Why the Philippines is considered to be deadliest for envi defenders.

It was early morning of November 15, 2010 when ethnobotanist and taxonomist Leonard Co conducted fieldwork, with his team in Kananga Forest in Leyte Province.

Co’s team composed of foresters Safronio Cortez and Ronino Gibe, and local guides Policarpio Balute and Julius Borromeo. They were in the area just to collect seedling specimens of endangered trees for a reforestation project of the Lopez-owned Energy Development Corp. (EDC).

Leonard Co

At around 9:30 a.m. Co’s team arrived at a site to collect samples. At 11:15 a.m after a period of rain, they decided to resume collecting samples. By 3:00 p.m, the fourth tree they surveyed witnessed 245 bullets fired upon Co and his companions.

The Philippine Army’s 19th Infantry Battalion mistook Co, Cortez, and Borromeo for members of the New People’s Army (NPA) - the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and showered them with bullets to death.

Nine years later, Co’s family and other environmental groups continue to seek justice.

Three years following the tragedy, the Department of Justice (DOJ) charged the soldiers who gunned down Co and his companions with reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide and attempted homicide. But Glenda, Co’s widow, supported by multiple rights groups, called on the DOJ to upgrade the criminal case to murder.

Co is considered an environmental defender by many environmentalists and activists for his conservation work which greatly contributed in helping communities gain access to medical solutions and to fulfill their right to health.

Co and companions’ tragedy is not an isolated case of attacks among environmental defenders.

According to Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights’ 2010 year-end report, two environmentalists were extrajudicially killed under Benigno Aquino’s Presidency from July to December of that year.

In 2014, attacks on environmental defenders gained global prominence. The Philippines was consistently ranked among the most dangerous countries for environmental defenders as recorded by independent watchdog Global Witness.

In their 2019 Annual Report Enemies of the State?, Global Witness documented 164 killings of land and environmental defenders around the world. Other methods of silencing were identified as arrests, death threats and lawsuits.

Environmental organization, Kalikasan People’s Network (Kalikasan PNE) documented 225 environmental defenders killed from 2001 to 2018.

It is worth noting that Kalikasan has recently received raid and arrest threats.

While these numbers speak volumes, Global Witness also pointed out the governments’ failure to address the root causes of the attacks in these countries.

One of Global Witness’ major findings is the “use and abuse of laws and policies designed to criminalise and intimidate defenders, their families, and the community they represent.”

Indeed, in the Philippines, Kalikasan PNE has monitored that “spikes of killings over the years corresponded to the major environmental or so-called internal security policy shifts.”

According to Kalikasan National Coordinator Leon Dulce, large-scale mining and other economic pursuits remained the consistent driver of environmental-related killings from Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s presidency to President Rodrigo Duterte’s current term.

“Noong nag-spike yung pasok ng mining interest, nag-spike din yung pagpatay sa mga anti-mining activist,” said Dulce.

Dulce was discussing the Mining Revitalization Program instituted during Arroyo’s term, which, according to Kalikasan, perpetrated 67 percent of anti-mining activist killings from 2005 to 2006.

The next spike was during Benigno Aquino’s administration. With the passage of EO No. 79, s. 2012 76 percent of killings during this year also involved anti-mining activists.

According to Dulce, the trend of spikes in killings is obviously related to mining. This matches Global Witness’ report, differences in year aside.

But the highest spike, which marked the Philippines as the deadliest country for environmental defenders, was during Duterte’s administration. Kalikasan recorded that from 2017 to 2018, the declaration of martial law in Mindanao increased government action against uncooperative communities in natural resource conflict areas, under the logic that these are “hotbeds of insurgency.”

Dulce pointed out that Duterte’s economic activities such as the Build, Build, Build project forces the displacement of indigenous peoples (IPs) from their lands, hence his belief that IPs are the lead victims of state militarization.

“In the process of modernizing our country, nakaharang ang ating mga katutubo kaya sila ang nagiging pangunahing biktima [ng militarisasyon],” said Dulce.

Global Witness states that indigenous peoples, who are considered the natural environmental guardians and stewards, “are disproportionately affected by the scramble for land and natural resources, and the violence that comes with it.”

In the Philippines, militarization of Lumad communities, the IPs of Mindanao, forced them to evacuate their lands. They fled to Manila to voice out their concerns and inform the public of the bombings of their schools and the blocking of relief assistance.

However, those who are defending them and protecting their rights to their lands are also considered enemies of the state.

“Duterte’s government has ramped up its campaign of red-tagging rights activists, including land and environmental defenders, as communist sympathisers, terrorists or supporters of a group or armed insurgents called the NPA,” according to Global Witness’ report.

Center for Environmental Concerns (CEC) and Kalikasan’s joint office recently received raid and arrest threats for serving as sanctuary to Lumad defenders and students.

Dulce said that the whole environmental movement is seen as a threat to Duterte’s economic plans, hence the red-tagging.

“It is a reprisal for our work in environmental defence,” said Dulce, referring to the restriction of their day-to-day operations due to harassment from the police.

While government tries to attack their oppositions and not see the preservation of our environment as necessary in pursuit of sustainable development, Dulce believes that advocating for the environment and the people’s rights is not a crime.

“Hindi naman kami mga perpektong nilalang so yung mga ganyang klaseng takot, stress, fatigue, anxieties, [ay] naiipon. Para kaming pinapatay unti-unti kung di man kami papatayin agad, parang ganon yung ginagawa sa amin. Kaya it forces us to really dig deep, to strengthen yung community care namin kung paano namin tutulungan yung isa’t isa [at] kung paano namin haharapin yung dangerous situations na hinaharap namin,” added Dulce.