Environmental groups issue guidelines on which candidate is eco-friendly
AS A coalition of environmental groups urge voters to pick candidates who have concrete programs to address garbage and pollution, reproductive health advocates look beyond the bets’ stand on the Reproductive Health (RH) Law.
Ecowaste Coalition drafted guidelines to help voters choose candidates who will make a “greener and toxic-free” Philippines.
The coalition approves of voters who are against coal power plants and have clear solid waste management plans.
They disapprove of candidates who:
* Staple, nail or glue campaign materials on trees;
* Use smoke-belching vehicles;
* Profess to protect the environment but cannot say how;
* Support large dams, mining and logging; and
* Those who do not act on pollution and climate challenge.
Promises
“As the campaign heads into the home-stretch, we are bombarded with promises of good health, clean environment, plentiful jobs and a better future,” said EcoWaste Coalition vice president Ochie Tolentino. “It is the duty of voters to be discerning, to differentiate candidates and make sound choices, beyond name-recall, celebrity endorsements and partisan affiliations.”
Catholics for RH (Reproductive Health) spokesperson Leny Ocasiones, on the other hand, said they do not just assess a candidate based on his or her stand on the RH law.
“We also look at their track record and position on violence against women, agrarian reform, nationalist industrialization, corruption and human rights violations,” she said in an interview.
The Ecowaste Coalition also urged voters not to support candidates who use the 5Gs: guns, goons, gold (money), gin (liquor) and garbage.
“Support candidates for their simple, pro-people, healthy and ecological lifestyle,” the group suggests.