ENVIRONMENT advocacy in the Philippines has gone a long way from the pioneering efforts of a few organizations in 1970, the first Earth Day, through the revival of Earth Day celebrations in 1990 and the Rio Summit in 1992, up to this time that we are starting to prepare in earnest for Earth Day 2000 five months from now.

     Environment consciousness has been spread and raised, as shown by the big number of environmental alliances and organizations that have mushroomed among civil society entities and even within government. Even officials and traditional politicians with notorious records in ecologically-destructive policies, projects and activities, have found it useful to mouth declarations of concern for the state of the Philippine and global environment. Actually, for some years now, Filipinos have been mounting various Earth Day projects and activities with varying degrees of actual coordination, and there is no reason to be any less active this coming Earth Day, the very first in the new millennium.

     The big number of organizations that are energetically pursuing pro-environment activities and preparing to commemorate Earth Day 2000, is an advantage. Together, all these can draw attention, build an urgent sense of concern among the people and raise their level of environmental advocacy and actions. That is, if these entities are willing and able to work together, at least in spirit. Otherwise, the very same would-be advantage will become a big disadvantage, a situation of bickering, unhealthy competition, parochialism and separative ego that would just alienate the rest of the citizenry into worse levels of apathy.

     We of the SanibLakas ng Taongbayan Foundation firmly believe that to make substantial our commemoration of Earth Day 2000, we should make this a historic mark from whence Humankind shall mount a strong synergy of commitments and actions for the rescue, protection, rehabilitation and conservation of Mother Earth. And considering the big number of our environmentalist groups, Filipinos can contribute to such a global synergy of commitments only if we refuse to allow the diversity among our organizations to automatically translate into, or to be viewed as, disunity and conflict.

     Earth lovers in this country are now challenged to mount a widespread and multi-form commemoration of Earth Day 2000 that would be unified, at least in spirit, and along the lines of feeling a basic synergy through information sharing. This does not mean at all that all organizations with Earth Day activities should decide to hold these in common venues (although it would be nice to have Earth Day festival sites spread across the archipelago, each mounted jointly by a sizable number of environmental groups). Much less does this mean that all or even most of the organizations have to submit to the authority of a "central command" of any sort. Forcing such a form-oriented framework for unity can only backfire on unity itself.

     Unification of plans and efforts for Earth Day 2000 can only happen if at least a majority of the environmentally-oriented organizations, institutions and agencies in the Philippines would:

     Over the years, some groupings of organizations have come to harbor ill-will against one another. Each party would consider its own such views as issues-based and therefore legitimate. In some way or other, they may all possibly be correct. But what each one should remember is that any ill-will towards entities that differ with us is likely to jeopardize efforts to build partnerships for Earth Day 2000.

     Saniblakas feels that the prevailing spirit should be one of evoking and declaring commitments for the environment; all these can help the build-up of a critical mass of positive intentions and declarations. Track records and subsequent actions can be judged later, invoking the positive public declarations as solemn vows. But let us, in the meantime, focus on visualizing and birthing such a positive process for Mother Earth.

     Let the organizations that want to band together do so among themselves by choice. Let others opt to work alone. There should be no undue pressure either way. After all, in the final analysis, as long as the attitude is right, the reality of our being all together in this is the reality of profound unity at least in spirit.

     To rescue Mother Earth from more destruction, we actually need the participation of all. We therefore need to rid ourselves and our ranks of all traces of self-righteous and divisive pollutants that sap our energies and drive away the multitudes. This is not a job for any superman character or any super organization whether standing or ad-hoc to handle or even lead. For the sake of Mother Earth, let’s all be in this together.

Makati City, Philippines  November 14, 1999

For the SanibLakas Board of Trustees,
(Sgd.) Ed Aurelio C. Reyes
Founder and President
SanibLakas ng Taongbayan Foundation
6173-C Gabaldon st., Makati,
1210 Philippines