The sacrifices of late ethnobotanist Leonardo Co, deceased indigenous people(IP) leader Tomas Ito, and slain broadcaster and wildlife doctor Gerardo Ortega will not be in vain but will bear fruit and inspire more people to defend the environment and protect the people’s welfare.

This was the message of the Second Gawad Bayani ng Kalikasan (GBK), an alternative awards event held last December 7 at the Little Theater in Miriam College. The GBK recognizes individuals and organizations who have helped defend the environment and people’s rights.

The GBK was organized by Center for Environmental Concerns- Philippines (CEC-Phils) in cooperation with civil society organizations Agham- Advocates of Science and Technology for the People, Haribon Foundation, Ecowaste Coalition, Foundation for the Philippine Environment, Central Visayas Fisheries Development Inc., Panalipdan Mindanao, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources- Special Concerns Office (DENR-SCO).This is the second GBK to date, following its launch in 2009.

This year’s GBK served as a posthumous tribute to Co, Ito and Ortega. Co and his two companions, Sofronio Cortez and Julius Borromeo, were killed by alleged military elements while collecting specimens of endangered tree species in Kananga, Leyte on November 15, 2010. Ortega was murdered on January 24, 2011 after wrapping up an episode of his radio program that aired criticisms against local politicians and anti-community projects. Ito, on the other hand, passed away of natural causes last February 2, 2010 at the age of 84.
“It is not the manner of death that makes one a hero. The second GBK is a humble tribute to the sacrifices and vision of our environmental heroes: the protection of our nation’s natural wealth to serve the people’s needs,” said Frances Quimpo, Executive Director of CEC-Phils.

Representatives from people’s organizations and environmental groups attended the awards night which was hosted by actor John Arcilla and which featured performances by folk singer Lolita Carbon, UP Filipiniana dancers and Linnaea Marie Co, the young daughter of Leonardo Co.

During the event, the families of Ortega and Co called on the participants to support the campaigns on justice for environmental defenders. To date, 41 environmental advocates have been killed under both the Arroyo and Aquino administrations, according to Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment.

Representatives of the deceased awardees emphasized the need to continue opposing injustice which have led to their loved one’s deaths.

“The culture of want that never gets satiated--I think that is the culture that killed my father. We have reason to believe the reason my father was killed was billions worth of money—he was exposing corruption in Palawan,” said Michaella, daughter of Gerardo Ortega, in a forum on the GBK awardees in UP Diliman earlier that morning.

“We need as a nation to stand for accountability, responsibility, integrity and sense of justice-values that Leonard believed in and tried to live by…We are all one in our common cry to protect, defend, and seek peace and justice to martyred Filipino environmentalists and scientists. Let us seize justice and peace no tonly for my husband, but for others who have fought in the same way to protect our environment,” said Glenda Co, widow of Leonard Co.

They also called on the people to continue with the work of the GBK’s environmental heroes.

“This was Datu Tomas’ last wish: defend Mother Nature and our ancestral lands; expand, broaden and strengthen our organizations and continue the struggle up the end,” said Kusog sa Katawhang Lumad sa Mindanao (KALUMARAN) Chairperson Datu Monico Ito Cayog in Bisaya . Cayog received the award for Tomas Ito, who was his first cousin.

One of the most recognized leader s of the Bagobo peoples in Mt. Apo, Davao del Sur, Ito spearheaded the lumad peoples historic fight against a geothermal power plant construction in 1989, uniting nine tribes through a dyandi, an indigenous peace pact. He represented the IPs of Mindanao at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.