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<div id="isPasted" style="margin:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;overflow-wrap:break-word;animation-name:none !important;transition-property:none !important;color:rgb(5, 5, 5);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><p>MANILA — Two environmental defenders were &quot;mauled&quot; and &quot;abducted&quot; on Sunday night in San Carlos, Pangasinan, a rights group said.</p><div><br/></div><div><span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">Karapatan Central Luzon said in a statement that e</span><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">nvironmental rights defenders Francisco &quot;Eco&quot; Dangla III and Axielle &quot;Jak&quot; Tiong had been &quot;savagely mauled and dragged to a waiting SUV&quot; at around 8 p.m. Sunday in Barangay Polo, citing reports from witnessess.</span></div><div><br/></div><p>It said that the abuction of the two green activists marked the 7th and 8th cases of such attacks against environmentalists &quot;<span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">across the central plains of Luzon,&quot; including Pangasinan.</span></p><div><br/></div><p>The Philippines is <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/13/23/ph-is-5th-most-dangerous-country-for-environment-defenders-report">one of the most dangerous places</a> for environmental defenders in the world, according to NGO Global Witness.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;DANGERS OF RED-TAGGING&#x27;</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">Karapatan Central Luzon said Dangla and Tiong were &quot;victims of terror-tagging and vilification despite being genuine champions of the environment and the people of Pangasinan.&quot;</span></div><div><br/></div><div><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">&quot;As we embark to follow their trail and search for the two, we enjoin all peace loving citizens to please contact us for all and any relevant information regarding the Eco and Axielle,&quot; it said.</span><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"></span><span dir="ltr" id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"></span><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"></span><span dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><br/></span></div><div><span dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><br/>AGHAM Advocates of Science and Technology for the People meanwhile condemned the abduction of </span><span dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Dangla and Tiong, saying it &quot;serves as further evidence of the dangers of red-tagging, primarily perpetrated by the state and its rabid military forces.&quot;</span></div><div><br/></div><div><span dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">&quot;We call upon the authorities to address this matter promptly, to locate Eco and Jak immediately, and to cease the attacks on environmental defenders,&quot; the group said in a statement.</span></div><div><br/></div><div><span dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Dangla and his</span><span dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"> organization, Pangasinan People&#x27;s Strike for the Environment, partners with AGHAM in various environmental campaigns, the group said.</span></div><div><br/></div><div><span dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">These include their &quot;opposition to the revival of the faulty Bataan Nuclear Power Plant and the proposed entry of small modular nuclear reactors, awareness on the impacts of coal-fired power plants on the people and the environment, among others.&quot;</span></div><div><br/></div><div><span dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">The reported abductions come after similar cases where the alleged victims are later presented as having surrendered to authorities.</span></div><div><br/></div><div><span dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8XHXEaCH0oQ?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></span><br/></div><div><span dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">The Department of Justice in January recommended the filing of oral defamation cases against environmental activists Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano, who told a government-organized press conference last September that they had been abducted by the military.</span></div><div><br/></div><div><span dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">They said that affidavits on their supposed surrender were made under duress.</span></div><div><br/></div><div><span dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">A military officer filed perjury complaints against the two activists over their statements but the DOJ junked these, saying there was no proof that their statements were false.</span></div><div><br/></div><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/29/24/doj-junks-militarys-perjury-raps-vs-activists"></a><span dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/29/24/doj-junks-militarys-perjury-raps-vs-activists">RELATED: </a></span><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/29/24/doj-junks-militarys-perjury-raps-vs-activists">DOJ junks military&#x27;s perjury raps vs activists</a><a href="http://DOJ junks military&#x27;s perjury raps vs activists"></a><br/></div><div style="caret-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);color:rgb(0, 0, 0);margin:0px;flex-direction:row;flex-basis:100%;-webkit-box-flex:0;flex-grow:0;max-width:100%;padding-top:16px;padding-left:16px"><div><div data-testid="soc-med-with-author-and-date" style="display:flex;flex-flow:row wrap;width:912px;padding-left:0px;padding-right:0px;position:relative;-webkit-box-pack:justify;justify-content:space-between"></div><span dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><br/></span></div></div></div>

<p>Two environmental defenders were "mauled" and "abducted" on Sunday night in San Carlos, Pangasinan, a rights group said.</p>

Two environmental defenders were "mauled" and "abducted" on Sunday night in San Carlos, Pangasinan, a rights group said.

2 environmental defenders 'mauled, abducted' in Pangasinan: rights group

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2 environmental defenders 'mauled, abducted' in Pangasinan: rights group

ABS-CBN News

Published March 25, 2024 02:19 PM PHT

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AGHAM

environment

enviroment defenders

Francisco "Eco" Dangla III

Axielle "Jak" Tiong

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