ICHRP Canada submitted this paper in response to the invitation from the Global Affairs Canada Indo-Pacific Trade Policy Division regarding the Canada-Philippines Free Trade Agreement consultations.
As a coalition of organizations and individuals advocating for the protection and promotion of human rights in the Philippines, the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines – Canada (ICHRP-Canada) would like to raise concerns regarding the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Canada and the Philippines. We remain concerned with Canada’s movement towards expanding trade and defence relations with the Philippine government under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Despite his administration’s ostensible commitments to respecting human rights and International Humanitarian Law (IHL), it continues to be entangled in systemic repression and violations of people’s rights including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests.
ICHRP-Canada has voiced our concerns on the developing defence partnership with the Philippines through our testimony with the Standing Committee on National Defence and further conversations with Global Affairs Canada, on the basis that the Armed Forces of the Philippines is implicated in, if not outright responsible for many of these human rights abuses. Similarly, we would like to express our concerns related to defence and security, as well as mining, which are two sectors that the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service will focus their export promotion efforts on. We hope that the Canadian government will honour its own stated commitments towards defending human rights abroad and consider these concerns, since failure to do so would risk Canada being complicit in these human rights violations.
Concerns on defence and security trade
Canada’s initiative to enhance its trade and defence relations with the Philippines risks being perceived as support for regimes accused of human rights violations, and military agreements such as the MOU on Enhanced Defence Cooperation prioritize defense at the expense of human rights considerations. Under the Duterte and Marcos Jr. administrations, the Anti-Terrorism Act of the Philippines has facilitated widespread crackdowns on dissent, leading to the detention of 755 political prisoners. The human rights alliance Karapatan has documented 105 extrajudicial killings, 12 enforced disappearances, and 316 illegal arrests since Marcos Jr. took office. Ongoing aerial bombings, forced displacements, and enforced disappearances are affecting civilians, with 22,391 victims of bombing and over 42,426 individuals forcibly evacuated due to military operations in areas like Negros and Cagayan.
While Canada’s defence and security exports to the Philippines are not significant relative to other countries, the export value of military goods to the Philippines has steadily increased in the last few years, from $385,000 (2022) to $514,604.48 (2023). However, with the enhanced defence cooperation, the imminent signing and ratification of the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOFVA) between Canada and the Philippines, and the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service’s intent to promote such exports, we expect this trend to increase in the coming years.
Beyond tacit support, defence exports to the Philippines may directly enable the Philippines’ Whole-of-Nation Approach to counter-insurgency, which integrates military, police, and civil sectors, and has raised significant human rights concerns. Establishing defense cooperation with partners and allies, including Canada, is a critical strategy in the National Security Policy of the Marcos government. Its implementation through the establishment of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Activities (NTF-ELCAC) has been identified as a driving force behind numerous cases of severe human rights violations carried out by state forces, including widespread red-tagging of activists, journalists, and Indigenous groups, labeling them as insurgents. Several United Nations experts and human rights organizations have urged for the dissolution of the NTF-ELCAC.
For these reasons, we urge the Canadian government to halt and reconsider all such exports to the Philippines unless clear, transparent and measurable human rights guarantees are in place. It is essential that Canada ensures that its involvement does not exacerbate violations of international humanitarian law and human rights, and exercise its Voices at Risk guidelines to protect human rights defenders in the Philippines.
Concerns on mining in the Philippines
Mining is one of the sectors identified for export promotion efforts by the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service in the Philippines, and Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) specifically outlines Canada’s interest in strengthening critical mineral sources and securing its supply chains. However, it must be acknowledged that mineral extraction and the expansion of such efforts in the Philippines threatens biodiversity hotspots and Indigenous communities, who suffer from significant land-grabbing of their lands. Historically, the role played by Canadian companies in mineral extraction in the Philippines has also raised serious concerns related to human rights, environmental destruction, and national sovereignty. The implications for local communities and ecosystems in the Philippines must be critically examined.
1. Environmental Destruction and Climate Risks
The Philippines is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, and large-scale mining exacerbates deforestation, water contamination, and biodiversity loss. Canadian mining companies operating under the FTA and IPS may intensify extractive activities, further degrading already fragile ecosystems. The displacement of Indigenous and rural communities due to mining projects threatens their access to clean water, farmland, and sustainable livelihoods.
2. Human Rights Violations and Militarization
Historically, mining in the Philippines has been linked to human rights violations, including displacement, violent dispersals, and the criminalization of environmental defenders. The IPS, which reinforces military ties between the Philippines, Canada, and other allies, raises concerns about the increased militarization of mining areas. State security forces and paramilitary groups are often deployed to protect mining interests, leading to harassment, enforced disappearances, and killings of Indigenous leaders, farmers, and activists resisting mining projects.
In fact, related to our first concern, the Philippine military is the “single biggest threat to Indigenous defenders”; in 2023, the military was responsible for the killings of 15 out of 17 (88%) land defenders. These attacks against local communities and human rights defenders foster a hostile environment that is not conducive towards genuine Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) consultation processes.
3. Corporate Exploitation and Economic Inequality
Despite promises of economic growth, mining in the Philippines has primarily benefited foreign corporations rather than local communities. Under the FTA and IPS, Canadian mining investments could deepen economic inequalities, as profits are extracted while communities bear the environmental and social costs. Weak regulatory frameworks and corrupt practices allow mining corporations to evade responsibility for rehabilitating damaged lands and compensating affected communities.
4. Sovereignty and Resource Control
The IPS positions the Philippines as a key supplier of critical minerals to Canada and its allies, reinforcing a neocolonial economic structure where resource-rich countries serve the interests of wealthier nations. This undermines the Philippines’ sovereign right to determine how its natural resources should be managed and utilized for national development rather than foreign corporate gain.
The struggle against destructive mining in the Philippines is deeply tied to the broader fight for climate justice, human rights, and national sovereignty. Any economic or security partnership under the Indo-Pacific Strategy, including the proposed FTA, must be critically assessed to prevent further exploitation of the country’s people and resources.
Recommendations
Human rights must remain central to Canada’s foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific. In light of these concerns, ICHRP-Canada calls for the Canadian government to:
- Halt and reconsider defence and security exports to the Philippines, given the potential for defence and security assistance in enabling the human rights abuses committed by the Philippine military and the government’s counterinsurgency programs;
- Ensure that all agreements with the Philippines, including the Free Trade Agreement, include robust human rights protections and conduct periodic reviews of these agreements, including by Parliamentary committees, ensuring that the human rights criteria are applied in their implementation;
- Ensure that its FTA with the Philippines, and more broadly the Indo-Pacific Strategy, does not exacerbate environmental harm and human rights violations in the Philippines;
- Mining operations must be subject to stricter accountability measures, ensuring compliance with Indigenous rights, environmental laws, and free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) from affected communities;
- Civil society organizations and solidarity groups must continue to monitor and challenge exploitative mining operations, amplifying the voices of affected communities in international advocacy spaces.
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