If only we break out of the cocoon of our usually parochial concerns, if only we stop being myopic and take some time to look far beyond our shores, we may be startled to realize that we are thoroughly out of synch with the concerns of the outside world preoccupied with issues confronting mankind, and, in sharp contrast, such relevant and timely issues tend to highlight our being insular in outlook as a people.

Take, for instance, the fact that for a country widely regarded as the cradle of "People Power" movement we have been eerily voiceless on the peaceful protest marches in Myanmar spearheaded by the revered and peaceloving Buddhist monks.

At least, from one Asean country to another, we could have earlier lent our voice to the growing clamor of other nations for a peaceful dialogue by the military junta with the non-violent protesters to avoid bloodshed. Such an opportunity, as of this writing, has been overrun by fast-moving events with the ruling junta clamping down on freedom advocates.

Or, to go global, we can cite the fact that for the first time in history just last September 24, 2007 the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon convened world leaders to tackle at the highest level the challenges of climate change. The point here is to show the reality that ostrich-like we are so cooped up in our little world, embroiled in never-ending political discord – and, mindlessly, we can keep doing it at the risk of being economically marginalized.

Anyway, the aforesaid international event titled "The Future in our Hands: Addressing the Leadership Challenge of Climate Change" was meant to strongly express the collective will of world leaders in addressing the global issue of climate change. Those who spoke in four simultaneous plenary sessions exploring varied thematic areas were world leaders, heads of delegation, civil society and business leaders.

The UN Secretary-General fittingly described climate change as a "defining issue of our era." Moreover, according to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations, the effects of climate change are now upon us and already being felt in various regions of the world. Impacts of global warming, in fact, have been observed particularly in ecosystems. Alarmingly, the arctic or polar cap is rapidly warming thus putting at risk water supplies.

The IPCC has likewise warned of changing weather patterns that threaten to exacerbate floods, sea level rise, extreme weather events, desertification, drought and – this one should really sound the alarm bells – food insecurity.

For a developing economy like ours, and being basically an agricultural country coupled with the fact that we are burdened with a ballooning population, the issue of ensuring or increasing food productivity, together with clean water, should always be a top agenda for our national leaders and policy makers.

In light of this objective, let us strive to put in place social safety nets to cope with disruptions in climate while strategies to adapt to climate change must be formulated and implemented vigorously. Although we are not a major contributor to the worsening greenhouse gas emissions like highly industrialized countries in North America and Europe, developing countries like the Philippines will be hardest hit.

That inconvenient truth, in a sense, is one of the injustices of climate change. But it will be less inconvenient and unjust if we see our national leaders working together to put our house in order to make sure that we will adapt to inescapable climate disruptions.