Atty. Juan Macababbad was a public interest & environmental lawyer and the Vice Chair of the Union of Peoples’ Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM), in the Philippines. He provided free legal service to poor and marginalized communities and served as legal counsel for indigenous people, including the Lumad. On 15 September 2021, he was shot dead outside his residence by two unidentified individuals, allegedly because of his human rights activities. Macababbad had previously received death threats, and was sued with a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) in 2015, after local movements barricaded the aerial spraying facilities of a banana plantation. He also opposed applications for coal mining in the Daguma mountain range (Daguma Agro Minerals). His work was deemed crucial to combat the climate crisis and biodiversity loss.

The human rights defender was also part of several fact-finding missions, including on the massacre of the 8 indigenous peoples’ leaders in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, namely Datu Victor Danyan, Artemio Danyan, Bobot Lagase, Mateng Bantel, Pato Celardo, Samuel Angkoy, To Diamante, and Victor Danyan Jr.