SAN JOSE, Antique - Representative Luzviminda Ilagan of the Gabriela Partylist put emphasized the impact of climate change not only to women and children but to humanity in general as she spoke during the culmination program of Women’s Month celebration in Antique yesterday.

This is in reference to this year’s theme “Women Weathering Climate Change: Governance and Accountability, Everyone’s Responsibility”.

“Weather is changing drastically to the extent that we are not only experiencing two seasons in a year, the wet and dry season but also the wetter and drier season (la nina and el nino phenomenon). The worst is that we don’t know what time of the year it will occur”, she said.

Women and children are most vulnerable to these climatic changes but in general humanity suffered, she explained.

Most importantly, she said, this does only happen in the Philippines but throughout the world.

As human beings we have a great role to protect and conserve our environment. This is an urgent call to everyone, she said.

Ilagan urged local government units to make a stand to protect the environment just like other provinces in the country who had declared their area a mining free zone. She also challenged local officials to enact ordinances to prevent unabated destruction of resources.

Likewise, she echoed the call for calamity and disaster preparedness of individuals and communities.

On the otherhand, Ilagan disclosed the passage of house bill to declare March 8, an International Women’s day, a holiday in the country. She hopes that the Senate can pass its own version and by next year it will be approved. *PIA