Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Legarda Joins Infanta Residents in a Day of Prayer, 8 Years After Tragic Flashflood



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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