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Over 100 NGOs raise concern over plight of environmental defenders in PH

ICHRP Secretariat
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PRESS RELEASE
5 December 2017

 

Declaring “it is not a crime to defend the environment,” a total of 109 non-government organizations, social movements, and other environmental groups came out with a unified statement raising concern over the worsening human rights situation faced by environmental defenders in the Philippines, rated as the third deadliest country in the world and deadliest in Asia in the 2017 Global Witness Report on Killings of Environmental and Land Defenders.

Hailing from 22 different countries, the groups noted that “in just more than a year under the current administration of President Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines, at least 42 environmental defenders have been killed, 240 have been slapped with harassment lawsuits, and at least 18,263 have been forcibly displaced because of their resistance to destructive projects.”

“President Duterte is by far the worst human rights violator to Filipino environmental defenders. Duterte is well on his way to making the Philippines the most dangerous country for environmental defenders by 2018,” said Mr. Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE), one of the main initiators of the statement.

The statement came out amid increasingly atrocious human rights violations perpetrated against Filipino environmental defenders and other activists over the past two weeks.

On November 26, an exodus was begun by 1,688 indigenous Lumad people opposing coal mining development in their ancestral lands in Lianga, Surigao del Sur. This was spurred by intensified military operations of the 75th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army. Later, the evacuation camp was food blockaded by the 75th IBPA to prevent the entry of humanitarian aid.

Last December 3, elements of the 27th and 33rd IBPAs massacred 8 indigenous T’boli and Dulangan Manobo tribe members opposing attempts by the DMCI corporation to establish a 3,000-hectare coal mine within their ancestral lands in South Cotabato province.

Various other incidents of extrajudicial killings, illegal arrests, enforced disappearances, and forced evacuations occurred in just over the past week in the provinces of Mindoro Oriental, Batangas, Agusan del Sur, Compostela Valley, and Surigao del Sur. Affected communities mainly confronted mining, plantation, and coal issues.

The groups observed that “civilians are systematically targeted by bloody military operations under an increasingly aggressive ‘Oplan Kapayapaan’ counter insurgency program and the dark shadow of Martial Law,” noting the recent systematic efforts of justifying killings and militarization by accusing environmental defenders as armed communist rebels or sympathizers.

The groups furthered in the statement that “Big Mining has much to do with the mayhem” with 55% of the monitored killings and 100% of the monitored harassment lawsuits involving anti-mining activists and community members.

“The Duterte administration must immediately free all remaining 16 illegally detained environmental defenders from prison, and drop all 225 trumped-up charges still lodged against environmental defenders. Urgent and concrete actions must also be taken to stop the killings of environmental defenders and bring to justice its perpetrators,” the groups said.

The unified statement was initiated by Kalikasan PNE together with the Environmental Advocates against Repression and Tyranny in defense of Human Rights (EARTH), a recently established environment and human rights coalition united to oppose human rights violations perpetrated against environmental defenders.

Kalikasan PNE and EARTH announced their intention to mobilize their ranks in time for the December 10 Human Rights Day mobilizations planned by various movements opposing the worsening climate of impunity in the country.
Reference: Clemente Bautista, National Coordinator – Kalikasan PNE – 0905 432 5211

 

–Unified Statement Follows–
Defend Environmental Defenders!

Environmental defenders are under attack in Asia’s deadliest country for environmentalists. In just more than a year under the current administration of President Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines, at least 42 environmental defenders have been killed, 240 have been slapped with harassment lawsuits, and at least 17,748 have been forcibly displaced because of their resistance to destructive projects.

It is no wonder that the natural resource-rich country was declared the deadliest in Asia and third deadliest in the world in the Global Witness 2017 report on killings of environment and land defenders.

Women who found their voice in the defense of the environment like indigenous Ifugao and village official Marilyn Lango, one of the leaders of the community organizations opposing Australian-Canadian mining firm Oceanagold in Nueva Vizcaya province, are being imprisoned by police and military forces on non-bailable charges. Six women human rights defenders working on mining and other environmental issues in the region of the Cordilleras have also been similarly lodged with harassment suits.

