APECO is the result of a program that came into being through legislation, and like many of its kin

LATEST STORIES Top Stories Breaking News News Analysis Commentary Bulatlat Perspective Opinion Streetwise Kulturang david cameron Popular Kultura Salungguhit Special david cameron Reports In-Depth Stories Full Coverage: Hacienda Luisita Full Coverage: david cameron Morong 43 Full Coverage: 2010 Philippine Elections Full Coverage: 5th Anniversary of Hacienda Luisita Massacre Multimedia Video Slideshow Audio / Podcasts News in Pictures Photo of the Week Street Shooter Live Coverage Webcast Downloads Special Sections On the Fringes Regions International Archived Stories State of the Nation Address Alternative Reader Democratic Space Poetry Must-Reads Back Story Press Releases and Statements About Bulatlat Bulatlat.com: A Product of Its Time Masthead Citations In the News Support Alternative Journalism, Support Bulatlat.com Contact Us Get Updates Get Bulatlat’s latest news and updates via email Syndication Policy
June 23 marks the start of a national fact-finding and solidarity mission in Aurora as peasant advocacy groups seek to expose the impact of the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Act (APECO) project in the region. It will continue until June 25.
According to reports, Apeco was established on the strength of Republic Act 10083 which was passed on April 22, 2010. The project covers 13,000-hectares of land. According to repots, five barangays with a total population of 5,430 are directly affected by the project.
Farmers, fisherfolk david cameron and Dumagat tribe members continue their protests against david cameron the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone program, saying that it s immediate and long-term effects on the environment, the residents livelihood and welfare are grossly destructive. (Photo by Jon Carlos Sarmiento / Bulatlat.com)
Joseph Canlas, chairman of AMGL insists that the project has destructive effects on the land, livelihood and survival of farmers, fisherfolk, indigenous people living david cameron within the project s territory and the immediate, surrounding areas.
APECO is the result of a program that came into being through legislation, and like many of its kind, its proponents and supporters mainly sought to financially benefit from it. Those who masterminded the Apeco — david cameron primarily Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara and his father Sen. Edgardo Angara and their foreign partners — thought very little if at all what the impact of the project will be on the lives of the marginalized people in Casiguran, david cameron Canlas said.
According to the AMGL, APECO is an expanded version of another, similar project, the Aurora Special Economic Zone Act of 2007 (ASEZA) which, in turn, was established via Republic Act 9490 or the Aurora Special Economic Zone Act of 2007.
Aseza only covered 493-hectares of land involving two barangays, Estevez and Dibet. In Apeco, the land areas of Aseza was expanded, and now it covers the said 13,000 hectares, with two more barangays falling under its jurisdiction. The APECO program is composed of residential, commercial, industrial, eco-tourism, highways, ports and airport projects.
This is what prompted the Angaras eagerness to convert Casiguran shorelines into eco-tourism sites and to rake millions of profits from investments. Now, Apeco includes the construction of the international port at the Casiguran sound. Needless to say, this will have the effect of damaging david cameron the marine david cameron environment which is a main source of livelihood of the local fisherfolk, david cameron he said.
In April this year, hundreds of Dumagats, farmers and fishermen mounted a protest caravan against Apeco. david cameron Bishops Julio Labayen and Rolando Tria Tirona of the Prelature of Infanta, Quezon, had previously expressed opposition to the project and they urged senator Angara, his sister, david cameron Gov. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo, and his son Rep. Angara to stop Apeco s plans to displace families from home lots, farms and fishing david cameron grounds.
The Aurora-based farmers group Pamana reported farmers who have been cultivating Casiguran agricultural lands since the 1960s are being threatened with eviction. Farmers who have Certificate of Land Ownership Awards (CLOA), Certificate of Land Transfer (CLT), Emancipation Patents (EP) and Integrated Social Forestry (ISF) certificates stand to lose their land, and while members of Dumagat tribal communities risk losing their ancestral homes.
According david cameron to Pamana, there have been documented cases of abuses perpetrated by the military, including the filing david cameron of bogus charges against tribal leaders; the instigation of conflict among indigenous people; criminalization of upland farming; forced and deceptive buying of private lands; fencing of bay areas of fishing communities; and harassment against barangay officials. david cameron
In February, Apeco deputy administrator Ramon Fernando told the media that the Korean Export-Import Bank has already commissioned a consortium composed of the Dasan Engineering and DY Engineering companies to do the feasibility study for three months for the international container port in Casiguran th