On Maguindanao Massacre

I condemn in the strongest possible terms the recent killing of at least 21 people, including a number of women and media personnel, by unidentified gunmen in Maguindanao province.

While the full details of the Maguindanao massacre have yet to come to light, news reports indicate that this could be the first major election-related violence in the country.

The victims are said to be on their way to the Provincial Capitol to file a certificate of candidacy with the Commission on Elections. They were accompanied by media people who were asked to cover the event. They were waylaid by about 100 armed men and subsequently killed in a brutal and barbaric manner, with some of the victims even decapitated. The casualty figures could rise even higher to more than 40, according to news reports.

I call on authorities to fully investigate this incident and to bring to justice not only the perpetrators but also the masterminds as soon as possible. No one should be above the law. This is a heinous and reprehensible crime that deserves the maximum penalty allowed by law.

At the same time, I urge the government to put in place adequate measures to ensure honest, orderly and peaceful elections in Maguindanao and other areas where intense political rivalries could erupt into violence and bloodshed. The proposal to impose a total gun ban during the election campaign period is fundamentally sound and should substantially reduce the number of election-related violent incidents in the months ahead.

Climate Change Act of 2009

The passage of the Climate Change Act, could not have come at a more ideal time.

I am happy to see the support of local government officials on this critical piece of legislation. The serious implementation of this law will strengthen our country’s efforts in addressing the greatest challenge of our time – climate change.

When I filed this measure two years ago, I took inspiration from the Albay Declaration, which was the result of the First National Conference on Climate Change Adaptation, calling for “the passage of a policy prioritizing climate change adaptation in the national agenda.”

The ensuing discussions on the threats of climate change to our basic human rights—food, potable water, shelter, decent livelihood and life itself, have occupied us for some time now. In response to these impacts, vulnerable countries like the Philippines should ramp up efforts to enhance the resilience of our people.

I think special attention should be given to the poorest of the poor, who are also the most vulnerable to the scourge of disasters. They are the small farmers, fisherfolk, upland dwellers, urban squatters living on riverbanks, forestlands, seashores, and low-lying areas. Without planning and assistance, more will lose their homes and properties that sustain their livelihood. A single extreme weather event can derail the achievement of our Millennium Development Goals' target.

While climate change has recently been at the forefront of international and local discourse, it is perhaps only now that we have seen its devastating impacts.

Unfortunately it took these two calamities for us to realize the urgent need to confront the drivers of our vulnerability to disasters and climate change—poor urban governance, vulnerable rural livelihoods and ecosystems decline— in order to save lives and secure livelihoods.

Climate Change Act will build resilience to the impacts of climate change. The Commission on Climate Change shall be the sole policy-making body of the government tasked to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the programs and action plans of the government relating to climate change.

This places local governments at the frontline of the formulation, planning and implementation of climate change action plans which includes risk reduction, in their respective areas speeding up the capacity building for local adaptation planning, implementation and monitoring of climate change initiatives in vulnerable communities.

Further, the new legislation places disaster risk reduction as the first line of defense against climate change risks. Recognizing that climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction are closely linked and effective disaster risk reduction enhances climate change adaptive capacity, the measure will ensure the integration of disaster risk reduction into policies, programs and initiatives on climate change.

The Climate Change Act, the first in Asia, sums up the country's great resolve to take the issue of climate change very seriously. It goes to show that we value above everything else the welfare of our people through the protection of the world where we all live.

This law is for us, our children and the generations after them. Ensuring its full implementation is the great challenge and responsibility posed to us all.

Pagkasawi ng 8,500 batang Pilipino maiiwasan

MALDIVES (July 14, 2009) – Hindi kailangang masawi sa aksidente at pananakit ang may 8,500 batang Pilipino kada taon kung mabibigyan sila ng sapat na proteksyon ng pamayanan at pamahalaan, ani Senator Loren Legarda kahapon.

Ang pahayag ay ginawa ni Loren bilang suporta sa isang programa ng Department of Education na magbibigay-kaalaman sa mga estudyante sa elementarya at sekondaryang mga paaralan kung papaano mapapahalagahan ang kanilang sariling kaligtasan.

“This initiative by the DepEd is most welcome as our children must be well-informed on how they can protect themselves from injury as well as from exploitation,” sabi ni Loren, na nasa Maldives bilang head ng delegation ng United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR).

Sinabi ni Loren na sa tahanan, eskwelahan at lansangan man ay nalalagay sa panganib ang buhay ng maraming bata, batay na rin sa pag-aaral na isinagawa ng Safe Kids Philippines na sa 8,500 mga batang Pilipino na namamatay sa aksidente kada taon, 3,600 sa kanila ay sa mga kalsada sinasamang-palad.

“Children are most vulnerable to hazardous conditions that may be prevailing in some schools, whose construction may not meet safety standards or whose features like stairs and balcony railings may be contributory to preventable accidents,” anya.

Ayon sa SKP ay 20 milyong bata ang naglalakad patungo sa kanilan paaralan kada araw.

“They must also be protected against elements that take advantage of their innocence, and I am referring to drug pushers and other lawless elements, including sexual predators who had gone high-tech through the internet in luring in unsuspecting children,” anang mambabatas.

Ayon sa DepEd ay isasama ang special safety lessons sa Sibika at Kultura sa elementarya at sa Heograpiya, Kasaysayan at Sibika sa high schools.

I ask Comelec to act on biometrics issue

I urged today the Commission on Election (Comelec) to use the remaining time before the 2010 election to ensure that all registered voters would have their biometric data on file with the commission.

I issued the call in the face of a Comelec pronouncement that it does not have the biometric data of some 25 million voters.

I also call on the commission to make a clear and emphatic statement whether or not those without biometric date would be able to vote in the 2010 elections.

The Comelec must be clear about this issue because the confusion on biometrics being a requirement or not in 2010 may result to voters being prevented from voting due to incorrect information at the precinct level.

the commission should do everything possible to ensure that the 25 million voters lacking biometric information like digitally captured pictures, signatures and thumb prints are not disenfranchised.

The Comelec is partly responsible if many voters had not bothered to have their biometrics taken because of an earlier pronouncement by the commission that it was not mandatory under the Poll Automation Law.

But now that the budget for Poll Automation Law had been appropriated, the Comelec is now saying that voters must have their biometric data taken by the Comelec.

There is still time for all voters to have their biometrics taken, adding the Comelec only need to undertake a massive information campaign through newspapers, radio and television, asking voters to go to Comelec offices where their biometrics can be taken.

ANC Forum Replay Schedule

I had the privilege of being a part of the ANC Leadership Forum yesterday. Hope you can catch the replays below:

* ANC Channel - Saturday, June 6 at 3PM
* ANC Channel - Sunday, June 7 at 9AM
* Studio 23 - Saturday, June 6 at 6PM
* ABS-CBN - Sunday, June 7 at 10:30PM


Para po sa inyo na patuloy na naniniwala sa akin at sa aking mga pinaglalaban, maraming salamat po. Mabuhay po kayo!