FACES joins the call to protect the Verde Island Passage
The San Lorenzo power plant facilities, right next to the community of Santa Rita, on the coast of Batangas.
Photo by Adrien Salazar.
FACES is excited to launch our #ProtectVIP Solidarity Campaign here in the United States, in support of our partners the Philippines Movement for Climate Justice, Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development, and allies in the Philippines.
In Batangas and the region surrounding the Verde Island Passage, a marine biodiversity hotspot in the Philippines, corporations have planned a massive build-out of fossil gas infrastructure, on top of existing fossil gas plants and petrochemical industry that already dots the region. We feel the urgency to take action. We understand that what happens in the Verde Island Passage in the Philippines reaches our shores in California.
In February 2023, the MT Princess Empress linked to San Miguel Corporation, an oil tanker with a history of passing through the area without a permit, sank off the coast of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. Thousands of gallons of spilled oil continue to spread as far as Palawan, Antique, and the critical Verde Island Passage marine ecosystem – choking out the marine life and local economies of millions of Filipinos in the area. We stand in solidarity with those affected by this disastrous oil spill. FACES is committing to fighting to stop the expansion of fossil gas and other dirty energy in the region and across the Philippines.
Oil-spill affected fishing communities and their advocates are boldly taking action demanding accountability from corporations and private interests for the harm enacted on their livelihoods and the marine ecosystem - and we will stand with them.
Read CEED’s #ProtectVIP statement, PMCJ’s recent press statement, and the Protect VIP coalition statement on the oil spill.
FACES is energized to partner with the Protect the Verde Island Passage coalition to develop our new campaign. Will you sign up to be part of activating this water and energy solidarity campaign with us?
Get Updates: #ProtectVIP Solidarity Campaign
From the Bay to Batangas, we will defend and #ProtectVIP! Join us as we launch this campaign in the coming months.
