Extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances in the Philippines

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (September 2017)

Extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances in the Philippines are illegal executions – unlawful or felonious killings – and forced disappearances in the Philippines.^[1] These are forms of extrajudicial punishment, and include extrajudicial executions, summary executions, arbitrary arrest and detentions, and failed prosecutions due to political activities of leading political, trade union members, dissident or social figures, left-wing political parties, non-governmental organizations, political journalists, outspoken clergy, anti-mining activists, agricultural reform activists, members of organizations that are alleged as allied or legal fronts of the communist movement (such as the "Bayan group") or claimed supporters of the NPA and its political wing, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).^[2][3] Other frequent targets are ancestral land rights defenders, Indigenous rights activists, environmentalists,^[4] and human rights workers.^[5]

Extrajudicial killings are most commonly referred to as "salvaging" in Philippine English.^[6][7][8] The word is believed to be a direct Anglicization of Tagalog salbahe ("cruel", "barbaric"), from Spanish salvaje ("wild", "savage").^[9]

EJKs that occurred during the administration of Rodrigo Duterte, at the sub-national level, are more likely to occur in provinces that have high population densities, stronger state capacities, and those that are more affluent in terms of economic development. It is also found that higher rates of EJKs are correlated with provinces that have severe drug affectation rates, and those areas where Duterte's vote share in the 2016 elections are highest, indicating the presence of vertical accountability.^[10]