Statement
December 4, 2023

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) vehemently calls for an end to the bombing of rural communities in the Philippines as well as to violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Both are being perpetrated by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) through the Philippine government’s counterinsurgency program.

These aerial bombings have devastated the lives of tens of thousands of civilians in the rural areas. 

From 2017 to mid-2022, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) reportedly used at least 591 bombs and 589 artillery shells in 74 rounds of aerial strafing and 56 incidents of bombing under former President Duterte’s Oplan Kapayapaan. 

From July 2022 to November 30, 2023, human rights organization Karapatan has documented 39,769 victims of indiscriminate firing perpetrated by the Philippine military, while at least 22,391 individuals were affected by bombings in rural and indigenous communities. Around 25,000 people have been forcibly displaced from their communities depriving them of their sources of livelihood. Through the NTF-ELCAC’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP), more than 500 individuals have been forced to present themselves as “surrenderees”.

Destruction of property and displacements usually happen in cases of aerial bombardments including  crops, and livestock. Civilians are also restricted from tending to their farms. In some cases, the repeated bombing of agricultural fields disturbs the soil’s acidity level, which renders it useless for farming, effectively removing farmers’ source of livelihood. The indiscriminate and disproportionate conduct of the bombings which endangers the lives of civilians violates both the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL), as well as the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and its Additional Protocols of 1977.

Among the recent and prominent cases of IHL violations include the massacre of the Fausto family allegedly carried out by the 94th Infrantry Batallion in Negros Occidental last June 16 2023, and the reported brutal killing of Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, along with eight other hors de combat on Samar island last August 2022 by the Philippine Army.

While the signing of the Oslo Communique between the Government of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) last November 23 is a significant breakthrough in re-starting the peace process, ICHRP calls on its international allies to amplify calls to stop the bombings, suspend all military aid to the Philippines, uphold international humanitarian law, and support the Filipino people’s struggle for a just and lasting peace.

Statement
November 20, 2023

Seemingly against all odds, the new Marcos Jr administration sent out feelers for peace talks to the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) within a few months of inauguration, and the result is the announcement this week that a significant four-paragraph communique was signed at the Oslo City Hall on November 23, 2023, to re-start the on-again, off-again talks which began over 30 years ago. 

“The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) unreservedly applauds the Oslo Communique which will enable a renewed effort to reach a just and lasting peace by addressing the root causes of the social conflict in the Philippines,” said Peter Murphy, the ICHRP Chairperson.

By choosing November 23 for the signing, the Marcos Jr administration sent a firm rebuff to the predecessor Duterte administration which terminated the peace talks by Proclamation 360 on November 23, 2017.

The NDFP has always expressed willingness to proceed with peace talks to address the roots of the armed conflict , but was extremely disappointed when Duterte closed the door. The negotiating panels were ready to sign a substantive portion of the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER) and even after that, in 2018, were poised to sign a major ceasefire agreement. Duterte’s decision began the bloody “whole-of-nation” effort to crush the armed rebellion and the civilian national democratic movement.

The Oslo Joint Statement is the outcome of a series of informal discussions held in the Netherlands and Norway starting in 2022, initiated by former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Emmanuel T. Bautista (Ret.) and facilitated by the Royal Norwegian Government (RNG). The initiative was personally welcomed by then NDFP Chief Political Consultant Prof. Jose Ma. Sison.

“The joint statement is the result of the Filipino people’s struggle for a genuine just and lasting peace that remains strong and undeterred despite political setbacks and ongoing counterinsurgency that cannot crush the people’s united will to fight for change,” said Murphy.

“The Philippine security forces captured, tortured and murdered the senior leadership team of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in August 2022, and then the CPP founding chairperson Jose Maria Sison died on December 16, 2022, but the armed struggle and the broader national democratic movement did not collapse. Rather it appears stronger than ever,” said Murphy. 

“But for the talks to resume in good faith, the Marcos Jr administration needs to meet a bare minimum of requirements, starting with honoring past agreements from the peace negotiations such as the Comprehensive Agreement for Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL),  Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), and a repeal of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of the GRP that designates the NDFP as a terrorist organization.”

At a media conference on November 28, the NDFP leaders said that they would propose the release of imprisoned NDFP Peace Consultants as they are needed in the talks, assurance of security and immunity guarantees for all involved in the negotiations, the release of all political prisoners – now 791, and the removal of the terrorist designation of the CPP, NPA and NDFP by the Anti-Terrorism Council.

They explained that the talks will start in 2024, no date has been set, and everything is on the table. A very high priority for the NDFP is that all previous agreements in the peace talks are reaffirmed.

