On July 26, the Defend Mindoro campaign was launched in Quezon City to amplify the voices of Mindoreños resisting intensifying militarization, red-tagging, aerial bombings, and the seizure of ancestral lands by corporations. Spearheaded by Karapatan Southern Tagalog as part of the LABAN: Southern Tagalog People’s Caravan, the event gathered indigenous leaders, youth groups, religious organizations, and environmental advocates.
“Is our land now meant for business, when it has long been our source of life?” asked Haira Gabrielle Dollano, chairperson of the Mindoro Youth for Environment and Nation (MYEN), during the launch of the Defend Mindoro campaign and network, July 26 in front of the Commission on Human Rights in Quezon City.
