The Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc. (PMPI) welcomes the decision of the Regional Trial Court Branch 3, Guiuan, Eastern Samar, to deny the application filed by EMIR Mineral Resources Corporation (EMRC) for a Writ of Preliminary Injunction and/or Temporary Restraining Order against environmental leaders of Brgy Bitaugan, Homonhon Island, led by Homonhon Environmental Advocates and Rights Defenders (HEARD).
The mining company filed a case to prohibit the local communities from barricading and staging protests within their mining tenement against their tree-cutting activities. The community actions stem from their belief that tree cutting is a form of expansion couched by the mining company as clearing operations that will impact and affect the local community’s water source.
In the decision written by the Regional Trial Court, Branch 3, it stated that the mining company failed to prove the injury incurred that would justify silencing the community’s action. The PMPI welcomes this decision of the Court and commends it for upholding the fundamental rights of a people to a healthy environment since further expansion of the mining company’s area of operation will encroach on the water sources of the residents and can impact their health. The Court’s decision also essentially upholds environmental justice specially in this time of climate crisis, where everyone is susceptible to ecological risks. This decision is a a breath of hope for environmental defenders because all over the world they face overwhelming intimidation and legal persecution for standing to protect the environment.
The local communities led by HEARD and the residents of Brgy. Bitaugan has shown courage in the face of adversity, standing firm in the defense of their clean water sources despite undue legal pressure. As emphasized by Yoly Esguerra, the national coordinator of the PMPI, “The RTC decision underscores what we have always maintained, that defending the environment is not a crime, it’s mandatory”. Dionisio Bandoy, HEARD’s member and one of the respondents of the case, stated that “ We are relieved that the Court upholds our right to protect our environment. Homonhon is our home and we will continue to protect this island”.
We thank the service of the Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC) and other partner organizations that stood in solidarity with this adversity. We continue to urge government institutions and the court to protect environmental defenders and communities to ensure that laws or policies are not used to silence dissent and those who speak truth to power.
We will celebrate this victory but will remain vigilant. The struggle for environmental and climate justice continues, and we will continue to stand in solidarity with the communities in Homonhon and their water rights.