Here is the full text of the Joint Statement:

“Cognizant of the serious socioeconomic and environmental issues, and the foreign security threats facing the country, the parties recognize the need to unite as a nation in order to urgently address these challenges and resolve the reasons for the armed conflict.

The parties agree to a principled and peaceful resolution of the armed conflict. Resolving the roots of the armed conflict and ending the armed struggle shall pave the way for the transformation of the CPP-NPA-NDFP.

The parties acknowledge the deep-rooted socio-economic and political grievances and agree to come up with a framework that sets the priorities for the peace negotiation with the aim of achieving the relevant socioeconomic and political reforms towards a just and lasting peace. Such framework, that will set the parameters for the final peace agreement, shall be agreed upon by both parties.

Consequently, we envision and look forward to a country where a united people can live in peace and prosperity.”

It was signed by the GRP represented by the Special Assistant to the President Secretary Antonio Ernesto F. Lagdameo Jr.; Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity Secretary Carlito G. Galvez Jr.; and Gen Emmanuel T. Bautista (Ret.) and by the NDFP represented by National Executive Council Member Luis G. Jalandoni; Negotiating Panel Interim Chairperson Julieta de Lima; and Panel Member Coni K. Ledesma. The signing was witnessed by the RNG Special Envoy Kristina Lie Revheim. The RNG Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide also attended the signing ceremony.

Further comment: Peter Murphy +61 418 312 301

Statement
November 29, 2023

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) today called for the dropping of the fake murder charge against the esteemed pastor of the United Methodist Church, Rev Golfie Baluntong, following the collapse of similar cases against three other human rights defenders in the Southern Tagalog Region on November 20, 2023.

“Rev Golfie Baluntong, with 34 years service to her church, has been victimized by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) because she stood with the Mangyan indigenous people of Mindoro in their fight to protect the environment and uphold their rights and for offering sanctuary to those fleeing violence,” said Peter Murphy, ICHRP Chairperson. “The attempted murder charge against her is a blatant fabrication and must be withdrawn now by the prosecuting authority. The Anti-Terrorism Law (ATL) under which she has been charged is discredited and should be repealed.”

NTF-ELCAC charged Rev. Glofie with attempted murder in an incident at 3pm on March 25, 2021, but at that time she was conducting a funeral at another location.

The fake charge against Rev Golfie is the most prominent case of legal harassment of human rights defenders in the Southern Tagalog region, where 19 people faced charges under the ATL at the start of November this year. NTF-ELCAC has started charging the youngest human rights workers in an effort to demoralise them, but it is back-firing.

On November 20, 2023, charges under the Anti-Terrorism Law and the Crimes against IHL Law of attempted murder and possession of weapons and aiding a terrorist made against human rights worker Ms Hailey Pecayo, Ms Jasmin Rubia and Mr Kenneth Rementilla by soldiers of the 59^th Infantry Battalion were thrown out by the prosecutor’s office in Santa Rosa City in Laguna.

Pecayo, aged 20, is a human rights worker and the spokesperson of Tanggol Batanggan, Rubia is secretary general of Mothers and Children for the Protection of Human Rights, and Rementilla is Anakbayan Southern Tagalog coordinator.

The soldiers alleged that they encountered Pecayo in two firefights with the New People’s Army (NPA) on July 18 and 25, 2022, but the prosecutor found the soldiers failed to “correctly identify” the respondents as alleged perpetrators, even though they claimed they were just 10 to 15 metres from them during the encounter. Similar charges against 11 other people over the same incidents were also thrown out. The prosecutor also said that the affidavits of four witnesses alleging that they were former members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New Peoples’ Army-National Democratic Front and could identify Pecayo as an NPA “hold no water under the circumstances”.

Pecayo proved that she was in San Isidro Sur in Batangas on July 18-19, 2022, and she was photographed at a rally in Quezon City, Metro Manila, on July 25.

Further, the prosecutor’s office rejected the charge that Rubia and Rementilla had aided a terrorist by providing transport for Pecayo to attend the wake for Kyllene Casao. Kyllene was nine years old and tending farm animals when shot by elements of the 59^th Infantry Battalion in Batangas on July 18, 2022. Pecayo, Rubia and Rementilla were part of the Quick Reaction Team to the Casao family.

“This latest win is part of a pattern in the last three years of activists winning cases filed against them by the country’s security officials, but overall, the judiciary continues to fail to uphold the law by issuing warrants on trumped up charges and taking years to properly confront the blatant lack of evidence provided,” said Murphy.

“ICHRP emphasises the urgent need for the international community to press the Marcos Jr administration to drop the fake charge against Rev. Golfie Baluntong, end the red-tagging, abolish NTF-ELCAC, and repeal the Anti-Terrorism Law,” Murphy concluded.

Further comment: Peter Murphy, ICHRP Chairperson, +61 418 312 301