As Earth Day dawned around the world, word came that one environmental advocate in the Philippines was gunned down last week and another is living under threat to his life. A leading Philippines newspaper today called the murdered man an "Earth Day martyr." Elpidio de la Victoria was shot in the back and killed on April 13 in Cebu, Philippines, as he returned to his house from buying food for the Easter holiday celebration.
He collapsed into the arms of his 22-year old son, who rushed him to the hospital. He died the next day, although word did not get out to a wider world until this week.
Commercial fishing interests are rumored to have collected a fund of one million pesos (nearly $20,000) to kill de la Victoria and his colleague, world-renowned environmental lawyer Antonio Oposa, Philippines news outlets have reported. Both de la Victoria and Oposa received numerous threats in recent days.
In response to the events, 170 environmental law professors from 20 countries around the world have rallied to Oposa's defense with a petition that they have sent today to the President of the Philippines, Gloria Arroyo. They are demanding protection for Oposa and also for the endangered fish and corals that the Filipinos have been fighting to save.
De la Victoria and Oposa have been leaders in a campaign to persuade governmental bodies to close the Visayan Sea Marine Triangle to commercial and destructive forms of fishing. Various local government executives have signed a petition addressed to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to close the Triangle. Studies have shown the Triangle is considered to be the most biologically diverse marine area in the world.
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