EDITORIAL | CHOOSE NATURE, VOTE ENVIRONMENT

After the release of a new scientific report regarding climate change, Filipino scientists call for climate action that should be at the height of pandemic recovery in the country. The national and local governments play an essential role in crafting policies to protect the environment. However, rules and laws on the papers alone are insufficient to make any change, and it is indeed necessary to make action-oriented plans and goals and presence of leaders who have a heart for nature.

According to Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability record by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), about 3.3 to 3.6 billion people, or approximately half of the world’s population, live in the context were highly vulnerable to climate change. A frightening reality not only to planetary health but also to human health. Three months are going by once the globe changes new year, and the Philippines is on fire since the dry season is underway. Temperature is rising; the weather is heating the whole day, which is unproductive for some students because of heat stress; then, the rains fall hard at night.

In addition, the significant report also stated that 2050 would worsen the risk of floods brought by the insurgence of the seas. The archipelago is unfree for it comprises more than 7,000 islands, either the low tide or high tide, from this global concern. Affected or unaffected, everyone is expected to create a movement that will at least lessen the climate change the world is facing right now.

Moreover, despite “Build, Build, Build” projects by the Duterte administration, the state can still make room for safeguarding and conserving the environment and provide immeasurable support spearheaded by the DENR agency. The Manila Bay rehabilitation and restoration started in 2019 was a great government initiative. They have created Manila Bay Task Force that worked for clean-up, water quality improvement, resettlement, education, and sustainment. Despite the beautification of the white sandy surface of the beach, some, from experts to ordinary people, criticized the use of crushed dolomite stones. This project cost P389 million, which can allocate to daily new infections during those times.

Also, in PRRD term existing, 335 illegally operating open dumpsites and 151 sanitary landfills in the country were closed. It is a positive outcome since it adheres to the creation of Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. Meanwhile, way back in 2013, it was saddening news that Canada had been mislabeled and imported 2400 tonnes of illegal wastes as recyclable in the country. It took six years before it turned into a concerned party. Legally speaking, that state violated the Basel Convention that restrains the world from shipping hazardous waste to developing countries, like the Philippines, without any consent. The Philippines is the home of Filipinos and not an area for disposing of waste from big and rich countries.

A 2019 study published in the International Journal of Sociology concluded that citizens who think that it is the government’s responsibility to protect the environment are more likely to support increasing government spending on the environment. However, it depends if the government institution is fair, effective, and non-corrupt. The study also shows that the Philippines has a low-quality government (QoG). It is an undeniable problem in this democratic country. Hence, choose nature that provides everything and vote for new political leaders in May that will put climate change, global warming, and the sake of Filipinos on top of priorities because that leadership deserves positions of power.

Maybe we belong to nature, but nature doesn’t need humans. It is a call of nature, and every continent of the world is responsible for caring for it. Filipinos are privileged to have the right to suffrage. Thus, making this right keeps the right. Vote for candidates who advocate and campaign for environmental change, not for the candidates who want personal gain.