Ang mga taga-Batasan Island sa bayan ng Tubigon sa Bohol, ramdam ang unti-unting paglubog ng kanilang isla!
Ang kanilang kalsada at basketball court kasi, naging instant swimming pool na! Maging ang mga eskuwelahan, lubog sa tubig sa tuwing nagkakaroon ng high tide.
Si Jessica Soho, lumipad papuntang Bohol para alamin ang kanilang sitwasyon.
Ano ang ginagawang paghahanda ng mga residente at ng lokal na pamahalaan kung sakaling tuluyan nang mabura ang kanilang isla sa mapa dahil sa banta ng nagbabagong klima?
Gaano nga rin ba kahanda ang Pilipinas sa epekto ng climate change?
Ang kanilang kalsada at basketball court kasi, naging instant swimming pool na! Maging ang mga eskuwelahan, lubog sa tubig sa tuwing nagkakaroon ng high tide.
Si Jessica Soho, lumipad papuntang Bohol para alamin ang kanilang sitwasyon.
Ano ang ginagawang paghahanda ng mga residente at ng lokal na pamahalaan kung sakaling tuluyan nang mabura ang kanilang isla sa mapa dahil sa banta ng nagbabagong klima?
Gaano nga rin ba kahanda ang Pilipinas sa epekto ng climate change?
Category
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FunTranscript
00:00 Climate change is real.
00:04 It's unacceptable.
00:06 Because of the excessive use of fossil fuels,
00:10 such as oil, gas, and coal,
00:13 the world is getting hotter.
00:16 It's flooding.
00:17 The ice is melting in cold places.
00:21 As a result,
00:22 the water level in our oceans is increasing.
00:26 The former glaciers are now submerged,
00:30 just like some islands in the Bohol Basin.
00:35 There are exactly 7,641 islands in the Philippines.
00:44 But the number is becoming less and less.
00:55 Because there are so many small islands
00:59 that are slowly being flooded by the sea.
01:02 We can see from these studies
01:04 that most of the Philippines will experience
01:06 a certain degree of rising sea levels.
01:08 The islanders of Batasan Island
01:13 in the town of Tubigon in Bohol
01:15 have their entire barangay
01:17 along with other island barangays
01:20 over the years.
01:23 [water gurgling]
01:25 [speaking in Tagalog]
01:27 [speaking in Tagalog]
01:29 [water gurgling]
01:31 [speaking in Tagalog]
01:33 [speaking in Tagalog]
01:35 [speaking in Tagalog]
01:37 [speaking in Tagalog]
01:39 [speaking in Tagalog]
01:41 [water gurgling]
01:43 [speaking in Tagalog]
01:45 [speaking in Tagalog]
01:47 [speaking in Tagalog]
01:49 "There are parts where the water level is high."
01:52 Not only the land is sinking into this situation,
01:58 but also their houses, livelihoods, and dreams.
02:05 "Oh, my God, it's so deep.
02:08 On the Kindergarten and Grade 5, compared to this, it's thinner.
02:13 This is deeper.
02:15 Their shorts are slippery because the water reached the chair.
02:21 They even squatted on their chair because the water still reached it."
02:26 "You said you're holding it in because you want to finish your studies."
02:31 In the face of a changing climate, how prepared is the Philippines?
02:38 "Communities like the law are being tied up.
02:41 Where are we really going?
02:43 Whose fault is that?"
02:44 [Music]
02:48 "We are here in Tubigon, Bohol.
02:52 There are six island barangays.
02:55 And what's important is that four out of six islands are sinking.
03:02 It's a disaster."
03:04 "On this Thursday, when I expected high tide in Batasan Island, I headed to the island."
03:13 "So, this is the Batasan Island in Tubigon.
03:17 In the distance, here in what we can see, you can see the island's appearance.
03:23 It's at high risk because there is no elevation.
03:27 In fact, the island's elevation is below sea level."
03:30 "There, the water is coming in."
