the country away from fossil fuel dependence to clean and renewable energy.
“It is possible to stimulate the economy on the back of a green recovery program. The industrial pause afforded by the COVID pandemic provided an opportunity to do that, but unfortunately the country didn’t take it,” Baguilat remarked.
“I wish that the government would view the economy the way we indigenous people would look at it, that is, part of a whole that is made up of various systems that include the environment. Therefore, a sustainable environment is part and parcel of a healthy economy,” Baguilat said.
Baguilat is running for the Senate in the 2022 elections under the unified ticket of Vice President Leni Robredo. He aims to bring to the Senate the platform of indigenous peoples and the indigenous mindset which nurtures and promotes rights, culture and the environment. #
