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Press Statement
January 15, 2025

The International Coalition of Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) condemns the Philippine military for the killing of two youths in Uson, Masbate, Bicol Region on December 27, 2024. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families. Together with the Foundation for Filipino Children and Children’s Rehabilitation Center, we demand a thorough investigation on the shooting incident that led to the killing of the two youths, one of whom is a minor.

Fourteen-year-old Jeffrey ‘JP’ Osabel and 18-year-old Redjan Montealegre were shot and killed while walking home alongside each other from a Christmas party in a nearby barangay. JP and Redjan were in Grades 9 and 10, respectively.

“We condemn these killings as grave violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and Philippine law,” said ICHRP Chairperson Peter Murphy. “We further call on the immediate withdrawal of the Armed Forces of the Philippines from rural communities, whose presence results in the widespread intimidation, harassment and killings of civilians.”

The shooting of these two school students continues a pattern of killings of civilians in Masbate by soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the last 12 months:

• On September 26, 2024, Ronel Abril and another coconut farmer, Roger Clores, were allegedly killed by the 2nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (IBPA) in an alleged “armed encounter” with the New People’s Army (NPA). Witnesses confirmed that there was no encounter.
• On June 16, 2024, 17-year-old farmer Rey Belan was killed in another alleged “encounter,” with the military accusing him of being part of the NPA. But according to accounts gathered by human rights groups, Rey Belan and four companions were on their way home after hunting in the hilly area of Purok 1, Barangay Balantay, Dimasalang, Masbate, when they encountered troops from the 2nd IBPA. The soldiers allegedly opened fire, killing Belan instantly and wounding one of his companions. The other three managed to escape and reported the incident to the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Banahao, Dimasalang.

“The Philippine National Police in Uson, Masbate, have failed to make any arrests in all these cases, and so while we demand a police investigation, we have little confidence in their effort. We call on the Commission on Human Rights and the UN Human Rights Commissioner to take urgent action,” said Murphy.

The IHL general principle of distinction requires that the military distinguish between civilians and combatants at all times, and to protect civilians, but this has been violated repeatedly in Masbate, an island province southwest of Luzon’s Bicol region.

The Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity (RA 9851) also gives special protection to children as a vulnerable sector. The law states, “The Philippine court shall take appropriate measures to protect the safety, physical and physiological well-being, dignity and privacy of victims and witnesses. In so doing, the court shall have regard for all relevant factors, including age, gender and health, and the nature of the crime, in particular, but not limited to, where the crime involves sexual or gender violence or violence against children.”

ICHRP also urged the international community to take immediate action to withdraw military forces from the communities in Masbate. The alarming murder of children, coupled with the rising number of killings and harassment of peasants on the island, is a direct consequence of the aggressive militarization and brutal tactics employed by the 2nd IBPA. We must support the call of Filipino farmers to put an end to the reign of terror and martial rule in rural areas in the country.

For further comment: Peter Murphy +61 418 312 301 or media@ichrp.net 

Press Statement
January 15, 2025

On Saturday January 11, Philippine President Marcos Jr. hosted a “Vin D’Honneur,” at the Presidential palace, where he called upon foreign diplomats to support his regime’s bid for a seat on the UN Security Council for the 2027-28 term. The Security Council is comprised of 15 member states including the 5 veto-holding permanent members – the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China and Russia. 

In his appeal for support, Marcos claimed that the Philippines has “rich experience in building peace” and that Philippine foreign policy has always ensured “international law is faithfully complied with and permeates all facets of relations among nations.”

For years, Marcos Jr. has fashioned an image of himself based on widespread disinformation campaigns, which rose to special prominence over the course of his 2022 election campaign. Marcos’ recent address to foreign diplomats, which boasts a supposed record of “building peace” and projects concern for “international law,” is yet another attempt to distort reality to enable Marcos to gain international respectability and support. 

“The Philippine President’s remarks are indeed, patently false,” said ICHRP Chairperson Peter Murphy. “Over the years, projects like Investigate PH and the International People’s Tribunal on War Crimes, alongside the expansive documentation of Philippine human rights organizations, have thoroughly demonstrated the chronic cruelty of state terror in the Philippines. Human Rights Groups have found the Philippine government continues to operate with massive impunity while it remains guilty of widespread war crimes in violation of international law. This is not peacebuilding,” continued Murphy.

