HYOGO FRAMEWORK: CLIMATE CHANGE BILL SIGNED INTO LAW TODAY
MANILA, OCTOBER 23, 2009 (STAR) President Arroyo will sign into law today a bill creating the Commission on Climate Change that will integrate concerns related to the issue and actions needed in government policy formulation, development planning, and poverty reduction programs.The new law will be the first legislation in Southeast Asia to fully integrate principles of the Hyogo Framework, a 10-year blueprint for reducing risk from disasters worldwide.
The commission, to be headed by the President, will be the sole policy-making body on climate change and will also be tasked to coordinate, monitor and evaluate programs and action plans of government on the climate crisis.
It will provide technical and financial support to local research and development programs and projects.
To mobilize resources for adaptation, government financial institutions will be mandated to provide preferential financial packages for climate change-related projects.
The legislation is one of several measures that the Philippines, one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, is preparing to reduce the human and economic costs of disasters associated with natural calamities like storms, earthquakes, floods and landslides.
A recently released Mortality Risk Index (MRI) by the United Nations’ International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) ranks the Philippines as 12th among 200 countries most at risk from tropical cyclones, floods, earthquakes and landslides.
Sen. Loren Legarda hailed the scheduled signing into law of the bill that she authored in November 2007.
“Through this measure, we can speed up the capacity building for local adaptation planning, implementation and monitoring of climate change initiatives in vulnerable communities,” Legarda, who chairs the Senate Oversight Committee on Climate Change, said.
“This piece of legislation is in line with my strong belief that now is the time to take bold actions in addressing the greatest humanitarian challenge of our time, which is climate change,” she said. – Aurea Calica, Iris Gonzales
Marikina fault line monitored By Perseus Echeminada (The Philippine Star) Updated October 23, 2009 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Institution of Volcano and Seismology (Phivolcs) is continuously monitoring the movement of the Marikina Valley fault line that passes through the Sierra Madre mountain range, Bulacan, eastern Metro Manila, Rizal, and Tagaytay City in line with the government’s disaster preparedness program.
Dr. Renato Solidum, Phivolcs director, told reporters yesterday at the weekly Daungan ng Balita at Danarra Hotel in Quezon City that in a worst case scenario, the Marikina fault line could generate an earthquake with an intensity of 7.2 in Metro Manila.
Intensity 7 tremors are very destructive and could cause massive damage and large casualties.
Solidum explained this is the worst case scenario because Metro Manila is within the Marikina Valley fault line that starts from the Sierra Madre in Nueva Ecija and extends down to parts of Bulacan, Rizal, Quezon City, Pasig, Marikina, parts of Makati, Santa Rosa in Laguna and crosses to Tagaytay.
Solidum said there is no reason to panic if everyone is prepared, but clarified that the agency has no way to predict earthquakes.
“We have set up a monitoring station to watch the movement of the fault,” he said, adding that the earthquake monitor uses seismographs and Global Position System (GPS) to detect any movement along the fault line.
Solidum cited a study in 2004, which showed that there is a possibility that the Marikina Valley fault line may trigger a very destructive earthquake.
He said the recent flooding in Marikina should serve as a wake-up call for disaster management experts to prepare for and mitigate the impact of an impending calamity.
“We don’t really know where or when the earthquake will strike but we have implemented a disaster preparedness program.”
He urged national and local government officials to strictly implement a land use program, particularly in areas identified as danger zones.
Among the precautionary measure is the setting up of a five-kilometer buffer zone on the Markina Valley fault line and other disaster-prone areas throughout the country.
He said Phivolcs had started distributing pocket sized earthquake preparedness guidelines on what to do before, during, and after an earthquake.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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