FEATURE | Long Live Our Peasant Heroes!

This Peasant Month, Gawad Bayani ng Kalikasan proudly honors all our peasant environmental defenders. Their lifelong dedication to protecting the land and the environment is truly commendable. Today, we not only celebrate our awardees but also recognize the invaluable contributions of peasants every single day. Let us take inspiration from them as they are the true champions—our unsung heroes of the environment.

Nestor “Tatay Nestor” Rotaquio (GBK 2024 Individual Awardee)

Tatay Nestor is a farmer and a fisherfolk who, for many years, served as chieftain of his community in Brgy. San Marcelino, General Nakar, Rizal. He defended his community against the domination of the Pacific Coast City, which threatened to privatize and seize their ancestral lands. 

Despite one of his legs being supported only by a plank of wood, he is also a farmer in the land he inherited from his ancestors. 

He also participated in the 2016 “Lakbayan ng Pambansang Minorya at Moro” where he was appointed as the council of Dumagat leaders and vice chair for external affairs. In 2019, he was appointed as the spokesperson of the “Dumagat-Sierra Madre sa Timog Katagalugan” (DSM). 

Eliezer “BOY” Billanes (2009 GBK Most Distinguished Awardee)

Eliezer “Boy” Billanes was a peasant, environmental activist, and community leader in SOCSKARGEN, known for his decade-long fight against Western Mining Corporation (WMC), one of the largest multinational mining companies. After WMC was awarded a 99,400-hectare mining concession in the 1990s, Billanes led efforts to prevent exploration of the land, which was rich in copper and gold, while highlighting the project’s destructive impacts on the environment and indigenous communities.

Tragically, Billanes was killed on March 9, 2009, in Koronadal City while purchasing a newspaper. He was shot in the cheek by two unidentified assailants on a motorcycle.

Josefina “Ka Josie” Panginen (2018 GBK Individual Awardee)

In the heart of Aurora’s lush landscapes, Josefina Panginen, affectionately known as Ka Josie, has emerged as a formidable leader in the peasant movement. A former day care teacher with limited eyesight, she now chairs the Panlalawigang Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Aurora (PAMANA) and actively participates in the Anti-Logging and Mining Committee of the Multi-Sectoral Action Group (MSAG). 

Under her guidance, PAMANA has played a pivotal role in protecting the Sierra Madre mountain range, a vital natural barrier against the relentless typhoons that threaten the region.  Destructive logging was successfully halted, and numerous mining applications were rejected.  

Despite facing ongoing threats from projects like the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and PTC Energy Inc.’s Hydro Power Dam, which pose risks to indigenous villages, Ka Josie remains undeterred. Her unwavering belief that “the land belongs to the tillers, not the plunderers” inspires a new generation of peasant women and advocates in their fight for environmental justice. 

Alberto “Ka Bobby” Roldan (2020 GBK Individual Awardee)

Ka Bobby Roldan, who was born in a peasant family in Bataan, became a farmer and fisherfolk early on. He is well-known for being on the frontlines of the protest against China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). As a community organizer, he championed many campaigns against destructive projects like the large-scale black sand mining and nickel sand mining in Zambales. 

Later on, as he became the Vice Chairperson of PAMALAKAYA-Central Luzon, he assisted in strengthening several other small-scale fisherfolk organizations in Central Luzon. 

Due to his activism in these crucial causes, Ka Bobby has experienced red-tagging and even death threats. Despite this, he persisted in defending and organizing fisherfolk communities.