By RHAYDZ
B BARCIA
LEGAZPI CITY: The adverse impact of climate
change due to global warming is more destructive and challenging than the armed
conflict, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Emmanuel T Bautista told Albayanos recently
“Disaster
is more dangerous and destructive due to climate change than the armed
struggle. Remember typhoon Pablo in Mindanao?
Natural disaster occurs in just a split second so we must be prepared,”
Bautista said during the commemoration of Albayano heroes of national
liberation held at Bicol
University here.
“This is
more confronting than the armed conflict that’s why we’re giving high priority
by integrating climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction management
to our programs and projects for us to be able to respond to the public and
protect the environment for our generations,” Bautista pointed out.
The AFP
chief said that although the military’s primary task is to protect the state
and the people, there is also an urgent need to focus on climate change and
address it through the spirit of the Bayanihan to cushion the brunt of harsh
climate.
Bautista,
the man behind the counter-insurgency program called Internal Peace and
Security Plan (IPSP) or “Bayanihan,” said that through this program, peace, development, and environmental
preservation become attainable if all sectors of the society, including “our
brothers in the hills” work together toward a common goal.
“We’re
appealing to our brothers in the hinterlands—the New People’s Army — to stop
the arms struggle and instead lay down their arms and help us work together to
address the adverse impact of climate change,” Bautista said, adding that “our
problem today is not armed struggle but the need to unite in pulling off peace
and progress.”
Bautista
flew to Albay to grace the Memorial Day for Albayano Heroes of National
liberation. AlbayGov. Joey Salceda presented an award to Bautista at the Climate Change Academy
here in recognition of his deep commitment to address the impact of climate
change and mitigate adaptation measures.
The
provincial government of Albay led the memorial for Albayano heroes as one of
the highlight events of the month-long Magayon Festival here.
Salceda
said that the Memorial Day is a tribute to local heroes in Albay who
assiduously offered their lives to liberate the people from the hands of the
oppressors.
He
stressed that the legacies of the brave men and women who fought for freedom of
the province should be remembered to promote awareness among Albayanos the
contributions of local heroes and in turn appreciate their heroic deeds to
foster unity and enrich national pride.
Replica
statues of these four local heroes were paraded and highlighted during the
civic-military parade and wreath laying ceremonies at the Bicol University
oval.
The local
heroes honored here were General Jose Ignacio Paua, General Simeon Arboleda
Ola, and Camilo Jacob.
Gen Paua
is the Filipino-Chinese revolutionary sent by Emilio Aguinaldo to the Bicol
Region in 1899 to raise funds for the newly-established Philippine Republic
while Ola is the last revolutionary general from Guinobatan, Albay to surrender
to the Americans in 1903.
Camilo
Jacob was a photojournalist from Polangui who was among the eleven of the 15
Bicol Martyrs who died by the Spanish firing squad on the same spot in
Bagumbayan, Manila (now called Luneta) were national hero Jose Rizal was
executed.
Also
highlighted was the sesquicentennial (150th) birth anniversary of Andres
Bonifacio, the Father of the Philippine Revolution.
According
to Salceda, Bonifacio who married an Albayana, lived in Albay between 1895 and
1896 to work and recruit members for the Katipunan.
A rare
Bonifacio monument was long erected in Sto. Domingo, Albay when it was the norm
for almost every town and city in the country to erect monuments in their
plazas exclusively for the more popular Dr Jose Rizal. – Bicol Mail
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