Global rights group asks: What is Marcos Jr hiding?

Press Statement
May 19, 2026

On Tuesday, May 12, Reverend Sadie Stone—a United Methodist Pastor, a member of the Global Council of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP), and a law student at the University of San Francisco School of Law—was prevented from entering the Philippines at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.

After she landed in Manila, Philippine officials informed Stone that she was not allowed to enter the country. Officials at the airport inquired about her participation in the activities of ICHRP and the campaign for Justice for Brandon Lee, a Chinese-American activist from San Francisco who was shot four times—but survived—in the Philippines in August 2019.

The denial of entry came when Stone was en route to participate in a fact finding mission on the recent massacre in Negros Occidental, central Philippines. Human rights groups and the international community have decried the massacre, which killed 19, including farmer advocates, an elected student leader, a journalist, and two Filipino-Americans. 

“What really is there to fear about Rev Sadie Stone? This appears to be another attempt of the Marcos Jr regime to hide its war crimes from international eyes,” said ICHRP Chairperson Peter Murphy. 

One of the two US citizens who were killed in Toboso, Lyle Prijoles, was a leader in the US chapter of ICHRP. Prijoles was a beloved community member from the San Francisco Bay Area who had been doing humanitarian and human rights work for the Philippines for decades.

The Fact Finding Mission to Negros—which Stone was prevented from attending—confirmed that six of the nineteen individuals killed, including Prijoles, were unarmed civilians. The Mission also found evidence of intimidation and harassment of the community by the AFP. While claiming to look for the NPA before the massacre, the military subjected the community to drone surveillance, house to house visits, and even accosted and illegally detained a 14 year old boy and mother. 

“While covering up its own war crimes in Negros, this regime also continues to protect former President Duterte and his cronies, who were in charge when troops attempted to assassinate Brandon Lee,” said Murphy. “Marcos Jr and the Dutertes are in a deadly conflict, but they are still united in deadly repression of the people who are hungry for land to till.

“The war crimes and impunity of the AFP highlight why Rev Stone needed to go to the Philippines in the first place” continued Murphy. “Unfortunately, Marcos Jr. seems much more keen to welcome foreign military troops into the country than human rights advocates.” 

The prevention of foreigners from entering the Philippines, often known as blacklisting, has been an increasing trend under the Marcos Jr. administration. Since the beginning of this regime, three US-based human rights activists – Copeland Downs, Gordon Mutch, and Julia Jamora – have also been prevented from entering the country. 

The trend of blacklisting is especially disturbing given the rapid increase in foreign military aid, weapons transfers and military agreements with the Philippines. Foreign nationals are becoming more and more concerned with how their countries are spending on military engagement in the Philippines, yet when they go to investigate what is happening there, they are prevented from entry. 

Reverend Stone first visited the Philippines in 2016, and was elected to the Global Council of ICHRP in 2019. Over the past decade, as part of the California Nevada Task Force in the United Methodist Church, Stone has visited the Philippines on multiple occasions. She has served as a staunch advocate in the campaign for Justice for Brandon Lee and for the passage of the Philippine Human Rights Act in the US Congress, which calls for the suspension of aid to the Philippine military and police until certain human rights standards are upheld in the country.  

ICHRP Peter Murphy and Rev. Sadie Stone are both available for interview upon request: please send a request to ichrp.net/contact

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“The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) applauds the second impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte in the House of Representatives on May 11. We urge the Senate to pursue an immediate and fair trial,” said ICHRP Vice Chairperson, Patricia Lisson.

The impeachment result comes  amid relentless  campaigning in the past two years of Philippine human rights organizations clamoring for justice in the face of massive corruption by Philippine government officials. ICHRP warns against all maneuvers of the Duterte clan and its allies to obstruct justice in the coming days. 

The House justice committee found probable cause for four impeachable offenses committed by Duterte, including: violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, bribery and high crimes. These offenses are based on misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, alleged monetary gifts to Department of Education officials, and threats to assassinate the current President, his wife, and former Speaker of the House Martin Romauldez. 

On the same day of the impeachment decision, chaos erupted on the Senate floor. 

Present on the floor for the first time in six months was Senator “Bato” dela Rosa, whom the National Bureau of Investigation tried to prevent from entering due to a previous subpoena to which he did not respond. Subsequently, the Senate moved to replace Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto with Alan Cayetano, a Duterte ally, and dela Rosa voted in favor. Present in the senate building was former Senator  Antonio Trillanes, who presented  an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Bato, which has since been confirmed. 

“Like Father, like daughter. There clearly appears to be maneuvers on the part of Sara Duterte and her supporters to evade accountability and a trial,” said Lisson. “But the arrest of Sara’s father and now the warrant for dela Rosa are sending a clear message: accountability cannot be avoided for those who perpetrate crimes against the people. This is true for the Dutertes, and also for the Marcos regime, who have escaped years of ill gotten wealth and now sit atop massive corruption scandals and a litany of war crimes against the people.” 

Amid the impunity that remains for the Duterte and Marcos dynastic families and the worsening political and economic crisis, ICHRP remains vigilant in supporting the Filipino people’s assertion of their rights for transparency, for the upholding of democratic processes, for their livelihood and for self-determination. 

Send your support to workers in the Philippines this May Day!

The Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU – May First Movement Labor Center) is geared up for May 1 to assert its genuine militant and patriotic unionism in a world that is heaving with exploitation of workers and the planet, and shaken by wars and huge dislocations of working people.

Now more than ever, as US war wreaks havoc across the world, we must link with workers in the Philippines and support their contribution to the worldwide clamor for peace based on justice. Donate to support KMU today! 

The Philippines is one of the 10 worst places in the world for workers’ rights, according to the International Trade Union Confederation’s Global Rights Index 2025.

The Jeepney Drivers Association, PISTON, a federation of KMU is leading the national protest strikes of transport workers at sky-high fuel prices due to the current illegal Gulf War. This April, a longstanding KMU Union of Kowloon restaurant workers sustained a strike for six days winning a wage increase. And last year the KMU union at Nexperia Philippines won a long struggle over wages and reinstatement of dismissed union officers in a strike on International Working Women’s Day.

KMU is a key component of national coalition to oppose imperialist wars, to oppose the US military in the Philippines, and to expose and hold accountable the national political leaders who are plundering the national budget.

The Marcos Jr administration has 18 KMU trade union leaders in prison, and is pursuing charges against 22 others who are out on bail. The charges they face are fabricated to repress the exercise of the basic rights of Filipino workers to freedom of association and to collective bargaining. The total number of political prisoners held in Marcos Jr’s jails is 678.