The Philippines is a tropical country located in Southeast Asia in the Western Pacific Ocean. The country is covered by biodiversity and mountainous terrain with a “tropical rainforest climate”. 

The tropical climate is somewhat gushing with rainfall and gentle winds which have warm and humid conditions all throughout the year. According to PAGASA, the country experiences two seasons – the dry season from December to May and the rainy season from June to November. The southwest monsoon (from May to October) is known as the “habagat” and the dry winds of the northeast monsoon (from November to April) as the “amihan”.

As an archipelago in the Pacific, the Philippines encounters the effects of climate change through extreme weather events. In recent decades up until today, typhoon seasons had caused severe deaths, casualties, and damages. The three island groups of the Philippines are frequently visited by strong typhoons that have become the most serious and most pervasive threat facing humanity today. 

According to the Global Climate Risk Index, a study done from 1999 to 2018 shows that the Philippines is among the top five countries mostly affected by climate change. Responding to these climate risks, the Philippine government made a strong commitment to a climate policy and government programs that ensures the mainstreaming of climate change in the country. 

In 2009, Republic Act 9729, or the Climate Change Act was enacted into law. The law mandates the mainstreaming of climate change (CC) considerations into government policy and planning. Part of this legislation provided the foundation for the creation of the Climate Change Commission (CCC) which is the policy-making body of the government tasked to coordinate, monitor, and evaluate government programs and ensure mainstreaming of climate change in national, local, and sectoral development plans towards a climate-resilient and climate-smart Philippines. 

In accordance with this, President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Paris Agreement on Climate Change in 2017, and was given a global platform to squarely address the issue of climate change during the General Debate of the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly last 2020. With this, the government has formulated a Cabinet Cluster on Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation and Disaster Risk Reduction (CCAM-DRR) Roadmap for 2018 to 2022 to mainstream climate change and disaster risk reduction to identified climate-vulnerable provinces and major urban centers such as Metro Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, and Davao.

The government is taking all necessary steps to mitigate and address the effects of climate change. For them to accomplish this task, they need the cooperation of all citizens. Through our collective action, we can build adaptive and resilient communities across the archipelago. This would be our gift for future generations to come.

Photo credit: PAGASA

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of POLITICO.PH

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Clarisse Rafols is a student at the University of the East, taking up Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. She is a former officer of UE Journalism Society and is currently an intern for Politico aiming to become a learned journalist to serve the general public with factual information.