Vote for Leaders Who Will Protect Mother Earth, Our Generous Mother and Sustainer of All Life

Coinciding with today’s celebration of Mother’s Day, an environmental group wooed Filipino voters to think of Mother Earth when they cast their votes in tomorrow’s midterm elections.  

“We urge voters to carefully select candidates who can truly serve the public welfare and protect Mother Earth, our generous mother and sustainer of all life,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.

“We hope the campaign period had provided our citizens with the chance to know the positions of the individuals they are voting for on environmental issues that matter to their communities and the entire nation,” she said. 

The construction of waste-to-energy incinerators, mega dams, and coal power plants, the influx of plastic and hazardous wastes into our ports, the degradation of the ecosystems due to excessive and destructive exploitation of resources and the discharge of toxic chemicals and wastes are just some of the many threats to  Mother Earth and the people’s environmental rights, the EcoWaste Coalition said.       

“We need to send honest women and men to Congress and to local governing bodies who will actively take up the cudgels for our environmental rights, and bring the wanton destruction of the environment to a halt,” Lucero emphasized.  

"Use your vote wisely and vote for Mother Earth," she concluded.

For the 12 senatorial posts up for grabs, the group urged voters to take into account the recent assessment made by the Ecological Challenge for Change Coalition (Eco-Challenge) and the Green Thumb Coalition (GTC).   

Eco-Challenge assessed the 24 candidates based on their "track records in policy-making or enforcement, policy pronouncements, direct or family interests in environmentally critical projects or programs, and campaign money trails."

GTC scored nine candidates using their actual responses to survey questionnaire covering various environmental themes and their track records, pronouncements, linkages, and proposed policies and programs.

The GTC, which includes the EcoWaste Coalition among its partners, had earlier urged the electorate to back candidates whose platform includes solutions to energy, waste, land use, mining, climate justice, biodiversity, human rights, and sustainable development issues.

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