The Philippines ranked second among the world’s “deadliest” countries — and Asia’s most dangerous place—for environment advocates, according to a report released on Tuesday by Global Witness, a London-based nonprofit group.
The report titled “At What Cost?” said that a total of 207 land and environmental activists were killed in 22 countries in 2017 — or about four victims a week, making the year the “deadliest on record.”
In the Philippines, Global Witness recorded 48 cases of killings in 2017, next only to Brazil’s 57 deaths.
“For the first time, agribusiness was the bloodiest industry in the world, with at least 46 murders linked to the sector, said Leon Dulce, national coordinator of the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, a partner organization of Global Witness.
About 53 percent of the killings involved indigenous and peasant activists opposing large-scale plantations owned by companies Lapanday, Dole, and Sumifru, according to Dulce. —Melvin Gascon