GOVERNMENT TO INVESTIGATE THE KILLING OF AN ANTI-MINING ACTIVIST IN SAMAR
December 4, 2014 ·
“Justice for the killing of Francisco Canayong. Stop extra-judicial killing”, Philippine Misereor Partnership said in a statement seeking government’s immediate investigation of the killing of an anti-mining activists in Salcedo, Eastern Samar. Canayong, was stabbed to death in broad daylight on 1 May 2012 by an unidentified assailant. He is a known active anti-mining activist opposing the mining operations in Salcedo.
According to Fr. Juderick Calumpiano, Chairman of the Diocesan Commission on Social Action- Justice and Peace of the Diocese of Borongan and PMPI Cluster Point Person for Eastern Visayas, “Mano Francing has been receiving death threats since early this year because of his active involvement in the anti-mining campaign in Salcedo where he is one of our active community leaders. In fact, he reported it to the police and detailed in a blotter last March 19, 2012 the persons who are connected with certain mining companies as responsible for the threats he had been receiving then. This was not isolated as other fellow anti-mining activists whom Mano had led have also receive death threats and are now fearing for their lives”.
“This indicates the sorry state of human rights in our country. Our government has not taken any decisive effort to address extra-judicial killings of environmentalist and anti-mining activist” said Fr. Edu Gariguez, Executive Secretary of CBCP- National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA) also a co- convener of PMP. Gariguez who is Goldman prize awardee, a prestigious international award-giving body for environmental activists, said that it will not be a surprise if the Philippine Government will not get a favorable review from the UN Human Rights Council based in Geneva who is set to review the government’s commitment on human rights come this first week of June 2012.
