Photo: RJ Ledesma, Maureen Keil Santuyo, Errol Wendell, Alyssa Alano.
The Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment has expressed its solidarity with the families of the 19 people killed in the Toboso Massacre by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Negros Island on April 19, 2026.
Among the 19 people killed by the AFP were environmental defender and community journalist RJ Ledesma (who was there reporting on how renewable energy projects affect farming communities), community researcher and National Network of Agrarian Reform Advocates (NNARA) youth member Maureen Keil Santuyo, community researcher and organizer among sugar workers Errol Wendell, and University of the Philippines Diliman student Alyssa Alano (who had been living among farmers in Negros to study conditions of land grabbing and militarization).
Malaya Movement USA has also noted that Lyle Prijoles was killed in this attack in Toboso, Negros. They highlight: “Lyle was a Filipino American born in San Diego and community organizer in the Bay Area. …One example [of his work] was his advocacy for the Philippine Human Rights Act because he knew that US taxpayer dollars were funding bullets and bombs used by the PNP [Philippine National Police] and AFP.”
Kalikasan states: “Negros has long been subjected to heightened counterinsurgency, where communities serve as deadly military battlegrounds and residents are impunitively accused of being members of the insurgency, all under the guise of ‘security’. This militarization enables land grabbing and the expansion of large-scale projects—such as energy, mining, and reclamation without genuine consultation or respect for people’s rights and the environment.”
Militarization, land grabbing and killing defenders
Global Witness has documented that between 2012 and 2024, at least 306 land and environmental defenders have been killed in the Philippines (the third highest in the world after Colombia and Brazil).
Global Witness has previously noted: “The military was responsible for 64 out of 117 killings of Indigenous defenders between 2012-23.”
The Canadian military in the Philippines
Photo: Canada at the opening ceremony for Exercise Balikatan on April 20, the day after the Toboso Massacre. On April 22, David Hartman, the Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines, tweeted: “Canada is proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our partners during Exercise #BALIKATAN.”
Less than six months ago, on November 5, 2025, the Canadian government tabled a Notice of Intent to enter into free trade negotiations with the Philippines.
And just a few days earlier, on November 2, Canada and the Philippines signed a “Status of Visiting Forces Agreement” to further deepen security cooperation after a closed-door meeting in Manila.
At that time, Canada’s defence minister David McGuinty stated: “Peace is built on rules, not recklessness. …The Philippines has shown true leadership in upholding international law … and for that [it has] Canada’s greatest and deepest respect.”
In response, BAYAN Canada echoed the calls from BAYAN Philippines for “the immediate termination of the Canada-PH SOVFA.”
And the Ontario Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (OCHRP) in Ottawa stated the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) “means increased violence against activists and poor, people forced from their homes via careless military actions, as well as fisherfolk barred from accessing waterways to support their livelihoods during large exercises like Balikatan, and it means a blank check for the corrupt Government of Marcos Jr. to continue to repress the Filipino people.”
The Philippines at CANSEC
Defence Minister McGuinty will be speaking at the CANSEC “defence, security & emerging technology event” that will take place at the EY Centre in Ottawa this coming May 27-28, 2026.
The Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI) has also indicated that a delegation from the Philippines will there too.
That event will bring together 60+ international delegations and 300 exhibitors including the five most profitable weapons companies in the world: Lockheed Martin, RTX Corporation, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, and General Dynamics.
For updates on the mass protest being planned for May 28, click here.
Accompaniment
Peace Brigades International-Canada is highlighting the dangers faced by human rights defenders from the arms exports promoted at the CANSEC arms show as part of our commitment to holistic protection accompaniment.
PBI recently launched a Southeast Asia Project to accompany human rights defenders in the Philippines, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand.
Further reading: How the militarisation of mining threatens Indigenous defenders in the Philippines (Global Witness and Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, December 2024) and A Dangerous but Strategic Moment for Filipino Environmental Defenders (Danilova Molintas, November 23, 2025).
