Voters have the right to know, environmental health and justice advocates insist
21 April 2025, Quezon City. Voters have the right to know. Thus, said environmental health and justice groups. They urge all senatorial candidates to participate in the ongoing Green Electoral Initiative (GEI) and inform the electorate how they value the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.
Held in conjunction with the upcoming midterm elections, the GEI focuses on the senatorial bets and their views on major environmental issues facing the Filipino people and how these are addressed in their platforms, particularly in their legislative agenda.
To learn about the views of the candidates, a GEI questionnaire prepared with inputs from participating groups was provided to the candidates for them to answer. Among the groups that crafted the questionnaire were the Action on Smoking and Health (ASH Philippines), BAN Toxics, Break Free From Plastic (BFPP), Community Legal Help and Public Interest Centre (C-HELP), EcoWaste Coalition, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), Greenpeace Southeast Asia (GPSEA), Health Care Without Harm – Southeast Asia, International Pollutants Elimination Network – Southeast and East Asia (IPEN SEA), and Mother Earth Foundation (MEF).
A panel of environmental experts will meticulously evaluate and rate each candidate based on the questionnaire responses they provide. The objective is not to endorse specific candidates or political parties but rather to equip voters with the knowledge they need to discern the platforms of those running for the Senate, particularly in the realm of environmental issues.
Among the environmental health and justice issues highlighted in the GEI questionnaire are ecological solid waste management, plastic pollution and waste trade, oceans and fisheries, chemical and consumer safety, and climate and energy. Integrate the environment into the electoral platform and campaign.
The questions that senatorial candidates are requested to answer and elaborate on include the following:
1. Would you back current proposals to support the burning of waste for energy (“waste-to-energy” projects) and repeal the incineration ban in the Clean Air Act and the Ecological Waste Management Act?
2. Would you support the full implementation of RA 9003 or the Ecological Waste Management Act and mainstream the practice of zero waste programs across the country?
3. Would you champion the passage of a strong bill that will honor and advance the rights and dignity of waste workers and the informal sector?
4. If elected, would you support regulating plastic tarpaulins and other pollutive and toxic campaigns or advertising paraphernalia to protect human health and the ecosystems?
5. Would you champion or support a ban on single-use plastics (SUPs) including sachets, plastic straws and cutlery, plastic bags and other inappropriate and polluting packaging?
6. Would you champion or support legislation to implement Reuse and Refill as primary solutions to the plastic pollution crisis, either via amendments to the Extended Producer Responsibility Act or in the form of a separate piece of legislation?
7. If elected as Senator, would you support the Philippines signing and ratifying the Basel Convention Ban Amendment and thereby prohibit the importation of plastic and hazardous waste into the country, even for recycling purposes?
8. Would you support the passage of a national law to facilitate the restoration and preservation of mangroves and beach forests across the archipelago to combat coastal erosion and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change?
9. Would you support proposals to amend the Fisheries Code (RA 10654), specifically opening up municipal waters or areas within 15 kilometers from the shoreline (reserved for small-scale and subsistence fisherfolk) to big and commercial fishing firms?
10. Would you support calls to permanently stop reclamation (dump-and-fill) activities and seabed dredging for reclamation to protect the country’s coastal ecosystems and marine biodiversity?
11. If elected, would you be willing to lead and champion legislative measures that can help advance the Global Framework on Chemicals in the Philippines towards a healthy and sustainable society that is safe from chemicals and waste?
12. Would you support legislation that will decrease tobacco and vape tax rates? Are you in favor of banning the selling of vapes, or at least the single-use, disposable vapes?
13. In line with the consumers’ right to know, would you support legislation that will direct the government to publish a list of chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm, and require companies to provide warnings on products sold offline and online that contain such chemicals to guide consumers in making informed choices?
14. Are you in favor of recent proposals to promote the use of nuclear power as an energy source in the country, including the possible rehabilitation of the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant for this purpose?
15. Are you supportive of proposals to slow down the phase-out of coal power plants in the country?
16. Are you supportive of proposals for the expansion of the fossil gas industry in the country?
17. Would you support increasing the percentage share of renewable energy in the country’s power mix to 50% by 2030?
18. Would you support the Climate Accountability Bill (HB 9609 & HB 10478) or CLIMA Bill which seeks to institute policies and systems to address climate change, establish the necessary institutional mechanisms for the protection of most vulnerable communities from loss and damage in the country, and provide for corporate and state accountabilities and reparations for violations?
19. Would you support the establishment of more protected or dedicated bicycle lanes across the country?
Candidates are likewise asked to disclose their environmental track record, including sponsorship and voting history in Congress (if applicable) with respect to environmental legislation. They are further asked to reveal if they or any of their immediate family members have been involved in or benefited from environmentally destructive projects in the past.
