Paje urges Filipinos to adapt to climate change;accept heavy rainfall as “new normal”

Wednesday, 08 August 2012 00:00 |

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ramon J. P. Paje today said that Filipinos must learn to accept the growing intensity of typhoons, including the great volume of water that comes with storm or monsoon rains, as well as the long drought during the dry season, as the “new normal”.

“There is nothing we could do but to adapt to climate change and the only way we could be prepared for the impact of climate change is to accept that these recent developments in our country like intense weather disturbances, heavy rainfall, as well as long dry season are now the “new normal,” Paje said in an interview in PTV Channel 4.

Paje also urged people to listen to authorities during calamities and stop being “sutil” (stubborn) when they are asked to evacuate to safer grounds. The landslide area at Litex in Brgy. Commonwealth, Quezon City has been identified as susceptible to landslide in 2002.

He said he would ask the local government of Quezon City to have the area be declared as a “permanent danger zone”.

According to Paje, the Philippines has been identified to be highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. For this, he said, the government has been working on long term solutions to minimize damage on people and government infrastructures.

He cited the convergence project his agency is working with the Department of Public Works and Highways in building small water impounding dams in the uplands.

“If you allow rainwater to go down the watersheds it would result in flooding. But if you can impound them, the water becomes precious resource that you can use during the dry season,” Paje stressed.

According to him, the Agriculture Department has already successfully developed new rice varieties that are resilient to climate change.

He also said the DENR through its Mines and Geosciences is developing new bigger geohazard maps with a scale of 1:10,000, which will be distributed down to the barangay level.

The DENR has previously distributed more than 75,000 geohazard maps with scale of 1:50,000.

EnvironmentNatural Resources Secretary Ramon J. P. Paje rallied last week his field officials to ensure the success of the National Greening Program, saying the program has full support of the President.

“There is no reason to fail considering that President Aquino has amply given all the support this program (NGP) needs to succeed,” Paje told the regional executive directors (REDs), regional technical directors, and the provincial and community environment and natural resources officers (PENROs, CENROs) attending the 2-day National Convention of Field Officers held May 31-June 1, 2011 at the DENR Social Hall in Quezon City.

Paje also challenged the field officials “to give their best shot” as their performance in implementing the NGP will be “highly taken into consideration’ in the evaluation of officials for promotions.

“Those who will be performing will be rewarded. Wala pong biro yan,” Paje said, stressing that the field officers will be evaluated fairly based on a purely-merit system “without regard for personal ties or past associations” he has made through over 20 years at the DENR where he started his career as a casual forester.

Paje said the NGP-driven performance-based incentive scheme will first zero in on the PENRO and CENRO positions, with an instruction to DENR Assistant Secretary for Management and Finance Corazon Davis to reserve the vacant PENRO and CENRO posts as rewards for NGP’s top performers especially those that are on an acting capacity.

“If you are a CENRO, you will automatically become a PENRO. Those who are not yet full-pledged CENRO (with temporary appointment), we will make you full-pledged CENROs. Performance lamang, wala nang iba,” Paje stressed.

Of the 168 CENRO plantilla positions, 47 have yet to be filled; while 25 remain vacant in the 73 PENRO plantilla posts.

The incentive scheme forms part of Paje’s overall program to strengthen DENR’s performance-based promotion system to beef up the national leadership’s efforts in professionalizing the Philippine bureaucracy.

But Paje was quick to clarify that the quality of their performance will be determined by the survival of the seedling declared in their performance and not merely on the number of seedling planted.

“Remember, the NGP is a national priority program of President Aquino, and this is not for show but for grow. Gone are the days when tree planting activities were just to set world records or just for photo opportunities,” Paje noted.

At the same time, Paje asked “doubting Thomases” to be forthcoming this early with their hesitation to go all out to meet their targets to allow for management to act appropriately in their particular case.

“We will make sure that everybody performs. Kung sino sa inyo ang tingin ay hindi kayang ipatupad ang programang ito, sabihin na ninyo ngayon,” Paje said.

The performance-based incentive will be based on the field officials’ scorecard in the yearly targets given them and will be validated with the use of state-of-the art technology such as satellite mapping and internet-based technology through NGP’s website at the www.ngp.denr.gov.ph

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