As President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers his 2025 State of the Nation Address to report the achievements of his administration, the Philippines remains gripped by worsening ecological disasters. In the first half of this year alone, typhoons and widespread flooding have ravaged both urban and rural communities—destroying homes, livelihoods, and lives. These are not isolated incidents. They are the growing symptoms of a deep ecological and climate crisis.
The government has supposedly invested about ₱1.47 trillion in infrastructure and flood control projects over the last 15 years, yet the evidence of success remains painfully absent. And grand plans to tackle it remaining disturbingly inadequate. From Northen Luzon to Mindanao, entire communities still drown with every downpour. The roots of this failure go beyond the weather: from poor planning of roads and waterway systems, the blatant failure to confront deforestation, unregulated extractive industries, climate inaction, and most of all, the unchecked corruption in infrastructure construction.
In 2024, the President declared the climate crisis a national priority. But one year later, very little has changed. In fact, actions have often contradicted these promises. Massive reclamation projects continue. Large-scale mining permits are still being issued. Our forests continue to vanish alarmingly. Rivers and coastlines increasingly get clogged due to business activities. Indigenous lands are still being encroached upon. Environmental defenders are harassed and killed. Short-term economic interests continue to override long-term ecological security. And worst of all, deeply entrenched political dynasties such as the Villars, Gatchalian and many more have exploited their power and influence for their own business interests, including the President’s own relative Speaker of the House Martin Romualdez who has favored expanding mining and energy investments.
As the humanitarian and development arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Caritas Philippines—together with the Eco-Convergence network—calls on the President and the government to act decisively and courageously.
We urge the administration to make this SONA a commitment to urgent, just, and lasting ecological action, prioritizing these 11 areas:
1. Protect Ecological Integrity and Biodiversity
The government must prioritize the urgent need to strengthen biodiversity conservation by protecting critical ecosystems and upholding both the rights of nature and the rights of people. This dual approach must lead to tangible improvements in human well-being, particularly in areas that are degraded. Recognizing the rights of nature in ecosystem protection directly supports the long-term resilience and adaptive capacity of local populations and communities.
2. Govern Natural Resource and Land Responsibly
The government must establish a clear, coherent, and transparent system for tenurial and land rights across all levels. The passage of the National Land Use Act (NLUA)— formally defining land uses and ensuring the appropriate allocation of areas for protection and conservation, production, human settlements, infrastructure, and connectivity—should be a top legislative priority for the President.
3. Promote Food Sovereignty, Sustainable Agriculture, and Fisheries
The government must strengthen the policy environment and improve program implementation to secure land and resource tenure for farmers, fisherfolk, and indigenous peoples. This includes building their capacity to assert their rights and providing sustained support for ecological agriculture—ensuring long-term productivity and food sovereignty for the nation. In addition, there is a pressing need to challenge and reform international agreements that marginalize these communities.
4. Enforce Pollution Control and Zero Waste Principles
The government must take decisive action to transition the country to a zero-waste circular economy and hold major waste producers accountable. The Solid Waste Management Act must be strictly enforced, single-use plastics must be banned nationwide, and a mandate for companies to redesign products, packaging, and delivery systems to eliminate waste must be implemented. Additionally, waste-to-energy incineration must be rejected in favor of community-based solutions.
5. Pursue Climate Justice with Integrity
The government must hold polluting corporations—both domestic and foreign—fully accountable for the environmental harm they cause. We call on government to demand loss and damage compensation from major polluting nations and corporations and ensure that these resources reach the affected communities. Simultaneously, the nation must pursue a comprehensive, equitable, rapid, and adequately funded phase-out of fossil fuels. Public funds must support climate adaptation, clean energy access and community resilience that urgently transition the economy toward greener and more equitable systems.
6. Stop Destructive Mining and Extractive Projects
The government must firmly stop destructive mining, polluting energy sources, and the unchecked construction of roads and dams—especially those that encroach on forests and protected ecosystems. It must halt the issuance of new permits for harmful extractive practices, including terrestrial, offshore, and deep-sea mining. A moratorium on large-scale mining applications and a comprehensive review of existing mining contracts are urgently needed. Mining corporations must be held accountable and required to rehabilitate ecosystems and habitats they have damaged through environmentally destructive operations.
7. Advance a Just and Democratic Energy Transformation
The government must ensure that the energy sector undergoes a just and democratic transition to renewable energy that is safe, clean, affordable, and accessible to all. The adoption of nuclear energy should be rejected, along with false solutions such as waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration projects. A just and equitable shift to truly renewable sources is essential to safeguard public health, protect the environment, and ensure energy sovereignty.
8. Champion Pro-people and Pro-ecology Sustainable Development
The government must shift away from growth-at-all-costs development model and instead focus on a pro-people, pro-ecology model of sustainable development. Development must now be guided by ecological integrity i.e., the ability of nature to exist, thrive, and regenerate, and by empowering communities to sustainably manage natural resources for their well-being. At its core, this approach affirms our collective responsibility to protect the integrity of creation.
9. Uphold and Protect Indigenous Peoples’ Ancestral Domains
The government must unwaveringly protect Indigenous Peoples (IPs) and their ancestral domains, including respecting their Indigenous Knowledge, Systems, Practices, and Spirituality (IKSPS)—especially in relation to ecological stewardship. For generations, Indigenous communities have served as guardians of our forests, mountains, rivers, and the rich biodiversity they sustain. Development must never come at the cost of their survival.
10. Build Truly Disaster-Resilient Communities
The government must invest in building truly disaster-resilient communities. Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) in the Philippines must prioritize and strengthen community led responses to both natural and human-induced hazards, with strategies fully integrated with climate change adaptation efforts to address underlying socio-economic vulnerabilities. Resilience of communities against climate-related impacts must grow from the ground up, not top down.
11. Integrate Sustainable Development and Laudato Si’ in Education
Our educational system must imbed ecological social consciousness across all levels. The Laudato Si’ must become a living framework within our educational system. This calls for significantly redesigning the educational institution’s curriculum, making ecological balance the fundamental basis of its learning pedagogy and philosophy. We must ensure that future generations understand the interconnectedness of life, the limits of the earth, and the responsibilities of stewardship. Education is a fundamental right of every Filipino and must not be reserved for the privileged few but made truly accessible, inclusive, and formative of ecological citizenship.
As people of faith and as citizens of this country, we say this clearly: time is running out. We cannot claim strength as a nation while our forests fall silent, our rivers run dry, and our children grow up in fear of floods and famine. The health of our ecosystems is the heartbeat of our survival. The collapse of nature is not inevitable—but inaction will make it so.
We therefore call on President Marcos and the leaders of this nation to make this SONA a true moment of reckoning. Not with promises, but with bold, moral, transformative action, rooted in truth, justice and courage.
Our common home is in crisis. May this be the year we choose to save it.
On behalf of Caritas Philippines,
MOST REV. GERARDO A. ALMINAZA, D.D
Vice President, Caritas Philippines
Lead Convenor, Laudato Si Convergence
MOST REV. JOSE COLIN M. BAGAFORO, D.D
President, Caritas Philippines