The plight of the Tacloban 5 is but the latest case in a deepening human rights crisis faced by people working to protect their lands, the environment, and our climate. The Philippines was declared the deadliest country in the world for environmental defenders in 2019.
By BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat perspective If you live in Manila, you most probably have not read any article during the last few months about the victims of Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan). Of course, almost three years have passed since that fateful day of November 8, 2013. The affected communities in Leyte should have recovered…
“We are two different entities that looked into the same picture and drew the same conclusions.”
“The Filipino people’s economic, social and cultural rights are similarly wantonly violated. The government of Defendant (President Benigno S. Aquino III) presides over the highest number of unemployed and underemployed Filipinos in the country’s history.”
One of the areas most damaged by the last two super typhoons, which made landfall in the country, is the Eastern Visayas region. With one super typhoon making landfall where communities have barely recovered from another, recovery and rehabilitation efforts have become more and more challenging.
“Thousands were reported to have searched for alternative evacuation sites or forced to settle in unsafe sites, as designated evacuation centers were overflowing. Some declared evacuation centers were actually disaster-prone areas, and initial reports reveal how an evacuation center was even destroyed by Ruby’s violent winds in Eastern Samar province.”
“Not only have we been left for dead by the government’s criminal neglect after supertyphoons, we also suffer from the violence of the military – and for what? For practicing bayanihan (mutual aid) and demanding social justice for disaster survivors?” – People Surge
See also: A victim of rights violation, then of typhoon and gov’t neglect
It is bad enough that her husband was brutally murdered allegedly by soldiers while tending his farm, and her efforts to seek justice for his killing resulted in harassments. She was forced to leave for Leyte, where her home was later destroyed by supertyphoon Yolanda.
“Contrary to some belief, PAGASA does not recognize nor use both ‘typhoon signal number 5’ and ‘super typhoon’ categories. But Yolanda [Haiyan] has redefined boundaries.”
“We are angered that it is the survivors whom they accuse as liars. After we were robbed, neglected, driven away from our land and jobs, the government tells us that it is our fault. In our name they amass funds and they commit more crimes to exploit these funds.”
“Seeing and living with Yolanda survivors first-hand tells us two things: one is that the Yolanda survivors have been doing their best to live and survive and face the aftermath of Yolanda. Two, is that the Aquino government and the ruling local elite are themselves like storm surges that devastate the people more by their neglect and shameless profiteering.” National Union of Students in the Philippines