Navotas City — Greenpeace and frontline communities challenged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to ensure that his administration’s vision of development will protect people–not polluters–as he delivers his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA), warning that the country cannot claim genuine progress while millions of Filipinos continue to bear the growing costs of extreme heat and the climate crisis.
Greenpeace Philippines joined Navotas Fishers and community members in Brgy. Bagumbayan North, Navotas City in a protest action ahead of the SONA urging President Marcos to prioritize protecting Filipinos from worsening extreme heat and other climate impacts. Wearing flame-shaped headpieces and carrying empty water pails to symbolize intensifying heat and the threat of water insecurity, protesters gathered around a giant thermometer installation, and unfurled a banner reading “Init na nakaka-stress, aksyunan mo naman, Pres!” to call for urgent climate action and greater climate accountability.
“Development means little if Filipinos continue to suffer from worsening extreme heat and climate change,” said Greenpeace Philippines Climate Campaigner Jefferson Chua. “As the President delivers his SONA, he must show that his administration is prepared to place people’s welfare and environmental protection at the heart of national development, rather than continuing to favor polluters and corporate interests.”
The protest comes days after the release of a Heat Stress Report,1 which found significant gaps in the country’s response to extreme heat despite its serious impacts on public health, livelihoods, food security, and local economies. Drawing from focus group discussions with frontline communities across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the report found that government responses remain fragmented and inadequate, and called for stronger climate adaptation, greater protection for vulnerable sectors, and the immediate passage of the Climate Accountability (CLIMA) Bill.
Greenpeace said the report’s findings underscore the urgent need to align the country’s development agenda with climate resilience. As communities are already grappling with escalating climate impacts, the government cannot continue pursuing policies and projects that deepen environmental degradation and climate risks. These include continued fossil fuel expansion and other environmentally destructive, resource-intensive developments, such as the proposed Pax Silica initiative.2
“The true measure of development is not how many projects are launched or investments are secured, but whether communities are safer, healthier, and more resilient,” Chua said. “No Filipino should have to pay for development with their health, livelihood, or access to water. The government should invest in solutions that prioritize well-being and resilience instead of pursuing projects that place even greater pressure on our environment and natural resources.”
Greenpeace urged President Marcos Jr. to certify the CLIMA Bill as urgent in the incoming legislative agenda. The proposed measure would require major polluters to pay their fair share for the climate harms they’ve caused, helping finance climate adaptation and address the loss and damage already being experienced by frontline communities. The group also called on the administration to accelerate a just and equitable transition away from fossil fuels and ensure the future development policies reinforce the country’s climate resilience.
“This SONA must mark a turning point,” Chua added. “President Marcos must commit to a development agenda that’s grounded in climate accountability, and ensures that major polluters are held accountable for the harm they have caused. Justice in an era of climate crisis must be non-negotiable.”
Notes to the editor:
[2] EXPLAINER: What is Pax Silica and why are people worried?
For more information and interview requests, please contact:
James Relativo, Communications Campaigner
Greenpeace Southeast Asia – Philippines
[email protected] | +63919 069 3424
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