MANILA-Climate justice advocates and grassroots organizations staged coordinated protests on April 21, targeting the offices of the World Bank (WB) in Bonifacio Global City and in Makati.
The demonstrations coincided with the 2025 Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), amplifying calls to end international financing for coal projects.
Chanting and hoisting banners, protesters accused the World Bank Group—particularly its private-sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC)—of fueling the climate crisis by backing coal-fired power plants in the Philippines.
These projects, they argued, have worsened environmental degradation and displaced vulnerable communities.
“The IFC’s money is deepening the climate emergency and devastating frontline communities,” the groups said in a unified statement. They demanded an immediate moratorium on fossil fuel financing.
The protest was spearheaded by the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), Kilusan para sa Kabuhayan, Kalusugan, Kalikasan at Katiyakan sa Paninirahan (K4K-QC), Partido Lakas Masa (PLM), Aniban ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (AMA), and Zone One Tondo Organization (ZOTO), with residents from coal-impacted areas like Bataan and Batangas joining in. Photos by Lei Ventenilla
