International Solidarity Coalition Stands with the Filipino People’s Continuing Struggle Against Foreign Intervention Via Cha-Cha

Press Statement
Feb 22, 2024

On the 38th anniversary of the EDSA 1 Uprising in 1986, the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) stands with the Filipino people in their continuing struggle for genuine freedom and democracy, especially as the Marcos Jr.-Duterte government pushes to undo the nationalist, protectionist, and pro-people provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution; in favor of term extension and unicameral legislature via Charter Change (Cha-Cha).

“The hard-won gains of the Filipino people through struggle to protect their rights are enshrined in the 1987 Constitution, and once again they stand to be revoked by the son of the ousted dictator, another puppet subservient to foreign dictates,” stated Peter Murphy, ICHRP Chairperson.

“Landlessness, poverty, hunger, and joblessness are all at the root of the chronic state of unpeace and widespread conflict in the country. The foreign predations on Philippine sovereignty via Cha-Cha are a violation of the people’s collective rights to self-determination,” Murphy continued.

ICHRP members worldwide draw inspiration from the February 1986 four-day uprising wherein the Filipino people united and took collective action to oust the 14-year dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. after declaring martial law nationwide in 1972. The brunt of the military’s bloody repression under martial law targeted the poorest, most marginalized sections of the rural population. The militarization of the whole country forcefully paved the way for massive land grabbing and control by the dictator Marcos Sr. and his cronies, and allowed foreign corporations to grab Philippine raw materials for export at the expense of the Philippine economy.

Under the current Marcos Jr.-Duterte regime, brutal militarization of the countryside—in violation of international humanitarian law—continues, and there remains an aggressive push by the ruling elite to further open up the Philippine economy and public utilities for foreign control, including the mass transit sector via the so-called Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) Modernization Program. The PUV modernization program aims to phase out the widely-used and accessible jeepney franchise in favor of a corporate-owned and more costly transportation system.  

“At the heart of the EDSA uprising was the spirit of rising up against the sell-out of the country and corruption of the Philippine ruling elite,” Murphy added. “If implemented, Cha-Cha will make the handful of ruling clans bowing down to foreign capital exponentially richer, while poverty will skyrocket and pound down hard on the suffering majority. Until these fundamental problems are resolved, we cannot expect a truly free and democratic Philippine society. ICHRP calls for all friends of the Filipino people around the world to support their struggle for self-determination against foreign intervention via Cha-Cha and other means. Long live the militant spirit of the EDSA 1 Uprising!”

Contact: Peter Murphy, Chairperson, International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines. Email: [email protected]

Statement
February 14, 2024

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) officially endorses and will support the International People’s Tribunal (IPT) on the Philippines to be held in Europe from May 17-19, 2024. The IPT 2024’s objectives align with ICHRP’s relentless call for the end of the armed conflict by addressing its root causes, as well as for respect for International Humanitarian Law in the course of the ongoing conflict in the Philippines. We call on people and organizations all over the world to attend the IPT 2024 and to vigorously promote its outcomes. We launch a special call to the European solidarity movements to actively support the organization of the IPT 2024.

The IPT 2024 follows a long history of peoples’ tribunals that have shaped international public opinion and tried various regimes on crimes against humanity. It is a quasi-judicial forum, this time convened by the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) and the Friends of the Filipino People in Struggle (FFPS). It aims to investigate and address alleged war crimes committed by the US-supported Marcos and Duterte regimes. It will serve as a platform for victims, advocates and their organizations to present evidence and legal arguments related to alleged crimes committed against the Filipino people.

In the current moment, war crimes in the Philippines are intensifying in violation of key peace agreements like the Comprehensive Agreement on International Humanitarian Law and the Joint Agreement on Safety Immunity Guarantees. In December, ICHRP condemned AFP attacks that killed civilians and hors de combat. Meanwhile, Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro, two brave environmental activists who publicly exposed their abduction by state forces in a press conference that was meant to present them as forced surrenderees, continue to face military harassment. United Nations Special Rapporteur for freedom of opinion and expression, Ms. Irene Khan, visited the Philippines in January and called for the abolition of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), the agency which abducted, tortured and paraded Jhed and Jonila. Ms Khan commented that the resumption of peace talks makes the NTF-ELCAC “outdated,” and further urged President Marcos Jr to issue an Executive Order against red tagging.

These developments serve as a reminder for the Philippine government on its obligation to the principles of the rules of war or the international humanitarian law. These also highlight the urgent need to address the social and economic issues at the root of the armed conflict in the Philippines, and raise the need for broader and stronger international pressure for a just and lasting peace in the Philippines.

The IPT will give a platform for people targeted in international humanitarian law violations to give witness to the world on the severe crimes committed against the most oppressed and exploited in the Philippines. ICHRP views this IPT as critical in helping the public to better understand the situation in the Philippines and an opportunity to maximize the findings to wage campaigns against blatant, systematic and massive violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. Testimonies from witnesses and the findings of the IPT will further enable attendees to advocate to third-party governments and intergovernmental bodies to take action on the crisis in the Philippines. In this context, the IPT 2024 is an important venue in which ICHRP can advance its support for the Filipino people’s rights to peace based on social justice.

Press Release
February 4, 2024

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) is greatly encouraged by the 8-page Preliminary Observations of UN Special Rapporteur Ms Irene Khan, aimed at enhancing freedom of expression, democracy and human rights in the Philippines. ICHRP welcomes her specific calls for the abolition of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and for President Marcos Jr to issue an Executive Order against red tagging.

ICHRP celebrates the Filipino peoples’ organisations and individuals who have relentlessly campaigned for the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC and have raised it to the attention of the international community and to Special Rapporteur Ms Khan. We reiterate the urgent need for the international community to support those who are bearing the brunt of repression under the NTF-ELCAC and Marcos Jr’s vicious counterinsurgency campaign.  

Ms Khan visited Manila, Baguio City, Cebu City and Tacloban over 10 days (January 23 – February 2), which enabled her to meet many officials and to hear Filipino people relate their experiences of censorship, surveillance, harassment and threats, and of extrajudicial killings. In Tacloban she met 25-year-old journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, in jail now for four years on absurd terrorism charges.

In summary, Ms Khan’s key recommendations are:

• Executive and Congress to expedite the passing of the Human Rights Defenders Bill
• President to issue an Executive Order to denounce red tagging with provisions to discipline officials who violate the order. Currently people have no effective recourse against red tagging denunciations.
• Abolish the NTF-ELCAC as one major driver of red tagging and to assist in the peace talks that are re-starting with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP)
• Create a dedicated well-resourced special prosecutor for crimes against journalists and human rights defenders, because the task force under Administrative Order 35 is clearly inadequate
• Create a well-resourced dedicated mechanism to protect media workers because the Presidential Task force on Media Security is clearly inadequate
• Make it simpler to establish media outlets so that journalists can do their work, and to discourage creation of media monopolies
• Support the Philippine Commission on Human Rights’ work to implement the Philippine Action Plan on the Safety of Journalists developed through UNESCO
• Decriminalize libel including cyberlibel
• Develop an effective Freedom of Information law
• Continue the work of the UN Joint Program on Human Rights capacity-building after it completes its mandate in 2024, in partnership with the United Nations
• Extend an open invitation to all UN Special Rapporteurs to visit the Philippines.

Finally, Ms Khan condemned the Anti-Terrorism Law provision for executive powers of arrest and surveillance without judicial warrant, and undertook to review the Rules of the Anti-Terrorism Act produced by the Supreme Court in December 2023.

Despite overwhelming evidence – verified by previous human rights reports including the Investigate PH and the 2023 findings of Special Rapporteur Ian Fry – which validate Ms Khan’s preliminary observations, the Philippine government attempted to rebut Ms Khan’s observations in their own press conference. Senior officials, including from NTF-ELCAC, argued against the abolition of that agency, denied that there was any policy of red tagging, conflated resistance to exploitation with terrorism, and claimed that the Philippine government was on the verge of complete victory over the New People’s Army. They foreshadowed the transition of NTF-ELCAC to an “NTF-Unity, Peace and Development”.

