Pass law protecting rights defenders

Last month, two young women accused of being communists left authorities red-faced in a state-organized press conference after they went off-script and bravely declared that they were abducted and forced to sign affidavits stating that they had surrendered to the military. Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro, who worked with coastal communities opposed to Manila Bay reclamation projects, were later released. Many other environmental activists like them, however, did not live to tell their stories.

The nonprofit organization Global Witness said in a new report that, in 2022 alone, 11 of 16 activists who were killed in Asia were from the Philippines, making the country the worst place for land and environmental defenders in the region, and the fifth deadliest in the world. “The Philippines has consistently ranked as the worst place in Asia for land and environmental defenders, with 281 people killed since 2012. Of these, a third were linked to defenders speaking out against company operations linked to the mining sector … The criminalisation of defenders and rights advocates is widespread, with ‘Red-tagging’—the government practice of accusing activists of communist insurgency—commonly used to silence critics and communities,” Global Witness said.

Tamano and Castro were accused of being members of the New People’s Army. Prior to their disappearance, Castro’s mother claimed, several men visited their home asking her to convince her daughter to surrender to authorities. The two would later tell the media that they were coerced to surrender and their lives threatened.

That they managed to be reunited with their families was a fate that eluded the 11 activists who died last year: Anakpawis members Rose Marie Galias and Silvestre Fortades Jr., who were gunned down by unidentified men in Sorsogon; farmer Richard Mendoza, who authorities claimed died in a military encounter; human rights and environmental activist Chad Booc, volunteer teacher Gelejurain Ngujo II, community health worker Elegyn Balong, and drivers Robert Aragon and Tirso Añar, collectively known as the “New Bataan 5,” who were massacred in Davao de Oro; village councilor Eugene Lastrella, who was ambushed in South Cotabato; and artist and poet Ericson Acosta and peasant leader-organizer Joseph Jimenez, who were killed in an “encounter” with state forces in Negros Occidental. They fought for various causes including fair labor conditions and peasants’ and land rights, opposed business practices that threatened the environment and communities, and, in the case of the New Bataan 5, worked with “lumad” schools that the military had accused of being breeding grounds for communist rebels. But there were fatalities, per an Inquirer article last month, who were not named in the Global Witness report including two forest rangers and one forest protection officer who were killed in the line of duty.

The Red-tagging, harassment, and murder of individuals advocating for various sociopolitical and environmental issues have intensified under the previous administration through the controversial National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac), which has been accused of many grave crimes including abduction, illegal detention, and coercion.

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has been pushing for a Human Rights Defenders Protection Act, which already passed the House committee on human rights in February but is still pending at the Senate’s committee level. Lawmakers should prioritize this measure, which, among others, seeks to protect the rights to: represent, advocate, and promote fundamental freedoms; form groups, associations, and organizations; solicit, receive, and utilize resources; seek, receive, and disseminate information; access, communicate, and cooperate with international and regional human rights bodies and mechanisms; participate in public affairs; and exercise cultural rights. It also provides defenders mechanisms for effective remedy and full reparation, ensures their privacy, and protects them from acts of vilification, intimidation, or reprisal.

The NTF-Elcac, unsurprisingly, has dubbed the measure “a grave, vicious, and insidious threat against the Philippines’ democratic way of life.” But the risks and dangers that human rights defenders continue to face only underscore the importance of addressing the Red-tagging, impunity, and continued harassment—many of which have resulted in deaths— and establishing a legal framework to protect them and their communities.

The Philippines is home to various flora, fauna, and endemic species, and has a rich biodiversity. This makes it a target for people who want to exploit our natural resources—from the lush forests to marine protected areas. But the government’s propensity to Red-tag defenders has made protecting the environment a challenging, even deadly, endeavor.

As the CHR said, human rights defenders, including those who fight for the environment, should not be seen as foes. They stand up for the rights of the weak, vulnerable, and marginalized—and it is a democratic state’s obligation to protect them. Failing to do so betrays its real intent.