Ensure safety of Mayon Residents, says legarda

Following reports from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) that at least five climbers were killed and several injured in Albay as Mayon Volcano spewed ash, Senator Loren Legarda called on the government to institutionalize geohazard mapping and mandatory LGU training on disaster risk reduction.

“We can do a lot for our environment. Geohazard mapping should be institutionalized and followed down to the grassroots. Funding should be provided in the national budget and to LGUs for relocation or for housing, most especially for communities that are in danger,” Legarda, who chairs the Committee on Climate Change, said.

“There should also be a mandatory training on anticipating risks for LGUs and for frontline agencies,” the Senator added.

Legarda, regional disaster risk reduction champion for Asia Pacific, also asked government to incorporate climate change adaptation in the school curriculum.

“To solve the problem of environmental degradation, it is important that we inculcate the right values to the younger generation. It is only through concerted efforts that we may be able to reverse the damage caused by irresponsible development models and large-scale environmental destruction,” she said.

For the past three months, Senator Legarda has led a massive information drive on the use of geohazard maps in LGUs, SUCs, and barangays nationwide.

“Hindi ito isyu na para lamang sa mga akademiko. Malapit ito sa bituka, at may epekto sa huli ng ating mga mangingisda, ani ng magsasaka, kabuhayan ng mga katutubo at kaligtasan ng mamamayan,” Legarda stressed.

The Senator was the principal author of the Climate Change Act (RA 9729) and co-author and sponsor of its amendatory law, which provides for the creation of the People’s Survival Fund (RA 10174).

Legarda was chiefly responsible for the passage of landmark environmental legislations such as the Clean Air Act (RA 8749), Ecological Solid Waste Management Act (RA 9003), Renewable Energy Act (RA 9513) and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act (RA 10121).