Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo signed a covenant with civil society organizations on January 14 to ensure “environmental protection” should she win the presidency in the May elections.
Robredo and representatives of civil society groups agreed that the country must act on the “deteriorating state” of its ecosystem and biodiversity areas.
They also noted “an increasing vulnerability of our communities to climate change.”
The vice president expressed her commitment to advance environmental protection and stressed the “need to mainstream” the campaign to the general public.
“There is no question about the real situation of our environment and the things that we should do,” she said.
“I am more concerned about how to communicate it to the people so that they will understand and act on it,” added the vice president.
Dubbed as a “Green Covenant,” the agreement stated that Robredo and the groups will jointly work “to ensure that government policies and programs do not support destructive environmental practices.”
Under the accord, Robredo and the civil society groups vowed to ensure a “people-centered sustainable development that ensures food security, human rights and preserves our country’s biodiversity, natural resources, and ecological landscapes for the welfare of all.”
The covenant aims to strengthen the “10-point Green Agenda” that was presented to Robredo by the groups that support her bid for the presidency.
The “10-point Green Agenda” includes “providing quality, relevant and accessible education that integrates Sustainable Development” and the inclusion of Laudato Si in the curriculum of public schools.
Laudato Si, which was published in 2015, is Pope Francis’ encyclical on the “Care for our Common Home.”
