PH Bishop urges San Miguel’s top European financier to honor Pope Francis’ legacy, end fossil funding

London — As the world turned its attention to the Papal election, members of faith communities and their supporters took action to uphold Pope Francis' legacy. Faith-based advocates and climate campaigners across Europe and from the Philippines gathered at the May 8 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Standard Chartered, calling for an end to its fossil fuels financing.

The groups took to the bank, headquartered in the United Kingdom, in support of the call to protect the Verde Island Passage (VIP) – a globally significant biodiversity hotspot in the Philippines dubbed the Amazon of the oceans, which is also the unfortunate epicenter of fossil gas expansion in the country. Philippine conglomerate San Miguel Corporation (SMC) is responsible for 4 operating or proposed fossil gas facilities in the vicinity of VIP.

In a statement read by advocates during the bank’s AGM, Bishop Gerry Alminaza of Caritas Philippines reminded Board members and shareholders “of our collective duty to protect the environment and care for our Common Home.” Caritas Philippines is a member organization of the group Protect Verde Island Passage (Protect VIP).

Bishop Gerry Alminaza hails from San Carlos, Negros Occidental. Today heading the ecology program of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Alminaza has been at the forefront of resistance against destructive fossil fuel projects - including a coal plant proposed by San Miguel in San Carlos along the protected seascape, Tañon Strait, and fossil fuel projects in the VIP.

“Companies like San Miguel are locking us into yet another fossil fuel – liquefied natural gas (LNG) – which we must import and which has already doubled our power generation tariffs,” Bishop Alminaza warned. 

SMC is still planning to build 8 gas power plants and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the Philippines, positioning itself as the largest gas expansionist in the country and the whole of Southeast Asia. 

“This threatens yet another ecosystem in the Philippines – the Verde Island Passage, which is the global center of marine shorefish biodiversity and our very own Amazon of the Oceans. Standard Chartered is complicit in this devastation, as it remains San Miguel’s largest European financier.”

In 2024, Standard Chartered was one of only four European banks that supported San Miguel, providing a total of USD 352 million in loans and underwriting, making it the largest European financier of the company.

“In the climate-vulnerable Philippines, the Catholic Church has committed to respond to the climate crisis, pledging to divest from banks that support fossil fuels by the end of this year. This commitment reflects the vision of Laudato Si, where Pope Francis calls on all of us to take shared responsibility and ensure genuine action for one another and our planet.”

Several European financial institutions have already responded to calls for divestment from San Miguel and other major fossil fuel developers, Aboitiz and Meralco. DWS and Erste have already committed to divest from San Miguel, while BNP Paribas has stated that financing fossil gas in the VIP is not part of its strategy.

Citing Laudate Deum, Pope Francis’ most recent apostolic exhortation, Bishop Alminaza emphasized: “We must move beyond the mentality of appearing to be concerned but not having the courage needed to produce substantial changes.” 

“For three years, we have raised alarms about San Miguel's aggressive fossil fuel expansion, particularly its coal and LNG projects threatening the Verde Island Passage. While we appreciate our engagements with Standard Chartered’s sustainability team, they have yet to yield any meaningful changes for our communities back home, particularly the poorest of the poor, our fisherfolk,” the bishop’s statement added.

At the AGM, Standard Chartered’s chairperson replied: 

“The bank is concerned and cares about the things that you talk about. We care about nature, biodiversity, and the social impact. We care about human rights. We use our position statements. We have strong governance in the bank to make sure that the decisions we make are in line with the position statements. It is within that framework that we make our decisions, whether to support or not to support particular clients or projects. We are delivering at pace. We are doing a lot, and whatever is best for our markets, including achieving just transition in accordance with socio-economic needs.” 

Standard Chartered has also agreed to send its Hong Kong team to the VIP and conduct due diligence on the ground. ###