LGUs laud sustainable dev't project

MANILA, Philippines — Several local government units (LGUs) nationwide are commending the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' (DENR) flagship program, Project TRANSFORM (Transdisciplinary Approach for Resilience and Environmental Sustainability through Multistakeholder Engagement), a multi-stakeholder initiative that aims to empower communities to combat climate change and achieve sustainable development.

Project TRANSFORM has been launched in Ormoc City in Leyte; Malimono, San Francisco and Burgos in Surigao del Norte; and Limay, Mariveles; and Orion in Bataan, Rizal province and Quezon City.

Ormoc City Mayor Lucy Marie Torres-Gomez, whose city serves as a pilot site for the project, emphasized the program's effectiveness. Having personally experienced the devastation caused by typhoons and floods, Torres-Gomez has made climate change a top priority for her administration. 

According to her, Project TRANSFORM expands on previous efforts and provides the city with useful resources like training on disaster management, greenhouse gas accounting and biodiversity profiling.

“The ultimate gratification," said Torres-Gomez, "is not only seeing the environmental, social and economic improvement in the lives of our constituents, but being recognized by the DENR as a successful case study for LGU-based climate action that can be replicated across the nation.”

For her part, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte expresses a similar view, thanking the national government for recognizing their environmental initiatives.

“Through the implementation of Project TRANSFORM in QC, we look forward to developing and enacting more green, sustainable and inclusive climate initiatives for QCitizens," she said.

This sentiment of appreciation and commitment is further reinforced by Surigao del Norte Rep. Francisco Jose Matugas II, emphasizing the project's goal of improving disaster preparedness, achieving sustainable development, and mitigating the consequences of climate change through strong public-private cooperation.

Project TRANSFORM's pilot testing areas include towns like Del Carmen, Burgos, Malimono and San Francisco, which were severely damaged by super typhoon "Odette,"