‘Resiliency is to be defined by the quality of the decisions we make even before disasters occur.’
FLOODED United Nations Avenue in Manila after heavy monsoon rains. Climate change resiliency is taking on a different meaning, from disaster response to preparedness.
PHOTOGRAPH BY YUMMIE DINGDING FOR DAILY TRIBUNE
The crucial components of climate change adaptation — collaboration, data and resources — converged at the National Climate Resilience Forum (NCRF) last 21 July to solidify the united front against natural disasters.
As local and national officials attending the event organized by the Climate Change Commission (CCC) agree that resiliency is no longer a disaster response but preventing destruction, the Office of the Executive Secretary gave support to providing financial resources to local climate adaptation plans.
“A resilient nation, let us remember, is not defined by the absence of disasters, nor is it defined by what we say in the planetary literature, how often we are able to pick ourselves up. It is how less often, or how rarely, we are destroyed. And if that is the objective, it is going to be defined by the quality of the decisions we make even before disasters occur,” CCC vice chairperson and executive director Robert E.A. Borje said at the start of the forum in SMX Aura Convention Center in Taguig City.
Borje rallied local and national officials to implement an integrated national climate strategy that advances adaptation and mitigation in support of sustainable inclusive growth, by planning cities, managing watersheds, protecting coastlines, designing infrastructure, and investing public resources.
CCC Commissioner Rachel Anne S. Herrera underscored the importance of moving from planning to implementation, stressing that the forum serves as a platform to operationalize climate strategies at the local level.
“Our objective is clear: to translate national policies into context-specific, investment-ready, and scalable climate action where it matters most — in our communities,” she said.
Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Maria Luwalhati C. Dorotan-Tiuseco assured that the government is really putting in the resources for adaptation to climate change.
“Adaptation cannot remain an aspirational endeavor. It must become visible in safer schools and cities, stronger infrastructure, protected coastlines, climate-smart agriculture, and empowered local governments,” Dorotan-Tiuseco said. “Ultimately the true state of our nation will not be measured by the strength of the storms we endure, but by the strength of the institutions we build, the foresight of the decisions we make, and the unity with which we prepare for the future.”
She also mentioned that it was the Marcos administration that first used up the initial P1-billion People’s Survival Fund (PSF) and it is pursuing to have such resource included in the General Appropriations Act each year.
The PSF is used for projects that help vulnerable communities adapt to climate change, including water resources management, land management, agriculture and fisheries, health, infrastructure, ecosystem protection, early warning systems, and local resilience planning. The fund can also support institutional development, preparedness measures for droughts and floods, climate monitoring, and even risk insurance support for farmers and other stakeholders.
Meanwhile, Senator Loren Legarda also rallied local government units to take a more active role in implementing climate strategies on the ground.
“To our local chief executives and planners: the success of our national climate strategies depends on how they are carried out at the local level. Climate resilience must be reflected in your land use plans, annual investments, and infrastructure decisions,” the senator said.
Anchored on the theme “Bagong Bansang Matatag, Handa sa Pagbabago ng Klima,” the NCRF 2026 served as a platform to strengthen alignment between national frameworks — including the National Adaptation Plan 2023 to 2050 and the Nationally Determined Contribution Implementation Plan — and their implementation at the local level.