In this critical moment following the November 2023 Oslo Joint Communique between the Government and the NDFP, when peace talks hang in the balance, the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC is of utmost importance. The Philippine government’s counterinsurgency program has proven time and again that militarism and repression cannot resolve the roots of the armed conflict. To create the conditions for peace, and to develop genuine solutions to the pervasive landlessness, joblessness, and poverty, ICHRP urges the rapid implementation of Ms Khan’s recommendations, especially the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC. We call on people all over the world to write statements, hold education forums, lobby your respective governments, inform the international community on the impacts of the NTF-ELCAC, and to creatively and boldly support a just and lasting peace in the Philippines.  #

For further comment: Peter Murphy – +61 418 312 301 [email protected] 

Press Release
January 30, 2024

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) welcomes the current visit of Special Rapporteur Ms Irene Khan to examine attacks of Freedom of Expression by the Marcos Jr. government. It is an important event in the opening up of the Philippines to international scrutiny following the ugly abuse directed at international institutions by the Philippine government.

ICHRP presented data to Ms Khan prior to her visit, showing that the Philippine state has brought its war on dissent and on any critical voice to Australia, Canada, the US, Hong Kong and elsewhere. It has attacked foreign nationals in the Philippines without cause, it has banned the entry of and red tagged foreign nationals. The Philippine government has conducted public attacks in the media on ICHRP, and sent agents of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) overseas to defame ICHRP and its members. It has conducted cyber warfare against ICHRP’s electronic infrastructure – all in an attempt to silence its Human Rights work.

On two occasions in August and September 2022, the state security apparatus red tagged foreign-based ICHRP staff members who visited Manila, using tarpaulins alleging that the individuals supported the Communist Party of the Philippines / New Peoples Army / National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP / NPA / NDFP).

NTF-ELCAC Spokesperson General Antonio Parlade visited Australia in February 2021 and publicly intimidated ICHRP member Honorary Professor Gill Boehringer as well as other individuals and a number of legal NGOs and political organizations in Australia at several public Filipino community meetings. In these meetings organized by the Philippine Consuls in Melbourne and Sydney and attended by Filipino- Australians, Parlade used a powerpoint to name Boehringer and others as agents of the CPP, claiming that he was a major figure in financing and developing support for “Communist Terrorist Groups”. (In fact, membership of the CPP was legalised by then-President Fidel Ramos way back in September 1992.)

ICHRP Canada Chairperson Rev. Dr. Patricia Lisson has been red-tagged by the Duterte-sponsored Sonshine Media Network Inc (SMNI) on a number of occasions. On September 19, 2023, the SMNI radio show Laban Kasama ang Bayan did a segment red tagging ICHRP-Canada. Their monologue focused on a response from NTF-ELCAC to ICHRP-Canada’s letter on the Anti-Terrorism Law.

There has been no accountability since Duterte unleashed his gruesome drug war and police-sanctioned vigilante killings in July 2016. Duterte fostered a climate of impunity for state-sponsored killings and the suppression of freedom of speech. Mechanisms such as the Anti-Terrorism Law, the NTF-ELCAC and the formal counter-insurgency program have institutionalized state terror in an ongoing war on dissent, including in the media. The state does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, putting unarmed citizens in the firing line, subjecting rural communities to aerial bombardment and shelling, and violating human rights through pervasive surveillance, judicial harassment, forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.

Duterte’s climate of impunity for human rights violations has continued unabated under Marcos Jr., and all the machinery of repression developed under Duterte continues to operate, with substantial extra resources, under Marcos Jr. ICHRP as a human rights network has directly experienced ongoing attempts by the Philippine to bully and silence those who advocate for human rights and international humanitarian law through the NTF-ELCAC and other institutions of the state in its “whole-of-nation-approach”. The continued attempts to restrict Freedom of Expression in the Philippines is a concerning reality for all who address issues of economic, social, political and other human rights.

ICHRP joins its partners in the Philippines in condemning the ongoing suppression of freedom of speech and shrinking of civil society space for freedom of expression, both in the Philippines and globally, as the Philippines extends its war on dissent overseas.

We join other victims of the Philippine government in urgently calling for truth, justice, accountability and an end to the culture of impunity that has fostered state terror and shielded alleged criminals like Duterte, Marcos Jr. and their agents. We urge Special Rapporteur Khan to speak out against and formally report on the attacks on Freedom of Expression by the Marcos Jr. government, both in the Philippines and overseas. #

For further comment: Peter Murphy +61 418 312 301 [email protected]