Towards a Philippine National Action Plan for the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights* By Xavier Science Foundation (XSF) and Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Developmen(ANGOC) Context Agriculture and Land Conflicts in the Philippines O n 16 June 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council endorsed the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights as part of implementing the UN “Protect, Respect, and Remedy” Framework. This was brought about by the realization that – at the peak of globalization – delineation of clear roles and responsibilities of business enterprises at the local, national, and international level are very important to ensuring human rights practice (OHCHR, 2011). The UNGP BHR are of particular importance to Philippine agriculture as investments, both foreign and domestic, continue to increase. These investments are driven by the growing demand for food, the incentives given to biofuel production and the opening up of the economy to agricultural trade and investments. Unfortunately, these investments have resulted to instances of physical and economic displacement of farmers by investors. The Land Governance and Assessment Framework study of the World Bank in 2013 found that policies and guidelines in the Philippines encourage direct * This is an abridged version of the paper prepared by the Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC) for the regional initiative “Defending Land Rights and Human Rights Defenders.” This document summarizes the major issues and recommendations emanating from the workshops organized by ANGOC and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) of the Philippines in partnership with the members of the National Engagement Strategy-Philippines (NES Philippines). It builds on the findings and recommendations of the baseline study prepared by the Xavier Science Foundation (XSF) in behalf of the Konsorsium Pembaruan Agraria (KPA), with support from OXFAM Indonesia for the project “Promoting the National Action Plans on the implementation of the UNGP on Business and Human Rights in relation to land rights issue.” For more details, comments, queries, and other concerns, contact angoc@ angoc.org. Citation: Xavier Science Foundation (XSF) and ANGOC. (2018). Towards a Philippine National Action Plan for the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In ANGOC (Ed.) Upholding Land Rights Amidst the Land Rush: A situationer on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in selected countries in Asia (pp. 70-81). Quezon City: ANGOC and KPA. 70 Upholding Land Rights amidst the Land Rush