284 CSOs attend 4th General Assembly;
bewail SM’s impending massacre of Baguio City’s trees

Baguio City – 284 members of the Philippine-Misereor Partnership, Inc (PMPI) will gather in Baguio city to meet for its 4th General Assembly on February 27 to March 1, 2012 with the theme “Harnessing Faith, Culture and Integrity of Creation towards a Renewed Peace and Development Paradigm.”

The PMPI is a strong network of non-government organizations (NGOs), peoples organizations (POs) and Church groups in the Philippines together with Misereor – the overseas development agency of the Catholic Church in Germany.

The general assembly is convened every three years to vote for new leaders and resolutions that will direct the network for the succeeding three years.

It is the highest policy making body of the PMPI.

It is also a forum for continuing dialogue and exchange of learnings between and among its members.

It is an avenue for leadership, confidence-building, and forging solidarity, grounded on issues and concerns articulated by the poor.

On this particular gathering, PMPI is faced by the looming execution of 182 trees in Luneta Hill where Shoe Mart Development Corporation is set to pave way for another parking lot.

A permit signed by Sec. Ramon Paje of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) last October 2011 grants SMDC the cutting, balling and pruning of 43 fully grown Alnus Japonica, 97 growing pine trees and 42 saplings.

“Baguio has made itself the country’s summer capital. Thousands of tourists come to Baguio City for its scenic nature-endowed beauty and cold weather; and not for the sprawling mall that SM is. It is utterly senseless and abominable that those trees have to be felled for the wheels of irresponsible consumerism and corporate greed,” said Mayette Paragas, incumbent Chairperson of the PMPI and also the executive director of the Baguio-based multi-awarded Shontoug Foundation.

In this year and age, “people tend to take for granted and lose sight of the things that are most essential for human survival,” said Bishop Broderick Pabillo, one of the Bishop Convenors of PMPI and Chairperson of the CBCP-NASSA Ecumenical Commission for Justice and Peace.

Bishop Pabillo expounds, “PMPI’s 4th General Assembly theme is an apt message and reminder that humanity and life forms support system cannot be sustained by present economic development pursuits which disregards the environment and disrespects culture and the integrity of Creation.”

PMPI is comprised of fifteen (15) regional clusters: Six (6) from Luzon, Four (4) from Visayas and five (5) from Mindanao. These member organizations are present and are pro-actively working with the most marginalized communities in the Philippines for the promotion of social justice and development issues. Its flagship program, the Anti-Mining campaign currently partners with 13 sites of struggles in the country. Rapu-rapu, Mindoro, Nueva Vizcaya, Zambales in Luzon, Kabangkalan and San Carlos in Negros, Manicani and Homonhon in Samar in the Visayas region and Surigao del sur, Tampakan, South Cotabato and ZAMPEN peninsula ( Zambo del Sur , ZDN, Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga City) in Mindanao.

Contacts:

Yolanda R. Esguerra
National Coordinator

Priscilla C. Saladaga
Media Committee
PMPI 4th GA

pmpsecretariat@yahoo.com

PRESS RELEASE

27 February 2012