PROF. EBINEZER R. FLORANO, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
U.P. National College
of Public Administration and Governance
 QUESTIONS
1. Do we need green vote?

2. Is there a green vote block (ala-Iglesia ni Cristo

or Solid North) in the Philippines?

3. If there is, who are the green voters? If none,

how can we organize and mobilize them?

4. How can voters select the greenest politicians

among the lot?
 GREEN VOTE:
A PREREQUISITE
FOR GOOD ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE

EQ = ƒ (NB, EShni)
EShni = ƒ (EG) GREEN VOTE

Where: EQ = Environmental Conditions ENVIRONMENTAL

NB = Nature’s Behavior CRISIS
EShni = Ecological soundness of
human-nature interactions
EG = Environmental Governance
Malayang and Toribio (2002), p. 2.
GROWTH NOW,
CLEAN LATER
 GREEN POLITICS, GREEN
PARTIES, AND GREEN VOTE
LEARNING FROM
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCES
 FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE RISE AND
DEVELOPMENT OF GREEN PARTIES

1. Environmental
consciousness

2. Institutional structures
and arrangements

3. Political opportunities,
competition and
context
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSCIOUNESS
Green politics and parties
emerged between the 1970s-
1980s due to:

Response to various
environmental problems
(Britain, Belgium, France,
Ireland)

Anti-nuclear
campaigns/peace
movement in the 1970s
(Western Europe)

Post-materialist revolution
(Germany, Netherlands)
 INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES AND
ARRANGEMENTS
PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION – where green
parties/politics is mostly successful (e.g., Germany,
Netherlands)

MAJORITARIAN ELECTORAL SYSTEMS – not-so-much

hospitable for green parties/politics (e.g., USA, UK)
 POLITICAL OPPORTUNITIES,
COMPETITION, & CONTEXT

Being in the right

place at the right time

Individual role

RALPH NADER – U.S.

Presidential Candidate in 1996 and
2000 (Association of State Green
Parties, and later U.S.Green Party)
 WHO ARE THE GREEN VOTERS?
1. Young 5. Believe in social justice
2. Well-educated and delivery of high
3. From middle-class families quality public service
4. Have left-wing orientation
5. Adopt post-materialist 6. Have global
values perspectives
 GREEN POLITICS, GREEN
PARTIES, AND GREEN VOTE
THE CASE OF THE PHILIPPINES
NATIONAL
POLITICS
 WILL GREEN VOTES FLOURISH
IN THE PHILIPPINES?

APPARENTLY, NO

“Countries with low per capita income, low growth

rate, underdeveloped welfare state provisions, a low
degree of labour corporatism, a high strike rate and
without major socialist or communist party
participation in government are unlikely to develop
significant left-libertarian parties (in this case - green
parties), and vice versa.” (Herbert Kitschelt)

IS KITSCHELT CORRECT? LET US SEE.

 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSCIOUSNESS
AMONG FILIPINOS
1992 GALLUP SURVEY SAYS….

 In general, Filipinos treat environmental problems as a serious personal

concern (94%), BUT only a few treat them as threats to the country (37%)

 Filipinos have low perceptions on the seriousness of specific world

environmental problems (36%-65%), i.e., air, water, soil, species, forest,
warming, ozone

 More than half (59%) would like to pursue environmental protection over
economic development, BUT only a few (30%) are willing to pay higher
prices to protect the environment.

Brechin and Kempton (1994)

 GREEN POLITICS AND GREEN PARTIES IN THE
PHILIPPINES:
Weak, Divided and Unknown?
 GREEN PHILIPPINES – founded
in 1996; lost twice in party-list
elections starting in 2002
 ANG PARTIDO KALIKASAN –
founded in 2003 but is not running
this May 2010 elections; supporting
the candidacy of PANGMASA
Presidential Candidate Nicanor Perlas
 GREEN FORCE – founded in 2008
for sustainable development
 PRO-ACTIVE ON CLIMATE
CHANGE LEADERS – founded by
professionals to actively campaign for
climate change problems
 Environment-leaning parties –
Partido ng Marangal na Sambayanan,
KAAKBAY, Alliance for Rural
Concerns, etc.
 A few national environmental
legislators – Loren Legarda, Neric
Acosta, Pia Cayetano, Jamby
Madrigal, et al.
 ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES:
Strong in Environmental Advocacy But Not Politically
Mainstreamed

