DEPUTY Speaker and Antique Rep. Loren Legarda has strongly expressed belief that climate change should be an issue in the forthcoming May 2022 elections as the country tries to recover from the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) crisis.

Guesting at the virtual Ugnayan sa Batasan news forum on Wednesday, Legarda urged candidates in next year’s polls to include climate action in their respective COVID-19 recovery plans.

“I would like to see a candidate who will really espouse the climate agenda [which is currently] not in the national conversation,” Legarda said. “Ano ang ihahain sa taumbayan para hindi na magkasakit at hindi na lumala ang ating mga nararanasan ngayon sa panahon ng tag-init, tag-tuyot at ‘yong paghihirap ng ating mga magsasaka?”

She added: “I am certain that every Filipino sees the impacts of climate baka hindi lang naa-attribute na ‘yan ay klima. So, I ask all our national candidates to lay out their climate agenda and what they’ve done in their lives for the environment or what they intend to do and can do. That would be ideal.”

According to the lawmaker from the lone district of Antique province, any pandemic recovery will only be effective if it is aligned to the climate pathway.

“Let us bring the issue of climate and environment in the national pandemic recovery,” Legarda said.

“There is no recovery from COVID-19 unless we attack it on the issue of environment and climate. A pandemic recovery is essential to our survival if we align it to the climate pathway,” Legarda said.

Legarda emphasized that the country is not starting from scratch in terms of addressing climate issues since she has “authored, co-authored and sponsored and funded laws on environment and climate” in her three terms in the Senate.

She also urged Filipinos to embrace the issue of climate, noting that “we cannot go back to business as usual before the pandemic.”

“The pandemic has given us the opportunity for a better lens—a new lens on how we look at life and live it,” Legarda pointed out.

Legarda said the climate issue is central to people’s lives and addressing it requires a whole-of-government approach.

“The issue of climate is connected to sustainable livelihoods. The issue of climate is related to rural livelihoods; the issue of climate is related to our health care systems; the issue of climate is connected to the issue of education, agriculture and fisheries,” she said.

“It (climate change) is an issue of the here and now for our sheer survival,” Legarda added.