AMID the escalating crisis in the Middle East, the advocacy arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Thursday, March 5, 2026, renewed its call for the country to shift toward renewable energy.
In a statement, Caritas Philippines said the country possesses abundant renewable energy resources, including solar, wind, geothermal, and marine energy, which are readily available to Filipinos.
“These are gifts that can free our nation from the dangerous cycle linking fossil fuels, economic vulnerability, and geopolitical conflict,” Caritas Philippines said.
“Every delay in transitioning to clean energy prolongs our exposure to global instability. Every new investment in fossil fuel infrastructure deepens our dependence on a system that contributes both to climate destruction and geopolitical tension,” the organization said.
Caritas Philippines issued the call as the country remains reliant on fossil fuels.
It said this dependence makes Filipinos more vulnerable to global conflicts, such as the current military crisis in the Middle East.
The organization said this reliance has a domino effect on various aspects of Filipino life.
“The Philippines remains dangerously dependent on imported coal, oil, and gas. This dependence ties our national stability to conflicts beyond our control and exposes our people to the shocks of volatile global energy markets,” Caritas Philippines said.
“For Filipino families, rising oil prices mean immediate hardship: higher transport fares, rising food costs, increasing electricity bills, and deeper economic insecurity. The burden falls heaviest on workers, farmers, fisherfolk, and the urban poor,” the organization said.
The call follows military strikes launched by United States and Israeli forces against Iran over the weekend. Iran subsequently retaliated with missile barrages targeting Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)