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MANILA – As monsoon rains continue to batter Luzon, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources had some advice for Filipinos: Deal with it.
Heavy rainfall is the "new normal," the DENR said.
In a statement, DENR Secretary Ramon Paje said the growing intensity of typhoons, including the great volume of water that comes with storms or monsoon rains, as well as the long drought during the dry season, are in fact the "new normal" from which citizens - and the country's leaders and planners - should now proceed.
"There is nothing we could do but to adapt to climate change and the only way we could be prepared for the impact of climate change is to accept that these recent developments in our country like intense weather disturbances, heavy rainfall, as well as long dry season are now the new normal," Paje said.
He said people should listen to authorities during calamities and stop being stubborn, citing Wednesday’s fatal landslide at Litex in Barangay Commonwealth, Quezon City, which has been identified as susceptible to such accidents as early as 2002.
Paje said he would ask the local government of Quezon City to have the area declared as a "permanent danger zone."
He said the Philippines has been identified as highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change, which is why the government has been working on long term solutions to minimize damage on people and infrastructure.
He cited the convergence project the DENR is working on, along with the Department of Public Works and Highways, particularly the construction of small water impounding dams in the uplands. "If you allow rainwater to go down the watersheds it would result in flooding. But if you can impound them, the water becomes precious resource that you can use during the dry season," Paje said.
He also cited efforts by the Department of Agriculture to develop new rice varieties that are resilient to climate change. The DENR through its Mines and Geosciences Bureau is developing bigger geohazard maps with a scale of 1:10,000, which will be distributed down to the barangay level. The DENR previously distributed more than 75,000 geohazard maps with a scale of 1:50,000.
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