Human Rights Watch raised the alarm over the rising violence against environmental defenders in the Philippines, following the release of a Global Witness report that recorded 17 murders and enforced disappearances in 2023. 

According to the report, the Philippines had the highest number of such incidents in Asia, continuing its grim record as the deadliest country in the region for land and environmental defenders over the past 11 years.

“Of the 196 defenders reportedly killed or forcibly disappeared globally in 2023, 17 were in the Philippines, the highest toll in Asia,” the report noted. 

Many of the victims were Indigenous leaders opposing large-scale mining and other destructive industries. 

Global Witness pointed out that “more environmental defenders have been killed in the country than anywhere else in the region over the past 11 years.”

Carlos Conde, Senior Researcher for Human Rights Watch in the Philippines, emphasized the significance of the report, saying it “again showed the alarming level of violence against land and environmental defenders in the Philippines.” 

According to Global Witness, 10 of the 17 Filipino victims were confirmed to have been killed, while seven were forcibly disappeared, a pattern that is all too common in the Philippines. 

Joan Carling, executive director of Indigenous Peoples Rights International, remarked, “We have so many cases of killings and arbitrary arrests and detention. Many of these are what I call invisible cases because little is known about them publicly.”

The report also pointed to the prevalence of “red-tagging,” where activists and Indigenous leaders are accused of being communist sympathizers, often leading to violence. “Red-tagging is often a precursor to physical violence,” the report noted.

Human Rights Watch called on the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to address the issue head-on. 

“The Global Witness report should prompt the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to protect land and environmental defenders and credibly investigate attacks on them,” Conde stressed. 

He also urged the international community and multinational corporations to step up their role in ensuring human rights standards are upheld in their business operations in the Philippines. 

“Multinational companies and investors should be more concerned about the violence, speak out against it, and ensure that their business practices in the Philippines are consistent with international human rights principles and standards,” the report stated.