Caritas Philippines president Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo has called on Filipinos to treat environmental protection as a moral obligation ahead of the 2025 elections.

The prelate warned that political inaction on ecological issues threatens both the survival of communities and the dignity of creation.

He made the call during the launch of Green Agenda 2025, a national advocacy platform aimed at promoting pro-environment governance. 

Bagaforo said the country’s worsening environmental crisis demands urgent and united action from all sectors of society, especially in choosing leaders committed to sustainability and justice.

“The fate of our environment is not merely a political issue—it is a moral responsibility that affects the survival of our people and the dignity of creation,” said Bagaforo. 

“As Pope Francis reminds us in Laudato Si’, caring for our common home is a duty of love, justice, and faith,” he added. 

The Green Agenda 2025, unveiled at a press conference in Quezon City on March 21, outlines 11 key policy priorities focused on ecological integrity, climate justice, and sustainable development. 

The initiative, backed by over 30 Church, civil society, and environmental organizations, seeks to challenge candidates to adopt environment-centered platforms and empower voters to hold public officials accountable.

Bagaforo emphasized that the environmental crisis is inseparable from social injustice, particularly the oppression of poor and marginalized communities. 

“The destruction of nature is intrinsically linked to the oppression of the poor,” he said. “We cannot allow those in power to continue prioritizing profit over people, corporate interests over creation, and political convenience over the common good.”

The prelate also criticized the environmental policies of former President Rodrigo Duterte, citing the lifting of a national mining ban and the expansion of reclamation projects as examples of backsliding on ecological protection. 

“Despite promises of environmental protection, we witnessed continued ecological degradation,” Bagaforo said. “The lifting of the mining ban, expansion of reclamation projects, and failure to address climate justice demonstrated a lack of genuine commitment to ecological integrity.”

He also condemned the killings of environmental defenders that occurred during the Duterte administration, emphasizing the need for justice and accountability for those behind the violence. 

Bagaforo stressed that true stewardship of creation cannot ignore the loss of lives caused by exploitative development practices, asserting that Caritas Philippines views environmental protection as inherently linked to the defense of human rights.

The Green Agenda’s 11 points include preserving biodiversity, enforcing sustainable land and resource use, promoting climate-resilient agriculture, phasing out coal and fossil gas, and upholding the rights of Indigenous Peoples. 

The coalition also introduced “G na Kay Gina, G na for Green Agenda,” a campaign aimed at popularizing the advocacy among young Filipinos through an avatar named Gina Gascon, in honor of late environmental and human rights advocates Gina Lopez and Chito Gascon.

A separate campaign, Power of Purple, will launch on March 29 to assess the environmental and development platforms of political candidates through scorecards.

With the 2025 polls approaching, Bagaforo urged Filipinos to demand leadership that values ecological protection and human dignity. 

“Let this be our moral imperative: to demand a government that listens to its people, values life, and upholds the sacredness of our common home,” he said. “Our Green Agenda is a call for ecological conversion that cannot wait. The time to act is now.”