While the armed conflict between the National Democratic Front of the Philippines and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) rages on, President Marcos Jr. has failed to address the social and economic roots of this conflict and the ongoing suffering of the Filipino people. Instead, Marcos Jr. has created hostile conditions for peace negotiations with the NDFP, directing the Armed Forces of the Philippines to continue their counterinsurgency campaign, committing numerous war crimes. 

In his bid for a seat on the Security Council, Marcos Jr. seeks to crown his ongoing misinformation campaign with further international recognition. Granting this to Marcos Jr. would be a reprehensible award to a regime committing unconscionable crimes against its people. 

But it would also be a danger for people across the world. The Marcos Jr. regime, indeed, has time after time proved subservient to US interests in the Philippines. Under his presidency, the number of US military bases and facilities increased from 4 to nearly 20 including those in undisclosed locations and those under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). In addition, Marcos Jr.’s signed the Bilateral Defense Agreement with the US in May 2024 and is now moving to update the US-RP Mutual Defense Treaty, not only to expand the treaty’s geographical coverage to include the South China Sea, but also to provide legal grounds for the US to use the Philippines as a launching pad for its wars of aggression in Asia.

With the US facing global backlash over its support for Israel’s genocidal campaign and pulling out all stops to maintain its geopolitical dominance over China, Marcos Jr.’s unwavering allegiance makes him an ideal proxy to advance this agenda within the Security Council. A Philippines seat on the UNSC, then, effectively gives the US another mouthpiece favoring the US war agenda. 

A Philippine seat on the UNSC, then, carries with it critical ramifications for Filipinos and people across the globe who clamor for peace based on justice. ICHRP calls for vigorous campaigning against the Marcos Jr. bid for a seat. We urge parliamentarians and national governments who genuinely care for peace to quickly oppose Marcos Jr. and to end support for the war crimes of his regime. 

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Press Statement
January 14, 2025

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) condemns the arrests of three development workers in Negros, on trumped-up charges of financing terrorism and terror law charges. “This is blatant repression of a pro-peasant non-government organization by a landlord government, and this has become the continuing policy of the Marcos Jr. government,” said ICHRP Chairperson Peter Murphy. “These trumped-up charges must be withdrawn now.”

Federico Salvilla, Perla Jaleco and Dharyll Albañez, former and current staff workers of Paghidaet sa Kauswagan Development Group Inc. (PDG), were arrested on January 2, 2025. Salvilla and Jaleco were arrested separately, while Albañez, upon learning of the other arrests, voluntarily presented himself to authorities and posted bail.

Albañez and Salvilla are facing two counts of alleged violation of Section 8 of Republic Act No. 10168, or the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012. Pavillar, meanwhile, is facing three counts of the same charge. These were filed at the Regional Trial Court Iloilo Branch 31 in December 2024, the court designated to hear terrorism-related cases in Western Visayas.

There is now a pattern of the government disrupting long-established and well-regarded community organisations with the financing of terrorism charges.

On May 10, 2024, 27 current and former members (including 3 deceased!) of the Cebu-based NGO Community Empowerment Resource Network (CERNET) were accused by the Department of Justice of violating Section 8 (ii) in relation to Section 9 of the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012. The DOJ was responding to a press release from the 302nd Infantry Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army. The 24 posted bail of P200,000 (US$3,420) each.

In October 2024, Petronila Guzman and Lenville Salvador, board members of KADUAMI (Katinnulong Daguiti Umili ti Amianan), and Myrna Zapanta, a lay worker and member of the secretariat of the Ilocos Regional Ecumenical Council (IREC), received subpoenas from the Department of Justice (DOJ) directing them to answer trumped-up charges of allegedly violating the terrorist financing law.

PDG is a well-known development NGO based in Kabankalan, Negros Occidental, focusing on promoting sustainable agricultural programs and disaster relief. It advocates for agrarian reform, sustainable agriculture and the rights of small farmers and fisherfolk.

In recent years, PDG officers and members have faced threats, harassment, surveillance, trumped-up charges and worse, killings. Its executive director, Atty. Benjamin Ramos Jr., was killed in 2018. In April 2024, his widow, Clarissa Ramos, who also served as executive director of PDG, and Felipe Gelle Jr., a PDG staff as well as head of the Human Rights Alliance of Negros, were also hit with terrorist financing charges.

