4 held for joining rally during Asean summit

MANILA, Philippines — Four environmental activists from Greenpeace Philippines were detained for holding a protest rally during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu yesterday.

In a statement, Greenpeace Philippines said the activists, who are volunteers, were taken to the Lapu-Lapu City police for questioning.

Greenpeace Philippines said the activists were holding a peaceful protest when police arrested them.

The activists were urging ASEAN leaders to end the plastic and waste crisis, hold polluting corporations accountable and move the region away from fossil fuel dependence.

“Instead of silencing peaceful protest, ASEAN leaders must listen to the message: communities across Southeast Asia are being harmed by landfill collapses, toxic fires, polluted air and plastic pollution they did not create,” the environmentalist group said.

“The real danger is not peaceful activism. The real danger is a system that allows corporations to keep flooding our region with single-use plastics while communities pay the price with their health, livelihoods and even their lives,” it added.

The group urged police to release the activists.