CEED - Center for Energy, Ecology and Development

03/08/2026

ICYMI: Protect the Verde Island Passage and the Center for Energy, Ecology and Development (CEED) convened the 1st Policy Roundtable Series on the Verde Island Passage Protected Seascape (VIPPS) Bill last July 23, 2026, at B Hotel, Quezon City. The roundtable brought together Congressional Representatives alongside representatives from various government agencies to strengthen dialogue and build support for the protection of the Verde Island Passage.

The discussion opened with presentations from DENR-Biodiversity Management Bureau on the government's ongoing initiatives for the VIP, followed by a presentation on the Philippines' 30x30 commitment and its significance for one of the world's most biodiverse marine ecosystems. PVIP then presented the rationale for prioritizing the passage of the VIPPS Bill to emphasize the urgent need to safeguard the Verde Island Passage from mounting environmental threats while ensuring the rights, livelihoods, and food security of fisherfolk and coastal communities.

The presentations paved the way for a productive exchange of ideas among participants on strengthening marine biodiversity conservation through legislation and reinforcing government commitments to protecting the Verde Island Passage.

As the first of a continuing policy dialogue series, the roundtable aims to cultivate stronger champions for ocean protection and build broader support for the passage of the VIPPS Bill. CEED and the Protect VIP look forward to sustaining these conversations and advancing collective action toward securing lasting protection for the Verde Island Passage, its marine ecosystems, and the millions of Filipinos who depend on them.

24/07/2026

JULY 20, 2026 | The State of the Ocean and Philippine Fisheries Address 2026: AGOS—Ang Kalagayan ng Karagatan, Pangisdaan at mga Pamayanang Baybayin sa Pilipinas brought together fisherfolk leaders, people's organizations, scientists, and civil society groups from across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao to assess the current state of the country's oceans and fisheries ahead of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Throughout the gathering, participants shared the realities confronting coastal communities from declining fish stocks and destructive development to pollution, fossil fuel expansion, and the worsening food and climate crises. The fisherfolk-led SONA also served as a platform for fisherfolk leaders to advance a unified agenda calling for stronger protection of marine ecosystems; the passage of the proposed Verde Island Passage Bill and Atin ang Kinse Bill; long-overdue oil spill compensation and coastal rehabilitation; sustainable fisheries governance; climate resilience; and policies that prioritize people, oceans, and food security.

As we approach the fifth SONA, the demands of our Filipino fisherfolk remains clear: protect our oceans, uphold the rights of coastal communities, and ensure that no Filipino goes hungry because our seas are left unprotected.

Maraming salamat sa lahat ng mga nakiisa at nakibahagi sa AGOS 2026. Patuloy nating palalakasin ang tinig ng mga mangingisda para sa malusog na karagatan at ligtas na kinabukasan

Mangingisda at Karagatan, protektahan!
Kasiguruhan sa pagkain, tugunan!

23/07/2026

CEED calls for the suspension and prohibition of pass-through charges that inflate electricity bills. The call was advanced this Thursday as the Senate Committee on Energy revisited the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) amid intensifying public outcry over high electricity rates.

Read here: https://ceedphilippines.com/press-release-think-tank-calls-for-prohibition-of-pass-through-costs/

23/07/2026

Happening today at 6:30 PM PHT! Please join us in looking the historic ICJ Advisory Opinion - and climate ambition and imperatives in the energy transition in Asia.

🌍✨ One Year of a Historic Climate Milestone — Be Part of the Conversation!

On 23 July 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered a landmark advisory opinion, clarifying States’ legal obligations on climate change. One year later, we come together to mark the first-ever global ICJ Action-versary — reflecting on progress, challenges, and what lies ahead.

🌏 Asian Front’s regional session will dive deep into how this historic ruling connects with the real, lived realities of energy transition across Asia — where ambition meets urgency.

🗓 Date: Thursday, 23 July 2026
⏰ Time: 4:15 PM NPT (10:30 UTC)
💻 Format: Online Webinar

🔗 Register now: http://wy4cj.org/23Asia (Link in bio)

Let’s celebrate progress, spark dialogue, and push for stronger climate accountability — together. 🌱🔥

EnergyTransition ClimateLaw SustainableFuture YouthForClimate GlobalClimate ClimateAccountability JustTransition ActNow

14/07/2026

Protect VIP calls for justice in brutal killing of marine scientist Dr. Kent Carpenter

The Protect Verde Island Passage (Protect VIP) campaign network on Tuesday raised alarm over the killing of Dr. Kent E. Carpenter, a globally renowned marine scientist whose life's work transformed the understanding of the Philippines' oceans and named the Verde Island Passage (VIP) as the "Center of the Center of Marine Shorefish Biodiversity."