Big mining has much to do with the mayhem. Anti-mining activists such as Lito Casalla, a leader of agrarian reform beneficiaries from Batangas province defending their lands against the San Miguel Corporation subsidiary limestone mine project, constitute 55% of the monitored killings. Big mines such as Filminera and their figureheads in government are in fact responsible for 100% of all trumped-up charges we monitored.

Civilians are systematically targeted by bloody military operations under an increasingly aggressive ‘Oplan Kapayapaan’ counter insurgency program and the dark shadow of Martial Law. Communities opposing big mines, plantations, and other destructive projects, repeatedly accused as supporters of communist rebels, are being attacked by military and paramilitary troops with combat operations and bomb runs.

It is not a crime to defend the environment. It is our conviction that safeguarding the rights of environmental defenders and their communities is imperative to the protection of our environment and conservation of our natural resources.

We urge the Duterte administration to immediately free all remaining 16 illegally detained environmental defenders from prison, and drop all 225 trumped-up charges still lodged against environmental defenders. Urgent and concrete actions must also be taken to stop the killings of environmental defenders and bring to justice its perpetrators.

Let our fellow environmental defenders continue to freely speak out and take action.

Signed:

1. Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE)

2. Center for Environmental Concerns – Philippines (CEC-Phils)

3. Ministry on Ecology – Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila

4. Miriam Public Education and Awareness Campaign for the Environment (Miriam PEACE)

5. Nilad – Metro Manila

6. 350.org East Asia

7. 350.org Pilipinas

8. AGHAM – Advocates of Science and Technology for the People

9. AGHAM Youth

10. Agra Indonesia

11. ALGA Association of Rural Women Kyrgyzstan

12. Alliance of Concerned Teachers – Central Luzon

13. Alyansa ng Magbubukid ng Gitnang Luzon (AMGL) – Central Luzon

14. Amihan

15. Anakbayan UP Los Banos

16. Asia Pacific Workers Solidarity Links (APWSL) – Korea

17. Asociación ambiental y cultural Petón do Lobo, Galicia (España)

18. Asociación Amigos y Amigas de los Bosques “O Ouriol do Anllóns” Galicia (España)

19. Asociación gallega Cova Crea, Galicia (España)

20. Association for the Promotion of Sustainable Development Hisar (APSDHISAR)

21. ATM

22. Bai Indigenous Women’s Network

23. Bayan GL

24. Bayan USA

25. BIEN (BPO Industry Employees’ Network) Philippines

26. Bukluran para sa Inang Kalikasan Batangas (BUKAL Batangas)

27. Cambodia IP Alliance

28. Cambodian Youth Network

29. Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines – UK (CHRP UK)

30. Campaign for Peace and Democracy – Manipur

31. Caraga Watch

32. Center for Environment – Bosnia and Herzegovina

33. Centre for Research and Advocacy – Manipur

34. Center for Sustainable Community Development (SCODE) Vietnam

35. Center for Sustainable Development in Mountainous Areas / AIPP – Vietnam

36. Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR)

37. Coalition for Climate Justice Nepal (CCJN)

38. College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) – Southern Tagalog

39. Community Initiatives for Development in Pakistan (CIDP)

40. Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA)

41. Computer Professionals’ Union (CPU)

42. COURAGE – LEAGUE

43. DECOIN Ecuador

44. Earthworks USA

45. Empower India

46. European Environmental Bureau

47. Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal (FECOFUN)

48. Federation of Environmental and Ecological Diversity for Agricultural Revampment and Human Rights (FEEDAR & HR)

49. Global Witness – UK

50. Go Wild Films

51. Greenwatch Dhaka

52. Gram Bharati Samiti (GBS)

53. Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD)

54. Ibon International

55. International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS)

56. ILPS Indonesia

57. ILPS Netherlands

58. Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL)

59. Institute for National and Democracy Studies (INDIES) Indonesia

60. IP – Central Luzon

61. JAGO NARI

62. Kadamay – Central Luzon

63. Kalikasan Southern Tagalog

64. KARAPATAN – Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights

65. KARAPATAN – CL, Philippines

66. Katribu – Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas

67. Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas

68. Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) Philippines

69. Kohtuusliike (Movement for Moderate Lifestyle) – Finland

70. Lao Hamutuk – Timor Leste

71. Loas – Malaysia

72. Mangrove Action Project

73. Metal Worker’s Alliance Philippines

74. MHEP – Thailand

75. Mines, Minerals & People

76. National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) – USA

77. Nature, the Earth is entrusted to us! – Netherlands

78. Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN)

