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SMNI Truth That Matters

Welcome back to Business and Politics. We're talking to Mr. Glenn Banaguas.

We're talking about how to, you know, make the most number of people aware of what to do, right?

And what comes to my mind is really education, right?

And that's part of what you do, right?

You have this platform, right? And if you had an opportunity to talk to individual households,

what are some of the things that they can do that will have a big impact on climate change?

Okay. Honestly, because I cannot do it alone.

Right.

Yeah, I cannot do it alone. And that's the reason why we also partner with different organizations.

For instance, the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities.

PAPU.

PAPU, yes. And part of our partnership is because I cannot travel all the time.

Sure.

So if I train them, we call it the training of trainers.

If I train them, so they will be the ones to take care of their own community, their own provinces, or their own municipalities.

So you train them to do the assessment.

Yes.

And then focus programs based on the outcome of those assessments.

Yes, absolutely. Because for every particular, for example, the problems in the zone are totally different in Visayas and in Mindanao.

So you don't recommend solutions that are suitable for an urban center to a rural area.

Yes, cannot be, yes.

Okay.

So it has to be site-specific.

I see.

And like what I mentioned, we have to do it comprehensively. The assessment has to be done comprehensively.

So it's not because this is what the mayor wants, this is what the governor wants.

Right.

No, it doesn't work that way.

Now, is there room maybe to recommend to people now reviewing the education curriculum, the basic education curriculum in the Philippines?

Is that something that should be part of the basic curriculum?

Yes.

And then what are some of the practical things that maybe you've seen elsewhere that can be done here in terms of designing basic education?

Yes, we did that. If you recall, again, I'm going to go back to Yolanda.

Sure.

I was part of the team, the research team that made recommendations why there should be a change in the school calendar. It was actually my recommendation.

Okay.

That was during the time of…

You mean changing it back to before or changing to what it is now?

Now, to August.

Okay.

From June to August.

Okay.

Remember, it's in 2013, thousands of people died, right?

And part of our recommendation, actually, it's a project, our project with the Commission on Higher Education or CHED.

Okay.

And as far as I remember, it was mentioned by the former chairman, Patricia Likwanen.

Okay.

So, she didn't want the people, the students who were affected or victims by Yolanda to graduate.

Yeah.

Just, oh, the reason why I graduated, because I'm a victim of Yolanda.

So, she doesn't like that.

So, what she did, okay, even though there are victims, we can do something about it.

They have to work on it.

And that's the reason why we made modular programs or modules for them.

I see.

And part of the recommendation during that time was to…

Change the calendar.

To change the calendar.

So, they're not exposed to the typhoon season.

Absolutely.

But, you know, what's happening this year or what happened this year, you know, we had the El Nino.

Yes.

We had a severe summer.

And there's now people pushing back to, hey, maybe the old school calendar made sense because you want to spare the children now for extreme heat.

Is that a valid argument?

Actually, probably they were not aware why there was a change before.

Okay.

They forgot that there was a Yolanda.

Yeah.

They forgot that there was Yolanda.

And most of the tropical cyclones that entered par, the Philippine Air Responsibility, the rainy season…

Was during…

In June.

During, yeah.

Yes.

June, July.

Yeah.

So, we provide, during that time, we provided the Commission on Higher Education the list, I mean, the science, number of tropical cyclones, which particular month.

And that's the reason why we were able to convince them to move it to August.

I see.

Now, we have the El Nino.

But, you know, El Nino doesn't happen every year.

Yeah.

The rainy season happens every year.

But the rainy season, it happens every year.

Yeah.

So, maybe if we can sit down with them together, especially those people who want to change it again, then we can provide science why there was a change, why there was a shift from June to August.

Rather than reacting to current events.

Absolutely.

I want to, you know, I want to bring into the conversation the diplomacy component.

Yes.

Because, you know, part of your job as an educator, you work with the Foreign Service Institute to train our career diplomats on science diplomacy.

Yes.

But, tell us more about the diplomacy part of your work.

Yes.

Yes.

Every year, I get invitation from the FSA.

So, yes, I'm one of their trainers.

I'm one of their speakers.

These are speakers for the science diplomacy.

Specifically, there are some environmental diplomacy.

So, this is where I teach our cadets.

Our career diplomats, yeah.

The career diplomats on how they're going to, you know, how they're going to be aware about environmental impact assessment.

So, I teach them EIA, environmental impact assessment, the environmental management system, or the EMS.

That also includes the climate diplomacy.

So, those are the subjects that I teach.

Does it require a specialist or is it something that, you know, diplomats should be generally aware of?

Because, as you said, there are facilities that are devoted to climate change mitigation.

There are, of course, offices, global organizations that deal with this problem.

Do we need diplomats specializing in climate change issues, climate change relationship between states?

Yes, they have to.

Yeah, because, for example, in terms of negotiation.

So, are we going to recommend a science-based policy if you're not aware about, you know, if you're not aware about the science of climate change?

I see.

Especially in terms of negotiation.

So, people will tell you, oh, these are the impassabilities of climate change.

But if you ask them, you know, the knowledge.

Right.

How, the knowledge about climate change.

They can't even tell you what climate change is all about.

Right.

So, we have seen this.

So, sorry to say, but we have seen that.

They are not knowledgeable enough.

Right.

And this is the reason why it has to be integrated in the FSI.

So, that's the kind of training that you provide.

When you say you've seen that, would you say that there's opportunity lost?

Right?

That, you know, that was presented because we weren't as knowledgeable, I would say,

or our diplomats were not as knowledgeable on the issues that maybe we did not get as much, you know, programs, resources as we could have.

