Rights groups said UN Special Rapporteur Ian Fry’s visit to the country “puts on center stage the sinister role played by the NTF-ELCAC and the dangerous impact of the terror law on the lives and safety of environmental human rights defenders in the country.”
“I call on the Philippine government to respect this right and establish a truth reconciliation process to investigate the unlawful killings by the military, hold those accountable for these killings and provide reparations for those who suffered.”
“We hope the current electoral hopefuls walk their talk of environmental and climate concern by standing with our embattled defenders. We should call out the worsening violence they face and demand accountability from the outgoing public authorities.”
The Center for Environment Concerns – Philippines (CEC) recognized the valiant environment defenders who put their lives on the line against large-scale mining. They include the late Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Gina Lopez, residents of Didipio in Nueva Vizcaya and community organizers.
Gloria Tomalon, in her capacity as chair of KATRIBO MO, was instrumental in opposing attempts by five mining companies to operate in the Andap Valley complex. The five companies were the Romualdez-owned Benguet Corp., Abacus Coal Exploration and Development Corp., the Chinese-owned Great Wall Mining and Power Corp., ASK Mining and Exploration Corp., and Coal Black Mining Corp.
By RAYMUND B. VILLANUEVA Bulatlat.com MANILA — An international anti-corruption group has revealed that the Rodrigo Duterte administration’s heavy-handed rule in Mindanao and many other parts of the country has caused the deaths of 52 environmentalists in the hands of the military in the past three years. In a report entitled “Defending the Philippines,” the…
Vast natural resources and fertile soils have long attracted foreign investment to the Philippines, yet widespread corruption and a culture of impunity for unscrupulous companies has seen the profits disappear into the pockets of a tiny elite. – Global Witness
“Defending the environment and calling out the abusive corporations that endanger the lives of people is not a crime. Exploitative mining is.”