EXPECTEDLY, “ENVIRONMENT” WAS not a sizzling dish to serve voters in the just concluded election, as in the past. Being of science-and-education character, it is regarded elitist and even cerebral, lacking the punch, drama, and palpability of issues like basic commodity prices, unrealistic wages, housing, social services, education, transport costs, justice for the poor. Most candidates, unsurprisingly, had to connect to the stomach and heart above all, to lure the precious votes.
Only Loren Legarda can brag about pounding on it as candidate, senator, and congresswoman in over 25 years with her stellar TV journalism career helping her a lot to bring down the issue to the grassroots.
Later, Pia Cayetano then Cynthia Villar also got the environment committee chairmanship in the Senate but fell short in being branded as strong advocates for key environment issues. Though they authored or supported some landmark laws, their sincerity and credibility were also occasionally suspect due to their stands on non-environmental practices like reclamation projects and land conversion from rice fields to subdivisions.
MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS
Over the years, a good number of environment laws have emerged from several congresses, with resolute lobby and resource support from advocates and academic experts. Major ones include the Clean Air Act, Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, Clean Water Act, and others addressing wildlife, toxic substances and hazardous waste control, climate change, food security, mining, and the national integrated protected areas system. (A complete list of environmental laws and policies in the Philippines is available at greendevsolutions.com.)
New laws are expected to be proposed due to the alarming climate crisis and the demands of an ongoing sustainable development path.
Voters, especially the youth (ages 18-44) which comprised over 60% of the election demographics… should keep watch and see they have not been wrong in their voting choices.
GREEN AGENDA 2025
Barely three months before the May 12 election, Caritas Philippines launched Green Agenda 2025, a comprehensive advocacy platform for the government to respond to urgent environmental problems that on the whole addresses environmental protection and sustainable development.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines asserted it in a pastoral statement then a coalition of various civil society organizations emerged to promote the Green Agenda at two fronts, executive and legislative. Time though was too short to let it make a dent in the voter selection of environmental candidates in the ballot.
The 11-point Green Agenda 2025 identified preservation of ecological integrity and biodiversity, natural resource and land use management and governance, agricultural sustainability, waste management, climate justice, rejection of mining and other extractive activities, clean energy transition, pro-people and pro-ecology sustainable development, protection of Indigenous Peoples’ (IP) ancestral domains, building of disaster-resilient communities, and integration of sustainable development and Laudato Si’ in education.
There are laws also cited including climate and power-specific policies the coalition hopes to propose for the winning legislators to push.
CHALLENGES TO RECENT ELECTION WINNERS
With the election noise over and the streets almost cleared of campaign litters, the May 12 winners – senators, house representatives, and local government units – can soon get down to brass tacks and render public service, including in the area of environment protection.
Some pressing issues are related to climate change and energy use, food security, natural resources extraction, and disaster adaptation and mitigation.
Voters, especially the youth (ages 18-44) which comprised over 60 percent of the election demographics, and are the generation to suffer the consequence of an imminent climate crisis, should keep watch and see they have not been wrong in their voting choices.