Jesus' follower. Joyce' lover. Johann's and Arwen's playmate. Team Sparrow leader. LifeChurch Makati's servant.
This picture represents the kind of spirit we Filipinos have. In the midst of troubles, we can still laugh. No wonder, as a nation, we can brave through any storm.
(Picture was reportedly taken while the flood's rising)
In fairness to the old man, hidden agenda or none, he gave away for the victims. We'll just know what to do come election time.
No debate: Deluge due to climate change
MANILA, Philippines—The massive floods that inundated Metro Manila were a chilling reminder of the need to seriously address climate change, experts said, warning that the lives of millions were at stake.
More rain fell on Manila and surrounding regions in nine hours on Saturday than the amount Hurricane “Katrina” dumped on New Orleans in 2005.
The ferocity of Tropical Storm “Ondoy” (international codename: Ketsana) shocked even seasoned experts in this country where an average 20 typhoons hit every year, but they said it continued a recent pattern of unusually bad weather.
Civil defense chief Anthony Golez and chief weather forecaster Prisco Nilo said they were puzzled by strange changes in the behavior of the typhoons over the past two years.
In early 2007, three typhoons hit the country, with an unusual one in February triggering a landslide that killed 250 people in Southern Leyte province, Golez said.
The typhoons also deviated from their traditional paths during the month of June, traversing the northern and central parts of Luzon for the first time.
‘Very strange years’
“When you try to scientifically observe the data … we will find this year and last year as very strange years, and we can only presuppose that this is due to climate change,” Golez said.
Middle-class enclaves
Saturday’s flooding that overwhelmed large parts of the sprawling metropolis of 12 million people, including gated middle-class enclaves which had never been flooded in the past.
“We can’t just blame this on the rain. We know this is the worst deluge in 40 years. We know there is climate change happening, there is no debate about that,” Greenpeace campaigner Mark Dia said on local television.
Need for global accord
“This is just a glimpse of what will happen. This is not even a super typhoon. We need to be prepared. This is just a taste of things to come. We need to have more preparations and we need to factor in climate change.”
In Bangkok, UN climate chief Yvo de Boer on Monday said the Philippine floods highlighted the need for the world to agree on a global warming pact by a December deadline during talks in Copenhagen.
A global accord would ensure that “the frequency and severity of those kinds of extreme weather events decreases as a result of ambitious climate change policy,” De Boer said.
Wake-up call
Jose Bersales, humanitarian and emergency affairs director at charity World Vision, warned that the Philippine storm was likely a taste of more doom for the world’s poorest, who often are the least prepared for storms.
“This has to be a wake-up call for the world as it prepares for the climate change talks in Copenhagen later this year,” Bersales said.
More intense storms
World Vision quoted recent forecasts by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that tropical storms would become more intense, have stronger peak wind speeds and heavier precipitation.
This phenomenon would have a disproportionate impact on the Philippines, it said.
With 43 percent of the population, or 36 million people, living on less than two dollars a day and with only one doctor for every 1,700 people, the impact of major disasters on the Philippines will become more devastating, World Vision said.
And with an archipelagic coastline of 36,289 kilometers, the country is vulnerable to rising sea levels, another consequence of climate change, the charity added.
“Millions in the Philippines must be helped to prepare for worsening wind storm disasters,” the charity said.
Time has run out
Research by British charity Oxfam showed that the number of people affected by climate crises worldwide was projected to rise 54 percent to 375 million over the next six years.
“Time is not just pressing, it has almost run out,” said De Boer, who broke down in tears of frustration at talks in Bali two years ago, when world governments drew up the “road map” to the Copenhagen deadline.
After two years of haggling, the world is still trying to thrash out a draft text for December’s talks, with major disagreements on the two key issues of cutting carbon emissions and meeting the associated costs
You'll never appreciate the effect of climate change until you experience it yourself. Time take part in action against climate change!
Here is the official statement from Jacque Bermejo.
She is our fellow UPian, a member of the University of the Philippines Alumni Association UAE Chapter (UPAA-UAE Chapter) and she was one of the members who helped us during the Job Fair activity we organized this year. Obviously, the Facebook postings, which were very badly written in English were not written by her, and obviously, someone who studied in UP, a place where patriotism, nationalism and activism are widely , would definitely love and be passionate about her country and countrymen and not say hateful and thoughtless comments about what happened to the victims of Typhoon Ondoy, which include me and my family.
Please pass this email to everyone you know. Thanks and God bless.
“I am issuing this statement to clear my name in the current controversy in which I allegedly posted a highly insensitive and offensive message on the social networking website, Facebook, in relation to the victims of typhoon Ondoy that recently struck parts of the Philippines.
About two years ago, an anonymous source created these accounts using my identity, posting my personal details, my real pictures captioned roughly and attacking other people. Because of these incidents, I reported such abuses and sent my credentials to the administrators of such sites, particularly Facebook. I have been abused and am still being abused online in social networking websites such as Facebook, Friendster, Multiply etc.
In the early stages, I was advised by close friends to ignore the situation, saying this would simply go away. Unfortunately, it has not stopped. Hence, I filed a complaint with the Dubai Police about eight months ago hoping they could help me with my problem. Should anyone wish to check my statement, my case is still under investigation with said authorities.
Time passed and these sites continued to generate malicious, obscene and cruel messages that are widely exposed and relayed to the public under my name.
Yesterday, September 27th 2009, I received phone calls from my close friends regarding very alarming posts in the above mentioned websites that directly offended flood victims as a result of typhoon Ondoy..
These malicious statement(s) which are posted under account names Jacque or Jackie are not of my doing. It is unfortunate that such statements were maliciously attributed to me andI do sympathize and understand the adverse and somehow verbally violent reaction that has been elicited by such insensitive statements or posts. Rest assured, I have taken every legal step that can be done in this regard.
I too, have become a victim as much as those who may have lost their lives and properties to such a devastating natural calamity. This recent controversy has greatly affected my reputation, my family, and my friends. I am devastated and shocked at the extent my character, my personal information and private space have been violated.
I have a deep respect and regard for my country. I am proud to be a Filipino and would never say or do anything to harm the interest of my country or countrymen. I have also had the privilege of participating in civic-oriented activities in Dubai, particularly in trying to help my fellow countrymen seek employment during the height of mass layoffs brought about by the ongoing global financial crisis, as well as those seeking employment for the first time. Making a mockery of any unfortunate incidents befalling any of my fellow Filipinos is simply contrary to my character. I condemn the person or persons behind these malicious acts to impute damage on my integrity and I hope that you can dig deep into your hearts and minds to truly find the truth in all these.
Jacqueline Bermejo”
Be careful on what you believe.
Lord, most of us are now business as usual. We’re back to work, back to our normal routine. But some of our fellowmen are still trapped in their roofs hungry, wet, depressed.
I’m praying for them, Lord. Please give them emotional and physical strength to hold on and keep their hopes alive. We know that help is coming. It may be taking long, but it is coming. Please whisper this to their hearts. Embrace them with your love at this very moment.
I’m praying for us — for us that are safe, spared from the disaster. Move our hearts from just having pity to real compassion. Convict us to DO something, not just SAY something. Allow us to realize that we are your hands and your feet. Give us the burden, a genuine burden to love.
We are not sure yet, Lord, of what you are telling us because of this tragedy. I’m sure in due time, you will reveal this to us. Whatever it is, may it draw us closer to you. May it become an avenue of self evaluation. May this become a way for us to consider a relationship with you that may have been lost in the past, or even inexistent in the first place.
Be our guide. Be our strength. Be our God. We love you Jesus. Let your children here in the Philippines shout that out loud!
