By Viggo Sarmago

MANILA — The Philippines remains one of the world’s deadliest countries for environmental defenders.

On December 10, progressive environmental groups, fisherfolk, peasants, and Indigenous people (IP) joined the International Human Rights Day commemoration held in Liwasang Bonifacio. They marched together with other sectors to Mendiola, decrying longstanding human rights violations against environmental defenders and activists.

These groups stressed that environmental problems are intrinsically human rights problems.

Read: Philippines remains deadliest country in Asia for environmental defenders

For instance, reclamation projects are displacing fisherfolk communities due to the clearing of their farms to make way for infrastructure supposedly in the name of development. Despite this, Aron Escarial, a fisherfolk from Navotas and member of Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya-Pilipinas), remained steadfast in his community’s fight against reclamation projects by San Miguel Corporation (SMC). Just last month, his group filed a petition to the Court of Appeals, demanding compensation for the damages of the reclamation projects and to allow them to farm mussels again.

“What both local and national governments are doing is supporting big capitalists like Ramon Ang [SMC President]. But what they should be doing is supporting the marginalized sectors…The supposed rights of the fisherfolk, peasants, workers—everyone—are stripped away because of the rotten systems of the government,” he said.

Escarial said that mussel farms in Navotas have now been “thrown away.” Some members of the community left and returned to their provinces, while others took part-time jobs to make ends meet. He also reported military intimidation in his community, which he said is a violation of their freedom of assembly.

Meanwhile, indigenous peoples (IP) and rights activists bear the brunt of state harassment, from red-tagging to forced disappearances. During the mobilization, IP groups held placards demanding to resurface Dexter Capuyan and Gene Roz Jamil “Bazoo” de Jesus, both IP activists who have been missing since April 2023. They also continued the calls to drop the trumped-up charges against Dumagat farmers Rocky Torres and Dandoy Avellaneda who were illegally detained and arrested by the military. They were accused of being members of the New People’s Army (NPA).

Kabataan Para sa Tribung Pilipino-Polytechnic University of the Philippines chapter (KATRIBU-PUP) Chairperson Nico Marco stressed that land is life for the indigenous peoples. He said that because ancestral lands are rich in natural resources, the extreme militarization is driven by corporate greed. “This is how the environment is connected to human rights. The plundering of their ancestral lands continues. Corporations enter their lands through military intervention, which causes environmental destruction. And from there, their rights are taken away because of military oppression.”

He said that Balikatan exercises are detrimental to IPs, fisherfolk, and peasants because these exercises destroy the environment by using military equipment and weaponry.

Read: Int’l mission confirms disruption of residents’ lives due to US–PH military exercises

Angel Lopez, chairperson of the University of the Philippines Engineering Student Council, denounced the state’s misuse of science and technology. Lopez criticized the export-oriented, import-dependent economy as a driving factor for its misuse which leads to the human rights violations of marginalized communities.

“When you say human rights, you link it to our lived realities in the city and particularly in the countryside. When science and technology are used for false development, communities are displaced [because] development projects are undertaken, and this is also connected to militarization, and when it comes to that, our environment is undermined through extractive means, and what we extract, we can’t even use,” he said. For him, science and technology should be used through community-centered approaches, rather than exploitative and profit-driven methods.

Rachelle Junsay, national coordinator for Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP) said that climate justice is social justice and that those affected most by calamities should be justly compensated by those fueling the climate crisis. “So many environmental defenders, indigenous people, fisherfolk, and peasants are either killed, captured, or displaced. This goes to show the state’s gross negligence and harassment towards its environmental defenders.”

On October 16 and 17, the People’s Rising for Climate Justice (PRCJ) exposed persistent military surveillance, harassment, and environmental destruction from their international solidarity missions (ISMs) in Rizal, Negros Occidental, Leyte, and Occidental Mindoro. For Junsay, the militarization the ISMs uncovered is an effort from the state to stop the masses from organizing against fascist measures. “Especially for communities in the countryside, it’s easier for the military to suppress them…Which is why it is important for us to join [environmental defenders] in their fight against military presence, so that when they organize, they will liberate not only themselves but also the planet.” (AMU, DAA)

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