NEW YORK—In a steady, unflinching voice, Marinel Ubaldo told a story of a life torn apart by a powerful typhoon and set the tone for a hearing in New York City by the Philippines Commission on Human Rights in an unusual investigation about corporate responsibility and climate change.
As the first to testify on Thursday, Ubaldo recounted the horror of witnessing buildings topple and debris flying as Typhoon Haiyan swept through her village in Samar, killing 11. The category 5 storm reduced her home to a heap of rubble that buried her most precious possession—a box of medals and certificates that helped frame her identity as a good student—and left behind a family torn apart by the struggle to rebuild. In all, the monster 2013 storm killed 6,300 in the Philippines.
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| The human toll of Typhoon Haiyan was steep in Tacloban, Philippines in 2013 and now a human rights investigation eyes the role of fossil fuel companies. |
She explained how her father, a fisherman, had trouble catching enough fish even when he sailed farther out to sea. Her mother abandoned the family saying she couldn’t handle it anymore. Ubaldo was 16.
Read the Climate Liability News story by Ucilia Wang - “Human Rights Hearing: Emotional Testimony, No Oil Industry Response.”
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