The first thing you notice might be her name: Sister Stella. You wonder: does her last name start with an ‘L’? It turns out that her name is one letter away.

Sister Stella Matutina is but one of the 60 Mindanawons now in Metro Manila who participated in the Manilakbayan caravan. In what is dubbed as “Manilakbayan ng Mindanao: A Journey in Defense of Land, the Environment, and Human Rights,” relatives of victims of human rights violations, communities affected by “development aggression,” indigenous and Moro leaders, bakwet communities, and environment advocates bring their plight here to the capital to highlight the worsening human rights situation in the island of Mindanao.

Sr. Stella is well known for her anti-logging and anti-mining advocacies in Davao Oriental. She is constantly being vilified by the 29th Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines as “an NPA disguised as a nun”. The Benedictine nun is one of the more than 159 environment and human rights defenders who have been slapped with legal harassment cases, vilification, and intimidation by the military. The others include Manobo leader Genasque Enriquez from Surigao del Sur who is facing fabricated charges of murder under “John Doe” warrants, B’laan woman leader Anelfa Gemilo who is falsely accused of being an NPA courier in Davao del Sur, American missionary Fr. Peter Geremia who is constantly receiving threats from the same paramilitary groups that are suspected of having killed Fr. Pops Tentorio.

Thirty four Mindanawons, including 26 Lumads, have been killed since June 2010 for their defense of the land, environment, and people’s livelihood. The list of dead persons includes pregnant Blaan Juvy Capion who opposed the Tampakan Gold and Copper project of Xstrata Sagittarius Mines in Davao del Sur, Matigsalog leader Jimmy Liguyon who resisted Santo Cristo Mines in Bukidnon, environment defender and Italian missionary Fr. Fausto “Pops” Tentorio in Arakan, North Cotabato, Banwaon youth leader Jenesis Ambason and Datu Arpe Lapugotan of Agusan del Sur who both opposed Mampalaya Mining explorations, Tagakaolo Dioquino Scuadro and Roque Laputan who opposed Xstrata SMI expansion, Higaonon leader Gilbert Paborada of Misamis Oriental who resisted the A. Brown plantation; Margarito Cabal who opposed the Pulangui Mega-Dam project, small scale mining leader Manrique Santos of Pantukan, Compostela Valley who resisted Russell Mines, and conservationist Fred Trangia who resisted large-scale mining in Compostela Valley.

According to Panalipdan Mindanao, an estimated 1,106 families with 6,066 individuals have been forcibly evacuated in the course of intense military operations carried out by the Philippine Army most notably in the Caraga, Northern Mindanao, and Southern Mindanao regions. There were also 30,000 Moro civilians who were displaced due to militarization. They include the Mamanwa, Manobo, Dibabawon, Blaan, and Matigsalog communities who were displaced by military operations that are carried out side-by-side with the entry of large-scale mining and other “development aggression” projects.

Typhoon Pablo highlighted the climate vulnerability of communities in Mindanao and areas of Visayas. As of writing this column, there are already reports of more than 600 dead and many more missing or injured. A national state of calamity has been announced and a massive rehabilitation is needed for some parts in Mindanao. Mindanao’s (and also the country’s) vulnerable state was already hinted at during the series of typhoons last year that caused flash floods in various areas such as Sendong.

We are not strangers to rains, typhoons and earthquakes but we have weak disaster preparedness and response as a whole. We lack preparations such as flood drills for communities which could have avoided the panic (and intransigence of some) when orders for evacuation came. We were simply not prepared.

Worse our people’s climate vulnerability is magnified several times over when the government itself is part of the problem. Vulnerability is a function not only of the climate hazards such as rainfall, typhoon winds or earthquakes. Vulnerability is also dependent on the economic situation of the communities exposed to these hazards. Rampant militarization and human rights violations only make the situation worse. Economic policies which benefit a few only makes such vulnerability chronic.

Ways to reduce our vulnerability should include respect for human rights, jobs that pay living wages, building industries that create domestic employment and serves the local market, agricultural modernization, land reform – in other words, we must address the economic demands of our people who are mired in deep poverty.

We cannot just rely on the resiliency of the Filipino to rise above the difficulties. Poverty is a key determinant of climate vulnerability and it must be where the intervention should come. It is true that short-term relief is needed right now but with increasing hazards due to global warming, we can only expect more disasters unless our people’s vulnerability is decreased.

Dr. Tapang is the chairperson of AGHAM (Samahan ng Nagtataguyod ng Agham at Teknolohiya para sa Sambayanan).