EDITOR?S NOTE: Reposting to correct erroneous inclusion of Geneva Cruz among the artists in the album to be launched by the Center of Environmental Concerns (CEC). Miss Cruz was mentioned in the CEC statement on the album launch as one of those whose songs, ?Anak ng Pasig? in this case, the project drew its inspiration from.

MANILA, Philippines -- An environmentalist group has gathered some of the country?s top musicians for a different protest against the continued destruction of the country?s environment -- an album launch.

On Wednesday, a day before World Environment Day on June 5, the Center for Environmental Concerns-Philippines (CEC) will launch the album ?Rapu-Rapu Atbp: Taghoy ng Kalikasan? (Rapu-Rapu and Others: Lament of Nature).

Inspired by the island of Rapu-Rapu in Albay, where conflict continues over an Australian-owned mining operations, the album will be launched at the 70's Bistro along Anonas Street in Quezon City.

?Rapu-Rapu Atbp: Taghoy ng Kalikasan? contains songs by The Jerks, Lady High, Cookie Chua, Coffeebreak Island, Bayang Barrios, Noel Cabangon, Aiza Seguerra, Dap-ayan ti Kultura iti Kordilyera, Datu's Tribe and Lolita Carbon.

?The songs in the collection speak about the current state of the Philippine environment: how our forests have been laid bare by logging, how our mountains and islands have been turned into wastelands by mining, how the access to natural resources such as water, have become restricted to?a few,? CEC executive director Frances Quimpo said in a statement.

The two main themes of the album are deforestation and mining.

Rampant deforestation, brought by logging operations by foreign and local firms have resulted to ?only 5.4 million hectares of mostly secondary-growth forests are left, covering less than 18% of the total land area in 2003,? Quimpo said.

CEC also blamed the Mining Act of 1995 for ?large-scale and mostly foreign-controlled mining projects on the environment,? resulting to almost 40% of the country?s land area being converted to mining.