Environmental Defenders Congress
Statement
February 22, 2025
The Environmental Defenders Congress vehemently denounces the recent aerial strafing by the 76th Infantry Victrix Battalion in Brgy. Tagumpay, Pola, Oriental Mindoro on February 19. This act of military aggression, following an alleged encounter with the New People’s Army (NPA) in the neighboring barangay of Misong, represents a grave escalation of violence against local communities and environmental defenders.
Reports of helicopter gunships firing over Barangay Tagumpay and military personnel conducting intrusive house-to-house operations to verify residents’ identities, coupled with the forced evacuation of residents of Brgy. Misong and Brgy. Tagumpay demonstrates a disturbing pattern of human rights violations. These actions not only terrorize local populations but also severely disrupt the delicate ecological balance of the region.
Mindoro’s populace and its environment has suffered from intense militarization. It should be remembered that the town of Pola in Oriental Mindoro was among the hardest hit by the 2023 oil spill, caused by the sinking of the MT Princess Empress owned by San Miguel Corporation. The Philippine Coast Guard allowed the vessel to sail despite it being substandard. Last year in April, Jay-el Maligday, an indigenous Mangyan community member and youth leader of the church, was murdered by the Philippine Army’s 4th IB, 203rd IBde, and 2nd ID in Bulalacao and wrongfully tagged as a revolutionary red fighter.
The people of Mindoro are set to face even greater militarization and state terror at the hands of the brutal 203rd IBde and its subordinate battalions. This follows the recent experiences of communities in Mansalay, San Jose, and Bulalacao, where alleged clashes led to the implementation of “counterinsurgency” programs and activities that further repressed local land and environmental defenders and its populace. Of course, wherever the military is present, development and extractive projects follow.
The intensified military presence in Mindoro correlates with the encroachment of extractive industries and energy projects on Mangyan ancestral lands. In Bulalacao alone, numerous mining operations and energy projects are encroaching on the ancestral lands of the Mangyans. Companies such as David M. Consunji Inc. (DMCI), Pitkin Petroleum Limited, CleanTech Global Renewables, and The Blue Circle are pushing these developments. The group holds these companies accountable for the ongoing crimes and human rights violations committed by state forces against communities in Mindoro.
Environmental Defenders Congress demands that the military stop these operations and withdraw from the indigenous and peasant communities, along with the call to put a stop to the environmentally destructive projects in the area. We also call for a thorough, independent investigation into the aerial strafing incident and subsequent human rights violations, as well as the Cancellation of all environmentally destructive projects in Mindoro, particularly those infringing on Mangyan ancestral domains.
The recent events in Oriental Mindoro are not isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern of state-sanctioned violence against environmental defenders and indigenous peoples across the Philippines. The struggle for environmental justice and human rights in Mindoro and beyond is a matter of urgent concern that all freedom-loving citizens should notice and support.###
