Our presidential candidates have given us a lot to chew on—and shake our heads about—in the past few days.
That slapmatch-fistfight-gunfire challenge exchanged by former Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has exasperated us because it showed how low the level of discourse could go in this country.
The continuing legal saga of Senator Grace Poe who may or may not be disqualified from the race because of her citizenship and residency issues has also captured the country’s attention.
Even Senator Miriam Santiago has briefly managed to show us she could overcome her health issues with witty one-liners.
All these can be considered white noise when viewed in the context of issues that would make or break us in the next generation.
This week, with typhoon “Nona” and “Onyok” coming in quick succession, we are once again reminded that climate change could cause serious disruptions.Who has heard of warm instead of chilly December days? Who expects a series of typhoons to batter the country towards the holidays?
Last weekend, the world rejoiced over the signing of an agreement in Paris. The deal essentially said that nations of the world recognized the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. This is so that warming would not accelerate: the consequences are dire and the prospects are grim.
The Philippine delegation took active part in the talks and even President Aquino himself made a brief statement on the need to take drastic measures to reverse climate change. We are one of the nearly 200 signatories to the historic pact.
But is any of the presidential candidates even aware of our commitment and the issue altogether, beyond motherhood statements on the need to take care of the environment? Sadly, we have not heard anything about how these candidates intend to deal with the effects of climate change here in our own backyard. Certainly, there will be more disasters—and leadership is not all about overseeing the packaging of relief goods and getting themselves photographed distributing them to the victims.
Let us no longer fan these candidates’ penchant for drama. We need real solutions from stable characters and sober minds. These candidates’ low talk is no match to how big a menace climate change is and could be.
