As we celebrate Earth Day 2010, let us remember that the state of our environment is tied to the political and economic aspects of our society.

This link is crucial to understand why—in spite of our country’s rich natural resources—we have remained underdeveloped, our people deeper in poverty and has become more vulnerable to the backlash of a destroyed environment.

At the Quezon City Circle Park Memorial Shrine two days ago, environmental and sectoral groups participated in an Earth Day parade with a rallying call of +gVote for the environment, vote for the people+h. The Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment and Center for Environmental Concerns-Philippines, EnviVote Alliance, the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development and other sectoral groups joined visual and music artists in the parade as part of the weeklong Earth Day celebrations.

The first performance was from the Unitiima Worldbeat who describe themselves as an all-Filipino world music group whose name means ‘sound of the hands’. They use Afro-Cuban, Samba and Filipino influences to create their unique percussion beats.

They were followed by KARA-TULA or Kabataang Artista para sa Tunay na Kalayaan a group of nationalist and pro-people cultural organization that employs multi-media and different forms of art to educate and raise the awareness of the public on current social issues and move them to act and be involved in addressing these problems.

The highlight of the activity was a giant collage created by student visual artists to encapsulate the main message of the event. Recycled cloth and discarded materials were used to form a large globe embraced by a set of hands to signify the need for the protection of the Earth. A banner was then unfolded bearing the event’s message to complete the artwork and prompt the viewers what to do this elections.

To cap off the event and to reach a wider audience, the groups headed out in a caravan of more than 20 vehicles decorated with banners and placards to go around communities in the Quezon Circle area and urge the residents to think green this coming elections. The parade aims to enjoin voters to be critical and smart in choosing their leaders. It is very crucial to elect officials that genuinely represent the interest of our environment and our people unlike those we had in the past whose policies have costed our people and the future generations.

Much of our environmental problems stem largely from neoliberal economic policies of the government. These national polices and practices that undermine our national patrimony and genuine development can be reversed if we institute officials this 2010 National Elections who genuinely has the interest of the people and environment to heart.

To aid the voters in being critical and in choosing true environment-friendly, progressive and patriotic leaders Envi Vote 2010 Alliance, an environmental coalition pushing for ecological reforms in the coming elections, have set up pointers and suggestions to gauge if the electoral candidates are up to the task of protecting and rehabilitating our environment after they have sworn into office.

With every national candidate claiming to be an environmental advocate, we voters must be involved, critical and attentive to the news or current debates and do our own research. We will know if the candidates are really champions of the environment if they have the following stand on crucial issues below and if their record in the past 10 years is consistent with what they profess:

The candidate must posses the following qualities and has stood by following convictions: a) pursuit of environmental justice; b) defense of our national patrimony and the judicious use of our natural resources; c) have programs for the genuine protection and rehabilitation of the environment; d) struggled against environmental degradation and resource depletion; e) advocated against the use of dirty technologies and opposed environmentally destructive projects; and f) advocated against militarization and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

If a national candidate has positively responded or passed at least three concerns above, he or she is most likely a genuine ecological advocate and will pass environmental reforms if ever wins. They should base their agenda on principles that protect the right of Filipinos to balanced and healthful ecology, judicious use of our natural resources, and defense of our national patrimony.

They must pledge or assure that they will work for the review, amendment or reversal of economic policies which are most detrimental to our environment and causes depletion of our natural resources such as the Mining Act of 1995, Fisheries Code of 1998 and Forestry Code of 1975. This is in conjunction with the strengthening and strict implementation of environmental laws and rules in the country such as the Writ of Kalikasan and other acts.