By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net
AS more environmental advocates voice their concerns regarding alleged ecological degradation, environmental groups are warning that they will become the targets of corporations with the use of SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation).
Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) noted in a statement that mining firms and landowning families, in particular, are able to stifle opposition.
A SLAPP is a form of litigation by a wealthier group to silence less financially-capable critics.
Kalikasan PNE national coordinator Clemente Bautista said several non-government environmental advocates are facing SLAPP lawsuits filed by firms allegedly violating environmental laws.
Among those slapped with libel and conspiracy lawsuits are Center for Environmental Concerns-Philippines executive director Frances Quimpo, who is facing a P10-million libel suit filed by Australian mining firm Lafayette Philippines Inc; and Ifugao leaders of the Kasibu Inter-tribal Response Towards Ecological Development who are threatened with arrest for opposing the entry of mining firm Oxiana Philippines and its Australian partner RoyalCo, Ltd.
Two other persons, Pinoy Weekly reporter Ilang-Ilang Quijano and toxicologist Romeo Quijano, have been slapped with a civil case by Lapanday Agricultural and Development Corp. and are awaiting a verdict.
“Environmental groups in other countries have faced SLAPPs by commercial real estate developers, companies, and the like. In the Philippines, these entities using SLAPPs are usually foreign-owned mining or logging firms or elite land-owning families who control and extract resources from vast tracts of lands,” Bautista said.
In support of environmental groups, Bayan Muna Representative Teddy Casiño said he plans to file a bill banning the use of SLAPP litigation in the country.
