Three artists against climate change

MANILA, Philippines - Singer Armi Millare, actor Ping Medina, and singer-lawyer Pocholo Labog recently joined Oxfam in Surigao del Sur to help launch its Women@theCenter program.

In the Philippines, Oxfam works on livelihood projects and information campaigns on disasters like floods, earthquakes and typhoons, which are believed to be caused by climate change.

Together with local government units, Oxfam has reaches out to far-flung areas to talk about climate change and disaster risk reduction.

The three artists became active supporters of Oxfam because of their personal experiences during tropical storm “Ondoy“ which submerged in floodwaters portions of Metro Manila and nearby provinces almost a year ago, and awakened concerns on the complex problems related to climate change.

Millare, the vocalist and keyboardist of Up Dharma Down, recalled how her family’s house in Provident Village, Marikina City was virtually swallowed by floodwaters as Ondoy unleashed its fury.

Her family and neighbors never imagined they would become isolated from the rest of the metropolis for several weeks without electricity, potable water and food.

After several hours of non-stop heavy downpour, Millare recalled seeing floodwaters rising – first it covered the street in front of their house, then water seeped in their gate, then into their house, first the ground floor, then up the stairs and finally it engulfed their entire house.

“My neighbors were on top of their roofs for more than 15 hours screaming for food and help, and I could hear the rescue teams roaming around the village but never saw them coming,” Millare recounted.

 Millare’s personal experience prompted her to be an active volunteer of Oxfam, helping the non-government organization in its campaign to make people adjust and adapt to the environment which has been adversely affected by climate change.

“There’s no way we can stop disasters but there’s something we can do to mitigate the effect,” she added.

Like Millare, Medina and Labog are also actively helping Oxfam propagate concern on the environment.

Though Medina was not directly affected by Ondoy but he has a lot of friends living in Marikina City, Pasig City and Rizal province, areas which were submerged under floodwaters for several days, even weeks.

Medina, son of veteran actor Pen Medina, stars in several ABS-CBN soap operas including “Tayong Dalawa” with Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson and “Aswang” with Jolo Revilla.

The actor made sure to help victims of the typhoon by starting the volunteer group called Barangay Soup Kitchen, which served hot chicken arroz clado and pan de sal to victims of Ondoy.  

Glenn Maboloc, Oxfam media coordinator, said the three artists had been helping them in their efforts to educate people about climate change even before Ondoy, but after the devastating effect of the typhoon, the three actively participated in Oxfam activities and even joined them in far-flung barangays to disseminate information on climate change and how to adapt to it.

Maboloc added, Millare, Medina, and Labog have attended several seminars about climate change initiated by Oxfam so they will be able to personally know about climate change and what they can do to mitigate its effect.

Maboloc said the presence of popular personalities always helps draw huge crowds and therefore can help Oxfam maximize their reach in every community they visit for information dissemination.

During the visit to Sitio Mahaba in Brgy. Langka, Hinatuan town in Surigao del Sur, the three artists drew a big crowd who wanted to see them, hear them perform and talk to them about their everyday activities.

Sitio Mahaba is a three hour drive plus 15 minute boat ride away from the town proper of Hinatuan and most of the residents are fishermen.

While government agencies are talking about modernization and computerization, Sitio Mahaba still does not have electricity and source of potable water.

 During the dialogue, the artists encouraged residents to speak their mind on their daily activities and what they observed in the community in connection with their environment. The residents actively participated in the dialogue with the artists and representatives of Oxfam.

Marie Madamba-Nuñez, Oxfam climate campaigner, said Women@theCenter would help indigenous women in Surigao del Sur by giving them the proper education to adjust and adapt to the environment and climate change.

“Gender adaptation actions range from identifying women’s vulnerabilities, increasing women’s participation in establishing mechanisms for community protection and supporting women’s leadership in resource management and sustainable production system,” said Nuñez.

Nida Rizalado, president of the People’s Organization in the island of Sitio Mahaba, said climate change is felt in their island through the quantity and quality of fish catch.

“Dati marami kaming nahuhuling isda kahit maliit lang ang bangka namin, iba na talaga ang panahon ngayon, konti na nga ang isda, maliit pa (Before, we could catch a lot of fish even if we only had a small boat. It is different now – there are only a few fish and they are small),” she said.

Rizalado led about 80 residents of Sitio Mahaba during the dialogue with Oxfam and other concerned organizations like the Center for Empowerment on Research Development on Climate Change.

“We really need the assistance of the national and local government and non-governmental organization to be able to adapt to the climate.”

Aside from fish, locals get their livelihood from growing seaweeds. But, many of them observe fewer and lower quality of large algae.

Residents also observed the temperature of seawater, which turned warmer than usual, and apparently affected the quality of their harvest.

With the initial information gathered from the dialogue, Nuñez suggested residents needed to grow their seaweeds in a deeper area of the sea to be able to achieve the right water temperature for their growth.

Lourdes Tibig, climate change scientist, said there have been projected changes in the frequency and severity of extreme climate events together with an increase in the risk of fire, especially during Summer.

Tibig, a retired meteorologist/climatologist of PAGASA, is spearheading the climate change adaptation research for the Oxfam project.