 Philippine Federation for  Green Forum

Environmental Concerns
(1979)
 Philippine Environmental
Action Network
 Lingkod Tao-Kalikasan
 Haribon
 World Ecologist
 Earth Savers
 Greenpeace-Philippines
 500++ environmental
NGOs in the Philippines
(1990)
WHY ARE ENVIRONMENTAL NGOs RELUCTANT
TO PARTICIPATE IN POLITICS?

1. They want to retain their ideological “purity.”

2. They don’t believe in elections.

3. They don’t believe in the ability of the government

to protect the environment.
LOCAL POLITICS
GREEN POLITICS AND GREEN VOTE IN LOCAL POLITICS
IN THE PHILIPPINES: SOME SHADES OF GREENNESS-1
MAYOR
RODRIGO ALANANO

 Dauin, Negro Oriental

 Ran to save the dying
marine and coastal
resources of his
municipality
 Implemented a 5-year
Coastal Resources
Management program
 Galing Pook Awardee
2009
GREEN POLITICS AND GREEN VOTE IN LOCAL POLITICS
IN THE PHILIPPINES: SOME SHADES OF GREENNESS-2
MAYOR
EDWARD HAGEDORN

 Puerto Princesa City,

Palawan
 Ran to save 52%
remaining forest cover of
Palawan
 Implemented the Bantay
Puerto, Bantay Gubat, and
Bantay Dagat
 Galing Pook Awardee
2009
GREEN POLITICS AND GREEN VOTE IN LOCAL POLITICS
IN THE PHILIPPINES: SOME SHADES OF GREENNESS-3
GOVERNOR
LORETO LEO OCAMPOS

 Misamis Occidental
 Ran to save the dying
marine and coastal
resources of his province
 Implemented the Misamis
Occidental Aquamarine
Development and
Protection Program
 Galing Pook Awardee 2009
PAINTING PHILIPPINE
POLITICS GREEN
STRATEGIES AND METHODS
 IMPERATIVES
FOR GREEN VOTE, GREEN GROWTH

 The Philippines is a haven for all types of environmental crises.

 Environmental crises contribute to economic development

slowdown, and casualties among Filipinos and the environment
and natural resources.

 Green politics is weak at the national level.

 There is a semblance of green vote at the local level which should

be encouraged.
 PAINTING PHILIPINE
POLITICS GREEN: STRATEGIES
1. VOTERS’ EDUCATION– show the nexus between
electing green politicians to public offices and achieving
green growth

2. EVALUATING THE “GREENNESS” OF POLITICIANS

– factors for evaluation and categorizing the “green
politicians”

3. VOTING FOR GREEN POLITICIANS – through

organized movements of green voters
 VOTERS’ EDUCATION: Targets
1. Victims of environmental
crises
2. Youth
3. Students
4. Young Professionals
5. Middle-income families
6. Wealthy families/individuals
who have post-materialistic
values
7. Open-minded/liberal
thinkers
8. Progressive organizations
 EVALUATING THE “GREENNESS”
OF POLITICIANS

1. Knowledge on the 4. Track record/

current state of the accomplishments on
environment environmental
protection
2. Personal stand on
various 5. Lifestyle check
environmental issues

3. Personal
environmental values
 SCRUTINIZING THE “GREENNESS”
OF POLITICIANS

1. Opportunists

2. Diplomats

3. Experts

4. Achievers

5. Strategists
 PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT FOR
GREEN VOTE, GREEN GROWTH - Organize
 PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT FOR
GREEN VOTE, GREEN GROWTH:
Scrutinize, Support, and Vote for Green Candidates
IT’S TIME TO PAINT PHILIPPINE POLITICS GREEN!
GREEN PHILIPPINES!
MARAMING SALAMAT PO!

EBINEZER R. FLORANO
U.P. National College of Public Administration
and Governance
Tel. No.: 981-8500 local 4175
E-mail: efloranoy@yahoo.com