Kalikasan – People’s Network for the Environment
October 30, 2024
MANILA – As the Philippines reels from the destruction left by tropical storm #KristinePH, the public’s frustration and outrage against the Marcos, Jr. administration has reached a new height, highlighting once again its incompetence in the face of crises.
This is the true legacy of Marcos, Jr.: a leader whose response to crises is persecution over protection, and who uses public funds not to alleviate but to deepen the public’s hardship.
The death toll from #KristinePH stands at 125 already, with tropical storm #LeonPH now approaching, bringing winds of up to 130 kilometers per hour over northern Luzon.
Yesterday, environmental groups led by Kalikasan, together with scientists and survivors, gathered outside the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to decry the government’s profit-driven policies, which prioritize destructive mining and reclamation over people’s welfare. They also called out the administration’s persistence in laws like the 1995 Philippine Mining Act and the 2019 Rice Liberalization Law, which only deepen these calamities. Yet, instead of addressing the root environmental and political causes of the climate crisis, Marcos, Jr. opts to leech public funds to feed his administration’s corruption, while vital social services are reduced to paltry relief packs, politicized by dynasties for electoral gain in their ‘strongholds.’ ‘We are becoming an ‘ayuda nation!,’ Amihan Women‘s Cathy Estavillo protested. ‘Is this what we want?’
Meanwhile, Marcos, Jr. simply urged people to “sit tight, wait, hope, pray,” and decided to arrest peace activists and social service workers instead.
As reported by Karapatan Southern Tagalog in their region, where the government’s oppression is tangible. six civilians were unjustly arrested in recent days alone.
On October 24, peace consultant Wigberto Villarico and his companion Marjory Lizada were apprehended by fascist Joined Task Force (JTF)-Katagalugan based on fictitious terrorist names—a violation of the JASIG agreement meant to protect consultants from persecution. That same day, peasant organizers Bong Fran and Kevin Joaquin, who were organizing relief efforts for farmers in Hagupit, Mindoro, were arrested on fabricated charges. Mindoro farmers, still struggling under the weight of the absence of adequate government support and inhumane farmgate prices for their goods, now witness their organizers vilified and paraded as ‘anti-government’ examples.
On October 27, Kilusang Mayo Uno labor champions Gavino Panganiban and Maritess David were also detained during their relief drive in Makati. Their organizations have historically been subjected to government repression, but this latest attack amid disaster relief efforts lays bare the administration’s complete disregard for the Filipino people’s suffering.
This is the true legacy of Marcos, Jr.: a leader whose response to crises is persecution over protection, and who uses public funds not to alleviate but to deepen the public’s hardship. His administration has become the ultimate disaster for the Filipino people, sustained by empty promises and fueled by systemic plunder.
His administration has become the ultimate disaster for the Filipino people, sustained by empty promises and fueled by systemic plunder.
We call on the Filipino public to hold the Marcos, Jr. administration accountable for its crimes against us. Like the ‘#DuterteIkulong‘ movement, we must recognize Marcos, Jr. as the enabler of these attacks on public trust. We demand the immediate release of Villarico, Lizada, Fran, Joaquin, Panganiban, and David, and the dismissal of the charges fabricated against them. Our taxes should fund genuine climate solutions and disaster response—not militarization, black propaganda, or corrupt and greenwashed projects.
To advocate for climate justice is to uphold the rights of those who fight for it and protect the human rights defenders standing alongside the marginalized communities hit hardest by climate disaster. Real climate justice, Marcos, includes your accountability to these injustices.
#StopTheAttacks
#DefendTheDefenders
#DefendSouthernTagalog
#ClimateJusticeNOW
