Can Philippine storm survivors hold major companies responsible for contributing to climate change?
An independent body set up 2015 to conduct an inquiry will hold its first public hearings next week in Manila, followed by additional hearings in London and New York
Veronica Cabe still remembers every minute of the more than 12 hours she and her family spent huddled on the roof of their two-storey home in Manila in 2009, as floodwaters swept past, carrying dead bodies, animal carcasses and coffins.
Typhoon Ketsana, which killed about 500 people, was the most devastating typhoon to hit the Philippine capital in decades.
As the frequency and intensity of storms increased, Cabe began to speak up about holding someone responsible.
In 2015, she became a petitioner in a landmark complaint – soon to be examined by a national inquiry – which accuses global oil, mining and cement companies of human rights violations by playing a role in driving climate change.
Next week, Cabe will be among more than a dozen experts and citizens to testify that the greenhouse gas emissions of some 50 firms infringe on Filipinos’ rights to life, food, water, sanitation and adequate housing, through the growing impacts of global warming.
“We thought we would die on that roof – it was so scary, so traumatic,” said Cabe, a 45-year-old community organiser.