COMMITTED to advancing inclusive and climate-responsive governance, the Quezon City Government has established its City Heat Action Team (QC-HAT) aimed at mitigating the impact of extreme heat.
Quezon City has experienced high heat indices, averaging 42 to 44 degrees Celsius, in 2024 and 2025. Based on the trends observed, temperatures may continue to rise, affecting residents’ welfare and livelihood.
Extreme heat, which greatly affects the most vulnerable members of the community, puts residents at risk of heat-related illnesses and drives higher electricity consumption that burdens the financial capacity of families. Prolonged dry periods also strain water access and raise the cost of essential goods and services.
In previous years, the high heat indices have prompted widespread class suspensions, severely disrupting education continuity.
“The city government recognizes extreme heat as a critical public health and safety emergency. It unfairly affects the most marginalized sector, specifically those belonging in the informal sector and outdoor workers who lack cool, safe, and decent housing, and immediate health services,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.
“With the establishment of a team dedicated to developing strategic actions against extreme heat, we want to strengthen our cooling initiatives and create a comprehensive Quezon City Heat Action Plan that is truly responsive and inclusive to the needs of our people,” the mayor added.
The QC-HAT is responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive strategy to mitigate the impacts of extreme heat, protect vulnerable populations, and enhance the city’s resilience to climate change brought about by heat and drought.
Mayor Belmonte serves as the team’s chairperson, with Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Department (CCESD) Head Andrea Villaroman, QC Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (QCDRRMO) Head Ma. Bianca Perez-Diamante, and QC Health Department – Epidemiology and Surveillance Division (QCHD-CESD), OIC Dr. Rolando Cruz as Chief Heat Action Officers.
Villaroman will lead the planning, coordination, technical integration, and policy support, while Diamante will head heat response coordination and inter-agency action, facilitating timely implementation of heat-related interventions. Cruz, on the other hand, will lead health surveillance, monitoring, and reporting of heat-related illnesses and their impact on citizens.
Overall, the team is in charge of developing a comprehensive Heat Action Plan, conducting vulnerability assessments in communities, implementing heat mitigation strategies, and recommending heat action policies to the City Council.
They will also engage with stakeholders in expanding initiatives and advocating solutions on heat-related issues.
In April, the Quezon City Government hosted the first Urban Heat and Drought Summit that convened key stakeholders from international, national, and local governments; technical institutions; civil society; communities; and the private sector to build a common understanding of risks, promote climate-responsive and inclusive cooling solutions to address the detrimental effects of extreme heat.
Meanwhile, the city has also designated 32 community libraries as cooling centers to help residents, especially senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and children, cope with the extreme heat brought by the worsening climate change.
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