Let disappear, arbitrary detention, threats - Filipino activists live dangerously. Felipe García*, director of a child rights organization, reports how even young activists are put under pressure from the police and military.

»It is dangerous to stand up for his rights. We call it Red TagGing when the police or military accuse someone of standing close to the Communist Party and the New People's Army (NPA), their armed arm. The person becomes a free game through red tagging, because communists are considered enemies of the state. Angel* was recently accused of a young woman from our network.

Angel is 20. Since primary school, she has been committed to environmental protection. Today she studies and is an important voice for climate justice. The reason for the attack against her is her commitment to protect a river. Sand and gravel are broken down there. There are fixed quotas for this. If too much is broken down, the serious effects have: spawning areas are destroyed, additional algae growth can bring the ecosystem out of balance. There are often floods. In river deltas, the sand breakdown caves natural coastal protection. But very few adhere to the official quantities. It is dismantled around the clock.

Should Angel bend the pressure?

Each ton of sand increases the profit. Actually, the work is monitored by the state. But politics and the economy are closely intertwined. In Angel's case, the breakdown company belongs to the governor of the province. The mayor is his son. Angel gave interviews on television, informed on social media about the exceeded amount of funding and reminded the supervisory authority of her obligation - until her trainers at the university accused her of being close to the Communist Party. Among them are former police officers and military. They threatened her: if she does not hire her commitment, she should not further study. She continues to put pressure on the fact that she can only go to the university thanks to a scholarship. How would you choose? "

* The names have been changed for security reasons.

18.10.2023