NEGROS Occidental 3rd District Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez emphasized the use of creative industries and technology to educate the public on climate resilience.
He made the remark during a recent visit to the University of the Philippines Resilience Institute-Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards Center (UP RI-NOAH Center).
In a statement released on Saturday, Benitez’s office said he met with UP RI-NOAH Director Mahar Lagmay, UP College of Fine Arts Dean Toym Imao and former UP Film Institute director Rob Rownd to explore how the arts can elevate climate change narratives.
Benitez is the chairman of the House Special Committee on Creative Industries.
The dialogue covered flood management, the application of artificial intelligence in disaster resilience and the potential for global platforms like Netflix to shape awareness of community resilience.
”The exchange highlighted how the arts and creative sectors can help bridge the gap between science, public understanding and community resilience,” Lagmay said on his Facebook page.
The visit also emphasized that the creative sector is vital for translating complex scientific data into actionable public knowledge.
Benitez has filed several bills instrumental in climate mitigation, including House Bill (HB) 2577, which seeks to convert the UP RI into the University of the Philippines National Climate Resilience Institute.
The proposed bill would elevate the institute to national institute status, similar to the National Institute of Geological Sciences. It aims to ensure direct appropriations under the General Appropriations Act, establish permanent research positions to scale its national mandate and create a centralized Resilience Knowledge Platform to serve as a public repository for disaster data and analytics.
While the current UP RI has been instrumental in advancing evidence-based strategies, it lacks direct fiscal support from the national budget and permanent plantilla staffing.
Benitez is also the author of HB 694, or the Department of Climate Resilience Act of 2025, which proposes a primary national agency to oversee disaster risk reduction and institutionalize a National Climate Resilience Framework.
He also co-authored HB 4420, the Climate Accountability Act, which aims to protect vulnerable communities from loss and damage by establishing corporate and state accountabilities for greenhouse gas emissions.
