About | PH HAIYAN

Why Climate Resilience Matters for Tacloban

Tacloban City has stood as a symbol of both vulnerability and strength in the face of climate change. The devastation brought by Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 was a wake-up call, revealing the urgent need for sustainable and science-backed solutions to mitigate the impact of extreme weather events.

Building climate resilience means ensuring that our communities are prepared, adaptive, and sustainable—able to withstand and recover from typhoons, floods, and rising sea levels. It requires a comprehensive approach that includes proper urban planning, flood control systems, environmental conservation, and community-driven disaster preparedness.

At PH Haiyan Advocacy, we envision Tacloban not just as a city that recovers from disasters, but as a leading model for climate resilience in the Philippines and beyond. Through collaboration with experts, government agencies, and grassroots organizations, we strive to promote sustainable policies, innovative infrastructure, and a culture of preparedness that empowers every Taclobanon.

By making Tacloban a model for climate resilience, we are setting a standard for other vulnerable communities to follow—because no city should have to endure the level of devastation we’ve experienced. The time to act is now.

Our Story

PH Haiyan is an advocacy established in the aftermath of Super-Typhoon Haiyan (local code name: Yolanda). ST Haiyan was the strongest recorded typhoon to ever make a landfall in history, hitting Central Philippines with winds in excess of 300 kilometers per hour. The wind and the subsequent storm surge it caused hit a wide swathe of the Eastern Visayas Region, with Tacloban's City as "ground zero". The city, which is promontory, was engulfed by the sea from three sides. The maelstorm caused by the rushing waters and violent winds ruined homes, wrecked properties, and drowned thousands not just in Tacloban but in the nearby towns of Leyte and Samar. The devastation was so extensive that it caught attention of the global community. Foreign media, aid workers and even the military of other nations came to cover the tragedy and help in the city's reconstruction, respectively. Meteorologists and climatologists also arrived even before the storm made landfall, and they personally witnessed how ferocious the wind was. The scientist pointed out the fact that its speed and force was hitherto unprecedented and they warned that because of climate change, such super-typhoons would be the "new normal".

Among the people who saw the necessity to adapt to the harshly changed environmental conditions was Mr. Pete L. Ilagan, himself a survivor and firsthand witness of the super-typhoon's destructive power. A long-time conservationist and nature lover even before these terms become fashionable, Mr. Ilagan inquired with Local Government Authorities concerning their plans on environmental rehabilitation and strategies on mitigating the effects of climate change. It turned out that even in Tacloban City, such plans and strategies were non-existent.

Mr. Ilagan decided to act as a concerned citizen to fill in the vital gap. He reached out and coordinated with several like-minded survivors and environmental advocates, soliciting ideas on how to help in the rehabilitation of the environment, and hopefully come up with a plan in capacitating the City and its communities to be resilient in the face of stronger storms and other adverse effects of climate change. In his efforts, Mr. Ilagan was introduced to Dr. Eulito V. Casas Jr., a professor or environmental science at the UP Tacloban. Dr. Casas shared Mr. Ilagan's advocacy. The core group of the advocacy was soon formed. They came from the academe, legal, NGO, religious, and even health care sectors. Dr. Gil Asoy, a neuro-surgeon, Dr. Samantha Cainhug, Monsignor Alex Opiniano, a Catholic Priest, Mr. Armonio Paa, Mr. Jess Gariando, Atty. Raffy Acebedo and Atty. Kenneth Fabila were among the first members of PH Haiyan. Upond advice of Mr. Paa, the Regional Director of the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), an Advocacy Cooperative was formed and registered with the CDA registration certificate number 9520-108000000029242 in 2015.

The advocacy is anchored on developing Tacloban into a model city for climate proofing and resiliency by redesigning systems around adapting defense and emergency response to natural resources.