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‘The President’s annual speech leaves much to be desired — but who’s surprised?’
Hello!
I missed writing to you two weeks ago because, like many Filipinos, I found myself stranded amid monsoon rain and flooding in Metro Manila and parts of the country.
I was also coming from a weeklong break from work, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 28 was my first day back. That Monday was just as gloomy as it had been the previous week, and considering the week that was, I had no doubts that the President would include disasters and climate change in his speech.
“Wala pa ring disasters, ano? (He hasn’t mentioned disasters yet, right?)” I asked our environment reporter, Iya Gozum, one hour into the SONA. We were both in the newsroom listening to a speech that, at that point, was sounding like it was already wrapping up.
And then, it happened. It turns out disasters were saved for last for a reason.
“Kaya sa mga nakikipagsabwatan upang kunin ang pondo ng bayan at nakawin ang kinabukasan ng ating mga mamamayan, mahiya naman kayo sa inyong kapwa Pilipino! Mahiya naman kayo sa mga kabahayan nating naanod o nalubog sa mga pagbaha!”
(To those who connive to take government funds and steal the future of our people, feel some shame toward your fellow Filipinos! Feel some shame toward houses that were swept away or submerged by floodwaters!)
As Iya said in this video, “big words from a Marcos.”
And yet, for a speech that also came on the heels of the World Court’s landmark advisory opinion on the climate crisis, the President’s SONA still left many climate advocates underwhelmed.
Aksyon Klima Pilipinas and the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities had wanted the President to present climate and environmental solutions to the country’s pressing problems.
The Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development urged the President to address the root of climate change by phasing out fossil fuel reliance and raising the country’s ambitions for renewable energy.
The Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center and Oceana Philippines said Marcos failed to acknowledge indigenous peoples and fisherfolk, respectively — communities that are on the frontlines of the ecological and climate crises.
Perhaps one could say you can only include so much in an annual, hour-long SONA, but a crisis that is urgent and threatens our very existence needs concrete solutions beyond fault-finding.
After that speech, it was a breath of fresh air to talk to young Filipina climate activist Nicole Ponce, who for years helped in obtaining the International Court of Justice’s strongly worded advisory opinion on countries’ climate obligations.
Her advice to young climate advocates? “Just find a friend whom you can talk to about it and involve your community…. Just don’t lose that care for your community, for the people, and for the planet.”
Watch our The Green Report episode with Nicole:
Today, Tuesday, is the first day of the final negotiations for a global plastics treaty in Geneva, Switzerland. In this The Green Report episode, we talked to Michelle Reyes of Healthcare Without Harm and Jam Lorenzo of BAN Toxics about what to expect from the talks and the level of ambition needed to agree on an international legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution.
Will the world finally have a plastics treaty the next time I write to you? Till the Tuesday after next!
– Rappler.com
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