Human Rights Defenders in the Philippines

Since the 2001 election of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, more than 100 labor activists and other human rights defenders, journalists, and political activists have been killed.  According to a recent fact-finding mission by a Dutch NGO, at least fifteen lawyers and ten judges have been killed since 2001, with the most recent incident on June 21, 2006. At the same time, government and military officials increasingly label activists as communists, subversives, or terrorists, contributing to a climate of violence and threat.

Most of the victims are local activists associated with leftist movements or parties. For example, on October 2, 2005, unidentified individuals abducted Cecilia Esteban, leader of the labor group AnakPawis in Guimba; her body was found three days later.  An unidentified man killed labor activist Victoria Samonte, regional vice-chair of the KMU-CARAGA, on September 30, 2005 in Bislig City, Mindanao. The same day, seven human rights activists were abducted in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, Visayas, allegedly by members of the Philippine Army.

High-profile advocates have been targeted as well. There was an apparent assassination attempt on noted lawyer Romeo T.  Capulong on March 7, 2005.  Mr. Capulong served as a judge of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and is one of the Philippines’ most prominent lawyers.  At the time of the attempt he was trying to uncover responsibility for deaths in connection with a strike at Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac province, where at least ten strikers and their supporters had been killed, allegedly by a militia group.

On April 12, 2006, a gunman shot local official and environmentalist Elpidio de la Victoria outside his home, in front of his family; he died of his injuries the next day. His colleague Antonio Oposa, Jr. remains under threat. Both men worked for environmental conservation, including the protection of the Visayan Sea. Soon after calling for an end to commercial fishing in the area, a one million peso reward was reportedly offered for their killings. Oposa had earlier mounted the legal challenge that bears his name, Oposa vs. Factoran, which led to a landmark decision recognizing the standing of children to challenge the environmental impact of forestry policies. The outcome of that case put the Philippines in the forefront of trends in environmental law and economic and social rights. As in many such cases, the alleged trigger man in the de la Victoria killing was arrested, but there has been little progress in prosecuting whoever was behind the murder.

In her June 24, 2006 State of Nation Address, President Arroyo acknowledged the problem and pledged action, stating, “In the harshest possible terms I condemn political killings. . . Together we will stop extrajudicial executions.” She recently created a Task Force to investigate such killings. However, the police chair the task force and many observers remain skeptical of its independence or effectiveness.