KALIKASAN PEOPLE’S NETWORK FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
STATEMENT
22 February 2024
Defend the defenders! Hold the Marcos Jr. regime accountable for its continued harassment of Jhed and Jonila!
Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment condemns the issuance of warrants of arrest by a Bulacan Municipal Trial Court against anti-reclamation advocates Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro for grave oral defamation. These ongoing attacks and legal persecution are characteristic of the Marcos Jr. regime, showing just how much they want to silence environmental defenders.
When the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the 70th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army’s modus operandi of presenting ‘fake surrenderees’ was exposed after Jhed and Jonila’s brave statements at the September 2023 press conference, these state institutions are now trying to judicially harass the two young environmental activists to save face. These trumped-up charges serve as a mere cover-up, as they were caught red-handed in their practice of abducting activists, particularly human and environmental rights defenders like Jhed and Jonila.
The state is trying to reclaim the narrative, and it is appalling how much they pretend to be the victims when, in fact, it’s them—the captors—who endangered the lives of Jhed and Jonila. They had the audacity to appeal to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) the recent Supreme Court decision released last February 15, where the two environmental defenders were granted writs of habeas amparo and habeas data. According to their Omnibus Motion, Jhed and Jonila should not be given the writs order because the court already had the warrant issued on February 2, weeks before the SC decision.
It is also concerning that the Department of Justice (DOJ), which should be safeguarding people’s rights, is the very entity allowing and legitimizing state impunity. With the way things are unfolding with the DOJ and NTF-ELCAC, they simply prove that the Philippines is indeed one of the most dangerous countries for environmental defenders. The Marcos Jr. regime will clearly do everything in its power to muzzle the voices of dissenters like that of Jhed and Jonila, who have been opposing and continue to oppose development aggression in the form of reclamation projects in Manila Bay.
We stand in solidarity with Jhed and Jonila, along with other environmental defenders and activists who often face state oppression and terrorism. We demand the Marcos Jr. administration to stop harassing environmental defenders, dismiss the grave oral defamation charges. We call for justice for all environmental defenders who have been harassed, attacked, or killed in their line of work.
Hands off Jhed and Jonila! Abolish NTF-ELCAC now! Surface all desaparecidos! ##
