Statement
March 27, 2026

ICHRP condemns the March 15 decision of the Municipal Trial Court of Abra de Ilog, Mindoro to issue a motion for execution to allow Pieceland Corporation, a real estate developer known for recurring land-grabbing across Mindoro, to evict indigenous Mangyan-Iraya residents.

Court approval for eviction follows two years of food blockade and militarization that besieged residents. Human rights abuses worsened following the construction of a fence by Pieceland Corporation which essentially turned the area into an outdoor prison.

Pieceland Corporation’s blatant act of land-grabbing followed by violent attacks highlights an inescapable trend in Mindoro: the Philippine military, police and courts on the island have long served to protect the extraction of resources by local and national elites, at the expense of the Mangyan-Iraya and other peoples of Mindoro.

Attacks by police, military, and private militia against the Iraya span decades, particularly in service of landlords, logging companies, mining corporations, and real estate speculators.

Last October, international observers participating in the 2025 International Solidarity Mission visited the Mangyan-Iraya community in Abra de Ilog, documenting their experiences amidst constant harassment by agents linked to the military and National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). Findings of state neglect, military violence, and corporate exploitation were stark.

When the Philippine Supreme Court overturned a 25-year-old moratorium on mining in Mindoro Occidental in January 2025, projects by Agusan Petroleum and Minerals Corporation quickly sprang up on ancestral Mangyan-Iraya land without sufficient consultation. Development aggression in the form of renewable projects has been railroaded by Alternergy’s 375-MW Abra de Ilog Wind Energy Project, which plans to displace the local indigenous community to install 45-80 turbines by 2031.

On January 1, 2026, less than 24 hours into the new year, the Armed Forces of the Philippines killed three Mangyan-Iraya youth and 1 youth researcher (Jerlyn Doydura) through indiscriminate strafing and aerial bombings. Chantal Anicoche, allegedly found by the military, was then detained and disappeared until international pressure forced the AFP to surface and later repatriate her to the US.

The now court-endorsed eviction of Mangan-Iraya in Abra de Ilog is part of a pattern in the Philippines in which land grabbing and the subsequent displacement of indigenous people – perpetuated by corporate interest and intensive military operations – is backed up by the judicial system. ICHRP expresses solidarity with the Mangyan-Iraya struggle for self-determination and land. We call for the international community to support the Filipino people in their fight for justice in the face of extreme impunity and corruption. 

Press Statement
March 27, 2026

As the US-Israeli war on Iran continues to impact oil and fuel prices in the Philippines and across the world, working Filipinos are facing the brunt of the impact. The fuel price increase has particularly affected transportation workers, who have responded by asserting their demands to the Marcos Jr regime through a series of strikes in the past week.

Following the price of diesel going up to P134.30 (USD2.22) per litre on March 24, the “No to Oil Price Hike” Coalition, led by Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (PISTON-KMU), spearheaded a second 2-day transportation strike, on March 26-27. This second strike was more broadly based than the first, and the coalition sharpened its demands.

Manibela, “Steering Wheel” (Federation of Drivers, Commuters, and United Transportation Terminals), members of the University of the Philippines community, and other groups also joined the protests. Manibela chairperson Mar Valbuena said more than 20 strike centers were staging protests across Metro Manila and other major cities in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao, involving jeepney, bus, transportation network vehicle services (TNVS) and motorcycle taxi drivers, along with commuter groups and other sectors.

The Marcos Jr government had made no substantial response to their demands to rein in the cost of fuel and to increase jeepney fares and to increase the minimum wage. Instead, Marcos Jr declared a National Energy Emergency, and the government made a first payment to drivers P5,000 (USD82.86) to subsidise their fuel costs. But this only covers increased fuel costs for less than two days. The emergency declaration empowers the President to cut the price of fuel, but he has not done so.

The Coalition urged the government to reduce fuel prices to P55 (USD0.91) per liter, scrap the value-added tax and excise taxes on petroleum, increase jeepney fares by P5 (USD0.08) and repeal the Oil Deregulation Law, which they blame for unchecked price increases. They are demanding stronger action to end the US and Israeli war against Iran and Lebanon, and for a national minimum wage of P1,200 (USD19.88) per day.

The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) General Manager Nicolas Torre III coordinated free ride buses, but these will only be activated if passengers are stranded.

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) upholds the right of the transport workers to protest against the impossible increase in fuel costs that they are expected to bear by the government, especially when their demands are in the interests of the whole Filipino society.

After one month of the US and Israeli war on Iran and Lebanon, not only is there a fuel price shock, but now there is a genuine reduction in supply of fuel. This will now impact employment and production nation-wide and across Asia, intensifying the already heavy burden of poverty on the Filipino people. The hike in fuel prices is raising the costs of basic commodities while also resulting in diminishing income for farmers.  As well, there will be an impact on Overseas Filipino Workers and their families, reducing the flow of remittances on which the society also relies.

Everyone should note – diesel cost P57.60 per liter in January 2026, and now at the end of March 2026 the cost is P134.30 per liter.

ICHRP urges the international community to act far more decisively to bring the war to an end, and to bring down the price of fuel. The US war of aggression is enacting devastating impacts on people across the world, and we stand with the whole Filipino people in their assertion of their economic and political rights. 

