<>
The Philippines remains the deadliest country in Asia for land and environmental defenders, according to a new report by the non-profit Global Witness. In its report, Global Witness says it could verify the killings of 124 land and environmental defenders worldwide in 2025. While the majority, 85% of cases, occurred in Latin America, Asia accounted for 12% of the deaths with 12 defenders killed in the Philippines and one person killed for each of India, Indonesia and Turkey. The Philippines remains the deadliest country in Asia for the thirteenth consecutive year. Its 12 documented cases in 2025 represent the highest total recorded in any single country outside Latin America, the report says. State forces played a central role in the violence against environmental and land defenders in the country, with the Philippine military suspected of participating in five of the 12 killings amid expanded rural counterinsurgency campaigns and resource extraction projects, according to the report. “The report adds an important dimension to what we already know about the situation of land and environmental defenders in the Philippines,” Manila-based environmental advocacy group Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (PNE) told Mongabay in an emailed statement. “Attacks against defenders are entrenched in state policies and structures that facilitate extractive and development projects.” Global Witness’ report adds that killings “are only the most extreme form of reprisal that defenders face.” Beyond lethal violence, environmental defenders face a rising tide of legal harassment, criminalization, and smear campaigns, it says. In the Philippines, for example, the rights body KARAPATAN has documented the widespread use of “red tagging” or falsely labeling activists as communist insurgents or terrorists, with terror charges brought against 227 activists in 2025. Kalikasan PNE said the Philippine administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has expanded the country’s policy framework to allow foreign and corporate access to the country’s natural resources and the fast-tracking of critical mineral extraction for global supply chains. “For environmental defenders, this means that the expansion of extractive industries is continuously being backed by an institutional and policy architecture designed to facilitate access to territory and resources,” Kalikasan PNE said. “Hence, communities resisting mining, energy and other destructive projects have to confront both private corporations and state institutions that facilitate and protect these investments.” To protect defenders, Kalikasan PNE called on Philippine authorities to end impunity, repeal the Anti-Terrorism Act and dismantle repressive mechanisms such as the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). and. It added the government must “review and suspend projects and policies” that damage the environment and displace and violate the rights of Indigenous peoples and communities. “More fundamentally, the government must pursue genuine national industrialization and a development policy genuinely upholding the interests of the Filipino people,” Kalikasan PNE’s statement said. “The country’s natural resources should not primarily serve as sources of raw materials and profits for foreign corporations and capitalist interests.” Banner image: Taganito Mining Corporation’s open-pit nickel mine in Surigao del Norte province. Image by Ryan Dael/PH-EITI via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).
Global Totals and Regional Breakdown
While the vast majority of these lethal incidents occurred in Latin America, Asia accounted for 12% of the total deaths. Within Asia, the Philippines recorded 12 killings, while India, Indonesia, and Turkey each recorded one death.
The 12 documented cases in the Philippines represent the highest total recorded in any single country outside of Latin America. The findings position the Philippines as the deadliest nation in Asia for environmental defenders for the thirteenth consecutive year.
State Forces and Extractive Industry Expansion
State forces played a central role in the violence directed at environmental and land defenders across the country. According to the report, the Philippine military is suspected of participating in five of the 12 killings amid expanded rural counterinsurgency campaigns and resource extraction projects.
Manila-based environmental advocacy group Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (PNE) stated that attacks against defenders are deeply entrenched in state policies and structures designed to facilitate extractive and development projects. The administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has expanded policy frameworks to allow foreign and corporate access to natural resources, fast-tracking critical mineral extraction for global supply chains, according to Kalikasan PNE.
“For environmental defenders, this means that the expansion of extractive industries is continuously being backed by an institutional and policy architecture designed to facilitate access to territory and resources,” Kalikasan PNE noted in an emailed statement to Mongabay. Communities resisting mining and energy projects must confront both private corporations and state institutions that facilitate these investments, the group added.
Legal Harassment and Criminalization Tactics
Killings represent only the most extreme form of reprisal that defenders face, according to the Global Witness findings. Environmental defenders encounter a rising tide of legal harassment, criminalization, and smear campaigns.
In the Philippines, the human rights organization KARAPATAN documented the widespread use of “red-tagging,” which involves falsely labeling activists as communist insurgents or terrorists. Official records show that terror charges were brought against 227 activists in 2025.
Demands for Policy Reform and Accountability
To protect defenders and curb ongoing violence, Kalikasan PNE called on Philippine authorities to end impunity, repeal the Anti-Terrorism Act, and dismantle repressive mechanisms such as the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). The group also emphasized that the government must review and suspend projects and policies that damage the environment, displace communities, and violate the rights of Indigenous peoples.
“More fundamentally, the government must pursue genuine national industrialization and a development policy genuinely upholding the interests of the Filipino people,” Kalikasan PNE stated, adding that natural resources should not primarily serve as sources of raw materials and profits for foreign corporations and capitalist interests.