International environmental group Oceana has condemned the reported abduction of two Filipino environmentalists in Orion, Bataan.
The group identified the two environmentalists as Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano who were reportedly abducted on Sept. 2. Both are volunteers of AKAP KA Manila Bay, a non-government organization (NGO) that helps fisherfolk and coastal communities affected by the Manila Bay reclamation projects.
With this, Oceana has urged President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. to order a probe into the abduction of the two environmentalists.
It stressed that what happened to Castro and Tamano is a human rights violation.
The international group has demanded the government to “facilitate their safe return to their family and loved ones as soon as possible and the accountability of those responsible for these dastardly acts.”
Lawyer Gloria Estenzo Ramos, Oceana vice president, said this incident is a “sad reminder of how environmental activists are constantly at risk in this day and age.”
"It bears emphasis that the state has a duty to save our coastal ecosystem and fisheries so that the people truly benefit from these important resources,” she said.
“However, the coastal communities and fisherfolk remain marginalized and worse, forced to endure the destruction of the marine environment caused by reclamation, dredging, and seabed quarrying in Manila Bay and other parts of the country. Now that volunteers and organizers like Castro and Tamano are helping them speak out and stop these destructive projects, it is unfortunate and sad that they are subjected to undue harassment and threats to their life and liberty instead," she went on.
Fishers condemn abduction
Fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) has also condemned the reported abduction of the two environmentalists.
According to the fishers’ group, it received reports that Tamano and Castro were abducted by armed men in Barangay Lati, Orion, Bataan.
“Their tasks as coordinators of environmental formation AKAP Ka Manila Bay are crucial, especially amid the pressing anti-reclamation campaign being waged by the fisherfolk and residents of Manila Bay,” Ronnel Arambulo, vice chairperson of Pamalakaya, said.
“The coastal towns of Bataan province are among the many areas that are threatened by reclamation projects; it is covered by the 18, 000-hectare Manila Bay Integrated Flood Control, Coastal Defense and Expressway Project. The said project involves the dump-and-filling of productive fish ponds, mangrove areas, and municipal fishing grounds in the several towns of Bataan, Bulacan, and Navotas City.”