Alliance for the Environment Pushes for Six-point Agenda

Genuine Program to Rehabilitate and Protect the Environment.

“The rehabilitation and protection of the environment have become more important and urgent as the country faces the challenges brought about by climate change.” They said the government should hold rich countries accountable for being the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases by pushing for legally-binding commitments that would effectively cut down these emissions. The government, they said, should also demand that the biggest emitters provide sufficient funds for mitigation and adaptation programs that address the effects of climate change.

They called on the government to abandon the plan to revive the unsafe Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. They added that while the Philippines’ carbon emissions are not very high, it should still do its share by developing clean and renewable energy sources.

(Photo by Anne Marxze D. Umil / bulatlat.com)

The Envi vote alliance also said extractive industries and big local and foreign corporations should be required to institute measures for the proper management of industrial and toxic wastes.

Open dumpsites that pose a threat to human health and safety should be closed, they said. The government should also upgrade, expand and develop the national sewage system, rehabilitate biologically dead rivers and ban incinerator plants.

Peace based on Justice.

Citing data showing that 27 environmentalists were killed campaigning against destructive government projects such as large hydro dams, large scale mining and commercial logging, the alliance called for an end to militarization and government support to wars of aggression to “stop the collateral damage to the environment.”

The group said that the next government should junk agreements disadvantageous to the country such as the Visiting Forces Agreement and Mutual Logistics Support Agreement that allow the entry of weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear weapons into the country. Such agreements, they said, put the people and the environment at risk. They said the government should instead pursue justice for victims of toxic waste contamination at the former US military bases, including the victims of unexploded ordinance left by joint military exercises.

Clean Governance

The alliance said there is a need to clean up the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), which has been tagged as one of the graft-ridden government agencies in the country.

“The problem about government corruption can be linked to how easily our natural resources and national patrimony are bartered away by a leadership that prioritizes foreign exchange earnings over the people’s constitutionally guaranteed right to utilize and enjoy our natural resources for the country’s benefit and development,” the Envi Vote Alliance concluded. (Bulatlat.com)