Environmental Activists On Philippine Island Of Palawan Tortured, Murdered - AFP

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For tourists the Philippine island of Palawan seems like paradise, but for environment activists it feels more akin to a battlefield. Murders and threats on what is promoted as the Southeast Asian nation's last ecological frontier are emblematic of a struggle across the country, where dozens of environment campaigners have been killed over the past decade.

Father-of-five "Doc" Gerry Ortega became the latest casualty in late January when a hitman shot him in the head while browsing in a second-hand clothes shop along one of the main roads of Palawan's capital city, Puerto Princesa. "He received a lot of death threats," Ortega's wife, Patty, 48, told AFP in an interview at a cafe just a few hundred metres from where he was killed.

The murdered Ortega, 47, a veterinarian, made many enemies via a daily radio morning show he hosted in which he lambasted politicians whom he accused of being corrupt and allowing the island's natural resources to be pillaged. "He was a very passionate man, passionate about the environment," his widow said.

On the far western edge of the Philippines' archipelago, Palawan has some of the country's most beautiful beaches, stunning coral reefs and biodiverse forests -- it is home to two UNESCO World Heritage-listed sites. But environment campaigners say Palawan's natural wonders could be destroyed within a generation amid the frenzy to exploit them, citing as an example the destruction of countless coral reefs from cyanide and dynamite fishing. Its reefs supply more than half the nation's seafood, plus millions of dollars' worth of fish to other Asian markets. Palawan also has vast amounts of nickel, cobalt and other valuable minerals, prompting hundreds of applications to mine about half of the island. The applications have spurred a high-profile campaign to ban all forms of mining.

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Battle_on_paradise_Philippine_island_999.html

[old mark]

1. K&R The GOPers in congress say they have 2 strong goals in the fake

drive to "end the defecit"-to end funding for Planned Parenthood and to dismantle the EPA. They are not at all about jobs, the unemployed or helping people-they are about making things easier for the mega-rich who want to squeeze every dime out of our country with no regard for anything else.

God won't let anything bad happen to America...he luvs big business!

mark