A Philippine Catholic environmental network warned that corporations are receiving greater protection than communities and ecosystems, saying legal actions against environmental defenders reflect an escalating pattern of corporate intimidation and harassment.
In a statement released Thursday, the Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc. (PMPI) said Environmental Human Rights Defenders (EHRDs) across the country face growing legal pressure for opposing extractive projects.
“We are now witnessing a catastrophic role reversal where corporations enjoy greater protection than communities and ecosystems. This must end. The era of ecological justice must begin,” PMPI said.
The organization cited the recent civil suit filed against Bishop Jose Elmer Mangalinao of the Diocese of Bayombong, along with clergy and local land defenders, over their opposition to a 4,456-hectare mining exploration project in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya.
PMPI described the case as “a disturbing sign of how far corporate power will go to suppress peaceful, faith-based resistance.”
“When a bishop is sued simply for celebrating Mass, offering prayers, and standing with Indigenous communities, the law has been severed from its moral foundation,” it said.
The statement also cited Homonhon Island in Eastern Samar, where PMPI said partner communities have documented the effects of decades of large-scale open-pit mining, leaving residents with polluted air, compromised water sources, and concerns over their children’s future.
PMPI urged government agencies, regulatory institutions, the security sector, and the justice system to provide effective protection for environmental human rights defenders, hold corporations accountable for environmental harm and violations, and ensure consultations and Free, Prior and Informed Consent in communities and ancestral domains.
“The law must serve life, not profit,” PMPI said.
The organization also called on extractive companies to stop using legal action against communities, clergy, and environmental defenders, cease operations that violate ecological limits and community rights, and respect the Rights of Nature.
“No corporation has the right to endanger the future,” PMPI said.
