Senator Loren Legarda on Tuesday led the reaffirmation of the 2015 Manila Call to Action on Climate Change, commemorating its 10th anniversary and rallying global resolve ahead of the 2025 UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France in June.
Speaking at the DFA’s Ocean Talk forum at the National Museum of Fine Arts, Legarda called the Manila Call “a commitment built on science, law, diplomacy, and the lived realities of our people.”
The event also served as a formal send-off for the Philippine delegation to UNOC3, to be held from June 9 to 13.
Originally launched on Feb. 26, 2015 by former French President François Hollande and former president Benigno Aquino III, the Manila Call urged climate solidarity and was instrumental in shaping momentum toward the Paris Agreement during the UN Climate Change Conference Conference of Parties (COP 21) in December 2015.
It marked a historic joint pledge by France and the Philippines to protect the environment, climate, and oceans.
Legarda and French actress Marion Cotillard served as the English and French voices of the original call.
“The ocean-climate crisis is a human development crisis,” Legarda warned, citing alarming data on sea level rise, coral loss, and declining fish biomass.
The Senator pressed for ocean protection not merely as conservation, but as a rights-based imperative, especially for vulnerable coastal communities.
She also highlighted national progress, from environmental laws to the 100 Days for the Ocean campaign, and challenged all sectors to act.
“Let the Manila Call be more than a memory — let it be a mandate,” she added. (PNA)
