In a move to address the pressing issue of climate change, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong issued Executive Order No. 154, series of 2022, creating the Climate Change Council. At the forefront of these initiatives is Saint Louis University’s President, Rev. Fr. Gilbert B. Sales, CICM, who has been appointed as one of the Members of the Climate Change Information Education Campaign Committee.
The Climate Change Information Education Campaign Committee consists of:
- Chairperson: Arch. Donna G. Rillera Tabangin, City Planning and Development Officer
- Co-Chairperson: Superintendent, Division of City Schools
- Members:
- Dr. Corazon L. Abansi, President, University of the Philippines-Baguio
- Rev. Fr. Gilbert B. Sales, President, Saint Louis University
- Dr. Nancy M. Flores, President, University of the Cordilleras
- Engr. Javier Herminio D. Bautista, President, University of Baguio
- Dr. Margarita Cecilda B. Rillera, President, Baguio Central University
- Secretariat: City Government and Parks Management Office
This development stems from the mandate in Republic Act 7160, also known as the Local Government Code of 1991, which calls for local governments to create their own Local Climate Change Action Plans consistent with the National Climate Change Action Plan. According to the executive order, “The City Government of Baguio recognizes the importance of synergy between and among all departments, agencies concerned, and the private sector to combat the impacts of climate change and to arrive at effective climate change mitigation and adaptation programs and projects.”
Moreover, the “scientific community has provided mounting evidence of an impending global warming crisis, primarily driven by the accumulation of heat-trapping gasses in the atmosphere”. This phenomenon has far-reaching and, in many cases, irreversible consequences, affecting not only the environment but also society and the economy.
Mayor Magalong spearheaded the formation of the Climate Change Council. This council is responsible for several essential functions, including the Local Climate Change Action Plan Committee (LCCAP-C), the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan Committee (CDRRMP-C), the Climate Change Project Planning Committee, and the Climate Change Information Education Campaign.