03:36 "We arrived there 10 minutes before 10 a.m.
03:41 But the water is high.
03:43 It's even higher than the expected high tide of 11 a.m.
03:49 If you look at the aerial map of Batasan Island, which is the most affected barangay in Tubigon,
03:56 you will notice that only a small land mass is left.
04:01 It's a thing that is being feared by almost 1,000 residents here."
04:06 "Oh my, you're still like that. Thank you."
04:09 "They even have a welcome poster.
04:12 Thank you, bossing.
04:14 Did you do that?
04:16 Thank you, thank you."
04:17 Like other island barangays in Tubigon, the life of the residents of Batasan Island is hard.
04:24 In fact, their Bakawan is very beautiful.
04:28 "If we're going to timeline the disaster that happened here in Batasan Island,
04:34 this house will serve as a marker.
04:37 Because this house, they said it's very beautiful."
04:41 "It's moving. It's moving!"
04:43 "We're going."
04:44 "It's moving.
04:46 It's moving. Is that an aftershock?"
04:49 "But when it hit the province of Bohol in 2013,
04:54 they noticed that the level of the land that the house is being kept on is going down.
05:00 It even reached the level of the sea.
05:04 Now, when you look at it, it's like it's been swept away by the sea."
05:08 "That house, before it was swept away, it had two rooms."
05:12 "That's a beautiful house, ma'am."
05:14 "It has an air-con."
05:15 "It's a rest house, like a vacation house."
05:17 "It's a vacation house. It has an owner."
05:19 "When it was swept away, the land went down to the water. Is that how it is?"
05:25 "Yes."
05:26 "Where is the owner now, ma'am?"
05:27 "They don't live here anymore. They're in Saminlan."
05:31 "So, there are people who relocated."
05:34 "The houses here are like the houses on stilts that we saw in Tawi-Tawi,
05:43 and other low-lying places.
05:46 It's not like this before."
05:48 "How far was the sea before?
05:51 The sea didn't go in here?"
05:53 "No, it was just up to the back of the house."
05:59 "It's gone. It's gone past the bottom of the boat."
06:02 "My boat is heavy because it's full of water."
06:05 "The boat is being swept away because there are parts where the water level is high."
06:11 "So, there's only one solution."
06:14 "The boat is being stopped."
06:16 For more than a decade, the residents of Batasan Island have been used to the rising water level.
06:28 "Is it like this every day or not?"
06:31 "After one week, it's low tide. Then, next week, it's high tide."
06:37 "There's a week of low tide."
06:39 To monitor the tides or the rise or fall of the water,
06:44 the houses here don't lose their calendar.
06:48 "We know that when we go there, we look at the calendar."
06:52 "Oh, my father has a pen."
06:56 "I don't think it's wet here. Everything is wet."
07:00 "Everything is being swept away by the sea water."
07:02 "It's like high tide or low tide. This is how their life is."
07:06 "How are you? Are you okay?"
07:12 "Yes, I'm okay. I'm just worried about the sea."
07:15 "What did the captain say?"
07:20 "The sea is like a ball of sand."
07:23 "It's like a medicine for the sea. That's what they say."
07:26 "Grandma, it's dirty. The garbage is mixed."
07:30 And because they don't have big rocks to block the water from the sea,
07:38 they use piles of corals that are also damaged in their ocean.
07:45 Because of the corals, the fish live and lay eggs,
07:49 and they are affected by the sea, including their livelihood.
07:53 To prevent the garbage from entering their houses from the sea,
07:58 they put a mud.
08:01 "Grandma, that's a different kind. You're throwing it away in the water."
08:05 "Yes."
08:06 "We have to clean it. No matter what."
08:10 "What if you don't have money to spend, grandma? There's no garbage."
08:18 "Why are they throwing it away? I really want to throw it away."
08:23 "I thought the grandma was different.
08:27 But it turns out that they still throw away the water in common practice
08:31 so that the garbage won't enter."
08:34 "But it will come back. We should just collect it, especially the plastic."
08:40 "Are you catching fish or garbage?"
08:47 "Garbage."
08:48 "Garbage. You're catching a lot of fish."
08:51 "Because if we throw it away, it will come back."
08:54 Their basketball court is submerged, but the residents are still playing.
09:03 The road is an instant swimming pool.
09:08 In the water, there are fish in the road and the water is called "tangkig".
09:16 "This is not a place for people to die. It's not like Tiguaw."
09:21 "They're making a house. How are you doing there?"
09:29 "Your house was submerged. So you're making a new one?"
09:35 "We're just borrowing."
09:37 "Borrowing to make a house. How much did you borrow?"
09:45 "Porti."
09:47 "How many floors does your house have?"
09:49 "Just this one."
09:50 "Just this one. But the water will reach it. I'm not sure."
09:53 "Just this one. Up to there."
09:55 "The children are still taking a bath.
10:02 Even though there's still a little bit of happiness.
10:05 The children are swimming.
10:08 The sea is just there. It's already in their house. It's already in the backyard.
10:13 "They're painting."
10:15 "Yes, painting. Because the fish are near here."
10:17 "But the water will reach it. It's okay."
10:20 "It's okay."
10:21 "Are you Ma'am Mirasol? Is this your house?"
10:27 I met Mirasol here, in Batasan Island, where she was born and raised.
10:33 Back then, they didn't reach the water, even high tide.
10:41 But now, from living room, kitchen, to bed, the sea is letting them in.
10:47 "How can you live like this, when the sea is letting you in?"
10:51 "It's hard."
10:52 "How do you cook, eat? How do you sleep?
10:56 The sea is just there. You can go in anytime."
11:00 "We can sleep, but sometimes, when the sea is at night, we can't sleep."
11:04 "Oh, the sea is letting you in even at night?"
11:07 "If the sea is high, our bed will reach the sea. So we can't sleep."
11:14 "If it rains, we'll put it in the basin. We'll drink it. It's clean. It's from the sky."
11:23 "Do you have kids here at home?"
11:26 "Yes, we do."
11:27 "How do you take care of them?"
11:28 "We'll just carry them when the sea reaches the bed."
11:33 "When we eat, we'll put it in the basin. How do you keep it up?
11:38 Now, it's up to 2 meters. How do you keep it up?"
11:42 "We'll just put it in the basin."
11:48 According to the residents, they started noticing the gradual sinking of their barangay in 2013
11:57 when the Buhol province was hit by a strong tsunami.
12:02 "The island is about to disappear. How can it disappear?
12:05 We're worried. We prayed that it wouldn't disappear."
12:09 Aside from the 2013 tsunami, the 2021 Odep tsunami seems to have made the island sink even more.
12:18 Aside from Batasan Island, other islands have also sunk, such as Ubay, Inanuran, and Bilang-Bilangan.
12:26 "The geological setting of Buhol is mostly limestone."
12:31 "When there was an earthquake, it rose. Unfortunately, Batasan is one of the areas that sank."
12:36 "This phenomenon of water, we call it caused seismic uplift or subsidence."
12:44 "The North Buhol Fault is the reason why the islands in the Buhol area sank."
12:51 "It's a combination of the movement of land and the rise of water due to climate change."
12:56 "The global average is 3.2 millimeters per year."
13:00 "Buhol, based on our records, is 10.8 millimeters per year."
13:05 "So it means that it rose three times faster than the global average."
13:09 "The question is, how did you manage to educate the children?"
13:29 "The children are still learning."
13:31 There is one thing that remains unabated.
13:38 The dream of the children to finish their studies.
13:42 "Hello, good morning."
13:50 This is where I met Teacher Lisa, a teacher at Batasan Elementary School.
13:56 The entire school was submerged in water.
13:59 "Ma'am Lisa, how did you teach in this situation?"
14:06 "The children were really distracted. They didn't listen."
