03/06/2026
๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐บ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ผ ๐ฆ๐ถโ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ, ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐
Green Convergence (GC), in partnership with Laudato Siโ Movement Pilipinas, gathered environmental advocates, faith leaders, and civil society groups for the 431st session of the Kamayan Para sa Kalikasan forum themed โAnticipating Laudato Siโ Week: From Hope to Actionโ on May 15, 2026 via Zoom and Facebook livestream.
The forum revolved around Pope Francisโ encyclical Laudato Siโ, highlighting the week-long lineup of activities for the Laudato Siโ Week celebration and encouraging concrete action toward ecological integrity, just energy transition, and sustainable development.
In her opening remarks, GC President Victoria Segovia emphasized the moral and spiritual aspects of environmental protection, stating that care for the Earth โis not just an environmental issue but a moral responsibilityโ that calls people to protect life and Godโs creation, uphold dignity, and work collectively for a sustainable future.
Sr. Elizabeth โBingโ Carranza, Chapter Coordinator of Laudato Siโ Movement Pilipinas, traced the movementโs transition from the former Global Catholic Climate Movement Philippines into its current form, while discussing its continuing focus on ecological conversion, sustainability, and advocacy for the common home.
Carranza also outlined upcoming Laudato Siโ Week activities, including recollections, community events, and the revival of Laudato Siโ Generation Pilipinas, while encouraging wider public participation through initiatives such as the โ1 Million Tablesโ campaign promoting communal plant-based meals.
โWe continue to plant seeds with the hope na magbubunga siya,โ Carranza said, stressing that meaningful environmental action can begin with small but sincere efforts rooted in care for a common home.
Moreover, Nadarev โYebโ Saรฑo, President of the Laudato Siโ Movement, shared updates on the movementโs international initiatives and its shift from awareness-building campaigns toward institutional accountability and concrete environmental action .
Saรฑo said participation in the Laudato Siโ Action Platform continues to grow globally, with thousands of concrete environmental actions already implemented by both Catholic and non-Catholic institutions and communities.
โThis year reminds us that ecological conversion grows step by step, through relationships restored, creation protected, and communities strengthened,โ Saรฑo said. โOur advocacy must be rooted in deep spiritual conversion.โ
Furthermore, exemplifying the forumโs โhope to actionโ theme, Fr. Edwin โEduโ Gariguez, Social Action Director of the Diocese of Calapan, presented the dioceseโs โREnew Mindoroโ campaign, which aims to accelerate the transition toward renewable energy in Oriental Mindoro amid persistent power shortages, high electricity costs, and dependence on fossil fuels.
Gariguez described the provinceโs energy situation as a long-standing crisis affecting households, agriculture, and vulnerable communities, particularly during periods of extreme heat and rotational brownouts.
He said the diocese has already installed a 200-kilowatt solar power system within six months and plans to solarize schools and parishes across the Apostolic Vicariate of Calapan under its Renewable Energy Transition Development Plan for 2026 to 2028.
Expressing frustration over years of discussions without sufficient concrete action, Gariguez said the diocese decided to โwalk the talkโ by directly leading renewable energy initiatives instead of remaining only in conversations and forums.
He emphasized that the campaign is not designed as a profit-driven business venture but as a social enterprise intended to help ordinary Mindorenos access safe, reliable, and affordable energy.
โTo democratize, tayo mismo โyung gumagawa at pag-aari natin โyung sarili nating kuryente,โ Gariguez said, stressing the importance of communities owning and benefiting directly from renewable energy systems rather than depending solely on large corporations.
Gariguez also highlighted the need for a just energy transition that includes marginalized and indigenous communities, saying the shift to renewable energy must address both environmental sustainability and social equity.
โEnergy is justice and dignity, not a luxury,โ Gariguez said, referencing Laudato Siโ principles and adding that vulnerable communities suffer the most from unstable and expensive electricity systems.
During the open forum, participants raised questions about the accessibility and reliability of renewable energy technologies, particularly solar power systems.
Gariguez explained that the diocese coordinated with solar installers, financial institutions, and cooperatives to make renewable energy systems more accessible to ordinary residents through affordable financing schemes.
On the question of whether renewable energy can sufficiently meet electricity demands, Gariguez affirmed, citing studies showing the Philippinesโ vast solar, wind, and hydro potential.
โYes na yes. We have more than enough RE in the Philippines para supply-an tayo,โ he said.
Discussions in the open forum also highlighted inclusivity within the Laudato Siโ Movement, with Saรฑo clarifying that participation is open regardless of religious affiliation.
โHindi po kailangang Katoliko para maging bahagi ng ating movement,โ Saรฑo said, adding that environmental protection transcends religious boundaries.
Carranza echoed the point, saying, โHindi na usapin ang relihiyon sa pangangalaga sa ating Inang Kalikasan because we share one home.โ
In her closing remarks, GC Trustee and Ako Ang Bukas Program Director Dr. Angelina Galang recognized religious leaders and environmental organizations that have remained active in ecological advocacy and emphasized the importance of integrating spirituality into environmental action inspired by Laudato Siโ.
The next Kamayan forum was announced to be on June 19, 2026.
๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐บ๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ข ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ข๐ด๐ข๐ฏ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ๐ญ๐บ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ณ๐จ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ป๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฏ-๐จ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ณ๐จ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ป๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด, ๐จ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ข, ๐ด๐ต๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด, ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด, ๐ค๐ฉ๐ถ๐ณ๐ค๐ฉ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ป๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ค๐ถ๐ด๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐บ๐ป๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ญ๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ท๐ช๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ญ ๐ช๐ด๐ด๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐บ.
๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ, ๐ท๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐จ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ: bit.ly/GCMembershipRegForm.
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