Liberal Party Senatorial candidate and environmental advocate ‘Teacher’ Neric Acosta is alarmed over the El Niño phenomenon drying up farms—another environmental calamity with grave socio-political implications affecting the country.
“Farmers from all over the country have been complaining that the drought is affecting their crops and forcing them to find other, expensive sources for water,” Acosta
points out. “The El Niño and global warming are major threats to food security.”
‘Teacher’ Neric Acosta also fears that the drought will increase the propensity of fraud and money politics in the upcoming elections. “Threats of power failure or brownouts during elections may lead to a failure of elections, cheating or sabotage. The drought, on the other hand, will lead to hunger and desperation and, thus, make vote-buying a more viable option for candidates with the resources,” Acosta says.
‘Teacher’ Neric Acosta calls on Filipinos to nurture the environment with sustainability in mind—especially since the environment is the social security system of the vast majority of the poor.
***
'Teacher' Neric Acosta remains committed to bringing environmental issues to the forefront. While he was in Congress, Acosta was the principal author of the groundbreaking Clean Air Act, which served as a model for environmental legislation in Asia. He also authored laws on clean water and solid waste management. Together with other key environmental leaders, he is a convener of the Philippine Imperative on Climate Change.
