Philippines urged to prepare for 'wetter' La Niña

Even as El Niño continues to scorch many areas in the country, state weather bureau PAGASA has urged preparations for the La Niña wet season, especially in areas prone to flooding.

"Ang dapat natin paghandaan, syempre, 'yung ating mga flood-prone areas kung sakaling matuloy ang La Nina," said Analisa Solis, chief of the Climatology and Agrometeorology Division in a report by Mariz Umali on "24 Oras."

PAGASA forecasts that the La Niña phenomenon may begin between June and  August.  It is associated with above-normal rainfall conditions during the last quarter and early months of the following year. 

The recent flooding in Brazil and in Dubai despite the hot season is a consequence of climate change, the environmental group Greenpeace said.

"We will be expecting wetter weather during La Niña stages. So 'yun po yung kailangan paghandaan but at the same time kailangan mas urgent yung mga policies (We should brace for this, but at the same time we need urgent policies)," said Greenpeace campaigner Jefferson Chua. 

"Alarming is an understatement in this situation that we are in right now,” he added. 

Frank Nikol Marba, a resident of Dinagat Islands, is worried of the possible impact that the phenomenon may bring to food security. 

“Yung pa kayang effect dito talaga sa amin is our food security kasi dito medyo nagmamahal talaga ang mga pagkain (The impact is in our food security, prices of food have gone up),” he said. 

Greenpeace is also appealing for the passage of the law on climate damages tax or carbon tax - a tax to be imposed on fossil fuel companies or firms that are emitting excessive carbon. 

If enacted into law, the tax to be collected would be used to fund rehabilitation programs fors damages caused by carbon emissions.

“We all know carbon emissions are not just carbon emissions, they cost something in the society,”  Chua said. 

“This is an extremely urgent matter because the cost of climate impacts is accelerating at a really rapid rate,” he added. —Vince Ferreras/LDF, GMA Integrated News