User:Michellemariee6/sandbox

Bai Leah Tumbalang (age 45) of Valencia City, Bukidnon, Philippines, mother of seven, was a human rights activist for the group Kaugalingong Sistema Igpasasindog to Lumadnong Ogpaan (KASILO). She and her group worked to stop companies from mining illegally in ancestral lands in her province of Bukidnon and fought against the seizure of ancestral land for mining and plantations. The mining allows mud flow into the Tagoloan River and increases siltation. The mining has lead to not only hazardous environmental impacts, but also impedes upon the cultural significance of the land. The group also pushed back against paramilitary and military groups that had violated the rights of indigenous people in the area. Apart from KASILO, Leah Tumbalang was active in the native-peasant organization and the small-scale Peasant Community Development System Due to her activist status, Leah Tumbalang as well as other members of her organization, started receiving death threats from the Filipino military. Then, on August 23, 2019, Bai Leah Tumbalang was killed in a hit-and-run, having been shot in the head by a pair of men on a red motorcycle. Tumbalang had received a text message saying, “Death is coming.” only days before. Unfortunately, Tumbalang’s death was not the first or the last of tragic deaths. Thirteen other individuals have been killed in Bukidnon by what is thought to be the Filipino military. Just under three weeks later, on September 11th, 2019, a peasant activist named Leonides Bacong was murdered in Bukidnon. Two men visited him and gunned him down in a surprise attack. According to Cristina Palabay, the secretary general of Karapatan (another human rights group), said, “She was clearly targeted for her active involvement in various community campaigns and struggles. We live at a time when any form of resistance — even to defend one’s ancestral domain and demand a clean and safe environment — will earn the ire of this regime. We grieve the loss of another environmental defender, a mother, and a leader who stood for future generations.”