Filipino Catholics hope new bishop will lead eco crusade

 

Filipino Catholics hope new bishop will lead eco crusade

The newly appointed bishop of Mindoro, southwest of Luzon, has vowed to defend the island’s environment, sparking hope among locals who have long complained about illegal logging.

The Vatican announced on Dec. 17 the appointment of Society of Divine Word Father Pablito Tagura, 60, as the new apostolic vicar of San Jose in Occidental Mindoro province.

Locals believe there was reason why the pope appointed a missionary as their new bishop.

“For so many years, we have been begging both the government and Church leaders to speak against or to condemn ecological problems that we have here,” Mindoro catechist Nella De Guzman told UCA News.

“Our environment is being abused by corporations who have continued to cut trees”

De Guzman was referring to illegal logging by private corporations despite an existing logging ban on the island.

“Our natural resources are in peril. Our environment is being abused by corporations who have continued to cut trees citing progress, without showing any documentation or proof that they are indeed the owners of the land they cut trees from,” De Guzman added.

Former president, Benigno Aquino,  declared a total logging ban on the island in 2011 but local indigenous communities claim loggers are still operating.

“They claim that there is no more logging because of the ban. But in fact, there still are  illegal logging operations that degrade our ancestral lands, our forests,” Tessa Tituray, a member of the Mangyan tribe, told UCA News.

The Mangyan are the original inhabitants of Mindoro that settled along the island’s shores 600-700 years ago.

The indigenous group claims at least 40,000 hectares of land form part of their ancestral domain which is under threat, according to the Philippine Information Agency (PIA).

Natural resources like gas and minerals were potential business for the people of the island.

“We are petrified that big mining companies will take over our ancestral land”

“Over 40,000 hectares of land, including vast swathes of forest is claimed by the Mangyan as their ancestral domain. The land is believed to be rich in gold, natural gas and minerals worth many millions of dollars,” the PIA noted.

The tribal leader, Conrad Utaday, said the bishop-elect should listen to their cries against land grabbing.

“We are petrified that big mining companies will take over our ancestral land. If the government gives them licenses to operate, our land and heritage will be lost forever. I hope Father Tagura will join our crusade,” Utuday told UCA News.

Catholics on the island also hope the bishop-elect would live a life “with nature” so he knows how to protect it.

“Hopefully, he will put into heart the writings of Pope Francis, particularly his encyclical Laudato Si wherein the pope taught that all Christians had the moral duty take care of our mother earth,” Mangyan catechist Paul Jimenea told UCA News.

Bishop-elect Tagura has vowed to keep his mind open for God’s full of surprises in his new mission.

“I have not yet been ordained but for now, l will keep myself open. I am a defender of the environment and I will protect the rightful owners of the lands where illegal logging occurs,” said the SVD missionary clergyman.

The Philippines has a total forest cover of 6.8 million hectares as of 2010, according to an Environment and Natural Resources report.

Mindoro island has the second largest forest cover or 15.27 percent of the country’s total, according to the report.