In its proposed 2023 budget, the agriculture department is set to slash about PhP211 million in “Irrigation Network Service”
“We will proclaim what is true, just, and right. That is our moral obligation,” said Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, national director of Caritas Philippines
Kalikasan said the longer land grabbers encroaching Masungi are not prosecuted, “the more we will see bolder acts of violence against its defenders”
Caritas Philippines has been encouraging government and private institutions to promote and invest in renewables such as solar panel systems “as the impacts of the climate crisis continue to worsen.”
The group said the protection of the environment and defense of the people who are working against ecological destruction “should be a platform” for every candidate.
“Recent tragedies and environmental disruptions linked to mining and quarrying underscore the need for a thorough investigation”
“We hope that an alternative minerals management bill would be legislated to rationalize mining and the use of minerals in the country”
Bishop Alminaza echoed Pope Francis’s stance highlighting the intrinsic link between the dignity of work and worker safety
“We fully support the Masungi Georeserve Foundation for its successful reforestation and management of the Masungi Georeserve Park”
Environmental groups, however, believe that the military operations are connected to the mining operations in the region