79. Netherlands Philippines Solidarity Association (NPSA)

80. Network of Indigenous Peoples in Thailand

81. NGO Federation of Nepal

82. NPI-NAFLU-KMU

83. One Nature / Sisters of Wilderness

84. Panalipdan Mindanao

85. Participatory Research Action Network (PRAN) Bangladesh

86. Paryavaran Mitra

87. Philippine Network of Food Security Programs (PNFSP)

88. Pinay sa Holland – Gabriela

89. Rainforest Rescue Germany

90. Rede contra a Minaría Destructiva na Galiza (ContraMINAccion)

91. River Coalition in Cambodia / NGOF

92. Roots for Equity

93. Rotary Club of Uptown Manila

94. Salva la Selva

95. SANDUGO Movement of Moro and Indigenous Peoples for Self-Determination

96. Santi Sena

97. Sisters of Our Lady of Sion, Philippines Region

98. Smallholder Farmers Association of Kenya

99. Sustainable AgroFood Platform

100. Sustainable Development Foundation

101. Tanggol Bayi (Defend Women) – Philippines

102. The Gaia Foundation UK

103. Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA)

104. UBINIG

105. UP Saribuhay

106. War on Want

107. Workers Alliance in Region III (WAR – III)

108. Working group Mission, Development & Peace of the Diaconie of the St. Joseph Church – HH. Matthias

109. Youth Association for Development
Countries of Signatories

1. Philippines
2. Bangladesh
3. United Kingdom
4. Cambodia
5. India
6. Indonesia
7. Pakistan
8. Thailand
9. Finland
10. Nepal
11. Kenya
12. Ecuador
13. Vietnam
14. Bosnia and Herzegovina
15. Timor Leste
16. Kyrgyzstan
17. South Korea
18. Spain
19. USA
20. Netherlands
21. Germany
22. Cameroon

Philippines: Stop harassment of human rights defender and their organization in Mindanao, Lift the Martial Law without further delay

ICHRP Secretariat
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Philippines: Stop harassment of human rights defender and their organization in Mindanao, Lift the Martial Law without further delay

AIPP letterhead

Philippines: Stop harassment of human rights defender and their organization in Mindanao, Lift the Martial Law without further delay

5 December 2017
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP)[1] strongly condemns the harassment and intimidation to a 21-year-old staff of Rural Missionaries of the Philippines – Northern Mindanao Sub-Region (RMP – NMR) with threats of rape against her and threats against her family. RMP – NMR has been receiving threats for the past four months but this recent incident is particularly alarming.[2]

On 20 November 2017, a person identifying him/herself as an intelligence asset of the 4th Infantry Division of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) threatened the RMP – NMR staff and claimed that her parents and siblings are under their surveillance. AIPP denounces such cowardly tactics employed by the military.

The staff of RMP – NMR is being pressured to provide information regarding the work of RMP – NMR, particularly disclosing their partners and allies who visit their office.  RMP – NMR, based in Iligan City of the Philippines’ Mindanao island with offices all over Northern Mindanao, has been active since 1969 in supporting the rural communities that are among the poorest and most voiceless in the island. The organization has been helping the communities in raising awareness and their issues, as well as stand with them against human rights violations and abuses.

The staff of RMP – NMR and human rights defenders under its sanctuary have drawn the attention of the military and have become the target of threats and harassment.  President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of Martial Law, which was extended by the Congress and Senate to the whole of Mindanao until the end of 2017, has led to intensification of military actions and impunity in the island.

The recent threat and intimidation to the staff of RMP – NMR is an example of an act to send a message of intention and capacity to cause harm or arrest anyone defying their authority.  The declaration of Martial Law in the name of providing security is misguided.  It has only led to further abuse of power and acts of impunity of the AFP and paramilitary forces operating in the island.  Furthermore, it has caused greater harm to the common people and increased their vulnerability to violations of human rights.

