Perlas tops environment groups' survey

Independent presidential candidate Nicanor Perlas may not be performing well in popularity surveys, but two environmental groups gave him a top score for his environmental platform, particularly on water. EcoWaste Coalition and Greenpeace gave Perlas 8.7 out of 10 points for having the "greenest" platform among the presidential bets. Sen. Maria Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal (independent) was second with 7.8 points, followed by Sen. Richard Gordon (Bagumbayan) with 7.2 points, EcoWaste said on its blog site. "The three candidates obtained the highest marks among the respondents for their clear, comprehensive and progressive positions and plans on protecting the country’s water resources," the group said. Television evangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva (Bangon Pilipinas) scored 4.8 points, while survey leaders Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III (Liberal Party) and Sen. Manny Villar Jr. (Nacionalista Party) both got 3.6 points. The groups gave Juan Carlos de los Reyes (Ang Kapatiran) 2.7 points. Former President Joseph Estrada (Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino) and Gilberto Teodoro Jr. (Lakas-Kampi-CMD) automatically got zero points for not responding to the survey, EcoWaste said. "Green" rankings "This is the first in a series of ‘green’ rankings that we will release to inform the voters how those aspiring to lead our nation intend to tackle the country’s environmental woes such as the declining quality and quantity of our freshwater sources due to the continued generation and discharge of pollutants from household, agricultural and industrial sources," said EcoWaste president Manny Calonzo. On the other hand, a panel of evaluators noted that on the issue of water, many of the candidates focused on enforcement as key to addressing water pollution. "This lack of imagination and focus on enforcement alone will not give the Filipino people clean water. We need front end solutions like better watershed management as well as a shift from dirty production to Zero Discharge and Clean Production in order to stop pollution at source," said Beau Baconguis, Greenpeace Southeast Asia’s Toxics Campaigner. EcoWaste and Greenpeace stressed the need to put in place a robust policy and program that aim for Zero Discharge to reduce pollution in the country’s freshwater and groundwater sources. They also pushed programs to avert looming chemical threats to our remaining water supply. — KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV