How the militarisation of mining threatens Indigenous defenders in the Philippines

The report reveals that the Philippines' push to become a leading exporter of transition minerals, such as nickel and copper, is causing significant land loss for Indigenous Peoples and the destruction of critical biodiversity hotspots. It highlights a pattern of state-driven violence, where the military is identified as the primary perpetrator of killings and detentions of land defenders. The document argues that the global shift to renewable energy is fueling a 'green mineral rush' that relies on 'red-tagging' activists and militarising infrastructure, particularly in Mindanao, to facilitate extractive projects.

• Indigenous communities in the Philippines have lost a land area larger than Timor-Leste to mining projects over the last 30 years, which represents approximately one-fifth of their delineated territory.
• Mining for transition minerals significantly overlaps with ecologically sensitive areas; more than 25% of transition mineral tenements overlap with protected areas, key biodiversity areas, or Ramsar Sites, and at least 20% encroach on legally protected land.
• The Philippine military is the leading perpetrator of violence against land and environmental defenders, accounting for 64 of the 117 documented killings of Indigenous defenders between 2012 and 2023.
• The government uses 'red-tagging'—labeling activists as communist rebels—and anti-terrorism legislation to harass and criminalize those opposing mining, a practice supported by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
• Mindanao is the most affected region, containing the highest number of killings of Indigenous and anti-mining activists and the largest overlap between mining tenements and ancestral domains.
• The National Commission for Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) is accused of failing to protect the right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) and allegedly collaborating with the military and companies to pressure communities into accepting projects.

APA

Global Witness (n.d.). How the militarisation of mining threatens Indigenous defenders in the Philippines. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/how-the-militarisation-of-mining-threatens-indigenous-defenders-in-the-philippines/

Chicago

Global Witness. How the militarisation of mining threatens Indigenous defenders in the Philippines. n.d. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/how-the-militarisation-of-mining-threatens-indigenous-defenders-in-the-philippines/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Witness |title=How the militarisation of mining threatens Indigenous defenders in the Philippines |url=https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/how-the-militarisation-of-mining-threatens-indigenous-defenders-in-the-philippines/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalwitnessndhow, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{How the militarisation of mining threatens Indigenous defenders in the Philippines}}, institution = {Global Witness}, url = {https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/how-the-militarisation-of-mining-threatens-indigenous-defenders-in-the-philippines/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }