Protect VIP!

A fisherman from Batangas, a province south of the Philippine capital, flew thousands of miles away from home on his own to personally call on European banks to divest from environmentally destructive fossil fuel projects in his country.

@UBS isn’t just Europe’s #2 investor in San Miguel Global Power – it’s also one of the biggest backers of dirty energy in the Philippines. 💰 With USD 16.3M poured into SMC, UBS ranks as its 6th-largest institutional investor worldwide. Explore more at underthebrushstroke.org 🎨

More at protectvip.org/post/communiti…

BAHA NG COAL AT GAS, WAKASAN! During the National Day of Action Against Coal and Gas, communities in Batangas and Mindoro condemned the massive build out of gas in the VIP, and called for the national government to impose strict policies instead of serving industry interests.

Batangas, one of the five provinces encompassing the VIP, is the epicenter of fossil gas expansion in the Philippines. This October 2, stand in solidarity with the VIP and its communities and take part in the National Day of Action against Coal and Gas! ✊

Verde Island Passage Awareness Week starts today! 🐟 Celebrate #VIPWeek by joining the call to #ProtectVIP! ️Sign the petition to designate the VIP as a protected seascape under the ENIPAS Act: change.org/protectvip 🌊

Sign the petition to #ProtectVIP! change.org/protectvip

Laudato Si’ is Pope Francis' encyclical on caring for our common home, reminding us to protect our environment and our people – including vulnerable ecosystems and communities facing threats, like in the Verde Island Passage.

#ProtectVIP and our common home 🌍🐟 Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, President of the CBCP, and Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, President of Caritas Philippines, join the call to #ProtectVIP at the Laudato Si’ Summit in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Laudato Si’.

Malasakit is an explicitly relational concept. It is culturally and morally awkward to describe yourself as someone with malasakit because the ultimate judge of that are other people - specifically the people you claim to have compassion for - not you.

SMC, pay up for Mindoro oil spill! #PollutersMustPay Read the 2023 article here: rappler.com/voices/thought…

San Miguel Corporation prides itself in their value of "malasakit". But where is SMC's malasakit for the victims of Mindoro oil spill? While Ramon Ang sits among the country's richest Filipinos, thousands of fisherfolk in Mindoro are still waiting for just compensation.

Celebrate Season of Creation and take part in #PeaceWithCreation by signing the petition: change.org/protectvip

This Season of Creation, let us act, pray, and stand in solidarity for peace with creation – for the VIP, its communities, and other critical ecosystems facing injustices.

Today, we celebrate the start of the #SeasonOfCreation! This year’s theme, “Peace with Creation,” reminds us that creation will find peace when justice is restored.

This International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystems, join the collective action to protect mangrove forests and other vital ecosystems in the VIP by signing the petition: change.org/protectvip 🐟

“The life of Verde Island Passage is intertwined with our survival. If it gets destroyed, we’ll have nothing left,” she said.

“In the past, before the plants were built, our catches were plentiful and we didn’t worry about our daily expenses. We also had no problems sending our children to school,” said Wilma Abanel, a fisherfolk from Batangas.

Coastal communities in the Verde Island Passage are worried about the falling fish numbers they fear are caused by the growing number of liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in the area. Read the story at dialogue.earth/en/energy/phil…

@CEEDphilippines Special thanks to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) for hosting the event and co-organizers, CEED, Arayara, Conexiones Climaticas, Deutsche Umwelthilfe, Say No To LNG, Earth Insight, and SkyTruth.

During a side event at the #UNOC3, Atty. Avril de Torres, Deputy Executive Director of @ceedphilippines—part of Protect VIP—brought critical attention the risks of LNG expansion in the Coral Triangle and the VIP, and the communities mobilizing to protect their home.