The latest tool of US-backed counter-insurgency in the Philippines

The National Action Plan for Unity, Peace, and Development (NAP-UPD) is the latest in a long history of US-backed counter-insurgency (COIN) plans of the Philippine government. Under this plan, President Marcos Jr. has brought together his economic development plan and national security strategy, affirming and doubling down on the “whole of nation” approach to COIN established by previous president Duterte. This strategy brings the whole civilian government under the direction of the military, seeking to destroy the people’s movement by means of deceptive surrenders, brutal military campaigns, and development aggression.

How does the NAP-UPD impact the Filipino people?

The regime’s heavy reliance on fear and militarization under the NAP-UPD has a clear impact: countless civilians are caught up in the middle of this brutal campaign, and subjected to state terror every day. In conducting military campaigns under the guise of the NAP-UPD, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) routinely commits war crimes including wanton disregard for civilian life in military actions; militarization of whole communities; as well as killing and forced surrendering of non-combatant activists.

What does “peace” mean for the Marcos Jr. regime?

“Peace” under the NAP-UPD simply entails the silencing of weapons, and more broadly the silencing of the people’s resistance to the current system. The regime posits that the root of poverty in the country is armed conflict and the dangerous ideology of the revolutionary movement. This backwards view supposes that people are poor because they take up arms – rather than taking up arms in response to crushing poverty and exploitation, and in response to violent repression when they assert their demands.

What does “unity” mean for the Marcos Jr. regime?

“Unity” is how the regime frames its attempts to bribe and divide the people’s movement with threats, and with promises of amnesty and economic aid for rebel surrenderees. Starving peasant communities are tricked into signing papers to accept aid, and corrupt politicians report fake surrenders to receive funding. What unity can there be when the richest Filipinos live in luxury while tens of millions live in squalor and poverty?

What does “development” mean for the Marcos Jr. regime?

“Development” is framed as addressing economic injustices so that impoverished Filipinos do not take up armed struggle. However, this development does not address the systemic issues at the root of this poverty. Rather than addressing corruption, land-grabbing by corporations, and the rule of landlord dynasties, the NAP-UPD is oriented to export resources and labor to first world countries, while importing finished goods and technology – deepening the debt and dependency of the Philippines on first world countries.

What does just and lasting peace really look like?

Peace cannot be obtained through the vanquishing of those fighting against exploitation and oppression. Just and lasting peace can only be achieved with a national strategy which genuinely addresses the socioeconomic roots of armed conflict, including: total rejection of unequal trade and military deals; development of a truly independent and self-sustaining economy; equitable distribution of land to farmers; and an end to government rule by the wealthy elites and sellouts.

Support the Filipino people’s call for just and lasting peace!
Abolish NTF-ELCAC!
Junk NAP-UPD!
End US-backed COIN in the Philippines!

Statement
March 14, 2026

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines condemns the US-Israeli war on Iran. The US-led strikes have resulted in widespread killings of civilians and are wreaking havoc on oil prices and thus the costs of living for people across the world. These attacks must immediately be put to an end. 

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz as a consequence of unprovoked US-Israeli aggression against Iran has already led to significant economic costs for the Philippines. Gasoline price increases forced the country to cut its work week to 4 days as it struggles to adjust to the potential cut off of its oil supplies from the Middle East. The continuance of the US-Israeli war on Iran has catastrophic day-by-day consequences for the Philippines. 

The Philippine economy is more dependent than most other Asian nations on Middle East oil. It imports 98% of its oil from the Middle East, the vast majority of it transits the Strait of Hormuz. If the conflict continues, the country is expected to experience projected increases of 7.48 pesos per liter for petrol and 17.28 pesos for diesel. 

Prices could lead to increased costs for goods and services, potentially resulting in higher inflation and higher unemployment. Rising fuel prices push up the operating costs for farmers, transport workers, and small businesses, which in turn lead to higher food prices and economic pressure on households. The deregulated oil market limits government intervention, leaving consumers to bear the economic shocks, especially low-income groups.

In addition to oil, approximately 91% of the country’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) that is essential for cooking arrives on ships that go through the Strait of Hormuz. The interconnected nature of regional oil supply chains means that shortages in neighboring countries will directly affect the Philippines. 

The Philippines also imports a significant portion of its fertilizers (about 7%) directly from the Middle East.  Its main suppliers (China, Indonesia, Malaysia) of essential nitrogen fertilizers, such as urea and ammonia, are also significantly affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The disruption will lead to increased fertilizer prices and reduced availability. A longer-term disruption will ultimately threaten food security in these countries, as well as in the Philippines.

While the government has taken baby steps to address the situation, such as the reduced work week and fuel tax reductions when the price of oil exceeds $80 per barrel, these measures are far from sufficient.  Fuel tax reductions will be of limited effect as the price is currently well above these thresholds. 

Inflation and potential fuel shortages are the key risks to the Philippines economy as long as the war continues. These impacts will be most acute on the great majority of the people who already struggle with grinding poverty. Because oil and gas supplies are now disrupted for more than two weeks, there will be a broader global economic and financial crisis which will hurt the Filipino people.