Disinformation on Masungi a paid, coordinated attack – BBC report

MANILA, Philippines — Quarrying and land-grabbing activities are no longer the only threats looming over Masungi Georeserve, as an online disinformation campaign works to discredit its conservation efforts, a BBC investigation found. 

BBC journalist Marc Silva uncovered around 100 Facebook accounts exhibiting troll-like behavior, actively working to tarnish the reputation Masungi Georeserve Foundation, the nonprofit that conserves the eco-tourism site. The accounts also simultaneously laud the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

“Every time we do a campaign against a destructive interest such as a campaign against quarrying, we see retaliation coming in the form of misleading information and fake news that is trying to manufacture dissent against the work that we do,” Billie, one of the foundation’s trustees, said in the BBC podcast.   

What is Masungi? The Masungi Georeserve is a protected area within the Upper Marikina Watershed Reservation and serves as an eco-tourism site in Rizal’s rainforests. The area has helped reduce flooding in the region. 

Often referred to as the “last green corridor” on the outskirts of Manila, it has been threatened by urbanization and resource exploitation due to its rich mineral deposits and proximity to developed areas.

It was in 2017 when the Dumaliang family, who founded the Masungi Georeserve Foundation (MGFI), entered into a public-private partnership with the DENR to establish a perpetual land trust. 

This agreement grants the nonprofit permission to restore 2,700 hectares of degraded land and safeguard the area’s unique flora and fauna. 

Only savings from the georeserve, personal funds and in-kind donations were used to fund the restoration, the Dumaliangs said. 

Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, however, called for the cancelation of the agreement in 2024, claiming that it is unconstitutional because the contract permits MGFI to have indefinite control over the land. 

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When local and international celebrities, alongside activists, called on President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to stop the DENR’s attempt to cancel