(L-R) Mr. Ranell Martin Dedicatoria of ICLEI SEAS, Mr. Sunandan Tiwari of ICLEI World Secretariat, Pasig City Mayor Bobby Eusebio, Parañaque City Environment and Natural Resources Office Assistant Head Mr. Isabelo Mojica, Jr., Department of Environment and Natural Resources Assistant Secretary for Policy and Planning Service Corazon Davis, and Marikina Planning Officer Mr. Jun Aguilar signed the Ceremonial Commitment Board for the Ambitious City Promises project.

Pasig City, Philippines: Pasig, Parañaque, and Marikina have officially signified their commitment to the Ambitious City Promises (ACP) during the project’s launch today at the Joy-Nostalg in Pasig City.

Present during the launch are representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, League of Cities of the Philippines, ICLEI Southeast Asia Secretariat, and ICLEI World Secretariat.

Development partners from Rappler, World Wildlife Fund for Nature-Philippines, and Climate Reality Philippines were also present during the leveling-off workshop held on November 27 at the same venue.

Launched before a global audience on October 20 at the Seoul Mayors Forum on Climate Change, ACP is a three-year regional project supporting cities in Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam to operationalize local climate action through an active and inclusive stakeholder engagement strategy.

Through ACP, Pasig, Parañaque, and Marikina will receive assistance from ICLEI- Local Governments for Sustainability and Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) in establishing and implementing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions strategies, taking into account the cities’ development pressures and local context while also emphasizing the importance of citizen engagement and working with relevant national ministries.

Drawing inspiration from the “Promise of Seoul,” a mitigation plan with the aim to reduce 20 million tons of GHG emissions by 2030, the project will be in close coordination with SMG.

Ambitious cities committed to scaling up local climate action

Pasig City Mayor Bobby Eusebio emphasized the importance of improving the resilience of Pasig City and its residents.

Mayor Bobby Eusebio of Pasig City expressed full support for the project; citing that ACP could be an instrument in integrating climate strategies into the city’s planning processes. Focusing on their citizenry, the mayor said, “We would also like to strengthen how we engage with our citizens so that they are able to take part in crafting an ambitious climate action plan, something we’d like to call “City Promises.” Pasig City is committed to establishing ambitious climate reduction targets and engaging our citizens to achieve these goals.”

City Environment and Natural Resources Head Mr. Isabelo Mojica Jr., speaking in behalf of Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez, confirmed the city’s eagerness to participate in the project, citing this as “a worthwhile peer-learning opportunity with Pasig and Marikina.”

Planning Officer for Marikina, Mr. Jun  Aguilar, speaking in behalf of City Mayor Marcelino Teodoro shared the city’s hopes to “secure our path towards low emission development by building a culture of community participation and respect for the environment.”

National government agencies represented by the DENR assured continuous support and cooperation for the project’s three-year implementation.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources Assistant Secretary Corazon Davis assured the cities of the department’s continuous support for the project and future activities. Lauding the cities’ noted programs on local climate action, the Assistant Secretary deemed Pasig, Parañaque, and Marikina as “trailblazers when it comes to environmental sustainability.”

“We are not reinventing but rather, we are continuing the momentum that these cities have done in safeguarding their environment and striving to make their cities livable and sustainable.”

Regional Program Manager of ICLEI SEAS Mr. Ranell Martin Dedicatoria explained that the implementation of ACP, in cooperation with the ICLEI World Secretariat and ICLEI East Asia Secretariat, aims to integrate low carbon emission considerations in the development planning of Philippine cities. He further explained the role that citizens play in this initiative, “…we aim to help strengthen cities’ public engagement, vis-a-vis, responding to climate change. We adhere to the principle that when we are able to engage more citizens, together, we can drive climate action.”

ACP is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) through the International Climate Initiative (IKI) program.

The executive summary of the outcomes of this activity can be downloaded here.