×

Our award-winning reporting has moved

Context provides news and analysis on three of the world’s most critical issues:

climate change, the impact of technology on society, and inclusive economies.

Questions raised on credibility of Philippine climate commission

by Purple S. Romero | Thomson Reuters Foundation
Friday, 1 October 2010 11:02 GMT

By Purple S. Romero

MANILA (AlertNet) - Shaken by the devastation wrought by tropical storms Ketsana and Parma in 2009, the Philippines has begun drafting a blueprint for mitigating the impact of climate change, but campaigners are already questioning the credibility of the process.

The national action plan on climate change, to be drawn up by the country's Climate Change Commission by April 2011, will set out the responsibilities of all government agencies to develop and implement policies addressing the effects of global warming.

The Philippines sees action on climate change as vital given its vulnerability to changing weather patterns - 3 million people are affected annually by an average of 20 typhoons. In September last year, tropical storm Ketsana hit the country, followed one week later by Parma. Together they killed more than 1,000 people and displaced more than half a million.

But a network of non-government organizations that campaign on climate change has raised doubts about the Climate Change Commission's capacity to strengthen the Philippines' efforts to campaign for global carbon reduction and stronger climate change responses.

The network, Aksyon Klima, says actions taken by one commissioner have exposed the need for firm measures that ensure the commission acts in a transparent and consultative way and is accountable to its stakeholders and the public.

"The Commission should institutionalize a consultative mechanism for accountability and transparency," said Rowena Bolinas, a spokesperson for Aksyon Klima.

The doubts centre on some of the actions of vice chairman Heherson Alvarez, an appointee of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

In January 2010, Alvarez sent a letter to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) endorsing the controversial Copenhagen accord. But the letter did not reflect the position of the Philippines and took the government and civil society by surprise.

Climate change activists around the world have attacked the non-binding Copenhagen agreement for having only voluntary carbon reduction targets and vague mechanisms for providing adaptation funds to developing countries.

As the lead coordinator for the G77 plus China group of developing nations during the December 2009 Copenhagen negotiations, the Philippines has demanded bigger carbon cuts by industrialized nations and clearer guidelines for the allocation of adaptation funds.

Climate Change commissioner Lucille Sering told AlertNet that Arroyo requested the withdrawal of the letter in February, fearing it would compromise the country's stance in international negotiations.

DIVISIONS AT THE COMMISSION

Alvarez, however, defends sending the letter, saying he only endorsed the accord insofar as it called for "deep and early cuts" by developed countries, the major greenhouse gas emitters.

"It was not a complete and total adherence to the accord, nor was it out of bounds," he wrote in a letter to AlertNet, in response to questions. "We were not adhering to the accord. We were preparing to adhere to the accord. Whether we adhere to it or not is an entirely different matter."

Alvarez promised to hold consultations with representatives of both the public and private sectors after the withdrawal of the letter to the UNFCCC. However, Bolinas said that more than half a year has passed and nothing has been done.

"Sec. Alvarez himself said the Commission would conduct consultations right after the Philippines' government rescinded his letter to the UNFCCC, but this has never happened," she said.

Aksyon Klima also believes there has been a lack of transparency in the way the commission and the action plan were set up.

During the formulation of the National Framework Strategy on Climate Change (NFSCC), and the commission's implementing rules and regulations, Alvarez also acted unilaterally, Bolinas charged. The commission's rules and regulations set out its powers and responsibilities, while the NFSCC outlines the country's mid- and long-term goals for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The body's two other commissioners, Lucille Sering and Naderev Sano, were not mandated to take part in the consultations and discussions on the documents, she added.

"The basic principle of collegiality is currently not in practice among the three commissioners. Sec. Alvarez continues to act unilaterally on many important issues and does not consult with the other two commissioners," Bolinas charged.

In response, Alvarez said Sering and Sano were "invited" to meetings and consultations with experts on the drafting of the commissionÂ?s rules and regulations and the NFSCC.

"The commissioners were duly informed and invited, but not to perform a function as commissioners. However, we always welcome their participation and input," Alvarez said.

RULES 'HASTILY DONE'

As the commission embarks on the development of the climate change action plan, Sering said she has learned that she and Sano have been dropped from the technical working group.

"He formed his own technical working group composed of his preferred consultants," Sering said of Alvarez.

In the wake of this, Aksyon Klima has called for an immediate revision of the rules and regulations, saying they were "hastily done" and that they need to specify the role of the public in the commission's decision-making process.

The Commission did include various representatives from academia, civil society, and the private sector in the crafting of the NFSCC, but Bolinas said improvements were still needed to increase transparency and to prevent "random and selective participation".

The Philippines has wanted to produce a climate action plan ever since it launched its Inter-Agency Committee on Climate Change in 1991.

"The Philippines has been identified as one of the most vulnerable countries to the dire effects of climate change and the different sectors situated in different locations around the archipelago have varying and unique challenges to face, which must all be taken into account," Bolinas said.

Purple S. Romero is a Manila-based journalist and researcher.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

-->