The staff of RMP – NMR, human rights defenders and communities, including other organisations working in the island for promoting and protecting human rights should be assured a safe working and living environment that is free from any kinds of threat and harassment. The authorities should be made accountable to the rule of law and nobody should be exempted from any acts of human rights violations regardless of political and economic status. Further, AIPP calls on the Philippine government to lift the Martial Law in Mindanao without further delay and ensure that justice is brought to the cases of human rights violations in the island.

As we commemorate the 16-day of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, we call on our partners and allies in the region and beyond to join us in condemning gender-based violence as a method that puts emphasis on the power imbalance in our society with women and girls at the most vulnerable end. We stand with RMP – NMR in their work on human rights and their dedication to support the poorest and voiceless communities and peoples in Mindanao, Philippines.

Gam Awungshi Shimray
Secretary General
Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact

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[1] AIPP is a regional organization of indigenous peoples in Asia with 48 member organizations and movements in 14 countries.

[2] See the statement and appeal for support from RMP-NMR for more information at the link http://rmp-nmr.org/articles/2017/11/20/we-are-and-will-continue-be-people-state-killing 

Click here to download full statement.

Resist the escalating fascism of the Duterte government

ICHRP Secretariat
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Resist the escalating fascism of the Duterte government

photo_2017-12-06_16-23-27photo_2017-12-06_16-23-31

 

Resist the escalating fascism of the Duterte government
Justice for Fr. Tito Paez and all victims of human rights violations!
Stand for peace, Stop the Killings
6 December 2017 – Hong Kong SAR

 

The Hong Kong Campaign for the Advancement of Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines (HKCAHRPP), Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN-Hong Kong/ Macau) and Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR-Hong Kong) condemn in the strongest terms the escalating killings in the Philippines. For the past three days alone, extrajudicial killings have claimed the lives of church leaders Fr. Marcelito “Tito” Paez and Pastor Leovelito Quiniones, and eight Lumad in South Cotabato defending their ancestral land from a Philippine oligarch.

On December 4 at around 8:00 pm, Rev. Fr. Paez was shot while driving his vehicle at San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija. On that same day, Fr. Tito has just assisted in facilitating the release of political prisoner Rommel Tucay who was detained at the BJMP jail in Cabanatuan. During his stint as a parish priest of Guimba, Fr. Tito was active in advancing the human rights of people of Nueva Ecija and actively opposed foreign intervention and the presence of US military troops in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, Pastor Lovelito Quiñones of the Kings Glory Ministry in, Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro was shot by soldiers at around 8-8:30pm on December 3. Pastor Quinones was on his motorcycle, on his way home after facilitating food distribution and distributing the monthly supports for the 4Ps – government funded initiative to help the poorest of the poor in alleviating abject poverty – beneficiaries. The AFP, in their press statements, said that Pastor Lovelito was an NPA, an accusation belied by his family and the church. His family also recounted that the RMG (Regional Mobile Group) planted a .45 caliber pistol to make it appear that the pastor was indeed a member of NPA. Pastor Quiñones was tested negative during the paraffin test.

In South Cotabato in Mindanao, eight Lumad from the T’boli and Dulangan Manobo tribes were massacred by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). The said Lumad were part of the 140 families who have reoccupied their ancestral lands grabbed from them by the Consunji Farms for their coffee plantation and logging business.

The spate of killings, disregard for lives and rights, and the state of impunity show the heightening fascism of the Duterte government that is fast catching up with human rights violations against activists and ordinary civilians committed by previous administrations in the name of various counterinsurgency plans.

After Duterte’s declaration of all-out war against critics of his government’s anti-people, pro-oligarchs and pro-imperialist policies, political harassments, military operations and forced evacuations have intensified especially among peasants and indigenous peoples.

It seems the worst of Duterte’s fascism and tyranny has yet to come and the struggling Filipinos have to be ready for even more intensifying attacks to their lives and livelihood. Under Pres. Duterte’s command, the military and the police are in killing spree and make no distinction between armed and unarmed, combatant and non-combatant. Guns are pointed against human rights, justice and peace advocates, members of progressive groups and church people standing in solidarity with people in their struggle for land, jobs, justice and human rights.

Aside from abandoning the peace negotations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), Duterte has also declared the CPP and NPA as terrorist organizations. This further diminished the hopes of going back to the negotiating table while also making progressive organizations and individuals vulnerable to prosecution and extrajudicial actions given the propensity of the government’s armed machinery to tag anyone opposing as members of the CPP or NPA.

