Loren Warmly Welcomed By Caraga Youth

NP-NPC-LDP VICE PRESIDENTIAL BET LOREN LEGARDA WAS RECEIVED BY AN ENTHUSIASTIC CROWD OF TWENTY THOUSAND STUDENTS AT THE CARAGA STATE UNIVERSITY AS SHE CAMPAIGNS IN MINDANAO THIS WEEK.
Loren took the opportunity to talk about her environmental advocacy and stressed that climate change is a clear and present danger to mankind but that we are not totally helpless in the face of this challenge.
“There is a lot that we can do. The youth is a powerful instrument of change. Let us be the change that we seek,” she said.
Loren proposed the creation of a volunteer group to be trained to alert communities during the first sign of natural calamities such as earthquakes, rising sea levels and heavy rainfall.
The “green army” composed of kagawads, barangay officials and youth volunteers will be trained as an early warning brigade to lead evacuation efforts in disaster-prone areas. They will also conduct rescue and relief operations in affected localities, serving as the disaster response arm of local governments.
“If Bangladesh can gather 42,000 volunteers for disaster response, the Philippines can surely put together enough manpower from its 89 million population to become environment and community leaders. We need dedicated, passionate and dynamic volunteers to fight climate change and deal with its cruel consequences such as extreme weather events,” she said.
The noted legislator and only environmental advocate running for the vice presidency is responsible for the passage of major environmental laws like the Solid Waste Management Act and the Climate Change Act. She has planted two million trees from her nationwide tree-planting and conservation project Luntiang Pilipinas.