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. 

Donate: ichrp.net/Holiday2024

Amid the holiday gatherings and celebrations, ICHRP calls for the international public to remember and support political prisoners and their families. According to Karapatan, there are currently 757 political prisoners in the Philippines, including 148 arrested under Marcos Jr., 17 NDFP consultants and staff, 97 sickly, 103 elderly, and 156 women. 

While the holiday season is one marked by the call for peace, there is no peace in the Philippines. The final months of 2024 have seen a surge in arrests of peace consultants, whereas releasing political prisoners would’ve been a positive gesture toward peace. 

Instead, the Marcos regime racked up violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, arresting even the sick and elderly, as in the recent case of Tomas “Tom” Dominado. Jr. This holiday season, we are deeply troubled by the plight of 74 year old Tom, who, despite being paralyzed on his right side and battling hypertension, diabetes, and other serious ailments, was arrested on December 5, 2024 under charges of rebellion and murder. Immobile and reliant on assistance even for basic tasks like eating, Tom remains under the custody of Philippine authorities unable to be cared for by loved ones and deprived of compassion. 

Political prisoners face the brutal conditions of Philippine jails. These often include cramped cells, lack of fresh air, lack of access to sufficient medical care, minimal food and harassment and intimidation from prison guards. Especially during the holidays, political prisoners face the psychological trauma of being separated from friends and loved ones while being locked away unjustly. 

This holiday season, ICHRP calls for donations to support the needs of political prisoners, including support for legal needs, food, and family visitation of relatives especially those coming from the provinces. Our call for a just and lasting peace remains–release all political prisoners and truly address the root causes of conflict in the country. 

Urgent Alert
December 17, 2024

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) calls for the immediate release of two coconut farmers arrested by the 85th Infantry Battalion (IB) last December 12, 2024 in Barangay Guinhalinan, San Narciso, Quezon in Southern Tagalog Region, after an alleged encounter with the New People’s Army (NPA).

According to human rights group Tanggol Quezon (Defend Quezon), a local member organization of the human rights alliance KARAPATAN, farmer Ronilo Villanueva was harvesting copra (dried coconut meat) when he was shot at by soldiers, wounding his leg. Villanueva and another farmer named Genero were subsequently arrested by 85th IB soldiers, who accused them of being supporters of the NPA. The farmers’ whereabouts remain unknown.

The shooting and arbitrary arrest of the two civilian farmers violates their rights embodied in the Bill of Rights of the Philippine Constitution, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Geneva Conventions on the protection of civilians, as well the provisions of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).

ICHRP also deplores the presence of military trucks (6×6) and the military encampment in Brgy Guinhalinan. The principles of International Humanitarian Law prohibits military encampment among a civilian population. 

These incidents also add to the 85th IB’s long list of human rights and international humanitarian law (IHL) violations against the people of Quezon. Notable cases include the illegal search, destruction of properties, planting of evidence, and arrest of farmer Roberto Mendoza; filing of trumped-up cases of financing terrorism and the use of Anti-Terror Act against Yulesita Ibañez, Lieshel Mendoza and Liezel Merchales and their paralegals Paul Tagle and Fritz Labiano; as well as the illegal arrest of Rowena Dasig and Miguela Peniero.

The local government in Quezon and the NTF-ELCAC have declared the province “insurgency free” several times. These bogus declarations serve to distract from the worsening conditions of farmers in the province. It also directly contradicts the AFP’s claims of alleged “encounters” with the NPA in Quezon. 

Coconut farmers and farm workers in Quezon continue to suffer from low wages, declining coconut prices, landlessness, and militarization. Instead of addressing the economic woes and demands of the people, the Marcos government continues to wreak havoc through its US-inspired counterinsurgency program, which aims to quell any form of dissent or protest from the people. 

ICHRP fully supports the fact-finding mission led by Tanggol Quezon to investigate human rights and IHL violations by the 85th IB. It calls for the immediate release of the two civilian farmers arrested as well as ensuring their safety. It reverberates the demand of the people for military pull out in their respective communities and respect the principles of IHL. ICHRP calls on the international community to hold Marcos Jr. accountable for his government’s continuing attacks against the Filipino people.

Urgent alert
December 13, 2024

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) calls for the immediate release of Tomas Dominado, 74, an elderly political detainee who requires immediate medical attention.

Dominado was arrested on December 5 in Sooc, Arevalo, Iloilo City, on trumped-up charges of murder and rebellion. His fabricated charges stem from warrants that were issued over a decade ago, and for which several co-accused individuals have already been acquitted by the court.