Ultimately, Duterte’s government primary motive is to sow fear and terror in order to amass huge control of political and economic power that will pave the way for his anti-people and neoliberal agenda. Even the most archaic laws are resurrected to justify arrests such as that of transport group leader George San Mateo whose group PISTON has led actions to thwart the moves that will deprive jeepney drivers of livelihood for the benefit of oligarchs and foreign companies.

The Duterte government must be held accountable for these barbaric and dastardly acts against Fr. Paez, Pastor Quiñones and all victims of extra-judicial killings and human rights violations.

The Duterte government must realize that there is no amount of militarization, killings and filing of trumped up charges can stop the poor, the deprived and the oppressed Filipino people in attaining justice, human rights and peace. It will only fuel their resistance against the current structure and aspiration for a society that is truly humane, just and compassionate.
Justice for Fr. Tito Paez!
Justice for Pastor Lovelito Quiñones!
Justice for all victims of extrajudicial killings!
Continue the peace talks between the GRP and CPP/NPA/NDF!

International Lawyers group expresses solidarity with Filipino people for just peace, against tyranny

ICHRP Secretariat
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International Lawyers group expresses solidarity with Filipino people for just peace, against tyranny

International Lawyers group expresses solidarity with Filipino people for just peace, against tyranny

(published in http://www.manilatoday.net/intl-lawyers-group-express-solidarity-filipino-people-just-peace-tyranny/ )

The International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) passed a resolution on November 30 in its meeting in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam to ‘urge the Philippine government to commit to end extrajudicial killings in the “war against illegal drugs”’ and ‘end extrajudicial killings, illegal arrests and other human rights violations against the people and members of people’s organizations.’ The resolution also called for the respect of international human rights and international humanitarian law and to ensure the protection of human rights defenders, including human rights lawyers.

The meeting was attended by lawyers from Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Costa Rica, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, North Korea, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam.

The IADL has a consultative status in the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC), one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The IADL was founded on October 24, 1946 in Paris in a gathering of lawyers who had survived the war against fascism and participated in the Nuremberg Trials. Rene Cassin, a drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, was named first IADL President.

The IADL also issued an emergency statement on the killing of two human rights workers in the middle of a fact-finding mission in Negros Oriental on November 28. In the statement, the group inquired if it is open season for human rights defenders after the termination of the peace talks. The group also called on the Philippine government to investigate the incident and bring perpetrators to justice.

The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) attended the IADL gathering. NUPL was invited to become a member of the IADL in 2007. Atty. Neri Colmenares and Atty. Edre Olalia serve as IADL Bureau members.

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IADL RESOLUTION ON THE CURRENT PHILIPPINE SITUATION

WHEREAS, several credible reports and documentation indicate that human rights violations continue to escalate in the Philippines in the form of, inter alia, extrajudicial killings, illegal arrests, enforced disappearances, and internal displacement.

WHEREAS, according to various reports the number of individuals suspected to be involved in illegal drugs who apparently fell victims to extrajudicial or summary killings during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte ranges from 8,000 to 12,000 dead. The Philippine National Police reported 3,900 related deaths as of October 2017. On top of this, according to human rights groups, at least 88 persons, mostly farmers, have reportedly been slain on suspicion of supporting the rebel New People’s Army as of August 31, 2017.

WHEREAS, a few days ago, a factfinding mission investigating reported human rights violations in Negros Oriental were fired at by armed men causing the death of two human rights defenders and the critical wounding of another. Human rights lawyers and members of our affiliate the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) and other human rights defenders have also been receiving threats for their human rights work and in October 2017, a paralegal aide of an NUPL member was murdered by unidentified armed men.

WHEREAS, President Duterte has openly shown intolerance of criticism and dissent when he publicly attacked not only mass organizations and the opposition but also the the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Commission on Human Rights, the Ombudsman, the media and even the President of the Integrated Bar of the Philippine for what he perceived to be statements critical of him or his human rights record.

WHEREAS, President Duterte has abruptly terminated the peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines supposedly because of rebel attacks and that he does not want to form a “coalition government” with them, publicly called them “terrorists,” and labelled and threatened to arrest members of people’s organizations for protesting and on the claim of conspiracy with the rebels.

WHEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, by the Bureau of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), an organization with consultative status in the UN ECOSOC, during its Bureau Meeting in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam on November 29-30, 2017, attended by lawyers from Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Costa Rica, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, North Korea, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam, to urge the Philippine government to :

  1. commit to end extrajudicial killings in the “war against illegal drugs”;
  1. end extrajudicial killings, illegal arrests and other human rights violations against the people and members of people’s organizations;
  1. stop or abort any and all measures or plans in any form that are authoritarian and are violative of basic rights;
  1. seriously investigate, prosecute and end impunity of the perpetrators of human rights violations;
  1. be tolerant of dissent and to respect the rights of the people to freedom of expression, speech, assembly and association;
  1. ensure the protection of human rights defenders including human rights lawyers;
  1. respect international human rights law and consider human rights as universal and not an internal affair of a state but a concern of the international community; and
  1. respect international humanitarian law and resume the peace process and the resolution of poverty, injustice and the roots of the armed conflict with the National Democratic Front and pursue efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace.
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
30 November 2017

Philippines: Two human rights defenders shot and killed

ICHRP Secretariat
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1 December 2017

On 28 November 2017, two human rights defenders were killed and a third wounded in the Negros Oriental province in Philippines.

On 28 November 2017, Elisa Badayos, Eleuterio Moises, and Carmen Matarlo were shot by two unidentified men wearing black jackets and using black handguns at around 2:40pm at Brgy. San Ramon, Bayawan city in the Negros Oriental province. Elisa Badayos and Eleuterio Moises were pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital. Carmen Matarlo was wounded but is now in stable condition. The three HRDs were traveling on the same motorcycle along with two other colleagues on another motorcycle. The victims’ colleagues noticed a motorcycle tailing them and shortly after heard six gunshots. Fearing they would be next, they kept driving to a safe distance. By the time they came back to the crime scene, the assailants had already left.

Elisa Badayos was the coordinator for Karapatan in Negros Oriental Province. Karapatan is a prominent human rights coalition in the Philippines. Elisa Badayos served as an organiser of urban poor communities in Cebu and also worked with Desaparecidos, an organization of families of the disappeared. Eleuterio Moises was a member of local peasant organization Mantapi Ebwan Farmers Association. Carmen Matarlo, 22, is the provincial coordinator of Kabataan in Cebu, which is a group of progressive youths.

According to Karapatan, the three HRDs were on a fact finding mission in Bayawan from 26-28 November 2017 to investigate reported human rights violations committed in the area by members of a private army of a local political clan in the area. Karapatan Negros and Farmers Development Centre – Cebu , a local NGO,  allege that the armed men are under the orders of the Gaudiels, an influential local political clan. They harass residents and target peasant organisations that support the land rights of local residents. The victims were attacked on the last day of their fact-finding mission.

On 30 November 2017, the Secretary General of Karapatan, Cristina Palabay, released a statement reporting that the victims had gone to a police station prior to the attack to report an earlier incident on the same day where they were harassed by armed men and blocked from conducting their investigations.

According to Karapatan, there have been 98 victims of extrajudicial killings between July 2016 and September 2017. The climate of impunity that prevails in the Philippines has resulted in a serious deterioration in the situation for human rights defenders in the country. Defenders of economic, social and cultural rights, including land and environmental defenders, are the most likely victims of killings. There are numerous reports of HRDs becoming the target of violence, intimidation and harassment, including by government officials, when they seek information about projects, investors or a project’s approval process, which often involves corruption. If they persist in this work despite the threats, they can face judicial harassment or extra-judicial killing.

Front Line Defenders strongly condemns the killing of Elisa Badayos and Eleuterio Moises, which it believes was solely motivated by their legitimate and peaceful activities in the defence of human rights in the Philippines.

Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in Philippines to:

1. Strongly condemn the killing of Elisa Badayos and Eleuterio Moises;

2. Carry out an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the killing of human rights defenders Elisa Badayos and Eleuterio Moises, with a view to publishing the results and bringing those responsible to justice in accordance with international standards;

3. Take all necessary measures, in consultation with the defenders, to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity and security of Carmen Matarlo, as well as all human rights defenders working in the Philippines;

4. Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in the Philippines are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions.

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