The Free Doc Ana and Free Marc Campaign welcomed the recognition given to Dr. Ana Marie Rilloraza-Leung by Gawad Bayani para sa Kalikasan, calling the award a fitting tribute to her decades-long work as a community physician and environmental and human rights advocate.
In a statement, the campaign highlighted Rilloraza-Leung’s role as a former spokesperson of the Save the Abra River Movement (STARM), where she documented the health and environmental impacts of mine tailings and river pollution on Indigenous communities affected by large-scale mining.
The group, however, noted that Rilloraza-Leung could not personally receive the award as she remains detained at the Ilocos Sur Provincial Jail. She was arrested on March 11, 2026, along with the group known as the Cordillera 8, and is facing charges that the campaign described as politically motivated and linked to her advocacy work.
The campaign said her detention reflects the situation faced by other political prisoners, including environmental and human rights defenders who have been arrested in connection with their activism. It also paid tribute to advocates who have lost their lives while defending communities, land rights, and the environment.
Reaffirming its support for Rilloraza-Leung, Marc Mendiola, the Cordillera 8, and other detainees, the campaign called for their release and urged an end to what it described as the persecution of environmental and human rights defenders. # (RRN)
