All upcoming national and local candidates in the upcoming May 2022 elections should lay out their plans for climate adaptation and mitigation, senatorial candidate and House Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda said.

“I urge all my fellow candidates, from the national level to the cities and municipalities, to present their environmental agenda to the voters,” Legarda said in a statement.

“We can start by focusing on three things: Managing risks instead of managing disasters, protecting our ecosystems, and improving rural livelihoods,” she said.

Legarda’s appeal coincided with the world’s celebration of Earth Day, an annual global observance aiming to raise awareness and drum up support for planetary action and protection.

This year’s Earth Day theme is “Invest in Our Planet,” which calls on everyone to act boldly, innovate broadly, and implement equitably in order to preserve and protect our health, our families, and our livelihoods.

“Our people need to know how we as public servants plan to invest in our planet in order to address the climate emergency we are in. I know that regardless of our parties and colors, we all agree that we need to save our planet—and I hope we all campaign just as hard for our climate, and lead much-needed discussions on climate change,” added the former senator.

Legarda, who is seeking a Senate comeback, also emphasized how elected officials can play a crucial role in addressing the climate crisis, especially in the local government level.

“Our people are looking for the climate agenda not just of national candidates, but of local ones. After all, local governments are frontliners in planning and implementing programs for climate resilience,” she said.

“LGUs see firsthand the impacts of the climate crisis, and they are often the first responders when the worst of the consequences come,” she added.

Last year, Legarda had urged presidential candidates for the 2022 elections to emphasize the environment in their platforms, highlighting the importance of the upcoming elections in climate action, and offering several solutions for a more sustainable new normal.

“The terms of the leaders we elect in May will come within the very short window of time we have to take drastic action in order to avoid catastrophic climate change,” Legarda noted.

“The leaders we choose have an important role in addressing this crisis, and the impact of their decisions would last long after their terms expire,” she said.