Senator
Loren Legarda joined residents of Infanta, Quezon in commemorating the eighth
year anniversary of the REINA (Real, Infanta, and Gen. Nakar) flashflood caused
by Tropical Storm Winnie in 2004.
Legarda,
guest speaker at the event, stressed that building local communities’ disaster
resilience is important to prevent disasters such as the deadly 2004 flashflood
that killed more than a thousand individuals.
“While
we look back at that painful experience in 2004, we must strengthen our resolve
to make our communities better prepared against disasters to prevent the same
tragedy from happening again,” she told the people of Infanta.
“We
must make our country resilient to disasters to free us from the exhausting and
costly cycle of rebuilding our communities every time nature unleashes its
wrath. We must take action now before the next natural hazard strikes and we
must start in our own barangays,” said Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee
on Climate Change.
The
Senator said that the country’s laws—such as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water
Act, Solid Waste Management Act, Climate Change Act, and the Disaster Risk Reduction
and Management Act, among others—must be implemented well by both the national
and local governments.
“Every
citizen should also do his or her share through the simple segregation of waste;
cleaning of our surroundings especially esteros, canals, and other waterways;
and reducing carbon footprint through the growing of trees, reducing the use of
plastic bags, and using electricity more efficiently,” she explained.
“We
need to work together to make our communities safe and to ensure that in the
future challenges that climate change would bring, we can save more lives,
livelihood, and properties by being prepared,” Legarda concluded.
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