Understanding and coping with climate change: Not the media’s responsibility alone

On September 19, Tropical Storm Mario (international name: Fung-Wong) hit the Philippine Area of Responsibility. The state weather agency, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), placed Metro Manila and nearby provinces under red warning signals, indicating the possibility of severe flooding. PAGASA said Mario, which enhanced the southwest monsoon, had dumped a month’s worth of rain in Metro Manila.

The media reported on Mario’s onslaught, how it “shut down” and “swamped” the metropolis and displaced thousands of residents in low-lying areas.

As of September 30, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council had tallied the cost of the devastation at Php3.3 billion, with 18 individuals reported dead, 16 injured, and four still missing.

A few days after Mario battered Luzon, President Benigno Aquino III participated in the United Nations Climate Change Summit Plenary in New York and addressed the impact of climate change in the country.

The media reported the event, but failed to provide comprehensive reporting on the main issue at hand, which is climate change.

The Center for Media Freedom & Responsibility monitored three Manila broadsheets (Philippine Daily Inquirer, The Philippine Star, and Manila Bulletin), four broadcast news programs (ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol, GMA-7’s 24 Oras, TV5’s Aksyon, and 9TV’s 9 News) and online news sites from September 19 to 26.

 

Same old reporting

Not much has changed in the media’s disaster reportage despite ongoing changes in the global and Philippine climate. The news reports still focused on the event and not on the issue. On September 19 and 20, journalists focused on the number of deaths, the cost of damage, the number of families affected and areas flooded, the number of boats used in rescuing trapped residents, the areas that experienced power outages, the number of roads and bridges that were not passable, and the cities placed under a state of calamity.

There were also reports on the cost of assistance needed for relief operations and the donations received from several stakeholders including media companies.

Broadcast news programs showed video clips and photos of inundated areas in Luzon. Reports showed streets that had become waterways, the overflowing of La Mesa dam, submerged vehicles, buildings, and subdivisions, and motorists and pedestrians trying to cross the flooded streets to get to their destinations.  A report from TV Patrol even said Mario’s heavy rains had turned Metro Manila into a “Baha (Flood) Republic.”

There was a surplus of reports on the flooding, but only a few discussed its deep rooted causes. While some mentioned the areas prone to flooding, extensive reports on changing climate conditions and its consequences were lacking.

There were also very few reports on possible solutions to prevent flooding.  Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Francis Tolentino told the media that “while the amount of rainfall and climate change are also factors behind flooding, the inundation experienced in parts of Metro Manila was caused by garbage.”

Tolentino said incineration can solve problems with flooding in urban areas. But incineration is prohibited by the Clean Air Act of 1999. Under the law, incineration or the “burning of municipal, biomedical and hazardous waste, which in process emits poisonous and toxic fumes,” is banned. The media did not look into the issue further and did not discuss the pros and cons of the said “solution.”

 

More reports online

To their credit, some online news sites did a good job in reporting the UN climate summit and the issue of climate change. Before Aquino delivered his speech in New York, Rappler released reports on what the President should highlight in the summit and made some suggestions on what the government must do to mitigate the effects of climate change. Rappler and InterAksyon interviewed stakeholders who extensively discussed the issue. Interviewed were the Climate Change Commission, the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, and Aksyon Klima Pilipinas, Greenpeace, the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, among others.

An article in GMA News Online, “Walking the talk: The UN Summit and Aquino’s climate legacy,” said: “In the ‘new normal,’ climate change is already loading the dice for stronger and more frequent typhoons and other extreme events. The warming waters are not only providing more fuel for storms; the oceans are acidifying and killing coral reefs in the process. The sea levels across the country are rising three times more than the global average, according to the World Meteorological Association, which will also elevate (sic) storm surges.”

While online news sites provided better reports on the issue than television and print by interviewing citizen groups and movements, there is still a need for the media to find experts who can explain what climate change is, how it is related to the frequency or severity of catastrophes such as flooding, and what can be done to mitigate their impact. Journalists should continue to tap information resources such as PAGASA, Project NOAH, and the Climate Change Commission to discuss the issue.

 

Climate Change Act of 2009

The Philippines enacted Republic Act 9729 on July 27, 2009 in response to the urgent need for action on climate change. RA 9729, also called the Climate Change Act of 2009, mandates the “mainstreaming of climate change into government formulation of programs and projects, plans and strategies, and policies, creation of Climate Change Commission, and establishment of Framework Strategy and Program for climate change.”

Information on what the Commission has achieved so far was missing in most reports. Only a few mentioned its importance and reported on the actions being implemented.

The Inquirer on September 22 published “Campaign on to save ‘cleanest’ river in PH” which talked about the Cantingas River in Romblon as a natural hydroelectric power source. The report said that since 2010, the Cantingas River has been supplying 90 percent of Sibuyan Island’s electricity. The report, however, did not look into the importance of developing renewable energy resources such as solar, wind, biomass, hydro, and geothermal to prevent or reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuel energy.

Another Inquirer article, “Speaking as one voice on climate change,” published on September 26, suggested that environmental experts start discussing with agriculture officials some adjustments on the farmers’ planting and harvesting seasons. The piece added: “Health officials need to be aware of future threats to health by changing weather conditions. Education officials need to adjust the school calendar and discuss how they can better instill environmental awareness among students.”

 

Reviewing PAGASA’s warning signals

Aksyon on September 19 addressed the need to report in layman’s terms the meaning of the color-coded rainfall advisories from PAGASA. The anchor suggested that the government should again review its warning signals and change it in a way the public could better understand. The reporter, meanwhile, further explained what the red, orange, and yellow rainfall advisories mean and what the public should expect once their areas are placed on such alerts. The reporter added that they (the media) were also confused. She said: “Kapag sinabi kasing yellow, flooding in low-lying areas. Pero pagdating ng orange, flooding is threatening. So di natin mawari kung ito bang sa yellow, may baha na ba ito, pagdating ng orange, nagbabanta pa lang ba ang pagbaha?”

What this suggests is that the media’s shortcomings may not all be the media’s fault. Confusion and lack of understanding among the media ranks, in the context of the need to meet deadlines and news quotas, often results in inadequate, haphazard and even inaccurate reports. In this time of climate change, which in the Philippines has intensified the impact of typhoons and floods, the need to improve the media’s knowledge is urgent. This is a responsibility that cannot be left to the media alone; the relevant agencies involved in the effort to meet the challenge of climate change have to share the burden.