November 21, 2011—Civil society groups called on President Benigno Aquino III to lead a meaningful celebration of the ongoing Climate Change Consciousness Week by signing the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP).

The national observance, which falls on November 19-25 this year, was mandated under a proclamation by then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. President Aquino has directed the Climate Change Commission to spearhead the celebration but has yet to sign the NCCAP, which was submitted for the president’s signature last April.

“If Filipinos are to act in concert in response to the growing menace of the climate crisis, PNoy needs to sign the NCCAP right away, as in now,” said Andres Tionko, a convenor of Aksyon Klima (AK), the 100,000-strong network of civil society organizations working on climate change– and development-related issues.

The NCCAP is a comprehensive national program that covers a period of 18 years. It serves as the country’s roadmap which will help determine funding and investment in response to climate change risks, AK explained.

The Philippines is at extreme risk of climate change, according to British firm Maplecroft. The country was rated 10th out of 193 countries in the study it released last October. Manila, identified as one of the twenty fastest growing cities worldwide, was pointed out as the most exposed in the list to flooding and typhoons.

The signing of the NCCAP will particularly benefit women, indigenous people, and other sectors vulnerable to climate change, the network added.

“These groups are less able to adapt to climate change because of their circumstances,” according to AK national coordinator Rowena Bolinas, “and they bear a greater burden of its consequences.”

“The President will send a strong message that he cares about them and the rest of the Filipino people if he signs the NCCAP today or tomorrow, right during his Commission’s grand events,” Bolinas added. ###

Contact:
Denise Fontanilla
Advocacy Officer
+63906.438.7229
info@aksyonklima.com

AKSYON KLIMA PILIPINAS
PRESS RELEASE

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