Press statement
November 19, 2024

According to Philippine rights group Karapatan (Alliance for Advancement of People’s Rights), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) killed Jerick Jugal, a resident of Barangay Sulitan, Catubig, Northern Samar, along with another individual on November 5, 2024 in Catubig. As in many other cases, the AFP falsely claimed that Jugal was a New People’s Army (NPA) rebel and died in an encounter between the 20th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (IBPA) and the NPA. Witnesses confirm that there was no “encounter”—this was a murder and a war crime.

Jugal’s fellow villagers confirm that he is a civilian and his family’s sole breadwinner. Residents of Barangay Sulitan and surrounding communities moreover assailed the restrictions imposed by the 20th IBPA, led by Lt. Col. Richard Villaflor, on the villagers, who are reportedly prohibited from leaving their homes to engage in their livelihoods and going to the town center to buy food and other needed items. 

“ICHRP condemns the killing of Jerick in the strongest terms. The killing of Jerick leaves the family not only in deep grief but also in greater danger of hunger,” said ICHRP Chairperson, Peter Murphy. “The tagging of a civilian as a member of the NPA is yet another example of the attempts of state forces in the Philippines to cover up their violations of international humanitarian law, as well as key agreements in the peace talks such as the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.”

“The US-supported counterinsurgency program of the Philippine government has already been unmasked before the international community as a vicious scheme that perpetuates killings and attacks against poor Filipinos, especially peasants and indigenous people. Foreign governments must act now to end all military aid to the AFP and pressure the Marcos regime to put a stop to ongoing war crimes” said Murphy. 

Press Statement
November 15, 2024

At the conclusion of the “DAGIT-PA” exercises, the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) raises alarm over the DAGIT-PA exercises’ impacts on the Filipino people. 

DAGIT-PA, short for “dagat, langit, at lupa” or sea, sky, and land, took place from November 4 to 15 and involved over 3,000 troops from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Special Operations. This year’s exercises, which gave focus to territorial defense, maritime security, and cyber defense, were held in Palawan and Northern Luzon. In addition to traditional military drills, the exercises included “information warfighting.” Civilian agencies, such as the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), also took part in the exercises. 

The inclusion of civilian agencies in military exercises is questionable and alarming. These civilian agencies should focus on implementing the programs of their specific mandate rather than move into military drills. The DFA should be helping the immediate repatriation of distressed Overseas Filipino Workers, including those languishing in jails in different countries. The DSWD should increase, expand, and give immediate relief to the several millions of Filipinos devastated by the recent series of typhoons and other calamities affecting the country.

ICHRP is also greatly concerned about the Philippine military’s attention to “information warfighting.” The track record of the current Marcos Jr. and previous Duterte regimes, as well as that of the Philippine military itself, renders dubious the stories the military will peddle to the public, both in the Philippines and internationally. 

While former President Duterte became known for his online “troll army,” current President Marcos Jr. has also garnered international notoriety for the disinformation campaign that was carried out during his election run, which sought to clean up his family’s image as massive human rights violators. Maj. Gen. Marvin Licudine, exercise director of the DAGIT-PA drills, said that the exercises also served as preparation for next year’s larger Balikatan exercises with US forces, which will unfortunately coincide with the midterm elections in the Philippines.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), meanwhile, have repeatedly twisted stories as part of their counterinsurgency operations. These include the promotion of thousands of cases of fake surrenderees, the planting of evidence on civilians targeted in military operations, and falsely alleging targets of military attacks as members of the CPP-NPA-NDF. 

Brawner Jr. and the AFP may fashion themselves as patriots defending the territories of the Filipino people. But there is much to suggest that this claim is far from the truth. In fact, the results of this year’s International People’s Tribunal and the ongoing campaigning of the Filipino people have indicated that the AFP is guilty of widespread war crimes against the Filipino people. Thus, we must be wary of the information the AFP is sharing internationally about its supposed “warfighting.” 

In this vein, ICHRP also dismisses the AFP’s claims that it will fully shift its focus to territorial defense in 2025. The AFP cannot speak of defending its territory while it carries out war against the Filipino people and commits war crimes. Whatever story or information the military puts out, exercises like DAGIT-PA remain deadly to the Filipino people, encouraging the intensification of the so-called counterinsurgency efforts victimizing the Filipino people.

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Press Statement
November 8, 2024

Donald Trump’s election triumph means that US policy will be volatile in style. But for sure, there will be many continuities of the Biden regime’s policy with regards to its relations with the Philippine government, a policy focused on increasing US military presence and economic influence in the Philippines. Both the previous Trump and Biden administrations supported and blessed Philippine Presidents Duterte and Marcos Jr., both of whom were found guilty of war crimes during the 2024 International People’s Tribunal. 

At this moment of change from Biden to Trump, ICHRP renews our call for an end to the US-led counterinsurgency campaign in the Philippines, and a stop to its widespread indiscriminate bombing and artillery strikes in the countryside. ICHRP calls for the respect of agreements made in peace talks between the government of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), including the accord on the respect for human rights and international humanitarian law. It is essential to address the root causes of the social conflict to bring the armed conflict to a just end.

“ICHRP challenges the incoming Trump team to condemn the 105 cases of extrajudicial killings, 12 cases of enforced disappearances, and 28 cases of torture reported by the Karapatan human rights alliance under the 24 months of the Marcos Jr. administration up to June 30, 2024,” said Peter Murphy, ICHRP Chairperson. “We call for the release of the 755 political prisoners now held by Marcos Jr,” he added

“Given the strident anti-people stance of Trump, ICHRP urges all its member organizations and the wider international community to brace for a sharper and more fast-moving campaign to uphold the basic rights of the Filipino people,” Murphy said.

The key interest of both US administrations was the utility of the Philippines as the biggest base in the ‘first island chain’ for containing China’s political and military influence. As long as the Manila government remains a reliable ally against China, the US continues to turn a blind eye to the dire human rights and democracy situation.

There is the US rhetoric about a “free and prosperous Indo-Pacific”, and then there is the stark reality of the misery of landlessness and poverty, and the lawlessness suffered by the Filipino people.

“ICHRP predicts that Trump will extend his bromance from Duterte to Marcos Jr. But we also predict that Trump’s global disdain for human rights and institutions will worsen the agony of the Filipino people,” said Murphy.

“Filipino plaintiffs managed to convince the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the Duterte administration for the crime against humanity of murder, in relation to its anti-drug operations. The US has never signed up to the ICC, but Trump in particular is militantly opposed to its operation,” said Murphy. The same applies to his attitude to the United Nations Human Rights Council and the UN system in general.

“These international institutions, based on treaties between nations, are one expression of the international community’s desire for human rights. Those like Duterte and Trump who directly undermine these institutions make the work of all human rights advocates harder. This will be felt in the Philippines and the freedom loving Filipino people will surely stand and defend their inherent right,” concluded Murphy.