Philippines: Priest Expresses Disappointment Over President Marcos’ State of the Nation Address

Fr. Edwin Gariguez, lead convenor of Protect VIP, a movement advocating for the preservation of the Verde Island Passage (VIP), issued a statement on July 29 expressing disappointment over President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s recent State of the Nation Address (SONA), in which he “peddled natural gas as a clean energy source.”

The Verde Island Passage, located in the Philippines, is a globally recognized marine ecosystem often referred to as the “center of marine shore fish biodiversity” in the world.

President Marcos delivered his fourth SONA on July 28, 2025, at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City, where he outlined his administration’s priorities for the second half of his term. His address focused on topics such as energy, education, agriculture, infrastructure, and national security, while also calling for unity and faster delivery of public services.

“It’s disappointing to hear President Marcos peddling natural gas as a clean energy source,” Fr. Gariguez said. “Even today, fisherfolk, especially in Batangas, the epicenter of gas expansion in the country, suffer from the destructive impacts of massive natural gas development on their livelihoods and the marine ecosystem.”

Fr. Gariguez criticized the administration for reducing the plight of fisherfolk to a mere mention of fiberglass boat turnovers through the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. “Urgent concerns for the fishing sector, particularly the Supreme Court ruling on the Fisheries Code of 1998, which declared the exclusivity of 15 kilometers of municipal waters for small-scale fisherfolk unconstitutional, were not even mentioned,” he said. “Fishing families bewail the decision, as commercial fishing corporations continue to encroach on the very source of their livelihood.”

He also noted the lack of “meaningful reflection” on what he called the first major environmental crisis of the Marcos administration: the 2023 oil spill in Mindoro. “To date, no concrete action has been taken to stop fossil fuel and toxic cargo pollution in our seas,” he said.

The oil spill was caused by the sinking of the MT Princess Empress off Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, on February 28, 2023. The tanker was carrying 900,000 liters of industrial fuel oil on its way from Bataan to Iloilo and affected waters across four provinces.

Fr. Gariguez further criticized the President’s reduction of the climate crisis to calls for individual discipline, such as “disposing of waste properly”, and vague appeals to “bayanihan” and “pagtutulungan” (mutual help and cooperation). “This is a shameful relinquishing of the administration’s responsibility,” he said. “The impacts of the climate crisis, and the need to build the resilience of vulnerable communities and ecosystems, must be directly confronted.”

“Protect VIP, driven by the fisherfolk communities most affected by this crisis, has consistently reminded the President that fossil fuel operations are at the very root of the problem,” he added. “Yet these calls seem to have fallen on deaf ears, which is not surprising, given that the corporate heads who profit most from fossil fuel operations were seated as guests of honor in his SONA.”