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.

Just One Month Away - Celebrate FACES' 10th Anniversary!

FACES is turning 10, and we want to share our birthday with YOU! The celebration all goes does on Sunday, November 14, starting at 2pm:

We'll be featuring:
- A special message from our Philippine partners
- Live performances from artists including Diwa Kulintang Ensemble, classical guitarist Theresa   
  Calpotura, and spoken word poet Aimee Suzara
- Delicious Filipino delicacies
- A palengke/market auction of sustainable, handmade crafts
- Guest speakers and more!

Get your tickets now! Advanced tickets can be purchased now at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/133540.
Levels:
Saging (banana)
$15-$24
Kawayan (bamboo)
$25-$49
Balete (banyan)
$50-$100+

You can also RSVP to reserve tickets. Email info@facessolidarity.org with your full name and the names of additional guests. Remember - Facebook RSVPs will not count towards ticket sales.

Be a Sponsor: Are you a business or nonprofit? We are looking to highlight sponsors in our program. Contact info@facessolidarity.org if you are interested in an ad.

Host Committee:
Diana Abellera, Terry Bautista, Christine Cordero, Lisa de Castro, Lea Francisco, Lisa Juachon, Gala King, Ron Quesada, Aileen Suzara, Aimee Suzara, Mari Rose Taruc, Mia Vilanueva

June 21 - From Richmond to Houston Community Reportback!

Join Us To:
 
- Find out what happened in Houston
- Get your copy of  The True Cost of Chevron Report 2010
- Hear a Report on Gulf Oil disaster in Louisiana

Antonia Juhasz– Author; Director of Global Exchange’s Chevron Program
Dr. Henry Clark– Director of West County Toxics Coalition
Reverend Kenneth Davis– Communities for a Better Environment, various Richmond groups
Aileen Suzara-Bay Area FACES-Filipino/American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity
TJ  Buonomo-Iraq Veterans Against War (IVAW)

Food and Drinks will be served! At the Richmond Progressive Alliance office, 317 11th St (Cross St Nevin) in Richmond, walking distance from Richmond BART

 

True Cost of Chevron Coalition members in Houston:

Activists and community leaders from around the world- from Angola to Ecuador - came together in Houston to confront the oil giant!  Come and hear stories from our Bay Area representatives!

Event contact:
Jessica Guadalupe Tovar, Communities for a Better Environment, 510-302-0430 ext 241440 Broadway Suite 701 Oakland, CA 94612, Jessica@cbecal.org
 

Telling the Truth to Chevron at Houston Shareholder Meeting

On May 26, FACES Aileen Suzara delivered testimony to Chevron CEOs, board members and shareholders at the Annual General Meeting telling the truth about Chevron's hazardous depot in Manila, the Philippines, and express solidarity with dozens of True Cost of Chevron Network activists unfairly denied entry.  Read below for the statement and media coverage:

Aileen Suzara's Testimony to Chevron Representatives

I first would echo the outrage expressed for the legal proxies who have been denied entrance to this meeting. They have traveled to speak to shareholders about Chevron’s true costs in their communities, from Ecuador, Canada, Australia, Burma, Colombia and more. Denying these voices is not a part of The Chevron Way.

I am here because over 80,000 Filipino residents live next to and are negatively impacted by Chevron’s depot in Manila, the Philippines. Chevron’s Manila depot operations are a threat to human health and the environment. People are suffering from exposure to depot emissions and constant spills, accidents and leaks. Rather than a proper buffer zone to protect residents from depot hazards, Chevron and its partners built a buffer that is only 15 meters wide, and contains a park where children walk and play.

Yet despite strong public outcry, numerous ordinances, and a clear order from the Supreme Court demanding its closure, your company continues to operate and refuses to leave. People in the Philippines want healthy lives free from the dangers and health effects of Chevron’s depot. They want to see their children grow up in a healthy and safe environment.

Chevron, when will you listen to the will of the people and safely relocate your depot? Will you go, or will you remain as you are?

