MANILA, Philippines — Quarrying and land-grabbing activities are no longer the only threats looming over Masungi Georeserve, as an online disinformation campaign works to discredit its conservation efforts, a BBC investigation found.
BBC journalist Marc Silva uncovered around 100 Facebook accounts exhibiting troll-like behavior, actively working to tarnish the reputation Masungi Georeserve Foundation, the nonprofit that conserves the eco-tourism site. The accounts also simultaneously laud the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
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“Every time we do a campaign against a destructive interest such as a campaign against quarrying, we see retaliation coming in the form of misleading information and fake news that is trying to manufacture dissent against the work that we do,” Billie, one of the foundation’s trustees, said in the BBC podcast.
What is Masungi? The Masungi Georeserve is a protected area within the Upper Marikina Watershed Reservation and serves as an eco-tourism site in Rizal’s rainforests. The area has helped reduce flooding in the region.
Often referred to as the “last green corridor” on the outskirts of Manila, it has been threatened by urbanization and resource exploitation due to its rich mineral deposits and proximity to developed areas.
It was in 2017 when the Dumaliang family, who founded the Masungi Georeserve Foundation (MGFI), entered into a public-private partnership with the DENR to establish a perpetual land trust.
This agreement grants the nonprofit permission to restore 2,700 hectares of degraded land and safeguard the area’s unique flora and fauna.
Only savings from the georeserve, personal funds and in-kind donations were used to fund the restoration, the Dumaliangs said.
Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, however, called for the cancelation of the agreement in 2024, claiming that it is unconstitutional because the contract permits MGFI to have indefinite control over the land.
RELATED: DENR, Masungi 2017 MOA voiding ‘untenable’ — Masungi Foundation
Rise of a coordinated attack
When local and international celebrities, alongside activists, called on President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to stop the DENR’s attempt to cancel the agreement with MGFI, several posts about the issue proliferated on social media.
The DENR issued a statement acknowledging the expressed opinions, emphasizing that while they appreciate the sentiments, “no one is above the law.”
Silva noted a significant number of comments and posts supporting the DENR while criticizing Masungi, with some even claiming that the foundation is profiting from the area despite being a nonprofit organization.
This prompted the BBC journalist to investigate the posts and comments surrounding the strife between DENR and the foundation, as he noticed a common behavior shared by some Facebook users.
What were the accounts like? The Facebook accounts Silva had identified were typical of a paid troll, featuring stock images, celebrities and random animals as profile pictures. They were also created just hours apart from each other.
These users flooded comment sections of posts about Masungi with strikingly similar language and sentence structure, spreading their messages across multiple Facebook groups with thousands of followers.
Paid adverts criticizing Masungi
Some Facebook posts even included paid advertisements targeting the georeserve, which Silva discovered were bought by a public relations consultant named Ben Pablo.
When Silva attempted to contact Pablo, the PR consultant’s social media accounts and pages suddenly vanished. However, Silva still managed to find other advertisements Pablo bought because of Meta’s archiving.
During the same period Masungi faced attacks, Pablo had also purchased advertisements promoting Sen. Imee Marcos, the sister of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Imee’s camp similarly did not respond to Silva when he asked whether they had employed Pablo.
DENR, however, sent Silva a statement saying that the department “has no involvement in any social media campaign, activity or other online tactics aimed at influencing public opinion in a negative manner.”
Regardless of whether public opinion was influenced, Manila-based journalist Regine Cabato said in the podcast that the online propaganda also aims to create fear and intimidation directed at the georeserve’s founders, forest rangers and staff.
“It seems like we’re being ganged upon by local politicians, together with some people from DENR, along with their cohorts in these destructive industries,” Billie added.
Disputed grounds
Since the 1990s, environmental advocates have been campaigning to restore and protect the unique limestone formations surrounding the forest from deforestation and land-grabbing attempts.
MGFI said its campaign has always been met with retaliation, just like in any environmental cause that defenders fight for in the country.
While the agreement between the DENR and the foundation was a significant step in restoring Masungi, the Dumaliang sisters said the coordinated online attacks pushing for the agreement's cancelation have made it increasingly difficult for the MGFI to continue with its efforts.
“It could be clouding sometimes to be in the eye of the storm to have to deal with multiple campaigns all at the same time — to have all of these disinformation on top of all the enforcement activity you need to do on the ground,” Ann Dumaliang, one of MGFI’s trustees, said in the BBC podcast.
MGFI argued that the perpetual land trust given to them in 2017 was not a gift for the foundation to use as they see fit. The contract is in pursuit of conservation, unlike other private firms lobbying for land development, quarrying and resorts, MGFI added.
The foundation also explained that as a nonprofit conservation initiative, it utilizes the conservation fees paid by guests and donations to maintain its operations.
Should the agreement be canceled, the DENR plans to lead the reforestation project under its Project TRANSFORM (Transdisciplinary Approach for Resilient and Sustainable Communities).
Despite the attacks, the Dumaliang sisters said they won’t stop as decades worth of the foundation’s hard work can be seen in Masungi’s 7-foot-tall trees and the wildlife that seeks refuge in the forest.
“We are reminded of the reason why we’re doing this. It’s to preserve this special place,” Billie said.