The P10-billion budget for the Philippine hosting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation should have gone to the rehabiliation of Yolanda-ravaged areas and to the climate mitigation efforts of the country, said Red Constantino of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities.
In an informal talks after a meeting in the Climate Vulnerable Forum Sherpa Senior Officials, Constantino told reporters that the Philippines could have opted out of its Apec-hosting job right after the worst storm in history battered the Visayas, particularly Leyte and Samar.
“Or we could have scaled (the preparations) down,” he added.
Constantino participated in the Climate Vulnerable Forum Sherpa Senior Officials Meeting, a conference of 20 countries most vulnerable to climate change held in Manila earlier this week.
These countries are pushing for their collective commitment on climate change before the Paris talks in December.
The November 2013 super typhoon affected 16 million people, displaced 4.1 million, and killed 6,300, with more than a thousand still missing although remains have continued to be found two years after. It also destroyed 1.1 million houses.
In response, the government allocated P167 billion over the three-year rehabilitation program from 2014 to 2016. As of June 30 this year, the government has released P89 billion in shelter and other rehabilitation programs for Yolanda-hit areas.
In contrast, the government allocated P10 billion for the year-long hosting of the Apec meetings.
At least 47 meetings shall have been held before the big event on Nov. 17-19 when the Philippines takes the limelight in hosting the huge trading bloc, composed of 21 economies in the Pacific Rim. Twenty-one leaders, including from powerful nations like the United States, Russia, Japan, and China, will come to the Philippines to tackle economic issues in the Asia-Pacific region.
At the same time, Constantino asked if the Philippines has already allocated money for the Paris talks and for the actual mitigation and adaptation efforts against climate disruption.
Yolanda has been partly blamed for the changing climate patterns due to global warming, and the Philippines sits right smack on the corridor of typhoons from the Pacific Ocean and usually the first to bear the brunt of these destructive weather systems.
