Betty is an Indigenous woman leader from the Uma people in Lubuagan, Kalinga in the Cordillera region. A member of Innabuyog – An Alliance of Indigenous Women’s Organizations in the Cordillera, Betty is a staunch environmental and indigenous rights defender, and a community health worker who tirelessly serves her community. She has devoted her life in protecting ancestral lands and defending indigenous peoples’ rights.
Belen was among those who led a barricade against the Chevron Energy company’s geothermal project in Kalinga province in 2012. In 2018, she was awarded the Gawad Bayani ng Kalikasan (Environmental Hero Award) for her unwavering dedication in defending their ancestral lands.
She has been subjected to harassment and intimidation by state agents since 2015, as she is accused of providing shelter and hosting members of the New Peoples’ Army, an armed group declared insurgent by the Philippine government.
In October 2020, Belen was arrested and detained on trumped-up charges. Her arrest has severely affected her family and community, as she helps her family in farming and in soft-broom production, and she assists her two grandchildren in their distant learning.
In February 2021, Belen was released from prison as the court dismissed the illegal possession of explosives charged against her by the Philippine National Police.
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