SURIGAO CITY – Due to the impending effects of global warming and climate change, the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) Monday mobilized its field offices to work “hand-in-hand” with school authorities in a massive information drive to mitigate catastrophic incidents that may occur during calamities.

The DoST directed all its regional, provincial and city offices to involve the academe as a major target for massive information dissemination drive and source of possible researches that could mitigate the ill-effects of global warming and climate change.

The DoST posted an alarm on the clear evidence of global warming and climate change especially with the aftermath of dreaded typhoons like “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” which killed several lives and destroyed billions of pesos worth of properties, infrastructures and agricultural crops.

Some of the inputs that will guide the students include the advocacy for a clean environment and its sustainability.

“The program is a holistic environmental advocacy that focuses not only on lobbying for the passage of environmental laws, but also insuring that these laws are implemented,” said Lyndo Villacorta, regional director of DoST Northeastern Mindanao.

Students must know their role in the alarming amount of waste and other environmental destruction that can contribute to the alarming global warming and climate change, he added.

In a related development, at least 32 teachers from national high schools in Southern Mindanao region underwent a three-day seminar-workshop on climate change as the DoST sees the need to heighten the awareness of teachers and school children on this global environmental issue.

“DoST is committed to working constructively for a global agreement to mitigate climate change, and is leading the way by taking ambitious actions on its own.” said Southern Mindanao DoST Regional Director Anthony Sales.

In partnership with the University of the Philippines-Mindanao and the Philippine Association of Japanese Ministry of Education Scholars (PHILAJAMES) – Mindanao Chapter, the national high school teachers were briefed on the concepts and local context of climate change.

A workshop on the production of visual/learning materials was done on the second day.

On the 3rd day, the teachers were able to present their Teaching-Visual Materials as one of their outputs. Another output was a Resolution/Position Paper signed by the teachers for submission to the local government unit (LGU).

Sales hopes that the principles can serve as discussion starters or launching points for scientific inquiry and as part of the science curricula to increase awareness.