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Two environmental defenders fell down again by the bullets of unknown assailants in Barangay Puntalinao, Banaybanay, Davao Oriental on July 27, 2025.
Their deaths were not isolated to the systemic violence against environmental and human rights defenders. Justice must be fought for and their deaths shall not be put in vain.
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Read Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc. statement:
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ข ๐๐ข๐ก๐ญ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐จ๐๐๐ฌ, ๐ข๐จ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐ก๐ฉ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ก๐ ๐๐ก๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ฅ๐ฆ
On July 27, 2025, in Barangay Puntalinao, Banaybanay, two devoted environmental defenders Sir Rudolph Delacruz Espe and Mr. Rico Gonzaga Malubay were mercilessly gunned down.
We knew Rudolph. He was more than a protector of the environment. He was a principled voice for peace and justice. As a community leader, he stood with nature and the people who depend on it. He fiercely opposed mining projects and policies that threatened biodiversity and the rights of Indigenous and rural communities. He exposed government corruption and fought against the collusion between public officials and destructive corporate interests.
His death is not an isolated tragedy. It is part of a disturbing pattern of violence against environmental defenders in the Philippines, one of the deadliest countries in the world for those who defend land, water, and life. This violence thrives in an environment of impunity, corporate greed, corruption, and state neglect.
Today, we grieve and cry out for Justice!
We call for justice for Rudolph and Rico, whose blood has stained our soil to defend the people’s welfare and environment.
We call on the Philippine National Police for a full, impartial, and transparent investigation into the killings and for the perpetrators to be held accountable under the law.
We call on the Commission on Human Rights to act immediately and help uncover the reasons for the brutal deaths of our environmental defenders.
We will not let this heinous crime be forgotten, nor buried in silence. Their voices live on through us, carrying forward their dream of justice for the people and the planet.
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Environmental Defenders Congress Statement:
Two Environmental Defenders Killed Ahead of Marcos Jr.’s Midterm SONA; Justice for Rudolph Delacruz Espe and Rico Gonzaga Mulabay
Environmental Defenders Congress Statement
August 1 2025
Blood pools under the Malacanang Palace with two latest killings of environmental defenders. The Environmental Defenders Congress decries the murder of grassroot-paralegals and community leaders Rudolph Dela Cruz Espe and Rico Gonzaga Mulabay, who were gunned down last July 26 in Brgy. Puntalinao, Banaybay, Davao Oriental. The two were respected environmental defenders who confronted and resisted environmentally destructive corporate interests ushered by state forces.
Espe, a resident of Davao Oriental, was a staunch advocate against mining activities in Banaybanay. He publicly exposed the laterite mining operations in their community that have caused the heavy siltation polluting their rivers. For decades, Davao Oriental has been a hotspot site of extractive operations owned by foreign-owned corporations like the Asiaticus Management Corporation and BHP Billiton. Reports cited decades of nickel-mining operations covering thousands of hectares and sweeping denudation in the communities of the province have poisoned water and air quality, destroyed biodiversity, and displaced Lumad and peasant communities. Despite the severity of this destruction, the government remained mum to the present without apparent concrete steps to make those complicit accountable.
The murder of Espe and Mulabay, together with the political persecution of environmental defenders belied the fabrication of Marcos Jr. in his previous SONAs on the improving human rights situation in the country. Persisting patterns of violent killings, and the increasing records of enforced disappearances and judicial harassments debunked his boasted bloodless approach to human rights. Between records of political slaughters and incarceration: backhoes are disemboweling our mountains, private projects are displacing communities, and infrastructures are annihilating biodiversities. These, and more, in the midst of the so-called greening program of the government, a bogus policy delivered at the tip of a bullet.
The terror continues, but so do our courage and outrage against a system that promotes a culture of violence, impunity, and environmental destruction. We demand an immediate and just investigation on the merciless killings of Rudolph Dela Cruz Espe and Rico Gonzaga Mulabay. We demand due justice to all the victims of extrajudicial killings and political persecution. Our voice might grow hoarse by our call for justice, and our shoes be worn out in the streets, but in people’s solidarity and compassion we shall tirelessly and bravely strike back!
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