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 “These trumped-up charges must be withdrawn now.”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

What is ICHRP?

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) is a global network dedicated to campaigning for just and lasting peace in the Philippines.

We coordinate with partner organizations on the ground in the Philippines to draw attention to the most pressing issues, and generate moral, political, and material support for the most oppressed and exploited people in the country.

With 65 member organizations across 15 countries—ranging from grassroots solidarity groups to churches, trade unions, and environmental organizations—ICHRP is more active than ever and is always growing.

Here are some of the highlights of our solidarity work this past year:

Campaign on US-backed counter-insurgency

In response to calls from the mass movement in the Philippines, ICHRP prioritized the issue of US-backed counterinsurgency and its effects on the Filipino people this year.

We recognize the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) as a co-belligerent force with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP), qualifying the civil war in the Philippines as an armed conflict subject to international law. The GRP’s frequent violations of international rules of war disguised as counterinsurgency continues to block efforts to build a just peace in the country.

In 2024 we exposed the so-called “counter-insurgency campaign” of the Philippine government through statements, urgent alerts, webinars, videos, and submissions to governments and intergovernmental bodies. We also fundraised for peasant communities who are facing the brunt of state violence.

International People’s Tribunal

In May of 2024, ICHRP was an official sponsor of the International People’s Tribunal (IPT) in Brussels. The tribunal was organized by the grassroots solidarity movement, and brought together a panel of legal experts to produce a verdict based on evidence and testimonies.

The 2024 IPT focused on the war crimes of the Duterte and Marcos Jr regimes, and identified the Biden administration as culpable. After hearing over a dozen harrowing testimonies, the jury unanimously agreed that the Philippine government was guilty of gross violations of International Humanitarian Law with the backing of the US government.

The verdict of the IPT was an important moment in exposing the world to the realities of “counter-insurgency” in the Philippines, which amounts to sweeping repression and violence against any and all dissent.

Brandon Lee Speaking Tour

In the United States, ICHRP members and allies organized the Brandon Lee speaking tour, which allowed human rights advocate Brandon Lee to travel around the country and share his story to hundreds of people.

In August 2019, Lee survived an assassination attempt in the Philippines that was likely committed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. He was shot and hit in four places rendering him a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the chest down with only partial sensation in his arms and hands. Lee now lives in the US with his family and continues his advocacy for human rights in the Philippines.

Senate Protest by Janet Rice

In the Asia-Pacific region, Australian politician Janet Rice made headlines by staging a protest against Marcos Jr during his address to the Australian parliament, leading to her temporary censure. Rice drew public attention to the blatant sidelining of the human rights violations of the Philippine government as Marcos Jr attempted to strengthen economic and military ties with the Australian government.

Former senator Rice was one of the High-Level Commissioners of Investigate PH, a human rights investigation and is an active voice for human rights in the Philippines.

Opposition to Indo-Pacific Strategy

In Canada, ICHRP Canada, along with grassroots groups and faith-based organizations, has raised concerns about the government’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, particularly its close alignment with U.S. geopolitical interests and heavy emphasis on military support, as well as the planned state visit of Marcos Jr. Major Canadian churches added their voices through an open letter to Prime Minister Trudeau, calling for Canada to support peace talks between the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front. These concerns were detailed in an in-depth briefing paper and highlighted in an opinion piece published in the influential journal The Hill. ICHRP members also brought these issues directly to officials and spoke at a parliamentary hearing on Canada’s defense strategy update. During the hearing, a human rights defender from the Philippines joined virtually to share their testimony.

Conference on Peace Talks

In Europe, ICHRP member organization Catalan Association for Peace held a conference on the path towards peace which featured members of the NDFP negotiating panel and representatives from various other liberation movements around the world, including Columbia, Ireland, Guatemala, and South Africa.

A new ICHRP member organization, CHRP-Germany, was founded and launched this year.

Get involved!

ICHRP’s mission is to advocate for just and lasting peace in the Philippines. Our solidarity is most powerful when we’re unified and organized in action. You can help us build this unity by joining a local ICHRP member organization, or forming your own. Reach out to ICHRP at ichrp.net/contact if you aren’t sure how to get involved!

Urgent Alert

December 30, 2024

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) condemns the AFP’s violation of international humanitarian law (IHL) and the harassment of a humanitarian mission team in the island of Mindoro, Southern Tagalog.

At around 7:45 AM on December 18, an indigenous Mangyan-Iraya died in a reported encounter between the 4th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (4IBPA) and the New People’s Army (NPA) in Sitio Tinis-an, Barangay San Vicente. The deceased was identified as Marife Gayadan, as confirmed by her father, Pepe Gayadan, from Paluan, Occidental Mindoro.

According to human rights group Karapatan Southern Tagalog, the humanitarian mission team was organized upon the request of the relatives to help them retrieve the body of Marife.    

Despite the family’s confirmation of Marife’s remains, the military refused to release the body and demanded additional documents. The Refusal to Tender Remains nearly four days after the alleged encounter is a grave violation under IHL and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).

Soldiers guarding the funeral home where Marife’s remains were held, aggressively punched the hands of a humanitarian mission team member who tried to enter, preventing them from opening the gate. 

In another incident, Pepe Gayadan (Marife’s father) was forcibly brought by the military inside a vehicle. As a mission team member attempted to reach him, the military suddenly accelerated the vehicle, causing the mission team member to fall and get injured. Two other mission team members reportedly had their feet run over by military vehicles. The military have actively prevented them from talking to and assisting Mr. Gayadan. 

Currently, the military is holding the family allegedly to “process” the retrieval of Marife Gayadan’s remains. Soldiers are blocking the gate of Roxas Municipal Police Station, preventing the humanitarian mission team from helping the family.

ICHRP calls for the immediate release of Marife Gayadan’s remains. It condemns the IHL violations committed by the 4IBPA as well as dirty tactics and physical aggression employed by the soldiers against the humanitarian mission team.