People of Mindoro staged two separate protests to oppose environmental destruction and defend their livelihood.

On March 23, residents of Barangay Talabaan, Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro gathered for a prayer rally against the PERRC Construction and Development Corporation’s destructive and deceptive dredging operations.

According to the Mindoro Forum Network (MFN), the company began dredging using the pretext of Pagbahan River’s “restoration.” However, instead of digging at the designated estuary, it excavated out at sea several kilometers away from the barangay shore. As a result, fisherfolk could no longer fish out at sea. They catch no fish, which are driven away by noise generated by 18-hour dredging operations of the company’s ships.

On February 25, the Municipal Government of Mamburao temporarily halted the company’s dredging after receiving complaints from Barangay Talabaan residents. In their protest, they called for the permanent cessation of the company’s operations and for preserving the ocean, especially its reefs. They also urged the government to defend fisherfolk and their livelihood.

Meanwhile, members of the Samahan ng mga Magsasaka sa Guinobatan (SMG) and MFN collectively lit candles in front of Calapan City Hall, Oriental Mindoro, on the evening of March 28 to call on the local government to stop a corporation’s fencing activities in Barangay Guinobatan. A day earlier, MENAKOR Corporation personnel forcibly erected fences under a barangay-issued permit. MENAKOR, owned by Jolly Lim Ting, claims ownership of 158 hectares of land in the barangay.

Residents said the barangay did not conduct proper consultation with them. The fencing gravely affects the land, livelihood, and homes of residents who have lived and toiled there for generations.

According to SMG, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) began distributing Certificates of Land Ownership Award or CLOA to farmers in Guinobatan as early as 1998. However, farmers continue to face land grabbing up to this day. An estimated 600 families are at risk of being displaced due to land grabbing.