Every April 22nd, the world pauses to honor Earth Day — a solemn reminder of our duty to protect the only home we have. This year, as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) once again leads the celebration, Filipinos are urged to reflect on their role as stewards of our country’s breathtaking biodiversity, vast marine waters, and rich forestlands.
But as the department speaks of “Our Power, Our Planet” and the global shift toward clean and renewable energy, it’s hard to ignore the elephant in the room. The DENR, the very agency that pledges to safeguard the Philippines’ natural heritage, also wears another face — that of a promoter and regulator of mining operations that scar landscapes, poison rivers, and displace communities in the name of so-called development.
Under the banner of “critical energy transition minerals” and “sustainable development,” mining has been rebranded as a necessary sacrifice for a greener future. Yet history tells another story. Across the archipelago, open-pit mines and abandoned extraction sites stand as mute witnesses to broken promises of ecological restoration. Not one mining site has been fully restored to anything resembling its original state, despite the assurances of rehabilitation and reforestation.
This Earth Day, as we are encouraged to embrace collective action and ensure that “no ecosystem is left behind,” the public must hold the DENR accountable. Conservation cannot be genuine if it runs parallel with sanctioned destruction. If the road to renewable energy demands more mining, more forest clearing, and more ocean disturbance, are we not simply exchanging one form of environmental degradation for another?
The Philippines’ true wealth lies not under the soil, but in the thriving ecosystems above it — in its coral reefs, dense forests, fertile fields, and the Indigenous and rural communities who have long lived in harmony with the earth. Earth Day should be more than a ceremonial statement. It must spark honest conversations about this glaring contradiction and demand real, measurable action beyond lip service.
Let this Earth Day be a wake-up call, not a photo opportunity. The Earth does not need our celebrations — it needs our courage to confront the uncomfortable truth.