Is that something that had happened already?

Yeah, because they have good writers.

Okay.

They have good writers.

They have good researchers.

Okay.

But like what I mentioned, it's not enough.

What if somebody asked you, right?

I see.

But if somebody, if you're there, but if somebody asked you the details of it and you cannot answer them,

it's not really good for the country.

But, you know, this diplomacy part, does that merely require our diplomats going up to, you know, big polluters like, say, maybe the United States and say,

you know, the UN says you're supposed to be devoting 1% of your GDP to poverty and climate change, right?

And you're not doing it.

Is that what should be done by our diplomats?

Because I mentioned that we have an organization, the ASEAN Science Diplomats.

Congratulations on that award, by the way.

Oh, thank you so much.

Yes, thank you.

Yes, we have the ASEAN Science Diplomats.

I mentioned that we provide trainings to our outstanding scientists and engineers, not just to use science,

but these are the people who are going to help their policymakers to use science in their policymaking.

So, yeah, that's part of what we have in the ASEAN Science Diplomacy Program.

So one of my ASEAN Science Diplomats is now a Director General in Cambodia in the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Science and Technology.

So some of them are now, they are no longer scientists.

I mean, they're scientists, but they are now with the government agencies.

So that's one thing.

And like I mentioned, I think I mentioned this a while ago, they come here every year for the training.

And part of the training is I expose them to the communities because I told them,

so how will you develop or how will you recommend a policy if you don't know what is happening on the ground?

You start with a grassroots level.

So now they know what they're going to do.

I'm just curious.

Do you ever encounter a situation where you go to the grassroots and then they rebuff you because,

ah, that's the problem in Metro Manila, that's the problem in other countries, you know, we're doing okay.

How do you convince them to participate?

How do you convince them to be on board?

Are you talking about the Science Diplomats?

No, no, I'm talking about the people in the grassroots.

Actually, every time we go there, they're happy.

I do that though, probably because I am loud.

I perform funny antics during the training.

But you know, like what I mentioned, aside from that, it's about touching their hearts.

So every time we go there, we see to it that we have to establish that connection.

To do the intervention.

Because we don't want to be like any other organization.

Okay, you go there, you interview people.

Or they say, here are some Manila boys, they're telling us what to do.

We don't want to be like that.

We don't want to be like that kind of organization.

We see that there is heart on it.

The approach will be a connection, a heart-to-heart connection with our stakeholders.

So may they be local government, may they come from the local government units,

from the local people.

We see to it that there is a connection between us and the people there.

So it's a matter of empowering them what they need to do,

and how they're going to come up with their own solution.

Because, like what I mentioned, we don't travel there every day.

But training them and telling them what needs to be done, it is a spark.

It's stimulating their passion that they can make a difference, whatever their status is.

Right.

So that's very interesting.

Is there something else that maybe people who are also concerned about climate change,

what can they learn from your work that maybe they can replicate?

What's the easiest thing to do if they're also interested in doing something similar to what you're doing?

Well, I always tell them, so every time I give talks,

I always tell them that you don't have to be like me.

You don't have to be a scientist, you don't have to be a lawyer.

You give me an ordinary citizen who's concerned?

Yes, even the ordinary citizen.

You just have to create a spark with them.

And probably because that's the thing that we do,

to touch their hearts and transform their lives in a way that they will be able to understand,

ah, this is what is happening to us.

And we'll be the ones to discover how we're going to do it.

Can you distill that into maybe a simple recommendation?

I mean, for example, we've written in Manila Times that maybe one of the things that needs to change

is consumer behavior, which we talked about a little earlier,

that maybe we need to be a little bit more cautious about how much we consume, right?

I mean, we talk about renewable energy and all of these other good things,

but if we don't change the way we consume,

then we're going to be in a similar boat regardless of these major interventions, right?

Is there something that ordinary people can do you'd like them to do to make a difference?

Yes, it really depends on the sector, for example, Manila Times.

So before I make a presentation, I mean, okay, this is Manila Times,

so I need to do some research, initial research about your company

so that I will be able to connect.

It's really very hard, for example, I'm doing other things,

and you're from this industry.

It's hard, right, if I tell you the things that you should do.

So I always start with, I do research about the company,

so before I make a presentation, and that's where I start.

That's where I start with the connection.

That's interesting.

You just don't go in with a set of recommendations.

You talk to them first.

But, Lenzo, it's been a pleasure talking to you, as always.

Very interesting work that you're doing.

Thank you.

Before we go, maybe you'd like to leave a brief message for our viewers?

Oh, wow.

A brief view, okay, and advice.

Well, if you really want to make a difference, you don't, I think I mentioned this,

you don't have to be a scientist.

You don't have to be a lawyer.

You don't have to be a politician.

You don't have to wait.

You don't have to wait.

I mean, you have to act now.

So you keep on inspiring a lot of people.

Like, for example, in Climate Smart Philippines,

that particular program is more than science, more than technology, more than innovation.

It's really about connecting to a lot of people,

inspiring them to make a difference, regardless of their status.

And one last time, before, you said where can they go to get more information?

What's that, sir?

They can go to our Facebook.

Okay.

It's the Environmental and Climate Change Research Institute.

Yeah.

Okay, Glen, thank you very much for your time.

Thank you.

And I'd like to thank our viewers watching this program today,

and those watching the replay.

I'd like to thank also Pastor Abuelo Kibuloy for making this program possible.

This has been Business and Politics.

I'm Dante Clincan, and I will see you next week.

Glen, thank you very much.

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