Voters told: Choose leaders with ‘pro-environment’ platforms, track records

Environmental groups gathered on Tuesday to ask voters to choose leaders who have “eco-friendly” platforms and track records.

At a press conference held in Quezon City, the groups, led by Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, said that they would scrutinize the platforms and track records of those running for president, vice president and the Senate.

The initiative, which was dubbed as “Green Vote 2016,” would like to scrutinize the platforms of candidates based on their stance on 10 environmental issues.

The issues are: big mining, large-scale logging, solid waste and air pollution, free trade and transboundary waste, genetically modified organism (GMO) crops, land-use conversion, climate change, coal and other destructive energy, rights of environmental defenders and corruption in environmental governance.

“In this Green Vote campaign, we enjoin the voting public to join us as we examine which of the current crop of electoral candidates have pro-people, pro-environment track records and platforms,” Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment national coordinator Clemente Bautista said.

Bautista said that aside from assessing the candidates’ platforms, they would also be involved in monitoring the campaign activities of the candidates.

“Green Vote partners will also serve as election campaign watchdogs on election practices that are harmful to the environment, such as the excessive use of plastic campaign paraphernalia, nailing posters on trees, and receiving campaign funds from environmentally pollutive and destructive corporations,” she said.

With the various environmental disasters which hit the country, Bautista said that it is high time that the country’s next set of leaders should be held accountable.

The official campaign period will kick off on February 9.