CLIMATE CHANGE MORE THAN A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN ISSUE - LOREN

"Climate change and its effects are not just campaign issues that every candidate pay lip service to," NP-NPC-LDP vice presidential candidate Loren Legarda said on Wednesday. "The next administration will have to actually do something about it. And that's a big challenge."

Legarda, who's in Mindanao with running-mate Manny Villar, said campaign sorties proved to be more than just vote-getting political exercises. They could also give candidates a first-hand learning experience as well. "Win or lose, any candidate who takes to the campaign trail with eyes wide open will get a closer look at the problems in many parts of the country. They should be able to see that through all the welcome streamers and cheers and applause," Legarda said. "And what he or she has learned should be useful in his career as a civil servant."

One of the most pressing current issues, of course, is the effect of El Niño-induced drought, which has destroyed huge chunks of the country's food supply and caused a power crisis with sources of hydroelectric power drying up.

"That's something that should cut across all party lines," Legarda, who vows to be a "green VP," said. "It's primarily a science and technology issue. Of course, it would take a stong political will to explore possible solutions, both short and long term, and implement them."

Legarda has been warning public officials of the destruction that extreme climate change could bring to the country, long before the election campaign started.