Environmental defenders from Metro Manila and Southern Tagalog hold a flash mob in front of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), denouncing three years of environmental plunder perpetuated by the Marcos Jr. administration.

Ahead of the upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA), Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan) slammed Marcos Jr’s recent statement that massive flooding and other disasters are the ‘new normal’, asserting instead that those are the result of systemic corruption, the DENR’s criminal neglect, and the ‘greenlighting’ of corporate-driven development projects.

Groups from Southern Tagalog condemned the DENR for its complicity in ongoing destructive development projects in the region such as the Laguna Lakeshore Road Network, Ahunan Dam, Wawa-Violago Dam, as well as ongoing dredging, quarrying, and mining operations. These projects, they argued, have severely damaged local ecosystems and displaced communities. Amid the recent back-to-back storms and typhoons, the groups also questioned the government’s P350 billion (approximately $6.1 billion) allocation for flood mitigation, citing the devastation brought by Typhoons Crising, Dante, and Emong to vulnerable communities across the country. (CAM, RVO)

Photos by Viggo Sarmago/Bulatlat