In 2018, 30 deaths were recorded in the country, which put it in the top spot in the global rankings. In 2016, the watchdog recorded 28 environmental and land defender deaths in the Philippines, a figure that rose to 48 deaths in 2017 - regarded as the bloodiest year on record in the Philippines and the highest number ever documented in an Asian country, Global Witness said. Image by Erwin Mascarinas | Global Witness Mining contributes only a tiny proportion to the Philippines’ GDP yet this industry sees the most number of murdered environmental defenders in the Philippines. A large-scale mining site ni Dinagat Island. The Philippines has been frequently listed among top countries considered dangerous for environmental and land defenders in Global Witness’s annual reports, and this year is no exception. “The relentless vilification of defenders by the government and widespread impunity for their attackers may well be driving the increase.”
“ has been consistently named as one of the worst places in Asia for attacks against defenders,” the report says. The tally marks out the Philippines as the most dangerous country in Asia and the second most dangerous in the world for those taking a stand against environmental destruction.Īccording to the group, the criminalization of environmental and land defenders under the mantle of anti-terrorism policies imposed by President Rodrigo Duterte contributed to the attacks in the Philippines in 2019. MANILA - Forty-three land and environmental defenders were killed in the Philippines in 2019, according to a new report from the watchdog group Global Witness.
A plurality of the casualties in the global tally are in mining and agribusiness the Philippines registered the most number of deaths in both sectors, the report says.Martial law in Mindanao, which was only lifted last December, combined with Duterte’s counterinsurgency campaigns and wide-scale anti-drug war, exacerbated the threats against defenders, local groups say.It recorded a total of 119 defender deaths in the Philippines since Duterte took office in mid-2016.Attacks on environmental and land defenders in the Philippines have escalated under President Rodrigo Duterte, with at least 43 deaths in 2019, watchdog group Global Witness says in its latest report.