Various civil society networks have banded together to organize a series of forums for senatorial candidates to elaborate their “green” agenda.
At least seven among May 2022 elections candidates for upper house posts will be sharing their position and legislative plans on the environment, climate emergency, and disaster risk reduction, across three different forum schedules: March 30, April 6, and April 13. Each forum will start at 10:00 and will run for two hours.
The forums are organized by the Philippine Misereor Partnership, Inc. (PMPI), Ecowaste Coalition, Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO), Disaster Risk Reduction Network Philippines (DRRNetPhils), the National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA)/Caritas Philippines, and the De La Salle University. These will be livestreamed online.
The series of forums aim to give voters an alternative means to scrutinizing candidates and their platforms and policies to address environmental degradation, pollution, waste, disasters, climate change, and a just and green development paradigm.
“Our world is changing, and not for the better. Our climate and environment are in decline, causing loss and damage to our economy and society that no short-term, band-aid solutions can fix. We need radical transformations of our systems and structures,” a unity statement “Panawagan para sa Maka-Pilipinong Agenda ukol sa Klima at Kalikasan” signed by various civil society organizations and network stated.
The networks of CSOs are calling on all Filipino votes to join the “clamor for systems change, especially the promotion of a just and green development paradigm: where economic development and growth can no longer be at the expense of the environment but directed towards sustained progress that prioritizes planetary and peoples’ health.”
Two more candidates have yet to confirm on top of the seven. Senatorial candidates scheduled to participate include: March 30- Lawyers Alex Lacson and Chel Diokno, with former Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat (tentative); April 6 – Lawyers Sonny Matula and Neri Colmenares, with Sen. Antonio Trillanes III (tentative); and for the April 13, the last schedule of the series of forum, lawyers Luke Espiritu and Jopet Sison with environmentalist David D’Angelo will be present.
