By Dalena Tran
Full article published by The Ecologist.
Barangay captain and environmental defender Antonio Tolentino has been detained on trumped-up criminal and administrative charges for protecting farmers’ rights against Ayalaland’s land-grabbing for eight years.
Tolentinto chaired the Aniban ng Nagkakaisang Mamamayan ng Hacienda Dolores (Association of the United Citizens of Hacienda Dolores, ANIBAN) under the nationwide organisation Kilusan Para sa Repormang Agraryo at Katarungang Panlipunan (Movement for Agrarian Reform and Social Justice, KATARUNGAN).
He mobilized the community despite increasing violence. Together, they documented more than 30 cases of property destruction, victimisation, illegal arrests, trumped-up charges, threats and intimidation, forced surrender and waiver signing, and forced recruitment of local indigenous Ayta people to serve as guards and thugs.
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Continue reading the full article at The Ecologist.
The Author: Dalena Tran is a PhD candidate at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a researcher with the Environmental Justice Atlas. She specializes in violence against environmental defenders during ecological conflicts.
The project ENVJUSTICE has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 695446)