Anti-Mining Activist Gunned Down in ComVal
- Category Extrajudicial Killings, Human Rights, LATEST ENTRIES, LATEST POSTS, Press Releases
- Post tags human rights
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An anti-large scale mining activist was killed by unidentified men yesterday, 23 December 2008, at New Bataan, Compostela Valley Province, environmental activist group Panalipdan-Southern Mindanao Region (SMR) today reported.
At around 7:00 in the evening, an unidentified men brutally killed 39-year old environmental activist leader Fernando “Dodong” Sarmiento, Secretary General of Panalipdan-New Bataan, at Purok 1, Barangay Cabinuangan, New Bataan, Compostela Valley Province, said Panalipdan-SMR spokesperson Francis Morales, citing reports from the field.
“Dodong Sarmiento sustained 5 gun-shot wounds that resulted to his death”, Morales said.
“We condemn in the strongest term the brutal killing of Dodong Sarmiento, who is known for leading the rural folks of New Bataan in calling for the stoppage of the operations of PhilCo Mining Corporation, the planned exploration of other mining corporations and mining-instigated militarization under the command of 10th Infantry Division, citing as reasons for their resistance on the destruction that large-scale mining operations brought on people’s livelihoods and local ecosystems”, Morales stressed.
“The environmental group believes that Sarmiento was killed by military elements due to his advocacies. Last 16 July 2008, Sarmiento was interrogated by the elements of 28th Infantry Batallion, Philippine Army (IBPA) under Lt. Wendel Ariola for his active involvement in environmental campaigns and was accused as rebel supporter. Then on 22 July 2008, the military posted on its website falsely claiming that Sarmiento was a rebel surrenderee”, Morales divulged.
“This is a typical mode of operation of the military in implementing the Oplan Bantay Laya 2 in the rural areas of Compostela Valley wherein activist leaders were maligned and demonized first before being killed”, Morales furthered.
The Panalipdan-SMR leader said that Sarmiento is the first environmental activist in Southern Mindanao killed after the Arroyo administration formed the Investment Defense Force (IDF) and when the 10th ID chief Major General Leo Jogy Fojas declared that New Bataan is the rebel’s center operations which is actually meant to wipe-out all types of opposition against mining aggression.
Under the Arroyo regime, 24 environmental activists have been killed which indicate the rise on human rights violations in relation to opposition to mining projects, based on the documentation of Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment.
The Arroyo administration and the 10th ID should be held accountable the killing of Sarmiento. This is an administration which aggressively promotes plunder of mineral resources and sell-out of our national patrimony to foreign firms at the expense of people’s welfare and fragile ecosystems, Morales said.
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I saw this on a government forum earlier. Seems Amcor Mining and Pedro Tan are about to be in big trouble for human rights abuses.
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Recent reports by a US-based environmental Think Tank and the CAFOD have shed light on human rights and environmental abuses perpetrated by a Philippine mining company called Amcor. Sourced information in both of the reports cite sourced information that Amcor owner Pedro Tan bribed government officials and community leaders to silent grassroots opposition to their mining project in Mati in the southern Philippine province of Davao Oriental. The US report, entitled: Mining Injustices in the Philippines 2008: A Year in Review, claims that Amcors owners refused to follow the environmental and ethical standards of their former joint venture partner, Australian mining firm BHP Billiton, and the Philippine government. According to dozens of sources in the report, Pedro Tan bribed government officials to look the other way. This is the reason the foreign mining partner refused to continue the project with Amcor because Amcor is not willing to obey environmental and community rights laws. A former employee of Amcor, who asked to remain anonymous in the report, claimed that it was widely known in Amcor that they were providing false information to the government, the community, and their business partner on how to make the project sustainable and minimize environmental impact.
This has been covered pretty extensively in the media already although BHP Billiton has not confirmed that Amcor pressured them to violate environment standards.