ENVIRONMENTAL activist group Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) has called for an investigation into attacks against two forest rangers of the Masungi Georeserve.
The Masungi Georeserve is recognized internationally for its low-impact ecotourism project while protecting and conserving a vast tract of land in Baras, Rizal.
In a statement, Kalikasan-PNE said the latest attack was “brazen and virtually in plain sight of police personnel.”
“We join the cry for justice over these escalating attacks against Masungi’s brave and dedicated forest rangers. We call for an independent probe into the clear failure of security, as Masungi Georeserve noted that a PNP Special Action Force station was ‘just around the corner’ from the Bayog ranger station where the attack happened,” Leon Dulce, national coordinator of Kalikasan PNE said in a statement.
According to the group, private businesses have illegally encroached into the watershed and must also be investigated.
“These businesses have clear motives as the Masungi administration has repeatedly received death threats and intimidations from these business interests,” Dulce furthered.
The 3,000-hectare Masungi Georeserve is a protected area of unique limestone formations and forests that have constantly faced pressures from conflicting land uses.
At various times, GSB resort, Rublou, and Green Atom figured in controversies over alleged attempts at property development. A quarrying company also tried to occupy and fence off hundreds of hectares of the park’s reforestation areas.
Masungi Georeserve is a part of the Marikina Watershed, where the 26,000 hectares Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape (UMRBPL) sits. Its operators have been very vocal against environmental crimes committed within UMRBPL, including massive tree-cutting activities.
Half of the UMRBPL is being claimed as part of the ancestral land of the Dumagat-Remontados of Antipolo, who accuse Masungi Georeserve operators of land-grabbing and alleged encroachment in their ancestral domain.
The territorial disputes in the Marikina Watershed sometimes trigger violent confrontations between security guards deployed by various interest groups operating in the area.
The Philippines was declared by the international investigative group Global Witness as the 2nd deadliest country in the world and deadliest in Asia for land and environmental defenders last year. Since 2017, the Philippines has ranked between 1st and 2nd globally.
“We are facing a deeply rooted and systemic crisis of impunity against environmental defenders. Throughout the current Duterte administration, we have ranked between the first and second deadliest in the world for environmental defenders,” Dulce lamented.
“The Global Witness annual reports have repeatedly recommended tackling the root causes such as ensuring human rights due diligence, addressing land inequality. They have also repeatedly recommended bringing to justice perpetrators and investigating and redressing corruption behind the businesses in conflict with defenders,” Dulce said.