DAVAO CITY, March 8, 2009 –Missionary sisters in Mindanao expressed strong belief that it was because of militarization and preservation of the interest of large-scale mining industry that Benedictine Sr. Stella Matutina and other environmentalists were illegally detained in Cateel, Davao Oriental last month.

In an official statement released by the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines they said, “Indeed, by threatening Sr. Matutina and the other advocates, the 67th Infantry Batallion of the 10th Infantry Division is acting on the behest and as protector of large-scale mining firms in the province of Davao Oriental.”

“We denounce the Arroyo government’s counter–insurgency program, the Oplan Bantay Laya 2 which targets advocates like Sr. Matutina and civilians. Pres. Arroyo and the AFP, particularly under the 10th ID must be held accountable for Sr. Matutina’s case as well as for the sell out of our national patrimony by way of paving the way to large-scale mining and other business interest in the region,” read the statement.

“Justice for Sr. Stella M and other environmental activists. Stop military persecution of church people and no to large-scale mining and militarization,” it added.

The missionary sisters also commended Sr. Matutina and the officers of Panalipdan for its relentless support for the peasants and their quest for genuine Agrarian Reform and the Indigenous Peoples’ struggle for their right to ancestral lands, justice and freedom.

“We urge her (Sr. Matutina) to persist and persevere. We, likewise, urge the Church people to work for and commit their resources in the services of uplifting the condition of the peasants, and to contribute towards becoming Church of the Poor,” the statement said.

The Rural Missionaries of the Philippines – Southern Mindanao is a sub-regional chapter of the RMP national organization, which is inter-congregational and inter-diocesan in character, of women and men religious, priests and lay people. (Mark S. Ventura)