MANILA--Catholic Church leaders have condemned the killing of an anti-mining activist and called for an investigation into its circumstances.
Eliezer “Boy” Billanes, leader of the Anti-Development Aggression Coalition, was shot dead by unidentified men around 4:30 p.m. yesterday in Koranadal, South Cotabato.
The murder has outraged Marbel Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez who said that the killing is a serious attack on human rights. “The right to life is a gift for everybody; no one has the right to take it. The wheel of justice is the proper venue for resolution of any case,” Gutierrez said.
“We therefore call on the proper authorities to conduct a thorough and speedy investigation on the killing of Boy Billanes and bring into the bar of justice the ones responsible,” he said. Billanes is known to be a member of various progressive organizations including the Coalition of Social Development Organization of South Cotabato. Of all his affiliations, the killed activist is known for his stand against any forms of “development aggressions,” according to Sr. Pat Babiera, OND. Billanes’ group leads the opposition to the Tampakan Copper-Gold project in South Cotabato of Xstrata, one the biggest mining companies in the world.
Babiera is the coordinator of the Diocese of Marbel’s Social Action Center—Justice and Peace Desk.
“He has long been a formidable partner of the Social Action Center in its advocacies for environment, human rights, justice and peace,” she said. She also said that Billanes’ murder occurred following a recent military-backed meeting or “pulong-pulong” in the barangays of Tampakan, tagging anti-mining activists as sympathizers of the communist rebels.
“Boy Billanes was one of the many personalities tagged as such and had received numerous threats before his assassination,” Babiera said.
Reports said the slain activist was on his way home from the public market when motorcycleriding men shot him.
Environmental group Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment said that Billanes is the 20th anti-mining activist killed under the Arroyo administration.
The group said the recent killing is part of the “dirty tactics” of transnational mining companies to coerce the growing resistance of people opposing large-scale mining projects. (Roy Lagarde)