One special provision she introduced mandates that critical public infrastructure must be designed and built to be resilient to strong earthquakes, typhoons, flood and other extreme weather events.

The Philippines sits on the “Pacific Ring of Fire” where earthquakes and volcanoes are common. A magnitude 7.7 earthquake killed nearly 2,000 people in the northern Philippines in 1990.

Senator Legarda was recognized UNISDR as its Global Champion for Resilience at the end of 2015, during the COP21 UN conference that crafted the Paris Agreement on climate change.

She was honored for her unrelenting and vigorous support in advancing disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, nationally and internationally, through legislation, policy leadership, and advocacy at all levels.

Senator Legarda is often acknowledged as the Philippines’ foremost environmental legislator. She was the principal author and sponsor of the Climate Change Act of 2009, and has been chiefly responsible for the enactment of many other Philippine laws on environmental governance like the Clean Air Act, Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, Renewable Energy Act, Environmental Awareness and Education Act, People’s Survival Fund Law, and the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act.

As incumbent chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, she encouraged and ensured the mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in the annual budgets of government agencies, an approach she has been advocating for since 2010.

Date:

11 Jul 2017

Sources:

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - Regional Office for Asia and Pacific (UNISDR AP)

Themes:

Private Sector, Urban Risk & Planning, Disaster Risk Management, Structural Safety, Critical Infrastructure

Hazards:

Earthquake

Countries:

Philippines