“It is my hope that LGUs [local government units] will declare climate emergency in their locality to build resilience against climate crisis,” Cong. Edgar Chatto urged stakeholders during the Bohol Resiliency Summit last March 15, 2022 at Bellevue Resort Pavilion in Panglao.
Speaking before the national government agencies (NGAs), LGUs, academe, private sector, development partners, civil society organizations (COs), and representatives from affected communities, Chatto explained this was the essence of the declaration of a climate and environmental emergency in the last quarter of 2020.
The declaration aims to ensure enhanced and coherent climate actions in the executive and legislative agenda of government, with climate emergency at the center of all policy decision making from local to national governance levels.
An important initiative is the partnership of the House Committee on Climate Change, which Chatto chairs, with Rice Watch Action Network and Greenpeace Philippines that puts together the climate emergency response roadmap to support small islands and coastal communities vulnerable to tidal floods and sea level rise.
The said roadmap was turned over to the Provincial Government of Bohol (PGBh) in July 2020 to serve as guide for stakeholders and LGUs in the crafting of their own declaration of a climate emergency.
Chatto was asked to speak at the Bohol Resiliency Summit organized by the PGBh led by Gov. Art Yap and Vice Gov. Rene Relampagos. The summit was organized in coordination with World Bank (WB), the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) and Holy Name University (HNU).
Chatto congratulated the organizers of the summit and pledged commitment towards investments in adaptation and resilience to fight climate crisis.