Dominado survived a recent stroke, and has a history of hypertension, heart enlargement, neurological deficits, and other severe medical issues which require essential medical treatment. He is bedridden and requires an aide for mobility. Since Dominado’s arrest, his health has deteriorated, and he has been denied proper care by authorities despite his worsening condition.

The charges against Dominado follow the usual pattern of the Philippine state to baselessly conflate activists with armed rebels. Dominado is a long-time advocate and organizer for people’s rights in Panay. The labelling of him and others as a “terrorist” in 2021, and the treatment of him as an armed combatant, is a violation of International Humanitarian Law.

ICHRP calls on the Marcos Jr government to release Dominado and all other political prisoners, as well as end the rampant violations of human rights and International Humanitarian Law that plague the Filipino people.

New PH inter-agency committee on IHL led by perpetrators, rights abusers

Press statement
December 10, 2024

On International Human Rights Day, the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) assailed Executive Order (EO) 77, calling it a superficial response to the Marcos Jr administration’s worsening human rights record. The EO, which establishes an inter-agency committee on International Humanitarian Law (IHL), was criticized as an attempt to mask the government’s failure to address the root causes of widespread abuses.

“EO 77 is performative—a desperate attempt to save face before the international community,” said Peter Murphy, Chairperson of ICHRP. “While the Marcos Jr administration parades this executive order as progress, it continues to enforce policies that blatantly violate basic freedoms and international humanitarian standards.”

Among these repressive policies are the continuation of the violent drug war and counterinsurgency programs, which have resulted in significant human rights violations.

Data from the University of the Philippines revealed that more than 800 drug-related killings have occurred since the beginning of Marcos Jr’s term. Similarly, according to local rights group Karapatan, the counterinsurgency program of the Marcos administration has resulted in a staggering number of human rights and International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations since he came to power. These include 119 extrajudicial killings, 76 attempted extrajudicial killings, and 14 enforced disappearances. Furthermore, 43,582 individuals have been forced to evacuate their homes, while 63,380 have been victims of indiscriminate gunfire, and 46,921 have been affected by bombings—all of which are linked to the government’s intensified counterinsurgency efforts.

The most recent of the 119 political killings under the US-backed counterinsurgency program is the murder of Jerick Jugal, a civilian and sole breadwinner for his family in Catubig, Northern Samar, Central Philippines. On November 5, 2024, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) falsely claimed Jugal was a rebel killed in an encounter. Witnesses, however, confirmed there was no clash, calling it a targeted killing and a war crime, emblematic of the systemic abuses under the Marcos government.

ICHRP strongly condemns the arrest of 74-year-old activist Tomas Dominado, a martial law survivor detained just days before Human Rights Day on false charges of murder and rebellion. Despite being bedridden from a massive stroke and in need of constant care, Dominado is imprisoned alongside his caregiver, who faces additional charges under the Anti-Terror Law. His case highlights the troubling reality of political prisoners under the Marcos administration, where 757 individuals, including 97 sick and 103 elderly detainees, remain unjustly incarcerated.

IHL inter-agency committee led by enablers, perpetrators

ICHRP noted with alarm that EO 77 tasks the very agencies implicated in the violations with leading the inter-agency committee on IHL. The Department of National Defense (DND) will co-chair the committee, which will also include notorious enforcement agencies such as the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the Philippine National Police.

“This raises serious concerns about the credibility and sincerity of the initiative. Through their involvement in counterinsurgency operations and the facilitation of militarized policies, these agencies are widely seen as enablers and perpetrators of the same violations they now claim to address,” Murphy claims.

ICHRP highlighted how these policies perpetuate a climate of fear and repression, particularly through mechanisms such as the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). The task force, widely criticized for red-tagging and harassment of activists, journalists, and human rights defenders, blurs the distinction between civilians and combatants—an egregious violation of IHL. UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan has also raised alarm over these practices, emphasizing their devastating impact on freedom of expression and democratic space in the country.

“The EO 77 fails to address the systemic injustices and lack of accountability that fuel these abuses. Instead of putting an end to the killings and IHL violations, the administration offers only token gestures to deflect international scrutiny,” says Murphy.

This 76th International Human Rights Day, ICHRP calls on the government to immediately end its lethal policies and hold perpetrators accountable. It also reaffirms its solidarity with the Filipino people in their struggle for justice and genuine freedom, urging both local and international communities to intensify efforts to hold the US-backed Marcos administration accountable.

###