The Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRDIC) is dismayed at the increasing malicious attacks and threats perpetrated by State agents against women human rights defenders (WHRDs) resisting repression and operations of mining companies in the Philippines, and stands in solidarity with them and their meaningful contributions to our pursuit of living in just, equal, free and democratic societies.

Attacks attempting to impede the work of WHRDs in the Philippines occur inthe following ways: i) vilification and surveillance of WHRDs; ii) arbitrary arrests and criminalization of their work protected by international human rights treaties to which the government of the Philippines is a party; and iii) extrajudicial killings.

Some emblematic cases, representing large numbers of the ones documented by WHRDs in the Philippines, illustrate the growing threats against WHRDs and their shrinking operative environment and include:

·      On July 11, 2015, it was reported that trumped up charges have been brought against WHRD Honey May Suazo, Secretary General of the Southern Mindanao Regional Chapter of the KARAPATAN (Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights) in an attempt to silence her and derail her work. Ms. Suazo has been instrumental in overseeing factfinding missions in highly militarized communities and documenting violations  committed by military troops in the Southern Mindanao Region. In the same indictment, WHRD Cristina Palabay, Secretary General ofthe KARAPATAN, was also implicated to silence her committed opposition to ongoing militarization of Mindanao and escalating human rights abusesin the region. Cristina Palabay is an internationally renowned women’s rights and human rights activists in the Philippines.

·      Since April 28, 2015, at least nine WHRDs working within public sector trade unions received repeated threats. These WHRDs were harassedby alleged members of the military and police who warned them that their families would face reprisals if they didn’t cooperate with the authorities.

·      As of 30 March 2015, 48 WHRDs faced politically-­‐motivated, unwarranted and arbitrary arrests based on trumped up charges. WHRDs targetedfor their human rights activism are working on gender-‐based violence, agrarian issues, impacts of mining and other trans­‐national businesses, militarization, freedom of expression and association, women’s political participation, among many other pressing human rights concerns.