Powerful Int'l Protest to Expose the True Cost of Chevron

On Wednesday, May 25th, 2011 join in spirited protest at the Chevron headquarters in San Ramon, during the annual Chevron shareholders meeting. FACES will stand with our allies with the True Cost of Chevron campaign to show the strength of our communities against Chevron's environmental bullying!

FACES Board of Directors member Mari Rose Taruc will directly address the Chevron Board of Directors and CEO along with representatives from other impacted communities. Mari Rose will share some of the experiences of our allies in Manila on behalf of FACES and AESJ, giving the Chevron shareholders a glimpse of the real impacts of Chevron's operations in the Philippines.

While delegates will demand environmental justice on the inside, we need your help to raise the roof on the outside! Beginning 7 am we will hold chants, peaceful actions, and solidarity building in front of the Chevron head quarters. Please join us for any part or all of the day!

When: Wednesday, May 25, 2011, 7:00 AM
Where: Chevron Headquarters, 6001 Bollinger Canyon Road, San Ramon, CA
What: Chevron Annual Shareholders Meeting

For more details on the protest visit http://truecostofchevron.com/protest.html. Or join us on the Facebook event page!

On the day of the protest, FACES Board member Aileen Suzara will be the FACES point of contact on the outside. If you need to find us or have questions call 510-409-8627.

Also please join us with our allies at the True Cost of Chevron at these events leading up to the international protest:

Monday, May 23, Teach-In on the True Cost of Chevron
Where: David Brower Center, Berkeley
When: 7-9 PM

Tuesday, May 24, Press Conference in San Francisco followed by Toxic Tour of Richmond.
When: Press conference at 10 am, location in SF tbd
Followed by Toxic Tour, leaving SF for Richmond at noon

Thank You for "Rooted In Resilience"!

Thank you to everyone who attended our 6th national conference Rooted in Resilience on April 2, the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, and all those who helped to make it happen.

We would especially like to thank all our guest speakers: Gwyn Kirk of Women for Genuine Security, Lillian Galedo of Filipino Advocates for Justice, Jeanelle Ablola of the United Methodists of Cal-Nevada's Philippines Solidarity Task Force, and Jessica Tovar of Communities for a Better Environment. The day was packed with education and inspiration!

FACES' 2011 Philippines Tour!

FACES RINGS IN 2011, PHILIPPINES STYLE

FACES celebrated the New Year with our Philippines partners at AESJ (Advocates for Environmental & Social Justice)in Pandacan, metro Manila. It’s Filipino tradition to ring in the New Year with fireworks, but Makati (near Manila) was banned from setting any sparks for fear of igniting an explosion from the big-news leaking gas pipeline below. FACES research actually shows that Makati is only one of many towns along the national highway in Luzon where the major oil & gas pipeline runs through—and it leads to the massive Pandacan oil depot.

“It’s like they’re lighting a fuse of a bomb,” warned a resident at the AESJ-sponsored community forum on January 13, where the Makati gas leak is a hazardous line leading up to the “bomb that is the Pandacan oil depots.” Over 50 community members from different neighborhoods in metro Manila gathered to infuse energy into the depot relocation campaign. FACES board reps, Aileen & Mari Rose, shared with them research maps and investigative photos of the oil & gas pipeline that traced back to Chevron’s gas plant in Palawan, to Shell’s oil refinery in Batangas, ending in Pandacan. The oil depot relocation campaign truly is a national issue.

As Aileen & Mari Rose toured the massive oil tank field in Pandacan, residents reminded us of their neighborhood’s rich history & culture whose value is beyond the depots. They have the famous author Balagtas, the Aglipayan Church who protested Spanish priest abuses, even the Santo Nino festival (Buling-buling) mentioned in the Filipino folk song “Sitsiritsit”. Pandacan is a gem worth preserving.