The Philippine Native Plants Conservation Society has condemned the red-tagging of slain botanist Leonard Co, drawing attention to the persistent risks facing environmental scientists and activists across Southeast Asia.
Dr. Leonard Co, one of the Philippines' foremost botanists, was killed in 2010 during a military operation in Leyte province. The military initially claimed he was caught in crossfire with communist rebels, but investigations suggested he may have been deliberately targeted. Now, more than fifteen years later, he is being red-tagged—a Philippine practice of publicly labeling individuals as communist sympathizers or supporters, often with deadly consequences.
Red-tagging has a documented chilling effect on civil society in the Philippines, where dozens of activists, lawyers, and journalists have been killed after being publicly associated with communist insurgency. For scientists conducting fieldwork in remote areas, the practice creates additional dangers in already challenging environments.
Dr. Co discovered more than 100 new plant species during his career, contributing foundational knowledge to Philippine biodiversity conservation. His work in the country's remaining dipterocarp forests—among the world's most biodiverse ecosystems—provided critical data for conservation planning. His death in 2010 shocked the scientific community, and the renewed red-tagging compounds concerns about the safety of researchers working in conflict-affected areas.
The risks extend beyond the Philippines. Myanmar's military regime has targeted scientists and academics opposing the coup, forcing many into exile or underground. Indonesia has seen land rights activists and environmental defenders killed in Kalimantan and Papua, often with perpetrators facing minimal accountability. Cambodia's environmental activists have documented sustained harassment and imprisonment for challenging illegal logging and land concessions.
