Young environment activists in the Philippines were holding rallies yesterday on the first day of the Global Climate Strike.
On the University of the Philippines campus in Manila, students, environmentalists and indigenous people gathered to address the climate crisis.
They held placards with slogans including “What do we want? #ClimateJustice! When do we want it? Now!”
Students from Saint Louis University in the mountain resort city of Baguio joined a protest denouncing nations and corporations that fail to address “heatwaves, violent storms, warmer oceans, vanishing coastal towns, the extinction of species and raging forest fires.”
A series of protests is set to take place across the country from September 20-27, organised by groups including the Youth for Strike Climate Philippines and Zero Waste Pilipinas.
“A key demand that unites all of these strikes is a call for the Philippine government to declare a climate emergency,” Youth Strike for Climate Philippines said.
The group said the activities were “in solidarity with the youth-led movement inspired by teen climate activist Greta Thunberg,” who will launch the climate strike in New York.
The Department of Education asked school officials to allow students to join local protests with parental consent.
In a joint statement, youth organisations demanded justice for the death of 30 land and environmental activists that they say were killed under the Duterte administration in 2018.
“The youth will not be discouraged from defending the rights of the people and the environment,” Madelene De Borja of the Ecological Justice League of Youth Leaders said.
Also yesterday, coinciding with the Global Climate Strike, Greenpeace Philippines formed a blockade at the Shell oil refinery in Batangas province, south of Manila, demanding accountability for the firm’s role in the climate crisis.
Activists comprised of students and professionals gather in front of a banner as they take part in a world-wide climate rally, at the University of the Philippines’ campus in Manila, yesterday.
