In memory of Gerry Ortega, scrap DMCI power plant
T HE KALIKASAN People’s Network for the Environment commemorated on Jan. 24 the third death anniversary of Dr. Gerry Ortega, a staunch defender of the environment and a seeker of truth. Three years after being felled by an assassin’s bullet for taking Palawan’s coddlers of big mining and corruption to task, justice remains elusive for Gerry and his family and we continue to demand that the perpetrators of this heinous crime be held accountable.
The facts are clear: Witnesses firmly point to former Palawan governor Joel Reyes and his brother, Coron mayor Mario Reyes, as the masterminds behind Gerry’s murder. No other motive can be seen except the desperation to silence Gerry—to stop his exposing of and opposition to destructive large-scalemining and the corruption and malversation of funds from the Malampaya Natural Gas Project.
For three years, we have diligently supported the Ortega family in pursuing various courses of action to land these crooks in jail. We have challenged the administration of President Aquino to take decisive action in resolving Gerry’s murder and immediately capture the fugitive Reyes brothers. Year in and year out, we are simply met with token consolation and hollow promises of action.
Amid the clear inaction from the Aquino administration, confessed conspirator-turned-witness Dennis Aranas was discharged from the Witness Protection Program and died under mysterious circumstances. The Court of Appeals has also junked the murder case filed against the Reyes brothers and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima’s Department Order No. 710, which created the second panel that reviewed and eventually found basis for the filing of charges against the Reyes brothers. The wheels of justice have turned slowly over the past three years and have almost come to a complete stop.
To date, Gerry is one of among 71 environmental advocates who have fallen victim to political killings since 2011, precisely for opposing big extractive and polluting companies, as well as in criticizing corruption in our government. To date, none of the cases involving the extrajudicial killing of environment advocates has been resolved.
There is no giving up in the struggle to claim justice for Gerry. But beyond the clamor for justice, there is no better way to celebrate his life than to continue his legacy in fighting for our environment, especially as ecological threats to the Philippines’ last frontier continue to rear their ugly heads.
A 25-Megawatt coal-fired power plant of the DMCI Power Corp. threatens to pollute agricultural areas and seriously damage biodiversity in the municipality of Aborlan, the town where Ortega grew up. Palawan stands to lose its status as a Unesco-declared Man and Biosphere Reserve due to various extractive and infrastructural projects that are destructive to the natural environment. Despite the lack of acceptance from local communities, this dirty coal power plant project is being backed by corrupt national and local government officials. This project highlights the indisputable fact that despite the availability of potential sources of clean, cheap and indigenous energy sources, corporate greed and bureaucratic corruption continue to trample on people’s needs and Mother Nature.
What would Doctor Gerry do about the DMCI coal-fired power plant if he were still with us? He would definitely make a stand against pollution and corruption for which this project symbolizes.
Justice to Dr. Gerry Ortega and all murdered environmental workers!
No to the DMCI coal-fired power plant in Palawan!
—LEON DULCE, campaign coordinator, Kalikasan People’s Network for
the Environment, secretariat@kalikasan.net