CATHOLIC dioceses and other groups in the Philippines have not made significant progress in divesting from fossil fuels and mining in the past decade, according to a new report published by Living Laudato Si’ Philippines (LLS) and Caritas Philippines on June 4, 2025.
The report shows that from 2015 to 2024, only P167.5 million worth of stocks have been divested by Catholic shareholders from 16 corporations known to be conducting or financing fossil fuel and/or mining operations, if valued as of December 2024. This is despite the commitment of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to withdraw its finances from banks supporting fossil fuels by the end of 2025, as stated in a 2022 Pastoral Letter.
The report also reveals the following:
Nine archdioceses and 20 dioceses were identified as stockholders in at least one of these corporations, while more than 140 congregations, missionaries, schools, universities, research institutions, seminaries, and other groups were also indicated in stockholders’ lists.
The total stocks of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila in six corporations, namely the Bank of the Philippine Islands, San Miguel Corporation (SMC), PXP Energy Corporation, First Philippine Holdings Corporation, Concrete Aggregates Corporation, and Oriental Petroleum and Minerals Corporation, did not decrease in the past decade. Their total stocks from these are valued at P43.6 billion, as of December 2024.
Ten Catholic groups partially or fully divested from SMC during the decade, while four organizations increased their shares. This resulted in a 16 percent decrease in stocks and a 25 percent increase in total value for all Church stockholders; 61 percent of the total Catholic equities under SMC are currently under 13 groups.
“For the CBCP to meet its divestment pledge, it must decide on how to enable the dioceses and other groups to navigate the entire divest-invest process. This involves letting bishops know exactly where their finances and assets are, improving their literacy on sustainable financing, and giving them the understanding that divest-invest is ultimately a process of just transition,” said John Leo Algo, deputy executive director for Programs and Campaigns of LLS.
Bp. Gerardo Alminaza, vice president of Caritas Philippines, stressed the importance of synodality in addressing the divestment challenges, with 2025 being a Year of Jubilee for the Catholic Church and also the 10th year since the publication of Pope Francis’s encyclical “Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home.”
“We must walk the talk, aligned with the Laudato Si’ and our previous pledges. We are currently taking steps to strengthen our programs such as on green auditing, capacity-building for financial officers in dioceses, and forming partnerships to accelerate our divestment towards more sustainable reinvestment,” he said.
Another critical action is to encourage Philippine Catholic shareholders in these corporations to influence members of their respective boards and sustainability bureaus for more ethical financing policies and practices and avoid further supporting ecologically-destructive industries and operations, according to Aryanne De Ocampo, Campaigns Program Head of the Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED).
“In the last few years, we’ve also seen the great impact that leadership from the faith community made in driving change among companies and financial institutions behind destructive industries. From international investors divesting from destructive fossil gas projects and their proponents in the biodiverse Verde Island Passage, to domestic banks putting forward their own policies to restrict and phase out financing for coal - all these came to be thanks to public pressure and collective action,” said De Ocampo.
Rodne Galicha, executive director of LLS, welcomed these ongoing and potential initiatives and highlighted the role of the CBCP in spurring on stronger ecological actions in the Philippines: “The Church continues to reach out through a new dialogue as a compassionate bridge of respectful understanding. Transformation must start from within because it is in witnessing that we take action as we are all called to live by the teachings of the Gospel and the guidance of those who lead us.” (PR)