Envi groups assess VP bets; Honasan, Robredo stand out

Coinciding with the vice presidential debate in Manila, an alliance of environmental advocates on Sunday released a summary of the stand and track record of the candidates on issues related to the environment.

Envi-Vote Alliance, in a statement, said they matched the candidates’ stand on “key and urgent environmental issues” with their so-called “People’s Environmental Agenda” or “Green Vote.”

READ: Environmental advocates launch drive for ‘Green Vote’

Highlighted in the report is Senator Gringo Honasan’s stand on genetically modified organisms.

Honasan, Robredo

“Genetically modified organism (GMO) crops are proven to have high risk in contaminating the agricultural biodiversity and poses high risk to human health. The Supreme Court has recently banned the commercialization of GMO crops until there is crafted a strong regulation which ensures both environmental safeguard and health safety,” the group said.

“Only Senator Honasan has proposed legislation to regulate or prohibit GMO imports, and make labelling mandatory,” it said.

Honasan was also lauded for his views on mining.

“Sen. Gringo Honasan said opportunities from mining should be balanced with its impact on the environment,” the alliance said.

Meanwhile, the alliance cited Camarines Sur Representative Leni Robredo as being the only one with a “clear anti-coal power position which is basically essential if we want to reduce the country’s PH carbon emission and contribute to global effort to mitigate global warming.”

“She has aligned herself against the provincial administration’s policy, choosing to take an activist stance against a government-backed plan to put up a coal-fired power generation facility in Palawan province,” Envi-Vote Alliance said.

It said Robredo, during a visit to the provincial capitol in Palawan, said she wanted the next generation to stop relying on coal energy.

“It is high time that we reconsider our heavy dependence on coal. We understand it is cheaper and easier to do but its impact on the environment and health is really bad. We need the political will to shift to renewable energy,” she was quoted saying.

The group said that while all candidates have positive proposals on addressing climate change and disasters, the stand of the others on mining, GMOs and coal power plants “contradicts” their views on climate change.

“How can you prevent climate disasters when you legalize environmental destruction and contribution which contributes to worsening climate impacts?” it said.

Mining

Except for Honasan, the group said the candidates are in favor of continuously implementing the Mining Act of 1995, which has received flak from environmentalists.

They called Senator Alan Peter Cayetano a “potential champion of the mining industry” since he considers mining a way to spur growth in provinces outside the National Capital Region. They said that Cayetano said this during the Mining Philippines 2014 conference.

The group also claimed that Cayetano received P7 million from a mining company during his 2013 election campaign.

It said Robredo not only lauded President Benigno Aquino III for issuing Executive Order No. 79, which institutes reforms for environmental protection and responsible mining, but also called for extensive revision of mining laws. JE

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