Cebu Asean protest: Greenpeace activists detained
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Police took several Greenpeace Southeast Asia activists to a police station on Friday after they staged a protest during the opening day of the 48th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit in Cebu.
They are calling on regional leaders to act on the worsening plastic crisis and fossil fuel dependence.
In a statement released Friday, Greenpeace said its activists held a “peaceful protest” urging Asean leaders to reduce plastic production, phase out single-use plastics, and hold corporations accountable for environmental damage across Southeast Asia.
READ: Marcos to face media in Cebu as Asean Summit opens Friday
Authorities, however, brought the protesters to Lapu-Lapu City Police Station 2 in Barangay Mactan following the demonstration.
“As of this writing, our activists are currently at the Lapu-Lapu Police Station 2 and have not been permitted to leave,” Greenpeace Southeast Asia said.
READ: 1st amendment of Asean Charter to take place in Cebu
The environmental group criticized the police action, arguing that authorities should have listened to the concerns raised by the activists instead of suppressing demonstrations.
“Instead of silencing peaceful protest, Asean leaders must listen to the message: communities across Southeast Asia already suffer from landfill collapses, toxic fires, polluted air, and plastic pollution they did not create,” the group said.
Greenpeace also argued that corporations continued flooding the region with single-use plastics while communities suffered the environmental and health consequences.
“The real danger is not peaceful activism. The real danger is a system that allows corporations to keep flooding our region with single-use plastics while communities pay the price with their health, livelihoods, and even their lives,” the organization added.
The protest unfolded as President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Asean leaders gathered in Lapu-Lapu City for high-level meetings focused on regional stability, food and energy security, economic cooperation, and supply chain concerns.
Government security operations around summit venues remained under heightened alert Friday, with thousands of police, military, fire, and emergency personnel deployed across Cebu and Mactan Island.
Authorities earlier tightened security not only within summit venues but also in neighboring Cebu City, where response teams, ambulances, fire trucks, and K9 units remained stationed in strategic areas for rapid deployment.
Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak, who chairs the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CCDRRMC), earlier said authorities adopted a sector-based deployment system to secure city boundaries, shorelines, and possible delegate spillover areas.
“Mag-converge na sila sa pag-secure, hilabi na sa atong mga shoreline, hilabi na sa atong mga boundaries within the city, within the province. Ma secure gyud ang Asean Summit,” Tumulak said earlier.
(They will converge in securing, particularly our shorelines and our boundaries within the city and province. The Asean Summit will truly remain secure.)
The Greenpeace protest marked one of the few visible demonstrations linked to the summit since the Asean meetings opened in Cebu earlier this week.
Greenpeace urged Asean leaders to prioritize environmental policies during the summit, including stronger waste prevention programs, corporate accountability measures, and a transition away from fossil fuel dependence.
The group also demanded the immediate release of the activists taken into police custody.
As of posting time, authorities had yet to release an official statement detailing possible violations or charges against the protesters. /dl
