LOS ANGELES – Councilor Victor "Jun’" Ferrer Jr. of The First District of Quezon City implores overseas Filipino voters to not to neglect the impact climate change may have in the Philippines in the near future.
"Filipinos need to be more aware about the affect climate change has on the Philippines," said Ferrer. "We have to act now. There’s no cure for climate change but we can mitigate the effects."
Ferrer, President of the newly-formed Pro-Active on Climate Change Leaders (PCL) and Philippine Counselors League, made his appeal to OFWs in the US recently through the Asian Journal. He began his campaign for his party, PCL, to be elected to the Philippine House of Representatives.
PCL is among the 144 "marginalized and under-represented" party lists vying for a seat in RP’s Congress in the upcoming May 2010 national elections.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) recently approved PCL’s accreditation as a party list organization representing the professionals sector.
Senator Loren Legarda, who is teaming up with presidential aspirant Sen. Manny Villar, is among PCL’s greatest advocate, according to Ferrer.
The five-term Quezon City councilor Ferrer said last year’s Typhoon Ondoy and Typhoon Pepeng, which claimed more than 450 dead and forced thousands of people to evacuate parts of Metro Manila, brought the issue of climate change to the forefront.
He said the typhoon season in the Philippines used to be three months but the increase in greenhouse gases from carbon dioxide, and other climate changes have extended the typhoon season to all-year round.
"The Philippines feels the brunt of it because we’re in the middle of the equator," he said.
He added that Filipinos were not interested in discussing climate change until Ondoy and Pepeng hit.
"Now, people are more aware of climate change and its impact," he said. "It’s why we need to do something about it. We need to be more proactive than reactive."
Poor people are the ones most affected when a typhoon, flood, storm or landslide hits, he said.
"In the Philippines, the poorest of the poor are the ones most affected," he said.
Ferrer said the PCL was formed last year after the typhoons hit. The past few months, the group has launched a grassroots campaign to raise more awareness about climate change and its affects.
He said the response to the grassroots efforts have been overwhelming. People are now realizing the impact of climate change in the Philippines.
He hopes that PCL, if elected in Congress, can raise more awareness and pass national legislation to reduce carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas.
"People have already been discussing this issue," he said. "If our kababayans just vote for the PCL and join our slogan to save the environment it can save the future not only for our children but our children’s children." (Joseph Pimentel/AJPress)
( Published January 20, 2010 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. A1 )
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