Arrest of environmental activist

We vehemently condemn the illegal arrest of environmental activist and human rights worker Sherwin de Vera. He was riding a bus bound for Candon on the evening of Dec. 12, 2017 when the police hailed his transport at around 6:30 p.m. and subsequently arrested him. De Vera was detained at the Regional Police Headquarters in San Fernando, La Union and is currently being brought to the Abra Provincial Jail, facing charges of rebellion.

Sherwin is the coordinator of Defend Ilocos, a network of environmental advocates in the Ilocos region. Defend Ilocos played a key role in leading the Save the Abra River Movement (STARM), which led the protests against the detrimental effects of the continued operations of the Lepanto Mining Co. on downstream communities in Ilocos Sur. Defend Ilocos also co-organized the People’s Summit against the planned exploration activities of Cordillera Exploration Co. Inc. (CEXCI) in Cervantes, Ilocos Sur.

His arrest shows how the Duterte regime’s intensifying crackdown on perceived political dissidents affects environmental advocates as well. Sherwin’s arrest threatens to send a chilling effect on other environmental advocates who dare stand up against natural resources plunder and government negligence and indifference to people affected by environmental problems and issues.

De Vera’s case is the latest in the continuing crackdown against environmental defenders. Under the Duterte regime’s increasingly tyrannical rule, at least 42 environmental defenders have been killed, 241 have been filed with trumped-up charges, and more than 18,000 have been forcibly displaced by militarization.-- Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment