Jimmy Liguyon, shot dead on March 5, 2012, resisted attempts by mining companies to operate in his village.
Photo courtesy of the Liguyon family
Philippines: Killings of Environmental Advocates Unpunished
Cease Deploying Paramilitary Forces in Mining Areas
(New York, July 18, 2012) – The Philippine government’s failure to address threats and killings of environmental advocates worsens a climate of lawlessness just as the Aquino administration is pushing for new mining investments, Human Rights Watch said today.
On July 2, 2012, President Benigno Aquino III signed Executive Order No. 79, which aims to institutionalize reforms in the Philippine mining sector by “providing policies and guidelines to ensure environmental protection and responsible mining.” However, Human Rights Watch said the executive order is silent on the issue of human rights abuses arising from mining investments and on the deployment of paramilitaries at the mines.
Photographs
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Jimmy Liguyon
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Margarito Cabal
Margarito J. Cabal, 47, an organizer of a group opposing a hydro-electric dam in Bukidnon province, and an aide to the mayor of Kibawe town, was gunned down on May 9, 2012.
Photo courtesy of the Cabal family
