This was a
momentous week for us as we were one of the recipients of The Outstanding Filipino of New York Award. I'd
like to extend my heartfelt gratitude for all of your votes, for believing in
the cause and supporting the passion that I share with my friends and
colleagues.
It was a great
honor to be recognized by my "kababayan" (countrymen) and receive an
award alongside inspiring Filipinos who are making a difference in our
communities. I commend the organizing committee of The Outstanding Filipino Americans in New York for
empowering Filipino leaders in this region and giving them a voice.
Youth are not the
leaders of tomorrow, we are the leaders of today. We have dreams
and aspirations greater than ourselves. Climate change is the greatest
challenge of our time. We felt it here in NYC during Hurricane Sandy, wefelt it in the
Philippines during Typhoon Bopha where 1,000 lives were lost and 1.2 million
people were displaced... and we have the solutions to help climate
change impacts from exacerbating. My friends and colleagues across the globe
have been working hard in implementing sustainable solutions across the globe.
I share this award with them, they have been my inspiration. I have never seen
such a committed group of young individuals, dedicating their lives to this
cause.
We need to
continue our efforts in helping to scale these sustainable solutions and
technologies-- and we need to continue to empower and support young
leaders and future decision makers who are eventually responsible for taking on
this great challenge.
"Bugsay"
is a Filipino term which means to paddle. To quote the African proverb,
"If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go
together." We have to go far, quickly. We need to
bugsay together.
After seeing the
awardees with their loved ones, it made me that wish my family was there. They
are my rock - and I couldn't have done this without their continued
support.
After an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 hit my hometown last month,
Super Typhoon Haiyan, the biggest storm in the world
this year, will hit the Philippines tomorrow. The storm is equivalent to
category 5 hurricane with winds of 315 kph (195 mph) and gusts as strong
as 380 kph (235 mph). Haiyan's high winds and rain are expected to affect
more than 25
million people.
This is serious - lives are stake. Last month,
the earthquake's force reported by Wall Street Journal to be the force of 32
Hiroshima-level atomic bombs, left 8,300 homes destroyed, 222 killed, and 350,000 displaced.
The Philippines ranks third in the list of countries
most vulnerable to climate change. We have an average of 20 disastrous typhoons
annually that cause serious damage. Last December, Typhoon Bopha, the most powerful to hit the
country last year killed as many as 1,900 people and left 1.2 million people displaced.
This stresses how crucial adaptation and resilient
measures are in the Philippines. We need to put more efforts in building and
investing in stronger coping mechanisms for these ongoing disasters.