Environmental activists tortured, mutilated, and murdered on Philippine island of Palawan
Puerto Princesa, Philippines (AFP) March 7, 2011 – For tourists the Philippine island of Palawan seems like paradise, but for environment activists it feels more akin to a battlefield.
Murders and threats on what is promoted as the Southeast Asian nation’s last ecological frontier are emblematic of a struggle across the country, where dozens of environment campaigners have been killed over the past decade. Father-of-five “Doc” Gerry Ortega became the latest casualty in late January when a hitman shot him in the head while browsing in a second-hand clothes shop along one of the main roads of Palawan’s capital city, Puerto Princesa. “He received a lot of death threats,” Ortega’s wife, Patty, 48, told AFP in an interview at a cafe just a few hundred metres from where he was killed. The murdered Ortega, 47, a veterinarian, made many enemies via a daily radio morning show he hosted in which he lambasted politicians whom he accused of being corrupt and allowing the island’s natural resources to be pillaged. “He was a very passionate man, passionate about the environment,” his widow said. On the far western edge of the Philippines’ archipelago, Palawan has some of the country’s most beautiful beaches, stunning coral reefs and biodiverse forests — it is home to two UNESCO World Heritage-listed sites. But environment campaigners say Palawan’s natural wonders could be destroyed within a generation amid the frenzy to exploit them, citing as an example the destruction of countless coral reefs from cyanide and dynamite fishing. Its reefs supply more than half the nation’s seafood, plus millions of dollars’ worth of fish to other Asian markets. Palawan also has vast amounts of nickel, cobalt and other valuable minerals, prompting hundreds of applications to mine about half of the island. … “The biggest obstacle really is the temptation of money from big industries and (those involved in) illegal activities,” Edward Hagedorn, the long-time mayor of Puerto Princesa, told AFP. Hagedorn, regarded by Palawan’s environment activists as one of their most important political allies, has banned mining and logging in Puerto Princesa which, although a city, has huge tracts of forests and white sand beaches. “Outside the city destruction is happening very fast,” he said. Hagedorn said powerful figures had often tried to bribe him to permit environmentally destructive practices, such as allowing truckloads of seafood that were illegally fished to be flown from his city’s airport. “You’ll be surprised. Law enforcers, judges, come into my office (offering money and) asking for me to give them a chance,” he said. Environment campaigners say that, amid this chaos, they have to perform functions that government bodies and law enforcers should be doing, which often pushes them into very dangerous situations. Attorney Chan, 43, said four environment activists from local communities he had worked with over the past decade had been murdered. … Chan, who is married and has a young daughter, recounted losing an activist in 2006 who had been working to oppose illegal logging and the cutting down of mangroves in his community. “We found him in a shallow grave in a beach. He had been specifically buried there for us to find him,” said Chan. “His testicles were taken off, put into his mouth, his tongue was cut out, his eyes were gouged out, his fingernails were taken out, he had around 16 stab wounds.” …
