Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment
Press Release
5 March 2024
Green group files complaint to UN special rapporteur regarding Jhed and Jonila’s abduction case
Environmental group Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) filed a complaint today, March 5, to UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders Michel Forst concerning the abduction case of anti-reclamation activists Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro.
The complaint, addressed to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders Michel Forst, calls for immediate attention to the lack of transparency and failure to disclose critical social and biodiversity action plans by the project’s proponents, which Kalikasan PNE argues “contributed to the abduction and torture experienced by Jhed and Jonila.” International organizations Global Witness and Both ENDS also joined as co-complainants.
“We hope that the Special Rapporteur will thoroughly examine the failure of the Dutch state and Dutch company Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) to take measures to prevent the abduction from taking place,” said Jon Bonifacio, national coordinator of Kalikasan PNE. “The Philippines has continuously ranked as one of the worst countries in the world for environmental defenders, which should require the Netherlands government to perform their due diligence before supporting projects in the Philippines that contribute to this situation.”
The controversial 2,500-hectare airport project in Bulacan, developed by San Miguel Corporation, recruited Boskalis in 2020 to carry out related dredging and reclamation operations. In 2022, the Dutch state awarded 1.5 billion euros worth of export credit insurance covering its operations in Manila Bay, through state bank Atradius DSB.
Kalikasan PNE argued that the increased military presence in the area due to the project has led to reprisals against defenders and communities, including against Castro and Tamano.
“Our filing of the complaint is a continuation of our demand for justice for Jhed and Jonila, and of our demand to put a stop to the massive, destructive reclamation in Manila Bay,” said Bonifacio. “Under the Marcos Jr. regime, attacks against environmental defenders and destructive projects like reclamation have continued. We call on the international community to continue exposing the human rights and environmental violations under Marcos Jr., and help us hold corporations and government institutions accountable for their actions against the interest of people and planet.”#
Contact:
John Carlo Magallon / Communications Officer, Kalikasan PNE
maggie@kalikasan.net / 0955 299 5309
