Fishers are mad with top environment chief
Manila, Philippines — “We are extremely mad with environment secretary Cimatu. He should be held responsible over massive destruction of the environment in the name of corporate interests and bureaucratic corruption,” This was the statement of the militant fishers group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) on Thursday, calling environment chief Roy Cimatu as “coddler of big-time plunderers and destroyers of the environment” after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has reopened mining sites that were closed by the late environment secretary Gina Lopez.
“Mr. Cimatu shows no ethos in environmental protection. He is a hundred and eighty degree turn of his predecessor Gina Lopez, who actually led a crackdown against illegal mines and other forms of environmental destruction in the country,” Fernando Hicap, PAMALAKAYA National Chairperson said in a statement.
The fishers group calls on environmental groups and advocates across the country to deplore the DENR’s “complete turnaround” on its mandate, and collectively call for the resignation of Cimatu over “deliberate neglect in protecting the environment”. ###
