A farmer and a community worker were arrested by soldiers on July 12 in Atimonan, Quezon while conducting community research.

In an alert released by human rights group Karapatan Southern Tagalog, farmer and community health worker Miguela Peniero and youth volunteer Rowena Dasig were arrested by members of the 85th Infantry Battalion in purok Banaba, barangay Caridad Ibaba, Atimonan.

Karapatan-ST said Peniero and Dasig were studying the potential impacts of the proposed combined cycle gas turbine power project and liquefied natural gas terminal plant to be operated by Atimonan One Energy, Inc. (A1E) on coconut farmers and fisherfolk communities.

According to the group, A1E’s original plan to build a coal-fired power plant “was opposed by environmental groups and residents of Atimonan due to the health risk from using fossil fuels, and the loss of lands and livelihood.”

In a social media post, 85th IB claimed that two are members of the revolutionary group New People’s Army.

Karapatan said a humanitarian team has tried to visit Peniero and Dasig yesterday, July 17, at the Atimonan Municipal Police Station (MPS) but they were denied access to the two.

“The soldiers are present at the police station and blatantly disregard the rights of the Peniero and Dasig to be assisted by a paralegal and to receive aid brought by the team,” Karapatan-ST said in an update.

The group said that the military also did not sign the certificate of detention and has given them a runaround regarding the whereabouts of the two.

They were charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives, a charge which was commonly used against activists and human rights defenders.

Peniero is a former political prisoner and a cancer survivor. She was arrested on Feb. 4, 2012, in Calauag, Quezon by the 88th Infantry Battalion for trumped-up charges. She was released after serving her sentence for eight years. Meanwhile, Dasig is the secretary general of Anakbayan Southern Tagalog doing advocacy work in peasant communities in the Quezon Province.

The Environmental Defenders Congress (ENVIDEFCON) denounced the charges against Peniero and Dasig, and demanded their immediate release.

The group refuted the claims of the 85th IB, saying that Dasig or Owen as they call her, has worked with environmental groups such as Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment in campaigns against the destructive Kaliwa Dam and other environmental campaigns of communities around the Rizal and Quezon area. Her most recent community organizing work against the planned fossil gas plant is clearly environmental defense work, they added.

The ENVIDEFCON said ending fossil fuel use is imperative for mitigating and adapting to climate change.

“Fossil fuels are the primary driver of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming and environmental degradation, so any plans for a fossil fuel power plant in the Philippines should be discouraged. Despite this, the Marcos Jr. administration has prioritized the expansion of the fossil gas industry,” the group said.

According to its website, A1E is the developer of the first ultra supercritical coal-fired power plant in the Philippines. The 2×600-MW plant will be built in Atimonan, Quezon and has been certified as an Energy Project of National Significance (EPNS) under Executive Order No. 30.

However, the ENVIDEFCON said that many studies show that communities located near such plants are at risk of experiencing various illnesses. “It is in this light that Dasig and Peñero were researching possible health impacts of the proposed liquefied natural gas plant, not to mention other possible impacts on local biodiversity,” ENVIDEFCON said.

“Any community organizing work done in these areas to resist new fossil fuel infrastructure is environmental defense work that will benefit not only the communities in the area but all Filipinos who depend on a stable climate and healthy ecosystems for our survival,” they added.

The ENVIDEFCON said that the arbitrary arrest and continued detention of Peniero and Dasig is “not only a violation of their rights but also a disturbing indication of escalating state terror and human rights abuses against environmental defenders under the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr.”