THE Philippine Red Cross (PRC) on Wednesday called for stronger climate collaboration to enhance resilience in vulnerable communities. ​“Climate resilience requires systems coordination. Coordination is the key, but it remains a challenge. It requires policy alignment. It requires trust across institutions. And it requires sustained dialogue that moves us beyond silos,” PRC Secretary General Gwendolyn Pang said in her keynote address at the Climate Resilience Multi-Stakeholder Forum in Pasig. ​Pang highlighted the increasing unpredictability of weather systems and the intensifying effects of climate hazards, noting these have far-reaching impacts on public health, livelihoods and infrastructure. ​During the forum, the PRC, along with Plan International Pilipinas and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Philippine country office, signed the country coordination mechanism aimed at strengthening community capacity through partnerships with the public and private sectors. ​Pang said the initiative with the Z Zurich Foundation initially focused on flood resilience programs but has since expanded to address rising heat levels. ​“Since there are more risks that we are experiencing, especially, for example, with the rise of the heat that we have experienced from recent years, we have shifted that to include climate resilience, climate in general, and a specific focus also on heat. So then, the goal here is to really help the communities with the mitigation and adaptation to climate risk and climate change,” Pang told The Manila Times. ​She stressed the need for communities in disaster-prone areas to understand the early warning signs. ​“They have to actually be the lead on the ground in terms of their own safety, their own preparedness,” she said. ​“For small enterprises, like small sari-sari stores, we can help them also to move to a safer place. The roofing of the house — we can also teach them and help them to reinforce that before they are devastated. It’s really about empowering the community, making them own it. Not just informing them, but really giving them the tools, giving them the capability to also help them address [it],” Pang added.