In October, 27 individuals and a number of organizations in the Philippines found themselves targeted in a way that is a common precursor to extra-judicial killings... “The only thing these red-tagged people and organizations have in common is that they are known to be critical of the OceanaGold mine and supportive of the locally affected Ifugao Indigenous people,” says Jaybee Garganera of Alyansa Tigil Mina (Alliance Against Mining - ATM). “The mine has had a major negative impact on their food security and water resources, among others.”

... The OceanaGold mine’s 25 year lease comes up for renewal in 2019. Local opposition to the mine is one factor that will be taken into consideration in the mine lease renewal process. “I am deeply concerned that these Indigenous people, and those who support them, now have targets on their backs for no other reason than that they are standing up against a Canadian mining project that has a history of human rights abuses and unacceptable environmental impacts,” says Catherine Coumans, of MiningWatch Canada. “For that reason the Canadian embassy must do everything in its power to keep these people safe.”