Yesterday (June 22nd, CET), the international spokesperson of Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP), the Philippine chapter of the Fridays for Future movement, Mitzi Jonelle Tan gave a speech alongside Billie Eilish and H.E.R. at the Global Citizen’s Power Our Planet concert in Paris.
“Silence. That is what the colonizers, imperialists, and ruling class want as they continue to overexploit land and people across the globe. The Philippines, where I’m from, is one of the most dangerous countries for environmental defenders and activists. Dexter Capuyan and Bazoo de Jesus are Indigenous rights activists and they have been abducted and missing for two months now. Remember their names and never forget that activists are not terrorists!” Tan said in her speech onstage.
Billie Eilish and H.E.R. then join Tan holding protest signs backstage reading “Surface Environmental Defenders, Dexter and Bazoo! Surface all desaparecidos!” referring to Dexter Capuyan and Bazoo de Jesus mentioned in Tan’s speech referenced above. Award-winning actors Michelle Yeoh and Leonardo DiCaprio also held signs reading “Save Manila Bay! Stop Reclamation Now! Climate Justice Now!” in addition to the aforementioned. Despite a recently passed Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) moratorium on new reclamation projects, over 50 projects, covering almost 15,000 hectares, are still in different phases of implementation. YACAP joins the calls of coastal communities and fisherfolk to end reclamation projects that are destroying crucial ecosystems and carbon sinks that help us mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis.
According to Ronnel Arambulo, vice chairperson of Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA), reclamation destroys fishers’ livelihoods and communities, deprives them of their future, and leads to the loss of food security and self-reliance among the Filipino people. “Reclamation only benefits local capitalists and foreign corporations, while posing as a disaster rather than a development opportunity for fisherfolk and ordinary citizens,” Arambulo said.
Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines 