Swamped PBBM Lies, Promises, Exposed Government's Lackluster Partnerships, Gewgaw Projects

Quezon City, Philippines – STCarina impacts inundate SONA deception. Just a day after putting the best foot forward in the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of Philippine President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. (PBBM), Super Typhoon (ST) Carina (International Name: Gaemi) drowned out his words with a deluge that tormented Metro Manila and surrounding areas.

Drawing comparisons between #OndoyPH in 2009 and #CarinaPH last week, PAGASA noted that the former dumped more than 300 millimeters of rain in six hours than the latter. And yet, the flood ST Carina caused was as massive as Ondoy. This shows the country is not ready yet to deal with extreme weather events, as solutions fail to address the worsening impacts.

In the SONA 2024 speech, PBBM boasted the completion of over five thousand flood-control projects. ST Carina served an instant clapback to the applauded projects, to which PBBM can only pull the blame-game card; accusing climate change and trash management as critical issues, a close resemblance to how the government of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo explained the intense flooding that caught many people unprepared during the ST Ondoy in 2009.

Climate Crisis Intensified: The Scientific Perspective

For the past five decades, the enhanced Habagat phenomena have increased in frequency, Meteorologist Gerry Bagtasa shared in an interview that the number of rain days per year due to typhoon-enhanced Habagat, or southwest monsoon, has increased from 18 rain days per year in the 1960s to around 27 days per year on average in the 2010s. This is the period when Habagat winds are exacerbated by typhoons.

The Philippines is highly vulnerable to overlapping climate threats and extreme weather events and faces worsening conditions as global temperature rises. Intensifying warming of the planet induces the sea level rise the Philippines is facing. Moreover, the proliferation of reclamation projects exacerbates the impacts of conflicting policies on economic development and climate adaptation are left unresolved.

PBBM's SONA speech deception continues to cover-up the huge destruction in infrastructure, displacement of communities, damage to agriculture and fisheries, and loss of lives. The human costs also impede national development, economy, and sustainability. PMCJ has been saying that an average of 2.2% is taken away from the GDP growth due to destruction.

Curtain Call: End Fossil Gas Projects, Declare Climate Emergency Now!

A recent United Nations (UN) speech stresses the urgent need to phase out fossil fuels to combat climate change, which exacerbates disasters like ST Carina. The richest nations in the world are "signing away our future" by spearheading a "flood" of increased fossil fuel use, endangering billions of people through intensifying heatwaves and other climate-related effects, UN Secretary General António Guterres said.

PMCJ asserts that as the host to the Loss and Damage (L&D) Fund, the Philippines must lead in holding the Global North accountable for the damage that they are responsible for. Rich countries must pay up their climate debt, commit to historical obligation and immediate reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Moreover, nations such as the Philippines must highlight the importance of placing front and center in planning and policies in the climate adaptation and resilience-building efforts and locating all the funding efforts, as a matter of the north’s historical responsibility to the Loss and Damage Fund.

The local and national media have been exposing the true nature of climate disasters and its impacts to the Filipino people through science. In these trying times, the media industry has a much-needed role in delivering news for the people as the government continues to shift narratives and public opinion on the real deal with the climate crisis.

When complemented with ground efforts, the true state of the nation will be revealed in no time. This highlights the urgency to mobilize and empower communities to participate in local climate initiatives and to take the lead in disaster-preparedness programs. ###

FOR INQUIRIES

Ella Gacutan

Senior Media and Communications Officer

Philippine Movement for Climate Justice

mediacommunications@climatejustice.ph