THANK God the political atmosphere is nowhere as toxic in the Philippines as it is in the USA or Brazil where political leaders are still in denial on climate change.
As far as I can tell from social media pro and anti-Duterte are on the same page on climate emergency. We are in the same bat in the country and everywhere else in the world in the nick of time for Negros Occidental.
Governor Bong Lacson has pledged to retain the former governor’s executive order banning of coal-fired plants. A small victory to be sure from the global perspective.
The humidity is so palpable, even if we can see storm clouds. It doesn’t take a genius or a PhD to surmise the temperature has to do with climate change. I totally agree with Swedish teen-ager Greta Thunberg who sounded alarm bells that our house is burning.
The other day, Bacolod cried out the battlecry that “Our House is on Fire!” in unity with the Global Climate Strike by the youth, USLS in Bacolod hosted the Climate Emergency Forum on Sept 24, 2019. Participants included 5,000 students and faculty from 9 schools, colleges, universities, and the congregations of Negros Occidental Religious Women’s Association (NORWA), voiced out their call in pressing government and the whole of society to respond to the climate emergency.
The forum featured the Declaration of Climate Emergency by the City of Bacolod and by the Diocese of Bacolod. Guest Speaker was Usec Rachel Herrera of Climate Change Commission, with sectoral reactors: Bishop Alminaza (church), Mr. Jose Ma. Vargas, DRRMO-Bacolod City, Ted Lopez (ATFI for NGO), Joshua Villalobos (Youth Leader, Linghod)...Moving Inspirational Prayer by Environmental Activist priest, Fr. Cris Gonzales.
The Catholic charismatic community The Feast has featured a series educating The Feasters on the climate emergency. I was supposed to attend but the schedule has a conflict with my court-annexed case.
I enjoin Bacolodnons, especially the youth to Friday’s Strike 4 Climate, in the light of Catholic social teaching on justice for all. As Pope Francis pointed out in his encyclical Laudato Si, that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us.
Let us take care of her.