REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, AND VERY BRIEFLY, OF COURSE THE DENR TEAM.
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENSE, THE PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE, THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS, THE PHILIPPINE SPACE AGENCY, AND OUR CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY.

SO YOU CAN SEE, THIS IS PRETTY MUCH A WHOLE-OF-GOVERNMENT ENDEAVOR ON THE PART OF OURSELVES, AT THE DENR, AND OUR PARTNERS IN GOVERNMENT.
AND FINALLY, FOR THE PRIVATE SECTOR, THE KOREAN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL LUZON.

OUR GUESTS FROM THE PHILIPPINE TRANSMARINE CARRIERS GROUP AND THE FIRST AVIATION ACADEMY.

HIS EXCELLENCY, THE HONORABLE AMBASSADOR TULL TRAISORAT OF THAILAND,

HIS EXCELLENCY, THE HONORABLE AMBASSADOR DATO’ ABDUL MALIK MELVIN CASTELINO OF MALAYSIA,
HIS EXCELLENCY, THE HONORABLE AMBASSADOR LEE SANG-HWA OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA, OUR NASA PROGRAM MANAGER BARRY LEFER,
NASA SENIOR SCIENTIST, JAMES CRAWFORD,

MR. GANGWOONG LEE OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH OF SOUTH KOREA,
DR. JAMES SIMPAS AND DR. OBIE CAMBALIZA OF THE MANILA OBSERVATORY,

DR. GAY PEREZ OF THE PHILIPPINE SPACE AGENCY,

AND OUR COLLEAGUES IN GOVERNMENT, FRIENDS IN MEDIA, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.

TO ALL PRESENT HERE TODAY TO WITNESS THE TAKEOFF OF A SIGNIFICANT COLLABORATION TOWARDS A GLOBAL CAMPAIGN FOR BETTER AIR QUALITY.

AIR POLLUTION IS A MAJOR GLOBAL ISSUE THAT POSES SIGNIFICANT RISKS TO HUMAN HEALTH, LEADING TO CHRONIC HEART AND LUNG DISEASES, LUNG CANCER, STROKE, AND RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS. FURTHERMORE, IT CONTRIBUTES TO THE CLIMATE CRISIS AND HASTENS GLOBAL WARMING.

WE ALL WANT CLEANER AIR, AND ALL OVER THE WORLD, GOVERNMENTS ARE NOW WORKING TO PRIORITIZE THE PREVENTION OF AIR POLLUTION AS AN ESSENTIAL SOLUTION TO ONE OF THE MOST PRESSING ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS OF THE WORLD.

THE ASIA AIR QUALITY COLLABORATION IS A LANDMARK PROJECT. THE INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH INITIATIVE LED BY NASA, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SOUTH KOREA, MALAYSIA, THAILAND, PHILIPPINES AND THE UNITED STATES.

TOGETHER, WE ARE WORKING TO IMPROVE AIR QUALITY MONITORING, FACILITATING REGIONAL COLLABORATION AND DATA SHARING, SUPPORTING POLICY DEVELOPMENT, AND PROVIDING CAPACITY-BUILDING OPPORTUNITIES. TOGETHER, WE CAN CONTRIBUTE TO BETTER UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGEMENT OF AIR POLLUTION, WHICH ULTIMATELY PROTECTS THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF OUR RESPECTIVE POPULATIONS AND OUR ECOSYSTEMS AS WELL.

FILIPINOS, FOR ONE, CAN BENEFIT FROM THE ASIA-AQ PROJECT IN SEVERAL WAYS:

FIRST, WE WILL FURTHER ENHANCE OUR AIR QUALITY MONITORING. THROUGH ASIA-AQ, THE PHILIPPINES CAN GAIN ACCESS TO ADVANCED AIR QUALITY MONITORING TECHNIQUES, INCLUDING SATELLITE DATA AND ANALYSIS, GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS THAT ARE ENHANCED, AND ATMOSPHERIC MODELLING TOOLS. THIS CAN LEAD TO IMPROVED MONITORING CAPABILITIES, AND ALLOW FOR MORE ACCURATE AND COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF AIR POLLUTION LEVELS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. TIMELY AND RELIABLE AIR QUALITY INFORMATION CAN HELP FILIPINOS MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS REGARDING THEIR OWN HEALTH AND THEIR ACTIVITIES OUTDOORS AS WELL, AND IT CAN ASSIST THE GOVERNMENT, ESPECIALLY LOCAL EXECUTIVES IN THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, IN IMPLEMENTING TARGETED EVIDENCE-INFORMED INTERVENTIONS TO ADDRESS AIR POLLUTION HOTSPOTS.

SECOND, ASIA-AQ PROMOTES COLLABORATION AMONG PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES, INCLUDING THE SHARING OF RESEARCH FINDINGS, DATA, AND BEST PRACTICES RELATED TO AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT. THIS CAN LEAD TO A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF TRANSBOUNDARY AIR POLLUTION AND THE SHARING OF EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING POLLUTION. BY PARTICIPATING IN THIS COLLABORATION, THE PHILIPPINES CAN LEARN FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF OTHER COUNTRIES IN THE REGION AS WELL AS THE UNITED STATES AND CONTRIBUTE OUR EXPERTISE, BUT ALSO LEARNING FROM THEIR OWN EXPERIENCE TO ENHANCE OUR OWN DECISION-MAKING.THIS WILL LEAD TO MORE EFFICIENT AND COMPREHENSIVE AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT APPROACHES.

THIRD, THE COLLABORATION WILL ENABLE US TO STRENGTHEN POLICIES AND DECISION- MAKING. THE RESEARCH AND DATA GENERATED THROUGH ASIA-AQ CAN PROVIDE IMPORTANT SUPPORT FOR POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES RELATED TO AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES. THE PROJECT CAN HELP POLICYMAKERS AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES GAIN ACCESS TO ADVANCED RESEARCH FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS, ENABLING EVIDENCE-

INFORMED POLICY-MAKING AND TARGETED INTERVENTIONS. THIS CAN LEAD TO THE STRENGTHENING OF AIR QUALITY REGULATIONS, AS WELL AS THE LEGISLATION. THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EFFECTIVE EMISSION CONTROL MEASURES, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE STRATEGIES AS WELL ARE FOR THE MAIN CAUSE OF THE IMPROVEMENT OF OUR KNOWLEDGE OF AIR QUALITY IN THE COUNTRY.

IN CONCLUSION, ASIA-AQ MISSION PRESENTS AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE PHILIPPINES AND FOR OUR PARTNERS IN THE REGION. BY UTILIZING THE DATA AND KNOWLEDGE PROVIDED BY THIS MISSION, WE CAN ENHANCE OUR AIR QUALITY MONITORING SYSTEMS, DEVELOP EVIDENCE-INFORMED POLICIES, AND IMPLEMENT EFFECTIVE MEASURES TO IMPROVE PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL FILIPINOS WHILE COMBATTING CLIMATE CHANGE.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE FUTURE TOGETHER OF CLEANER AIR AND BETTER CLIMATE FOR ALL OF US IN THE REGION. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Published: 08 February 2024