Portentous. Several days after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called for an end to climate injustice in his speech at the 77th United Nations General Assembly, the Philippines found itself in the eye of another super typhoon. He took the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters to task for making the country the fourth most prone to climate-induced disasters.

That said, our Chief Executive also reminded the international community that lasting peace to avert another catastrophic world war is the raison d'etre of the United Nations. His meeting with United States President Joe Biden points to a reforging of ties between our nations. And true to their promise, the US government respected the President's immunity as a sovereign head of state during his working visit. I believe PBBM had an auspicious debut as a statesman on the world stage.

Highlighting climate accountability

The Philippines, like other developing nations in Asia and Africa, has been paying for the climate sins of industrialized economies. As UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres puts it, the poor and vulnerable are always the first to suffer and are the worst hit by climate change.

Thus, the President was correct in urging major climate change contributors to cut their GHG emissions, provide climate financing, and technology transfer for adaptation to the most vulnerable countries. These industrialized nations are bound by international treaties and agreements in the first place.

Typhoon "Karding" is the 11th storm to enter our area of responsibility since January. Our state weather bureau PAGASA said we should expect at least 11 more typhoons to hit the country before the year ends. The government, led by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, is extending emergency rescue and assistance to our affected kababayans in Luzon. I hope for their immediate recovery and rehabilitation from this disaster.