We express our deep concern over the escalation of acts of harassment, threats, intimidation, attempted abduction, and coercion targeting PDG staff, its community volunteers, and leaders of People’s Organizations (POs) in the province of Negros Occidental. These acts constitute serious violations of human rights and directly endanger individuals engaged in lawful, peaceful activities that are essential to the survival and dignity of rural communities.

In January 2026, PDG documented several serious human rights violations, including anonymous threats, an attempted arbitrary detention, and acts of intimidation targeting farmers in various communities.

Among the most alarming incidents:

On 17 January 2026, Analyn Merano, a PDG staff member, received threatening messages urging her to cooperate as a paid informant, accompanied by intimidation directed at her personal safety and that of her family.
On 18 January 2026, Joselito Macapobre, a PDG community volunteer, survived an attempted abduction while taking part in a seed distribution as part of a food aid programme. He was forcibly detained by armed men believed to be from the 15th Infantry Battalion in civilian clothing and managed to escape only thanks to the intervention of nearby farmers. This happened following prior surveillance and accusations against him.
On 25 January 2026, a death threat was issued against Atty. Rey Gorgonio, chair of NUPL–Negros (National Union of Peoples’lawyers), sent through PDG volunteer Joselito Macapobre during a public forum on the Writ of Kalikasan and the campaign to stop operations of an oil palm plantation implicated in land grabbing.
All 3 individuals are recognized defenders of the rights of poor peasants, Indigenous communities, and farmers occupying public lands. They are actively involved in environmental protection, including documenting destructive projects, as well as in humanitarian assistance to populations affected by recent typhoons.

In addition, several leaders of People’s Organizations affiliated with PDG have reported direct pressure exerted by members of the military, including orders to monitor PDG staff and to photograph community meetings. These practices create a climate of fear, hinder collective participation, and violate fundamental freedoms.

Systematic criminalization of civil society work

We strongly condemn all forms of harassment, intimidation, and stigmatization targeting development workers, volunteers, and organized farmers. These individuals are citizens legitimately exercising their rights and duties as defenders of human rights, the environment, and the right to food. Under no circumstances should they be treated as threats.

We reaffirm our full support for PDG in the legal actions undertaken to ensure the safety of those concerned and to pursue the perpetrators of these acts through appropriate legal and institutional channels, in coordination with lawyers and human rights organizations.

These threats are neither new nor isolated. For many years, PDG has been regularly targeted by acts of harassment and intimidation because of its peaceful engagement alongside marginalized populations but we have observed a surge in these threats since their participation in the International Solidarity Mission (October 2025) investigating abuses linked to Hacienda Asia’s oil palm operations. The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has repeatedly vilified the mission, contributing to a climate of hostility and danger.

The organization is subject to practices of “red-tagging,” which consist of accusing individuals or organizations of links to the Communist Party of the Philippines or the New People’s Army.

This dangerous practice led to the brutal assassination of Benjamin Ramos, lawyer and Executive Director of PDG, on 6 November 2018. The pattern of targeting human rights lawyers in Negros is clear and deeply concerning. It has been explicitly condemned by several United Nations mechanisms, including Ian Fry, Special Rapporteur on human rights and climate change, and Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, both of whom have called for the dissolution of the NTF-ELCAC.

In a ruling issued on 8 May 2024, the Supreme Court of the Philippines further recognized that red-tagging constitutes a “threat to life, liberty, and security,” highlighting its systematic reliance on threats and intimidation.

It can also be recalled that in April 2024, 4 current and former PDG staffs were accused of trumped up charges of financing terrorism[1]. Despite dismissal of the case of  Federico Salvilla and Perla Pavilar in March 2025[2], the former staffs Felipe Gelle and Clarisa Ramos are still facing the false charges and continue to be at risk.

A national context of persistent repression

The attacks against PDG are part of a broader context of ongoing repression against human rights defenders, civil society organizations, journalists, and other critical voices in the Philippines. Despite commitments expressed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. since taking office in 2022, human rights organizations observe that the situation on the ground remains largely unchanged from the Duterte era.

Our demands

• We call on the Government of the Philippines to:
• Cease state-supported or state-tolerated attacks, threats, and killings and ensure accountability for all individuals and institutions responsible for these violations
• End the practice of red-tagging, recognized by the Supreme Court as a threat to life, liberty, and security and the abusive use of security laws and policies to silence civil society organizations;
• Guarantee an enabling environment for civil society organizations, environmental defenders, and legal advocates
• Lift the state of emergency in Negros and repeal Executive Order No. 70 and Memorandum Order No. 32, which directly contribute to the criminalization of development workers and human rights defenders.

We call on the international community, civil society organizations, churches, and the media to stand with PDG, NUPL‑Negros, and all human rights defenders in Negros Occidental. Solidarity is essential to ensuring their safety and advancing the struggle for land, dignity, and justice.

We call on the relevant Belgian and European authorities to share this crucial information, take appropriate measures, and relay this worrying situation to the Philippine authorities. 

Defend human rights defenders. 
Defend environmental and food defenders. 
Defend the communities who defend life.

 
[1] https://quinoa.be/appel-a-solidarite-accusations-pdg/
[2] https://quinoa.be/victoire-pour-pdg/