MANILA (LiCAS News): “We are now witnessing a catastrophic role reversal where corporations enjoy greater protection than communities and ecosystems. This must end. The era of ecological justice must begin,” the Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc. [PMPI] said in a statement on June 25.
It warned that corporations in the Philippines are receiving greater protection than communities and ecosystems, noting that legal actions against environmental human rights defenders reflect an escalating pattern of corporate intimidation and harassment.
PMPI cited the recent civil suit filed against Bishop Jose Elmer Mangalinao of the Diocese of Bayombong, along with clergy and local land defenders, over their opposition to a 4,456-hectare mining exploration project in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya [Sunday Examiner, June 28].
It described the case as “a disturbing sign of how far corporate power will go to suppress peaceful, faith-based resistance.”
The statement said, “When a bishop is sued simply for celebrating Mass, offering prayers, and standing with indigenous communities, the law has been severed from its moral foundation.”
When a bishop is sued simply for celebrating Mass, offering prayers, and standing with indigenous communities, the law has been severed from its moral foundation
Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc
The statement also cited Homonhon Island in Eastern Samar, where partner communities have documented the effects of decades of large-scale open-pit mining, leaving residents with polluted air, compromised water sources, and concerns for their children’s future.
PMPI urged government agencies, regulatory institutions, the security sector, and the justice system to provide effective protection for environmental human rights defenders, hold corporations accountable for environmental harm and violations, and ensure consultations and free, prior and informed consent in communities and ancestral domains.
“The law must serve life, not profit,” PMPI said.
The organisation also called on extractive companies to stop using legal action against communities, clergy, and environmental defenders, cease operations that violate ecological limits and community rights, and respect the rights of nature.
As we celebrate the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. The Chaplaincy to Filipino Migrants organises an on-line talk every Tuesday at 9.00pm. You can join us at:
https://www.Facebook.com/CFM-Gifted-to-give-101039001847033
“No corporation has the right to endanger the future,” PMPI said.