14:09 "It's hard to teach."
14:11 "Yes, ma'am."
14:12 In other classrooms, the equipment is already being damaged.
14:17 "I'm just a new student. One year and six months."
14:25 "I learned from my students that this is how you do it."
14:30 "Put the equipment on top."
14:33 The students, if they're not wearing slippers, just choose to use their feet.
14:44 "How do you save the reading materials if the water is entering like this?"
14:51 "We put it there, ma'am. On the higher part."
14:56 "You just save it."
14:58 "Because when it rains, you can't read."
15:07 "So their modules, their teaching materials, they save it."
15:14 "Who knows ABC?"
15:17 "Me."
15:18 "Okay, game."
15:19 "What's the game?"
15:21 "G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z."
15:36 When I went to the other classroom, I was able to reach deeper water.
15:42 "Oh my God, it's so deep."
15:44 "In Kinder and Grade 5, compared to this, it's deeper."
15:52 "Hello, ma'am. Hello, teacher. Good morning, students."
15:57 "Thank you."
16:02 "Look, the students are just sweeping their shorts."
16:08 "Because the water reached the chair. Look, she's raising her shorts because the water reached it."
16:16 "She's not sitting on her chair anymore."
16:19 "How can you study like this, when you're submerged in the water?"
16:24 "I'm used to it."
16:26 "She's used to it."
16:27 "Do you want to move to a class full of non-bathing students?"
16:30 "I don't want to."
16:32 "I don't have a guard. No one will watch over me."
16:38 "It's not safe for the children, but we can't do anything if it's this high tide. We just fight."
16:47 "Even though they're in a difficult situation, they still continue to study."
16:54 "Studying is one of the keys for them to succeed, to get through this situation."
17:03 "We always ask for this to be elevated."
17:08 But even though the students' shorts are submerged in the water,
17:13 their dedication to study still remains.
17:17 They will strive for education.
17:21 "My dream is to become a nurse to help people who are sick."
17:26 "She's squatting on her chair because the water is still reaching it."
17:32 "But you said you're holding it in because..."
17:35 "I'm holding it in because I want to finish my studies."
17:37 "She's holding it in because she wants to finish her studies."
17:41 "Very good. Let's go to the next one."
17:42 "Study well, okay?
17:45 "This is not what you're going to do when you grow up. I hope you'll find a solution."
17:52 "We're used to it. We'll just adjust."
18:06 This is the case of the submerged islands, not only in Bohol, but also in other parts of the Philippines.
18:15 Including some parts of Bulacan, Mindoro, Rojas City in Capiz, and in Cotabato City.
18:23 According to Greenpeace East Asia,
18:27 due to the 13.24 mm rise in the water level in Manila Bay,
18:33 we don't just notice it, but Metro Manila is also sinking by 10 cm every year.
18:41 "A new report was released by an insurer in Europe."
18:45 "The Philippines is the most vulnerable to climate change."
18:49 "With almost 3% of GDP being lost every year because of climate impact."
18:55 "We have a report that showed that by 2030, the chance of water entering Manila is higher due to the sea level rise."
19:05 Since 1880, it was estimated that the sea level rose by 21 to 24 cm worldwide.
19:17 According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of America,
19:21 the sea level rises by 3.4 mm every year.
19:27 In fact, even our neighbor Indonesia, which is also an archipelago like the Philippines,
19:34 has already moved its capital from Jakarta to Nusantara in Borneo
19:41 due to the gradual sinking of its coastline.
19:46 "The process of climate change is normal, but we can see that due to the actions of people,
19:52 climate change is accelerating in historical levels."
19:56 Another indication that the effects of climate change are really bad is global warming.
20:05 According to experts, it can be considered as global boiling due to the rise in the temperature of the world.
20:14 That's why global warming is so hot here in the Philippines.
20:20 "There's a report that showed that April temperatures are the highest in recorded history.
20:28 1.58 degrees higher than pre-industrial average, which is the average temperature of April."
