Palace blames land rights activists killings on ‘viciousness’ of claimants

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang on Tuesday said the reported rise in the number of killings of land rights activists in the Philippines is due to the “viciousness” of the rivalry between the claimants.

Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said this as he expressed concerns over the findings of international non-governmental organization Global Witness, tagging the Philippines as the “bloodiest” country for people protecting their land from encroaching industries.

The watchdog’s annual report said that in 2018, it recorded 30 land rights activists killed in the country with the worldwide count hitting 164. The Philippines is followed by Colombia with 24 deaths, India with 23, Brazil with 20 and Guatemala with 16.

“Well, that happens. If there are conflicts among claimants of a particular land, killings occur because of the viciousness of the rivalry between the claimants,” Panelo said in a Palace briefing.

The Palace official also expressed concern over the watchdog’s report.

“Let me tell you that the government will always be concerned with respect to any violence inflicted against the citizens of this country, whether done by outside forces or by those inside this country,” he said.

According to former Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano, a total of 177 farmers have been killed from July 2016 until January 2019.

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