According to reports, Dr. Carpenter was shot and killed by three armed men who forcibly entered his home in Negros Oriental.

"Dr. Kent Carpenter dedicated his life to revealing the extraordinary richness of the Verde Island Passage to the world. His work reminded us that the Philippines carries a global responsibility to protect this irreplaceable marine treasure,” said Fr. Edwin Gariguez, lead convenor of Protect VIP.

“We grieve with the loved ones of Dr. Carpenter and the whole marine conservation community in the face of this terrible loss. We also urge authorities to ensure justice and conduct a thorough investigation into this crime. At the same time, we stand anew in solidarity with the call for the protection of environmental defenders who dedicate their lives to science, conservation, and the protection of our common home and of vulnerable communities,” he said.

“As we mourn his passing, we reaffirm our commitment to the cause that Dr. Carpenter championed: protecting the Verde Island Passage and all of our country’s biodiverse ecosystems and all communities who defend and rely on them.”

Having dedicated much of his life to the Philippines since the 1970s, Dr. Carpenter was a steadfast ally of Filipino coastal communities, researchers, and conservationists who have worked tirelessly to protect one of the planet's most biodiverse marine ecosystems. Dr. Carpenter also stood with the Protect VIP campaign as one of its fellow advocates. In 2024, he lent his voice and expertise to our collective call to secure stronger and lasting protection of the VIP, including its recognition as a national marine protected area and an important natural heritage.

Justice for Dr. Kent E. Carpenter!

(Photo from Old Dominion University)

08/07/2026

AGOS: Ang Kalagayan ng Karagatan, Pangisdaan at mga Pamayanang Baybayin sa Pilipinas
State of the Ocean and Philippine Fisheries Address 2026
July 20, 2026

As President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. prepares to deliver his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 27, AGOS brings together the voices of fisherfolk, coastal communities, scientists, and civil society organizations and environmental advocates to tell the real state of our marine biodiversity, fisheries, and food systems, much like how the current carries the stories of our oceans.

AGOS is a fisherfolk-led platform that will assess the state of our oceans, fisheries, and coastal communities amid worsening climate impacts, destructive development, and threats to food security. It will also put forward the collective demands and policy agenda of coastal communities for the remaining years of the Marcos administration.

Join us as we amplify the voices of the communities at the forefront of defending our ocean and chart a just and people-centered future for Philippine fisheries.

01/07/2026

Message from Atty. Twyla Rubin, Officer-in-Charge of the Human Rights Policy Center of the CHR during last week's national consultation on a rights-based approach to the energy transition.

30/06/2026

TO A RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH IN ADVANCING A JUST ENERGY TRANSITION

In June 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued the landmark Advisory Opinion recognizing that the adverse effects of climate change may “significantly impair the enjoyment of certain human rights.” It also affirmed that states have a legally binding obligation to prevent significant harm to the environment and the duty to cooperate for its protection. In the Philippines, the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines reached similar conclusions in its 2022 National Inquiry on Climate Change (NICC).

Both the ICJ Advisory Opinion and CHR’s NICC Report stressed that States must adopt and enforce regulations to phase out the production and use of fossil fuels. Yet for the Philippines, phaseout pathways for coal and gas have yet to truly take shape, and planned new fossil fuel capacities remain in the pipeline. This risks decades more of detrimental impacts while delaying comprehensive and just transition measures for workers in the sector and reparation for fossil-affected communities. Meanwhile, the implementation of large-scale renewable energy projects and push for aggressive extraction under the guise of an energy transition perpetuate harms and place the climate resilience of communities across the country in peril.

The National Consultation on Advancing a Rights-based Approach to a Just Energy Transition held last June 24-25 tackled these complexities--creating a platform to surface the perspectives and lived experiences of communities at the forefront of energy transition issues, and for an exchange with civil society and government agencies (including representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippine House Committee on Energy secretariat, Philippine Coconut Authority, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), National Water Resources Board (NWRB), Philippine National Police (PNP), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Presidential Human Rights Committee (PHRC), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Health, Department of Labor and Employment) on ongoing injustices and rights issues, gaps and challenges, and ways forward needed to genuinely advance a just energy transition.

Our deepest gratitude to the Center for Social Justice and Humanitarian Protection (CSJHP) of the CHR, Bishop Gerry Alminaza of the Diocese of San Carlos and Caritas Philippines, and to our participants from communities across the country, civil society, and government agencies who gave their time, knowledge, and expertise in two days of meaningful conversation. We look forward to the further collaboration and engagement that this consultation has initiated.