‘WAKE-UP CALL’ | After Odette destruction, green group seeks climate emergency declaration

December 20, 2021 , 12:10 PM

By Beatrice Puente

(December 20, 2021) – Climate activists sounded the alarm over the worsening impact of typhoons in the country following the devastation wrought by the strongest storm that battered the central and southern Philippines this year, calling on the government to declare a climate emergency.

Naderev Saño, the executive director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, urged public officials to immediately respond to the climate crisis in light of the massive trail of destruction left by Typhoon Odette, warning the impact of future storms could be far more severe if the problem would not be acted upon.

“Even with warnings in place, the intensity of the damage brought by this typhoon was unprecedented,” said Saño in a statement, seeking the immediate recovery of typhoon victims. “We demand that our institutions see this as another wake-up call—and this time, they have to take it seriously.”

Typhoon Odette, internationally called Rai, left more than 200 people dead in the Visayas and Mindanao. Most of the deaths were reported in Bohol with 74 as of Sunday night. Dinagat Islands in northern Mindanao, another heavily affected area, recorded 14 deaths.

Both areas are in the path of Odette.

Thousands of houses and public infrastructure were also damaged while millions have remained without power as the typhoon, which reached category 5 at one point, toppled electrical and communication lines in various areas, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

With its location, the Philippines typically faces around 20 storms every year that cause flooding, landslide, and other forms of destruction. Such weather disturbances heavily affect the livelihood of people in rural areas which mostly focus on agriculture and fisheries.

In 2020, the country was battered by consecutive strong typhoons in the last quarter of the year which left dozens of people killed. Typhoon Ulysses, in particular, triggered the worst flooding in Metro Manila since Typhoon Ondoy in 2009, dealing P20-billion damage in Luzon. It also killed 85 people.

Saño pointed out that the recent typhoon also recalled the “collective trauma” inflicted by Sendong and Yolanda, which similarly destroyed homes in the Visayas and Mindanao. Sendong killed more than 2,500 in 2011, while Yolanda killed over 6,300 in 2013.

Saño stressed that the administration should become more proactive in dealing with the climate crisis to help mitigate its impact.

“These typhoons will get worse, more unpredictable, and more destructive should they remain merely reactionary to the climate crisis. Support the call for the declaration of a national climate emergency (and) demand climate justice now,” said Saño.

President Rodrigo Duterte and his officials have repeatedly said they would look into the declaration of a climate emergency in the past but fell short. The firebrand leader was also criticized by pro-environment groups for not speaking about how his administration would respond to the climate crisis during his final year in office.

Duterte, in a dialogue with the Business Advisory Council of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation last month, called for “greater collaboration” between the public and private sectors to effectively respond to climate-related issues.

“In the interest of climate justice, we need these to transition to climate-smart development and adapt to and mitigate the worsening effects of climate change,” said Duterte.

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