Environmental Defenders in the Time of COVID-19

Indeed, in the 2020 Global Witness report, the Philippines has the distinction of being the country with the most number of mining-related killings, and of being the hotspot of 80 percent of all agribusiness-related cases in Asia. [...] On the other hand, the iron-fisted enforcement of the lockdown resulted in the arrest of 76,000 people and more than 900 complaints of torture, inhumane treatment, and illegal arrest and detention.4 This glaring indicator of the failure of pandemic response reflects the prioritization of the government, placing its assertion of control and public image before addressing the health and environmenta. [...] He was integral for the improvement of the parts on agrarian reform and environmental protection, rehabilitation, and protection in the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms (CASER) in the Peace Talks between the NDFP and the Government of the Philippines. [...] The SMC and the 48th Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, along with the Philippine National Police (PNP) simultaneously enforced displacement of the residents during the lockdown. [...] From the cities and the international platform, up to the ecological frontiers and ground zeros of destructive industries, green defenders continue to stand up for the environment despite restrictions due to the pandemic and heightened threats and fascism brought about by the passing of the Anti- Terrorism Act.