Speech of Senator Loren Legarda: 10th Anniversary of Manila Call to Action, 100 Days Leading to 2025 Oceans Conference

Her Excellency, Ambassador Marie Fontanel, esteemed guests, and dear partners in climate action:

Ten years ago, I stood beside French actress and climate advocate Marion Cotillard, holding a piece of paper that was meant to do the impossible: to make the world listen. It was the Manila Call to Action on Climate Change, a declaration led by Presidents Benigno Aquino III and François Hollande.

I remember that day vividly. The air was heavy with urgency, but also with hope. Behind my voice were the faces of my fellow Filipinos: families rebuilding after typhoons had ravaged their homes, farmers watching their fields crack under an unforgiving sun, and fishers returning to shore with empty nets tangled in plastic instead of catch. We demanded climate action, climate solidarity, and climate justice. We refused to accept a world standing idle as it destroyed itself.

And the world did listen. That call helped pave the way for the Paris Agreement—the world’s most ambitious treaty on climate change, promising to protect billions of lives and the only home we have.

Today, a decade after the Manila Call to Action, we face a hard truth: while progress has been made, the mission is far from over. The Philippines and France have stood side by side in this fight, but now, we must renew our commitment and amplify our call. Within that decade, I am deeply honored to have been recognized by the French government—first as Chevalier in 2016 and last year as Officier in the French National Order of the Legion of Honor. These are humbling recognitions of our longstanding partnership in climate action, disaster risk reduction, and ocean conservation. But let me be clear: this is not about titles or accolades. I see it as a mandate—a responsibility I cannot bear without speaking bolder and louder.

As Chair of the Senate Subcommittee on the Paris Agreement, I led the Philippines’ ratification of the treaty, ensuring it entered into force on Earth Day, April 22, 2017. In 2022, I helped bring the Philippines into the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People and the Global Ocean Alliance, reinforcing our pledge to protect at least 30% of the world’s land and ocean by 2030.

I also allocated ₱3 million each to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Climate Change Commission (CCC) to support activities leading up to the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, ensuring the Philippines remains at the forefront of global discussions on marine conservation. And in this Congress, we are now close to enacting the Blue Economy bill into law, with deliberations now at the bicameral level. I have also been pushing for the Senate’s concurrence in the ratification of the High Seas Treaty—an agreement designed to protect and sustainably manage marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. But as I stand before you today, I cannot ignore the heaviness in my heart. That commitment made ten years ago, while historic, remains unfulfilled. And despite the initiatives we made within the decade, the urgency has not waned.

Last year, for the first time, the Earth’s temperature breached the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold above pre-industrial levels, the very threshold we fought to avoid, knowing it marked a line between resilience and ruin.

For us in the Philippines, this is not an abstract statistic. Every fraction of a degree warmer brings more devastating typhoons, rising sea levels swallowing our coastlines, and extreme weather events upending lives and livelihoods. We are no longer talking about projections. We are living the consequences of inaction. The ocean knows no borders, and therefore, our common responsibility to defend it must transcend self-limiting boundaries. The Philippines emphasized this before the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, whose advisory opinion affirms that states have a legal responsibility to “prevent, reduce, and control marine pollution from greenhouse gas emissions.”

While this marks progress, tangible benefits for the most vulnerable remain unrealized. We must press on, working with like-minded nations to uphold human rights and climate justice. Before the International Court of Justice, the Philippines firmly asserted that climate change is “at its core, an existential human rights issue,” urging the Court to affirm states’ duty to prevent foreseeable human rights harm, ensure accountability, and provide remedies for affected populations. We are also strengthening our climate governance with a science-based, data-driven approach. The Philippine Development Plan, the National Adaptation Plan, and the Nationally Determined Contribution Implementation Plan backed by local and global partners— align efforts and existing legislation to create a clear path toward resiliency.

Today, we launch “100 Days for the Ocean,” a mobilization campaign under the Blue Nations Initiative, uniting the Philippines, France, and the Liter of Light. In 100 days, the world will convene in Nice, France, for the UN Ocean Conference—a decisive act to secure the future of our oceans.

We have 100 days—not politely request, but demand—that governments, industries, and institutions take bold, irreversible steps to protect our oceans. 100 days to amplify the voices of the vulnerable and turn rhetoric into results. This fight isn’t just about policies—it’s about people already living the harshest realities of climate change. I think of my countrymen, stripped of everything by typhoons, left with nothing but their will and their smiles. I admit, Filipino resilience fuels me, but it should also haunt us. Because if those who’ve lost everything refuse to surrender, how can we—armed with power, resources, and platforms—do any less?

The clock has not stopped ticking; it has only grown louder. Breaching the 1.5-degree threshold was an indictment of inaction. As we look toward Nice 2025, let us remember: the Manila Call to Action was never meant to be fleeting. It was, and remains, a resounding call that refuses to be silenced.

Ten years ago, we issued a call. Today, we raise a demand.

Maraming salamat. Merci beaucoup. Isang luntiang Pilipinas sa ating lahat!