MANILA, Philippines - A group opposed to mining in Palawan said they had gathered half a million signatures to support their campaign.
Bantay Kalikasan of the ABS-CBN Foundation has intensified its advocacy against mining especially after one of its prime movers Dr. Gerry Ortega, an environmentalist and broadcaster was shot dead early this year by an unidentified gunman in Puerto Princesa City.
“We are hitting more than a half-a-million signatures already, we are continuously working on that. We want to show the government that there are many people interested in protecting the country from a paradigm that is not sustainable,” said Gina Lopez, managing director of ABS-CBN Foundation.
Bantay Kalikasan is part of an alliance called “Save Palawan Movement” together with groups Alyansa Tigil Mina, Environmental Action Center, and consortium of civil society organizations. “As early as October, this campaign against mining is already in our pipeline. Dok Gerry’s death just fast-tracked everything. We have long discussed this advocacy. Mining was one of his advocacies being part of the ABS-CBN Foundation in Palawan,” Lopez said.
She noted that mining thrives in the Philippines because of poverty.