Unless Chevron makes changes, vulnerable communities like those in the Philippines and those whose representatives wait outside these doors will continue to suffer. Take leadership and live up to the environmental and human rights principles you claim are the Chevron Way. To shareholders present today, you have the power to make Chevron the humane and healthy company it can and should be. Thank you.

Links:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7022962.html

http://www.khou.com/news/local/4-protesters-arrested-outside-Chevron-offices-in-Downtown-Houston-94951784.html

http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2010/05/houston-chevron-arrests-truthtellers.html

Chevron Denies Access to Shareholder Representatives In Bid to Silence Truth

Global Community Leaders Barred, Ejected and Arrested from Chevron Annual Meeting

For immediate release: May 26, 2010

Houston, TX - Shareholders and shareholder representatives from around the globe holding legal proxies were refused entry to Chevron's annual meeting today. Five members of The True Cost of Chevron Network subsequently arrested at the oil giants direction.

Communities affected by Chevron attempted to enter its annual meeting while more "True Cost of Chevron" network supporters rallied outside.

"Chevron CEO John Watson opened the annual shareholder meeting touting Chevron as a good neighbor and yet they locked the door for communities from Houston, Alaska, Canada, Burma, Nigeria, and Colombia. This is the way we have been treated at home and meeting them here was no different," explained Emem Okom, founder of the Kebetkuche Women Development and Resource Center of Nigeria.

Of the 37 delegates from the Network with validly executed proxy statements, only seven were allowed to enter the meeting, contradicting Chevron's own policies and in potential violations of corporate governance laws. Addressing the shareholders, Elias Isaac of Open Society Institute of Southern Africa, who has seen the results of Chevron's oil contaminations in Angola, said, "The disappearance of fish in Angola is a clear sign that Chevron is not compatible with the fishing business, despite John Watson's claims to the contrary during today's meeting."

Josh Coates from the Wilderness Society of Australia was denied admission into the meeting had a message for CEO Watson: "Today I've been denied the opportunity to give a clear message to Chevron and the shareholders that the proposed liquid natural gas processing facility in the Kimberley region of northwest Australia comes with unacceptable environmental costs. The Kimberley region in the west of Australia is a last refuge for many species in the region, including humpback whales and the endangered Australian flatback turtle. Chevron is pushing an off-shore processing facility in the home of the humpback, while other options exist." Coates noted.

Aileen Suzara, of the Filipino-American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity, was able to gain entrance into the meeting and addressed Chevron's operations in Manila, Phillipines, stating, "Over 80,000 residents in metro-Manila are threatened by Chevron's toxic fuel tanks, constant leaks, spills and emissions. Chevron refuses to relocate its depot despite the public outcry and a Philippine Supreme Court decision demanding closure."

Outside the meeting, activist Naing Htoo of EarthRights International from Burma was denied the opportunity to address the Board of Directors. Had he gained entrance, he would have told the company directly that, "Chevron continues lying to their shareholders and the public about human rights abuses associated with the Yadana Project in Burma. Even this year the UN Special Rapporteur for Burma documented the connection between human rights abuses and Chevron's project. It's time for Chevron to take responsibility for the harms they cause."

Of the five arrested, one was Antonia Juhasz, Lead Author of "*The True Cost

of Chevron:* *An Alternative Annual Report*". Juhasz was dragged from the meeting as shareholders and their proxies chanted, "Chevron Lies, People Die" and CEO John Watson abruptly ended the meeting.

Others arrested included Reverend Ken Davis, a member Community for a Better Environment, from Richmond, California, Juan Parras of Houston-based Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Solutions (TEJAS), and Mitchell Anderson and Han Shan of Amazon Watch; all arrested after being denied entrance. AmazonWatch works with Ecuadorian leaders like Guillermo Grefa, who was also denied entrance.

Before his arrest, Reverend Davis stated "I represent an area where there is no beauty shop, groceries, or cleaners. Our industry is Chevron. My people breathe their contamination every day and are constantly sick. Our health is not for sale."

The True Cost of Chevron Network will continue its effective alliance to expose and challenge the oil giant. For more information on the Network, visit *www.truecostofchevron.com*

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Photos and videos at: http://justicenecology.posterous.com