Environmental groups, scientists, and community advocates called for stronger government action on climate change, biodiversity protection, and environmental governance ahead of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA), while expressing hope that greater public participation can help address the country’s ecological challenges.
At the “Plundered, Not Poor: State of the Philippine Environment 2026” forum held on Friday at the University of the Philippines Diliman, the speakers highlighted concerns over environmental degradation, extractive projects, and the protection of environmental defenders, while emphasizing the role of citizens and communities in advancing sustainable development.
Center for Environmental Concerns (CEC) executive director Mattie Balagat said environmental groups remain critical of the administration’s performance on environmental issues.
“Four years into the Marcos Jr. administration, the verdict of the environmental movement is definitive: it is a failure. We see no genuine climate action—only the worsening commercialization of our patrimony, the masking of corporate destruction as ‘green solutions,’ and the violent silencing of our defenders,” Mr. Balagat said.
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