News Release
August 19, 2025
The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) firmly supports the Filipino people’s call for Marcos Jr.’s government to end international humanitarian law (IHL) violations. This amid its failure to uphold the laws of war, the worsening human rights crisis in the country, and the backdrop of de facto military rule in rural areas of the Philippines.
“We remind President Marcos Jr. that the Philippines is a signatory to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, its Additional Protocols of 1977, and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL). His government and the Armed Forces of the Philippines in particular, are obligated to abide by the rules of war,” said secretary-general Drew Miller, ICHRP Global Council Chairperson.
The month of August is commemorated as International Humanitarian Law Month in the Philippines. Last August 11-14, the Philippine government also recently hosted a regional conference on IHL with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). And yet, Marcos Jr. continues to routinely violate IHL and spread terror in peasant communities. Recently, in provinces of the Southern Tagalog region, civilians suffer from widespread militarization, strafings, bombings, and hamletting. This disrupts their livelihood and inflicts fear in the communities.
“In a span of two weeks, AFP soldiers killed farmer Juan Sumilhig in Mindoro, conducted aerial bombardment in Quezon, and harassed the Dumagat indigenous peoples in Rizal. These are not actions of a government that claims to be a champion of IHL. These are clear war crimes perpetrated by the Philippine state,” added Miller.
Independent humanitarian mission and fact-finding teams deployed by local human rights organizations in Mindoro and Quezon were met with intense and repeated harassment and intimidation by state forces. They aimed to look into the situation of civilians in affected communities and investigate possible violations of IHL.
“We commend the Filipino people on their vigilance and their pursuit to hold Marcos Jr. accountable for his brazen human rights and IHL violations. We call on the Philippine government to follow the rules of engagement and stop militarizing communities of peasants and indigenous peoples. We call on the ICRC and the international community to never look away–monitor, visit, and conduct investigations in the areas with reported IHL violations,” ended Miller.
Further comment: Drew Miller, ICHRP Secretary General. WhatsApp: +1 (971) 235‑2150. Email: ichrp.net/contact
