SAVE Ph, a youth environmental organization, challenged President Bong-bong Marcos to “put his money where his mouth is” and solarize all schools after super typhoon Carina displaced students whose schools are either still being used as evacuation centers or are yet to be rehabilitated.
In his third State of the Nation Address last July, Marcos said in his speech that, “solar-powered electricity must now be standard features in our schools and in our classrooms”.
“Enough of lip service. Solarizing our schools and shifting to renewable energy should be the administration’s top priority to ensure that our schools and communities are more resilient to the impacts of climate change,” said Zyoen Garcia, SAVE Ph Lead Convenor.
According to the Department of Education, 1,063 schools nationwide were unable to open classes after being hit by typhoon Carina.
“The dismal performance of the opening of classes only proves how incoherent our national policies are,” Garcia argued.
“While we laud President Marcos’ recognition of the need to power our schools with renewable energy, he must practice what he preaches,” said Garcia.
Graft and Corruption in Climate Efforts
The group also asked the public to be vigilant of the budget for schools’ energy transition against corruption, after many have criticized the governments’ climate adaptation measures such as flood control projects as inefficient despite receiving increased funding.
According to independent public budget analyst, Zyza Sazura, the total flood control budget under the Marcos Administration is 556.5 billion pesos, equivalent to nearly half of the 1.14 trillion pesos allocated in the last decade.
“Given the data, we can only conclude that the flood control budget was eaten away by corruption instead of urgently needed climate mitigation,” she deduced.
SAVE Ph further claimed that the government falls short in its effort to mitigate climate change with its continued reliance on dirty energy such as coal and liquefied natural gas. Just recently, Marcos’ secretary of the Department of Energy Raphael Lotilla was sued for violating the coal moratorium and approval of Aboitiz Power’s expansion in Cebu.
DRRM Not Enough to Solve Climate Crisis
SAVE Ph maintained that focusing solely on evacuation plans and disaster risk management, while crucial, does not address the root causes of climate change and its broader effects.
“As a country hit by more than 20 typhoons per year, the government will do well by going beyond nearsighted disaster risk reduction management to build climate mitigation and adaptation strategies that guarantee resilient communities”.
PH Hosting LDF Presents Opportunity
SAVE Ph further challenged PBBM’s role in the Loss and Damage Fund Board. The group asserted that “the bottom line of Loss and Damage Fund is climate justice. Beyond mere facilitation of the fund, as its chairperson, Marcos must take the lead in demanding the United States and the rest of the Group of 7 countries to pay up for the climate crisis.”
Last month, the Philippines was elected host of the Loss and Damage Fund Board. “The Loss and Damage Fund is a long-fought struggle demanding rich countries historically responsible for the climate crisis to pay reparations for vulnerable countries suffering the worst of climate change,” she explained.
“Typhoon Carina left a trail of devastation in its wake that exposed the weaknesses of the government’s climate efforts and these must be corrected if we seek to survive the climate crisis,” ended Garcia.
