Starting with our ballot

By James Jimenez

In Philippine politics, where the voters’ attention is often pulled this way and that by various issues and shifting priorities, voters usually underestimate the importance of a candidate’s stance on environmental issues. This oversight is alarming considering the country’s susceptibility to the impacts of climate change. With the rapidly worsening threat of rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and environmental degradation arising from the misuse and abuse of our natural resources, the importance of prioritizing environmental concerns in elections simply cannot be emphasized enough.

The Philippines is no stranger to the perils of climate change, and yet we remain one of the most careless in our stewardship of the earth. For proof of this, one need look no further than the garbage-choked esteros of Metro Manila, or the indiscriminate conversion of mangrove forests to commercial fishponds, or the opening of a resort right in the middle of what ought to be an environmentally protected area. Aggravating this cavalier attitude towards the environment, is the inescapable fact that we are – as an archipelagic country with a tropical climate – uniquely vulnerable to the adverse effects of global warming.

According to the 2022 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Philippines faces escalating risks, including more intense typhoons, prolonged droughts, and coastal inundation due to sea-level rise. Needless to say, the economic and social ramifications of these phenomena, along with our general environmental irresponsibility, are profound, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities and exacerbating existing inequalities.

In the middle of this slowly but steadily unfolding climate crisis, the role of environmental stewardship in elections assumes paramount importance. Elected officials wield immense power to shape policies and enact measures that either aggravate or alleviate environmental degradation. From land-use planning and natural resource management to the adoption of alternative energy sources and pollution control, the decisions made by elected political leaders – and their un-elected appointees to the bureaucracy – have far-reaching implications for the nation’s environmental health. This makes a candidate’s environmental credentials especially relevant.

So, in the run up to the 2025 National and Local elections, consider the following:

First, look to the clarity and effectiveness of the candidate’s environmental conservation and restoration strategy. For the voter, this entails understanding the candidate’s proposed approach to safeguarding natural resources and addressing ecological challenges. In a country where more than half of the population live and work in ecologically threated environments and where nearly everyone engages in environmentally unsustainable practices, a candidate who ignores the need to preserve the environment and to repair the damage already done, very tangibly contributes – through their inaction – to the continuous destruction of the environment and to the resulting economic consequences of that degradation.

Secondly, in this era of skyrocketing electricity bills and petroleum prices, the commitment of a candidate to transitioning towards renewable energy sources is crucial, not just in combating climate change, but also in reducing our dependency on increasingly expensive fossil fuels. A candidate who commits to finding ways to slash the cost of kuryente as we fight the hottest temperatures on record, and who advocates the use of technologies that will drastically reduce the cost of doing business reveals herself to be forward-looking, innovative, and ultimately pro-poor.

And lastly, evaluating a candidate’s track record in formulating policies and taking action to prioritize disaster preparedness, strengthening early warning capabilities, and improving post-disaster recovery efforts is practically existential. Climate crises – from freak storms to flooding to fishkills – exacts a heavy toll on Filipinos that only gets worse when they hit and we are unprepared for it. Everyone who aspires to public office must, therefore, be asked the question: “How will you protect us?”

In the face of mounting environmental challenges, informed voting remains one of the most potent tools for effecting change. By scrutinizing candidates’ environmental platforms and holding them accountable for their promises, voters can steer a course towards a more sustainable and resilient future. Equally important, citizen engagement and advocacy – particularly on the various social media platforms that politikos flock to nowadays, and where mainstream media often finds things to talk about – are pivotal in driving political discourse and shaping policy agendas, underscoring the importance of active participation in the democratic process.

As the Philippines confronts the escalating impacts of climate change, the need for decisive action and visionary leadership has never been more pressing. By prioritizing environmental concerns in elections – particularly in the 2025 National and Local Elections that are coming up faster than you might realize – and electing candidates with strong environmental credentials, we move in the direction of a more sustainable and resilient future for all Filipinos. It is up to us now to rise above the political noise that is drowning out the existential crisis we are facing; it is up to us to step up to the challenge of better stewardship of our planet; it is up to us to start with our ballot.