Philippines remains deadliest country in Asia for environmental defenders
The Philippines is still the most dangerous in Asia, with eight reported killings and disappearances, not counting additional suspected attacks that go unreported.
MANILA – The Philippines remains to be the deadliest country for land and environmental defenders, according to a new Global Witness report which was launched by environmental groups on Wednesday, Sept. 17.
For the year 2024, Global Witness documented 146 land and environmental defenders killed or disappeared worldwide – an average of three people per week, with over 2,253 deaths or disappearances since 2012. Majority of the killings and disappearances occurred in Latin America. Colombia remains the world’s deadliest country for land and environmental defenders with 48 victims.
The Philippines is the fifth country with eight victims. They are Gregorio Navarette Jr., Dionisio Baloy, Bernard Torres, Boyet Rodrigo, Jay-El Maligday, Felix Salaveria Jr., Ronde Arpilleda Asis, and Alberto Cuartero. The report said that at least six of these attacks were linked to government bodies, of which four involved the armed forces.
“The Philippines is still the most dangerous in Asia, with eight reported killings and disappearances, not counting additional suspected attacks that go unreported,” said Laura Furones, lead author and senior adviser for Global Witness.
Furones said that a lower number globally this year does mean defenders are safer. “Threats, criminalization, and media censorship are rampant, rarely resulting in investigated or prosecuted cases. We urge governments and businesses to stop criminalizing defenders, enforce rights protections, and prioritize safety for those on the climate frontlines.”
In 2023, Global Witness said that 17 environmental defenders were killed.
For 2024, most of the killings and disappearances are also linked to issues such as mining and extraction, agribusiness, logging, hydropower, and poaching.
Arjel Constantino of Mangyan Iraya Repungpungan sa Malatabako said that their ancestral lands in Mindoro island are bombed, militarized, and grabbed to make way for plantations and destructive projects.
“Indigenous defenders are harassed, threatened, and branded as enemies of the state for protecting our mountains, rivers, and homes. Every attack tears our community apart and steals the future of our youth. We are not the criminals here—those who persecute us for profit, in the name of the government or big business, are the real lawbreakers,” he said in a statement.
Sebastian Tueres, spokesperson of Environmental Defenders Congress (ENVIDEFCON) criticized the Marcos Jr. administration for funding the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict which they said, is “financing a machinery to repress the poor and silence resistance.”
“Meanwhile, corruption festers at the highest levels. Not a single mastermind of these killings is punished, but defenders are hunted and smeared as terrorists to justify asset freezes, arrests, and intimidations. This is state terror funded by plundered public coffers,” Tueres said.
Jonila Castro, spokesperson for Kalikasan meanwhile said that attacks against environmental defenders “expose the glaring flaws in our ruling political and social systems where bureaucrat capitalists, big oligarchs, and landlords use militarized budgets, red-tagging, and repressive laws to grab lands and resources and secure their wealth at the expense of the environment and our lives.”
With this, Castro urged all sectors to join the Sept. 21 rally against Marcos Jr.’s corrupt and repressive regime.
“He takes after his father Marcos Sr. whose administration is mired deeply in human rights violations, and widespread corruption. We demand an end to impunity and justice for all slain environmental defenders. The struggle for land, life, and environment will continue,” Castro said.
Meanwhile, Furones stressed that at a time when the climate crisis has only intensified, more environmental defenders are needed more than ever. “We want them to be able to do their work without fearing for their lives. This is why we’re calling on the states to urgently tackle the drivers of harms against defenders by protecting lands and environmental rights as well as by establishing strong and binding legal frameworks on business and human rights.”
Furones called on states to stop criminalizing defenders and instead put a legal system to “ensure that they can work in a safe operating environment where attacks against them will not go unpunished.”
“Lastly, businesses can also play a crucial role to protect defenders and this should start by respecting the rights of indigenous, traditional and effective communities overall. … There’s really no time to lose in the fight against climate change. We must prioritize the protection of those working on the frontlines to address it,” she said. (DAA)
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