“ICHRP warmly commends PDG on their consistent, sustained relief, education and development work in the communities,” said Murphy. “The blatantly phoney accusations of terrorist financing against PDG and its members are also an attack on the long-suffering peasant communities of Negros, now battered by typhoons and the Mt. Kanlaon eruption,” said Murphy.

“This use of anti-terrorism financing laws against grassroots community initiatives is driven by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) as part of the national counter-insurgency program,” said Murphy. “It is a blatant violation of International Humanitarian Law to fail to distinguish between civilians and armed combatants. It is long overdue for the NTF-ELCAC to be abolished.”

Add your name to this sign-on statement to call for the immediate release and dropping of charges against PDG workers:

https://defendngoalliance.wixsite.com/defend-ngos-alliance/post/sign-on-statement-to-call-for-the-immediate-release-and-drop-the-trumped-up-charges-against-five-dev

Further comment: Peter Murphy +61 418 312 301; media@ichrp.net 

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) condemns the legal attacks against 2025 senatorial candidates that occurred on January 9th in Manila. Using a relic law (BP 880) from the Marcos Dictatorship era aimed at the suppression of freedom of speech, the Manila Police District filed illegal assembly charges before the Manila Prosecutors Office against the 10 senatorial candidates of the Makabayan bloc, and other civil society leaders. The Makabayan bloc indicated the charges stemmed from an assembly commemorating the birth anniversary of national hero Andres Bonifacio on November 30, 2024.

On January 9, the group received information that 13 activists have been charged by the MPD for allegedly violating the Public Assembly Act or Batas Pambansa 880. The list includes 9 Senatorial Candidates including Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Rep. France Castro, Gabriela Women’s Rep. Arlene Brosas, Makabayan President and former Bayan Muna Rep. Liza Maza, Jerome Adonis of Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) Labor Center, nurse Jocelyn Andamo from the health sector, fisherfolk leader Ronnel Aramublo of Pamalakaya, transport leader Modesta Floranda of PISTON, Moro leader Amirah Lidasan of Sandugo and peasant leader Danilo Ramos of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas. KMU Chairperson Elmer Labog had been previously charged on November 30th

Others include in the charge sheet included Bayan Muna third nominee, former representative Ferdie Gaite. ACT leader Vlad Queta and health worker unionist Cristy Donguines of Alliance of Health Workers, urban poor leader Mimi Doringo of Kadamay, and Bayan Muna organizer Nilo Montifero are also facing the same charges under BP880.

ICHRP condemns these trumped-up charges in the strongest terms. The targeting of the 10 Makabayan senatorial candidates for attending a public rally demonstrates state interference in the upcoming 2025 elections has already begun.

ICHRP Chairperson Peter Murphy said, “We are concerned that this is just a first step in a concerted campaign to vilify and discredit opposition candidates in the upcoming elections. We are aware from work we conducted and documented of the widely discredited 2022 Philippine elections that red-tagging, cheating, candidate and voter intimidation are realities for Filipinos going to the polls.”

The Philippine political system continues to be dominated by dynastic families that will use any means necessary to get elected and hold power. This includes judicial harassment, police and military harassment, vote buying, cheating, and even murder.

“While we demand that the upcoming 2025 elections are fair and peaceful, this has not been the reality in past elections. This direct attack by the Police and the Manila prosecutor’s office on the right to peaceful assembly and more specifically on opposition Senatorial candidates using Martial Law era edicts are echoes of the Marcos Dictatorship. This judicial harassment suggests the current Marcos Jr. regime is no different than the old Marcos dictatorship. We want to let President Marcos Jr. know that the international community is closely watching the upcoming elections and remains concerned about the ongoing state of terror in the Philippines,” concluded Murphy.

ICHRP calls on the Marcos government to:

1. Stop all attacks on opposition electoral candidates
2. End all judicial harassment against opposition candidates
3. Drop all charges related to the November 30, 2024, Bonifacio Day rally and march
4. Rescind all Martial Law era laws and edicts that attack freedom of speech, expression and assembly.

Further comment: Peter Murphy, ICHRP Chairperson, +61418312301, media@ichrp.net