For the 9th Consecutive Year, the Philippines Is the Deadliest in Asia for Land Defenders

The Philippines has been named the deadliest country in Asia for land and environmental defenders yet again.

Global Witness, an international organization that tracks the killings of land and environmental defenders since 2012, had put the Philippines at the top spot in Asia for the ninth year in a row. It said that 19 environmentalists were killed here during the past year.

"Each and every death of a defender is a sign that our economic system is broken. Fueled by the pursuit of profit and power, there is a war over nature and the frontlines are the Earth’s remaining biodiverse regions," the report read.

Land conflicts were said to be the main culprit in these attacks. A quarter of the killings in 2021 were associated with mining, as well. What's worse is that about 40 percent of the fatal attacks in the organization's findings had targeted indigenous communities, specifically in countries like Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua, Peru, and the Philippines.

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When compared to killings in 2020, the Philippines' numbers nevertheless had a slight dip. The group had recorded 30 killings in 2020. As of its official tally, there has now been 270 land defenders who've been killed between 2012 and 2021. Global Witness also claimed that roughly 80 percent of killings in the Philippines over the past decade were defenders protesting against company operations.

"Steaming ahead with development projects without any consideration for human rights raises serious concerns about the future of land and environmental defenders in a country with one of the highest levels of killings of defenders in the world," it added.

The Philippines ranks as the fourth deadliest in the world. It only trails Brazil at third with 26, Colombia at second with 33, and Mexico at first with 54.