Statement
August 16, 2026

“The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) is very shocked at the attempted arrest yesterday of KMU Chairperson Jerome Adonis and the leader of the Women Workers’ Movement (KMK), Ms Jacq Ruiz, in relation to the May 1 march and rally held this year,” said ICHRP Chairperson Peter Murphy.

A warrant had been issued alleging that these and other unionists had violated Article 153 of the Revised Penal Code. This provision, which allows for imprisonment and fines, relates to “tumult and other disturbances of public orders”. However May 1 is a public holiday, and a march and rally is a regular annual event in Manila and many other cities in the Philippines. 

“This year there were about 30,000 participants, organised by four labor centers. It was remarkably incident-free,” said Murphy who participated in the event. 

“Out of 30,000, just one person reportedly got into a shouting match with police, a person who, according to reports, habitually argues with police. Jerome Adonis was the overall coordinator of the march and rally and he, Jacq Ruiz and the others charged are not accused of personally doing anything disorderly, but are being charged for their association with the peaceful march and rally. This is a transparent abuse of power by the police,” said Murphy.

The political climate in the Philippines is volatile because President Marcos Jr promised on July 27 a P85 (USD1.38) per day increase in the minimum wage in the National Capital Region, but then immediately suspended its delivery. Workers were enraged, and KMU has led the subsequent protests. Adonis also attended the June International Labour Conference in Geneva to advocate for higher wages, job security and freedom of association for Filipino workers.

Adonis has also been prominent in the national uproar against the “Pax Silica” US military project in Central Luzon, which displaces farmers and indigenous people.

Adonis and many other labor leaders were threatened with arrest after the November 30, 2024, Bonifacio Day rally and march, despite Bonifacio Day also being a public holiday and a traditional day for worker rallies.

“These most recent threats of arrest of KMU leaders are a direct attack on the entire labor movement in the Philippines, negating the worker’s fundamental human rights, and continuing the deadly campaign by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) to paint trade unionists as terrorists,” said Murphy.

“We call for these trumped up charges to be fully withdrawn, for the abolition of NTF-ELCAC and for an end to the deadly campaign of criminalising trade unions and their leaders for carrying out their lawful functions of organising trade unions, enabling collective bargaining with employers, and advocating for workers’ rights to government,” concluded Murphy.

Registration for the ICHRP General Assembly & Kapit Bisig Conference against US-Led War in the Philippines has been extended to September 15.

More information and registration at ichrp.net/KapitBisig!

Statement
August 14, 2026

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) vehemently condemns the US-led Pax Silica initiative to build a 4000-acre or 1600-hectare industrial hub in New Clark City and Capas in Central Luzon, the Philippines. We stand in solidarity with the local organizations, farmers and the Aeta indigenous community who are actively speaking and campaigning against the project, and we oppose their displacement at the expense of US profit and war. 

Announced in April this year, the industrial hub purports to leverage critical minerals for the production of semiconductors and for AI (Artificial Intelligence) infrastructure. While framed in the language of tech and development, it should not be lost that semi-conductors are critical to the production of armaments, and that AI is increasingly being used as a tool in US and Israeli war operations. Meanwhile, countries across the world – including Israel and the whole European Union are rapidly seeking to invest in the project. 

The industrial hub – also widely criticized for its projected massive use of energy – will sit on the ancestral lands of the Aeta people. The Aeta have long opposed the development of New Clark City, upon which the industrial hub will be built. The Aeta hold claim to 17,000-hectares of land in the area, which overlaps with nearly all of the 9,450 hectares designated for New Clark City.

Just this past week, Petroniza Capriz-Muñoz, Aeta chieftain of Sapang Kawayan, spoke against the project, stating: “The Aeta community is greatly affected by this project. It will start in our ancestral land and for us indigenous peoples, our lands are our lifeline. It is our livelihood. . . We’re here to fight for our ancestral domain and to call for a stop on the Pax Silica Project.”

Mariam Ventura, a farmer in the area, added “In our area, we have good quality water – it’s clear. If they build Pax Silica, what will happen to the water in our area? That’s the only place where we get drinking water for us to live.” 

The protests and concern of surrounding farmers and the Aeta community are legitimate and just. Indeed, people across the world are increasingly calling for a moratorium on AI data centers due to their usage of water, energy and impacts on communities. Even more so should the rights of the farmers and the Aeta be upheld given when the project is happening on their lands, without free prior and informed consent. 

As farmers and indigenous people stand against Pax Silica, ICHRP calls upon the international community to promote and echo their calls to oppose the wrongful plunder of their ancestral land and to campaign against use of the Philippines’ rich natural resources for US war production. 

Watch the recording at ichrp.net/ISAReport2026

This past April and May, 46 unionists and solidarity activists from around the world were hosted by militant trade union center Kilusang Mayo Uno (May First Movement) in the Philippines as part of the KMU’s International Solidarity Affair (ISA) to learn about the conditions, demands, and campaigns of workers in the country. In the immediate wake of the Negros 19 massacre, these international worker activists stood resolute in forging strong bonds of solidarity against the forces that oppress all working people of the world.

This webinar, originally aired on August 7, 2026, included speakers KMU Deputy Secretary-General Joanne Cesario, attendees of the 2026 ISA, and members of FFPS and ICHRP.