By Atty. Rita Linda V. Jimeno

It must be human nature to dwell more on a problem than its solution. And this perhaps explains why marriages break up; why there is never an end to congressional probes yet corruption in government goes on unabated. Solution is hardly ever the focus of fights and debates.

It is the same with the problem of climate change. We talk about the onset of global warming and how it is causing extreme weather conditions. We warn that it is leading to the inevitable rise of sea levels that could wipe out cities and states. We endlessly rant too, about the worsening pollution of air and water that cause respiratory illnesses and the diminishing of our fresh water sources. Yet, we hardly talk, or even ask, about solutions.

Most people would rather respond to danger by not recognizing it. Many hide in their comfort zones because it is cumbersome to try to do anything. But problems do not get solved this way. I find it, thus, a whiff of fresh air to know that there are local government units adapting to problems with such success that it has literally uplifted and improved the lives of their people.

Remember how the great eruption of Mt. Pinatubo buried whole communities, buildings and even churches in Pampanga, wiping out lives and livelihood? If the people of this province just fled and altogether abandoned their hometowns when Mt. Pinatubo erupted, would their province be as progressive as it is now? Some did flee but most stayed on and adapted. Pampanga literally rose from the ashes and went on to rebuild itself with a vengeance. Capitalizing on what destroyed its province, Pampanga makes use of the volcanic ash and rock materials spewed by Mt. Pinatubo. These have become a rich source of building materials for the entire country and income for the province.

The provincial government levies a fixed rate of P300 per truck that carries sand and rock quarried. Half of this amount goes to the government while the other half goes to the municipalities and barangays affected by the quarrying operations. This has translated into improved services to the communities. For the first half of last year alone, Pampanga earned P111 million from quarry tax collections, earning for the province a win in the Gawad Galing Pook Awards for 2008. With income from quarrying and good governance, Pampanga has literally risen from the ashes and grown to a premier commercial center and tourist destination.

There are other local government units worth commending for their ability to adapt to their geographic weaknesses and natural hazards. Take the province of Bicol which is the favorite destination of typhoons and tropical storms. Through risk-mapping, Albay identified the disaster-prone communities and safe areas in the province. Then it developed comprehensive land use plans which entailed the relocation of some 10,076 households, the construction of a new airport and the building of a road network. By relocating disaster-prone communities and commercial centers to safer areas, Albay has reduced the impact of natural disasters. And because the communities were deeply involved in the planning, its residents willingly rendered labor for free in building homes in the relocation sites. On top of this, Albay has developed disaster preparedness. The local government created the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office which immediately responds to disasters and assists affected citizens. This too has earned for the province recognition in the Gawad Galing Pook Awards for 2008.

Equally praiseworthy is the Barangay Sanito experience. Faced with an influx of informal dwellers following the infamous Abu Sayyaf raids in the area in 1991, the barangay was swamped by criminality, extreme poverty and sanitation problems. Its leadership brought order to the chaos by creating a Barangay code. The Code mandated fees that helped deliver basic services including water and public works development. Then its solid waste management was addressed and vagrancy penalized. The Code also empowered its citizens toward rebuilding their lives. An agro-eco tourism park and a barangay market were developed. The barangay?s success in environmental and economic management has attracted donor agencies and other governments to support the barangay further in its self-help programs. It has also earned for the barangay a Gawad Galing Pook award for 2008.

The debilitating experiences of these localities and how their people have adapted and succeeded are something we should emulate in responding to climate change. Climate change is inevitable. We can still mitigate its effects but reverse it, we cannot. Humanity has gone so far in causing damage to the air, water and the soil that climate change will happen as it is, in fact, already happening. But what is alarming is how we have not started to adapt. While other countries are already capturing rain water to provide for their people?s need for fresh water during the summer months, we have not started learning how to harvest rain water. There will be significant reduction in rice and vegetable harvests because of the growing heat. There will be less and less yield from the sea because the coral reefs are dying from the higher temperatures. Yet, we have not started to develop better ways to produce food to feed our citizens. The seas will inevitably rise as the ice caps in the Greenland and arctic melt. But what have we done to save our coastal communities from inundation? Power from oil and other fossil fuels is running out. Why have we not fully harnessed the wind and the sun to give us electricity and energy?

Problems are not what pull us down. It is rather our inability and unwillingness to adapt and to rise above our problems which keep us down. But then again, we Filipinos are known for our ma?ana habit. Perhaps, when push comes to shove, we will finally rise to the occasion.

E-mail: ritalindaj@gmail.com Web: www.jimenolaw.com.ph