20:34 "This is just a trailer. What will happen in the Philippines?"
20:38 "Our wet seasons will be more unpredictable, but it's really glaring."
20:42 "If we continue with how we run our business on fossil fuels and our carbon emissions don't decrease,
20:50 we're looking at 365 days of extreme heat, all year round. That's how bad it is."
20:56 "Everything will get worse before it gets better.
21:01 That's why it's really urgent to call for our carbon majors to be accountable for what they're doing in the world today."
21:10 The Tagaritos have been in the hands of the government for a long time,
21:13 and it's time for them to leave the island again.
21:17 Because of the extreme heat, the forces of nature cannot be stopped.
21:23 But for the Tagaritos, it's easy to say, but difficult to do.
21:28 Because this is where they were born, where they found their families, where they found their livelihood,
21:33 and where their ancestors were.
21:36 This is where they started.
21:39 The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has long declared the Batasan Island as uninhabitable.
21:50 "There's no hope of saving the island."
21:53 "As of now, it's not yet... It's already submerged."
21:58 "What do you see as the immediate action in the disaster response?"
22:04 "The islands are being declared as no-build zones.
22:08 We are really encouraging them to relocate.
22:11 The LGU can't fund it.
22:13 Fortunately, we have a grant from the National Housing Authority worth P50 million.
22:20 And it's going to be 60 units for each family."
22:25 "So all the families?"
22:26 "Not all, ma'am."
22:27 "How many families so far?"
22:29 "60 only, but the affected is like 300."
22:33 But when I asked the residents of the island if they were ready to move,
22:39 many of them said that if they were to be settled here, they would die here.
22:45 "We'll just move here. We don't have any land."
22:49 "You won't be able to live on the land?"
22:51 "No."
22:52 "Some people don't want to leave, even if you give them something."
22:55 "You, do you want to leave?"
22:58 "No, ma'am."
22:59 "You're having a hard time, but you still don't want to leave."
23:01 "Yes, because our children are here.
23:04 Our parents are here while they are dying."
23:08 "Why don't you want to leave, even if the situation is like this?"
23:11 "We are used to it, ma'am.
23:13 Because we are looking for a place to live here on the island.
23:17 We don't know how to move to the mainland."
23:20 "It's better if we have a house in the mainland.
23:24 If there's a storm, we have a house there.
23:30 If we have money, we can buy land.
23:33 But if we don't have money, we'll just stay here."
23:36 "They don't want to leave.
23:38 Of course, the island has a sentimental hold on them."
23:42 "Generation to generation, they live there.
23:46 That's why they have a sentiment that it's not easy for them to relocate
23:52 because their grandchildren are already there."
23:56 "We can do something, right?"
23:58 "We have what we call the Paris Agreement.
24:00 This is one of the biggest agreements between governments around the world
24:04 that commits to cut down carbon emissions.
24:07 On the other hand, the problem is that while the emissions are being cut down,
24:11 the companies don't want to change.
24:13 So we need to support and broaden the call for carbon majors to be replaced."
24:19 "It's a phenomenon.
24:20 We might not be able to do anything.
24:21 It's only a matter of adaptation for the residents there."
24:25 "Communities like Batasan are being tied up.
24:28 The call now is that we need to support these communities in a big way
24:35 because the fight of these communities is our future."
24:41 To stop global warming or the continuous warming of the world's temperature,
24:51 the use of fossil fuels must be reduced.
24:55 The rich and powerful countries are refusing to do this
24:59 while the small and not rich countries like the Philippines
25:05 are more vulnerable to the consequences of climate change,
25:10 like the stronger typhoons.
25:13 Talk about the problem.
25:15 Be serious so that it won't sink.
25:19 [Music]
25:25 Thank you so much, Kapuso.
25:27 If you liked this video, subscribe to the GMA Public Affairs YouTube channel.
25:34 Don't forget to hit the bell button for our latest updates.
25:39 [Music]