THE ATENEO Task Force Anti-Apeco (ATFAA) is calling on the support of University President Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ and Cardinal-designate Luis Tagle for the farmers, fisher folk and indigenous people (IP) of Casiguran, Aurora.
The Casiguran community will be marching to Manila starting November 24, hoping to urge President Benigno Aquino III to impose a moratorium on the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone (Apeco). Apeco is a special economic zone being constructed in Casiguran.
Senator Edgardo Angara, Congressman Juan Edgardo Angara and Governor Bellaflor Angara-Castillo sponsored the bill allowing the creation of the said economic zone.
The ongoing construction of Apeco has displaced thousands of locals and the native Dumagat who live there.
Their 370-kilometer march dubbed “Lakad Katarungan, Lakad Matuwid na Daan” is supported by several organizations such as the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines’ National Secretariat for Social Action and the Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka.
Their first major stop in Metro Manila will be the Ateneo campus. Their expected arrival is on December 10.
“Our goal is for [Cardinal-designate] Tagle and Fr. Jett Villarin to give a warm welcome, have a mass and provide accommodations for all 100+ of them in the residential halls for the night,” ATFAA Head Tricia Raya said in an online interview.
She added that the presence of students is “also very important as part of being in solidarity with them in their struggle.”
ATFAA closely works with the Task Force Anti-Apeco (TFAA), but takes action in the context of the Ateneo.
Role of the Ateneo
Raya said, “[It] is important for Ateneo to support the task force because Ateneo has a history of being influential in issues of social justice, like mining and the fight of the Sumilao farmers for their land.”
She lamented that the plight of the said Casiguran folk had not been picked up as much by mainstream media.
By supporting the Casiguran folk, the Ateneo can give them more exposure because the media pay attention to the school, Raya added. “Kaya natin mag-ingay! (We can make noise!)”
Raya dished out a number of ways for Ateneans to show their support for the Casiguran farmers, fisher folk and IPs.
They can help raise awareness of the said plight by spreading infographics and statements regarding the plight through social media, publishing their own stands on the issue, writing to Malacañang through a petition and lobbying for the administration’s support.
She also said that ATFAA is currently drafting a joint stand that organizations can sign. Moreover, Raya hoped that Ateneans would partake in symbolic actions such as the 24-hour hunger strike to be held on December 7.
“Being in solidarity with the marginalized is what Ateneo has been teaching us all along. Atenean education is very much rooted in CST (Catholic Social Teaching), which teaches us to change the structures of oppression,” Raya emphasized.
“Moreover, [the struggle] for social justice is something that binds us all. Therefore, we call on Ateneans to change such structures and to be in solidarity with the farmers, fisher folk and IPs of Casiguran in their fight for their land and their fight to stop Apeco.”
