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DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 17 May) — Environmental defenders, journalists, lawyers, and human rights advocates gathered at Brokenshire Resort & Convention Center on Friday, May 15, for a workshop examining how repression against environmental and indigenous defenders in Mindanao increasingly extends from physical attacks on communities into digital spaces marked by human rights abuses and red-tagging.
“The Prey of Philippine Red-Tagging: A Look into Front-line Environmental Defenders in Mindanao – Physical and Digital Space Repression Resiliency Building” brought together resource persons and participants from activist groups, Lumad communities, legal organizations, and media institutions to document experiences of repression, discuss legal and security responses, and strengthen support networks among affected communities.
Organizers said the workshop sought to deepen understanding of “red-tagging-driven repression — both physical and digital — on frontline environmental defenders in Mindanao,” while co-creating “concrete, rights-based responses.”
Kat Dalon of Sabokahan identified indigenous communities defending ancestral lands, women organizers, environmental advocates opposing mining and plantations, Save Our Schools campaigners and educators, and human rights defenders among those most vulnerable to attacks.
Dalon linked these attacks to the expansion of mining operations, plantation agriculture, militarization in indigenous communities, and counterinsurgency frameworks associated with Executive Order No. 70 and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
She then further described how environmental defense and indigenous organizing are increasingly treated “as security threats rather than legitimate democratic action.”
Tracing a long history of attacks against Lumad communities, Dalon cited military operations, forced evacuations, closures of Lumad schools, and the extrajudicial killings of Lumad leaders and teachers.
Dalon further discussed how repression now extends into online spaces.
She cited cases involving surveillance through Facebook and Messenger, online harassment, manipulation attempts, and threats delivered through digital platforms. Dalon described the rise of “digital insecurity,” warning that online intimidation creates fear, self-censorship, and increased vulnerability among defenders.
Journalist and red-tagging survivor Leonardo Vicente “Cong” Corrales emphasized that red-tagging should not be dismissed as mere political disagreement.
“Red-tagging is not merely a difference of opinion … It is an active death threat designed to silence truth through the threat of violence,” he said in an explainer during the workshop.
Corrales also pointed to the Supreme Court’s Deduro v. Vinoya ruling, where the highest court categorically declared that state-sponsored labeling, vilification, and guilt by association constitute a clear, legal basis for a Writ of Amparo. This recognized red-tagging as a legitimate threat.
Discussions also focused on the impact of repression on families and communities.
Presenters and participants alike described how relatives of defenders are sometimes repeatedly interrogated, pressured, or used as leverage during military operations. Communities, they said, experience fear, psychological stress, forced displacement, and the erosion of trust.
One workshop session highlighted the experiences of women environmental defenders, who reported anxiety, restricted movement, threats to livelihood and education, and constant fear for their families’ safety.
Workshop participants also discussed the difficulties of pursuing legal remedies against red-tagging.
Atty. Angelisa Razo of the Union of People’s Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM) discussed how counterinsurgency frameworks and existing laws are used against environmental and indigenous defenders. She argued that digital red-tagging should be legally recognized as “a verifiable precursor” to more serious physical attacks, warning that victims could “disappear” or become targets of extrajudicial killings.
“Kinahanglan i-move gyud sa balaod ang ining digital red-tagging, nga usa ka verifiable precursor sa mas delikado o seryoso pa nga physical na pag-atake sa masa — pwede kang mag-disappear or pwede kang i-EJK,” she explained. (Digital red-tagging must be legally recognized as a verifiable precursor to more dangerous or serious physical attacks against people — one could disappear or become a victim of extrajudicial killing.)
Razo also called for stronger legal protections for defenders, including proposals to criminalize red-tagging, strengthen protections for ancestral domains, and pass a Human Rights Defenders Protection Act.
Kath Cortez of Davao Today noted that documentation on red-tagging remains minimal, while grassroots organizations often face barriers in filing cases. She cited landmark cases involving journalists and activists, including Atom Araullo, Bulatlat, and Corrales himself.
A participant criticized what he described as a “culture of impunity,” urging stronger accountability mechanisms and the criminalization of red-tagging as a threat to life, liberty, and security, while calling for stronger alliances.
Participants also raised concerns over the role of state institutions in ancestral land conflicts.
Lumad representatives criticized policies that favored large corporations and development projects over indigenous communities, particularly in disputes involving mining and ancestral domains.
The workshop concluded with calls to end harassment and red-tagging against defenders, demilitarize indigenous communities, strengthen physical and digital security mechanisms, protect environmental and indigenous rights, and support independent investigations into attacks on defenders.
Despite continued threats, communities remain committed to defending ancestral lands, environmental protection, indigenous self-determination, and the right to education.
“Peace,” one presentation read, must be “based on justice, not militarization.” (Bea Gatmaytan / MindaNews)
