MANILA, Philippines — Instead of preparing for war, nations should focus on combating the climate crisis and its impacts, presidential aspirant and labor leader Leody De Guzman said Tuesday.
Candidates who attended the debate hosted by SMNI, a media network owned by evangelist and fugitive Apollo Quiboloy, on Tuesday night had been asked if they will establish a status of forces agreement with Russia. SOFAs, like the Visiting Forces Agreement with the US, are guidelines on the treatment of foreign troops on Philippine territory.
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“‘Yung giyera wala tayong mapapala dyan. Ang makikinabang lang dyan ay mga korporasyon na gumagawa ng bala at arms. Sila lang ang laging kumikita every time na magkaka-giyera,” De Guzman said.
(We won’t benefit from war. The only ones who will benefit from it are companies that make ammunition and arms. They are the only ones who profit every time there is war.)
He has been advocating an independent foreign policy that will enter into agreements with nations that recognize Philippine sovereignty and rights, including in the West Philippine Sea. He has also batted for not aligning with the US, China or Russia.
The Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino chair also said he will terminate the Mutual Defense Treaty and the VFA between the Philippines and the United States and scrap the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.
The Philippines and other nations should instead wage a war against climate crisis, hunger and inequality, De Guzman stressed.
"Makiisa tayo sa iba’t ibang bansa na nananawagan ng kapayapaan sa mundo, nananawagan ng paglaban sa [krisis sa] klima, at nananawagan na labanan 'yung kagutuman at inekwalidad," he said.
(Let us unite with other countries that call for world peace, climate action, and end to hunger and inequality.)
Ka Leody’s climate plans
The standard bearer of the Partido Lakas ng Masa openly calls for urgent climate action and favors a push for renewable energy.
In an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel last week, De Guzman said that recognizing that humans are in the middle of a climate emergency is the first step to addressing the global problem.
He also called for the swift transition to renewable energy and closure of coal-fired power plants, which are key contributor to human-induced climate change.
The Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change. Scientists warned that some of the consequences of the climate crisis are irreversible for centuries to millennia.
Youth and environmental groups called on poll candidates to prioritize and present solutions that will protect Filipinos from the worsening impacts of a warming planet.