“It takes a whole-of-society approach to combat climate change effectively. We need everyone’s cooperation.” —Speaker Martin Romualdez
THE House of Representatives will continue to be vigilant against climate change which has caused increasingly severe weather disturbances in the Philippines.
Thus said Speaker Martin Romualdez as the chamber is committed to tackle legislative actions that encourage climate resilience.
“We must be vigilant against climate change to protect our people from falling victim to such tragedies,” said Romualdez who represents the First District of Leyte, one of the provinces hardest hit by Typhoon Yolanda in 2013 that claimed over 6,000 lives.
He said the fight against climate change need everyone’s cooperation.
“It takes a whole-of-society approach to combat climate change effectively. We need everyone’s cooperation.”
The House was instrumental in the recently enacted Ligtas Pinoy Centers Act which mandates the establishment of permanent, storm-resilient evacuation centers all over the country, which are intended to provide safe refuge for communities during natural disasters.
This landmark measure represents a vital step forward in addressing the challenges faced by communities repeatedly battered by disasters and calamities, enhancing our nation’s preparedness and response mechanisms to safeguard lives and livelihoods.
Romualdez actively pushed for the enactment of the measure—that President Marcos signed in December 2024, saying the tragedy that happened during Yolanda and similar strong typhoons should not be repeated.
The centers would be equipped with essential facilities, including healthcare stations and areas for vulnerable groups, to ensure safety and dignity for all evacuees.
“No matter how strong the coming typhoons, we must ensure that our people are prepared,” said Romualdez.
Apart from the Ligtas Pinoy Centers Act, the House is also currently deliberating on several measures on climate change resiliency and sutainability.
These include HB 9609 or the Climate Accountability (CLIMA) Act which seeks to establish a legal framework for climate loss and damage accountability.
The bill has been lauded by various environment advocates because the measure, which is the first in the world, has been filed in the Philippine Congress.
“This is a historic proposed law, as this is the first one globally that opens up the possibility for corporate climate accountability to be recognized by a state, and that provides measures to call for reparations mechanisms,” an environment advocacy group said in commending the filing of the bill.
The bill, when enacted into law, puts in place policies and systems to address climate change; protect communities from climate change-induced losses, damages, and human rights harms; and provide mechanisms for accountability and reparations from those responsible for worsening the climate crisis, including corporate interests such as the fossil fuel industry.
Also pending for plenary action is HB 13 which mandates the creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR) as the principal government institution responsible for ensuring safe, adaptive and disaster resilient communities.
The bill, with Romualdez as the principal author, was recently approved by the joint House Committees on Government Reorganization, and on Disaster Resilience, and has been referred for plenary action.
The DDR shall be the primary government agency responsible for leading, organizing and managing the national effort to reduce disaster risk, prepare for and respond to disasters, recover and rehabilitate, as well as build forward better after the occurrence of disasters.
HB 1937 of Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan mandates owners and operators of ”environmentally critical” projects to secure insurance coverage that would guarantee sufficient compensation for the possible adverse impact of their operations on affected communities.
The bill provides for this mandatory environmental insurance coverage (MEIC) that institutions and corporations should obtain before they are allowed to start construction or commercial operations of their projects.
Yamsuan said that under the measure, environmentally critical projects are, among others, activities like quarrying, logging, reclamation, mining, major infrastructure projects, and those constructed in areas frequently visited or hard-hit by natural calamities such as floods, typhoons and volcanic activity.
“Our country is the most disaster-prone in Southeast Asia. But we cannot ignore the fact that the calamities we are experiencing now are also due to man-made activities that damage the environment. Despite these realities, there is still no action or policy to ensure adequate compensation for losses resulting from these activities that lead to environmental degradation and cause harm to lives and property. This bill aims to fill this gap,” he said.
Similarly, Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte sought the full implementation of eco-friendly programs such as the new law that aims to fuse state planning for sustainable development with environmental protection.
“The devastation brought about by Typhoon Kristine on Bicol and other parts of the country showed that now, more than ever, is the time for the no-nonsense implementation of state policies and programs mitigating the impact of climate change responsible for causing natural disasters of increasing frequency and intensity,” Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte said.
“It behooves our government and civil society to work closer together on the implementation of laws that are meant to ensure that economic growth and development remains not just high but sustainable as well,” he added.