In a conference held in London last year, Mines and Communities revealed that Filipino advocates for the protection of the environment are among those listed in the more than 860 victims of extra-judicial killings. Since 2001, there have been 23 environmental activist (18 of them were involved in anti-mining activities) killed while various community leaders have been charged in court for opposing the mining activities of the large-scale mining companies and the Mining Policy of the Arroyo Administration.

Mines and Communities, an international network of individuals and organizations which coordinates campaigns against large-scale mining, blamed the killings of Filipino environmental activists on transnational corporations (TNCs) and called President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo a “conduit” for these companies in its recent conference held in London.
MAC disclosed that the latest environment activist to be killed was Sangguniang Bayan (Municipal Council) member Armin Marin of Sibuyan, Romblon. He was killed on Oct. 3 while town residents were staging a protest against Sibuyan Nickel Property Development Corporation, added MAC which also pointed out that the said corporation is a partner of BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining transnational.
The MAC statement also pointed out that four anti-mining activists were killed from 2005 to 2006. The four, which it did not name, were allegedly involved in anti-mining operations of the Poly-Metallic Mining Projects of the Australian corporation Lafayette in Rapu-Rapu Island, Sorsogon.
“These infringements on civil liberties and violations of human rights are part of the offensive being waged by mining TNCs and the Philippine government on people who actively oppose the large mining projects of transnational corporations and the National Mining Revitalization Program of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,” the MAC statement read.