Press Statement
February 28, 2024

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) is deeply concerned about the ongoing level of state violence and repression directed rural communities and by continued reports of War Crimes and violations International Humanitarian Law (IHL) by state security forces in the Philippines.

The machineries of state terror, including the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the Anti-Terror Law, built during the US-Duterte Regime, remain in place.  Despite attempts at rebranding following the recent visit of UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan, the Anti-Terrorism Law with its broad sweeping powers and the NTF-ELCAC, along with the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, continue to operate as mechanisms to crush dissent and to violate the civil and political rights of citizens.

ICHRP denounces the most recent state violations of IHL in the form of aerial strikes in Escalante, Negros Occidental which occurred on February 22nd.  According to media reports, at least five rockets were fired by a helicopter in Brgy. Pinapugasan, Escalante. The aerial strikes were carried out a day after the 79th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army said that encounters between soldiers and members of the New People’s Army began on February 21. The military’s aerial bombings have resulted in the forcible evacuation of more than 300 families from the area.

Videos posted on social media, showed helicopters, reportedly Blackhawk and Augusta Westland 109 attack helicopters, hovering in the area. In one video, tracer bullets were seen flying over a house at night, indicating random firing in the vicinity of the community.

ICHRP condemns the use of aerial strikes in Escalante and the forced evacuation of civilians, and calls for an immediate investigation of these incidents as both appear to constitute violations of IHL.

In another recent incident, reported by the news media site Kodao, the 47^th Infantry Battalion (47IB) and the Bohol Philippine National Police (PNP) captured 5 individuals including Atty. Hannah Cesista, Parlio Historia, Marlon Omusura, Alberto Sancho and Domingo Compoc in a house they stayed in Sitio Matin-ao 2, Barangay Campagao on the morning of February 23, 2024. Government authorities claimed the five were killed in a three-hour gun battle that also killed a Police Corporal Gilbert Amper. Compoc, 60, allegedly a top Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) leader in the province, was photographed in the custody of a government soldier after his apparent capture. 

Compoc who suffered from arthritis, was hacked at his neck and torso, before being killed in front of residents. According to a witness, Cesista a young lawyer, was ordered to crawl on mud before being executed. All five were reported to have died in military custody.

Such incidents are contrary to international laws of war (IHL) because all the victims were tortured and killed following their capture. Even combatants are ceded IHL protections once in custody.  Such incidents are part of a disturbing pattern where the state security forces in the Philippines continue to act with impunity.

Nations such as Australia, Canada, the US and Japan are turning a blind eye to such violations of IHL in favour of deepening security cooperation and arms sales to the Philippines as part of their broader China containment strategy. “Military support from Canada and the US for the Philippine governments war on dissent after its withdrawal from the ICC makes a mockery of IHL and respect for human rights,” said Reverend Patricia Lisson, ICHRP Canada spokesperson.

“In this context we should be turning the screws on the Philippine military instead of bolstering aid and supporting the IHL violators through military cooperation,” said Peter Murphy, ICHRP Chairperson.

Countless incidents of hamletting, red-tagging, harassment of civilians, and indiscriminate firing and aerial bombing of communities have been reported over the past year in different areas of the Philippines, including Cagayan Valley, Southern Tagalog, Eastern Visayas, Negros Island, and Mindanao.

“In this context we urge the international community and international institutions to stand with the victims and those who struggle for democracy and human rights in the Philippines. We call for continued pressure through international mechanisms and international solidarity action to push the Philippine government to respect the rules of war and abide by International Humanitarian Law,” concluded Murphy.

Defend Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law!
Stop the Bombings, End State Terror!
Address the Roots of the Armed Conflict!

Further comment: Peter Murphy, ICHRP Chairperson, +61 418312301
chairperson@ichrp.net

Press Release
February 27, 2024

Despite continuing the militarist policies of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, resulting in systematic, large-scale violations of human rights and International Humanitarian Law (IHL), Philippine President Marcos Jr expects the international community to finance a massive re-equipment of his armed forces, which is notorious for skimming off supply contracts.

In January this year, Marcos Jr signed off on a revised version of the AFP Modernization program launched under President Benigno Aquino III in 2013. The revised military modernization plan called “Re-Horizon 3” expects to spend a gigantic sum of two (2) trillion Philippine pesos (US$35 billion) on military equipment over ten years. This modernization is taking place at a time when the Philippines has abrogated all agreements to respect international humanitarian law that it had signed in peace talks with the NDFP and while remaining outside of ICC jurisdiction. 

Since its foundation in 2013, the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP), a global formation, has been calling for reviews, suspensions and cancellations of all military aid to the Philippines because of the gross and systematic violations of human rights and IHL. Especially with Duterte in 2016, these violations have greatly expanded with no apparent reaction from the regime’s military suppliers, including the US, Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea and Israel.

Marcos Jr now looks abroad for more military support for his intensive counter-insurgency campaign, and  attempts to please the US in its military build up against China. We again urgently call on the international community to oppose weapon sales and military aid to the Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization program. The so-called “modernization” of the AFP will only put the Filipino people further at risk and only aid the US military build-up in the Asia Pacific. 

Sweden, France, Spain, India and South Korea are currently bidding to supply submarines, aircraft and advanced surveillance and communications capacities to Marcos Jr. 

Following India’s recent donation of supersonic missiles, over 20 defense companies from the South Asian nations visited the Philippines to explore further collaboration. Sweden is working with the Philippine government on a major fighter jet deal. 

France’s Naval Group offered two diesel-electric Scorpene-class submarines. This comes after news of France’s intentions to create a Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the Philippines fashioned after the US VFA. Navantia, a Spanish government-affiliated company, offered two S80-class Isaac Peral submarines costing $1.7 billion and offered to build the submarine base, and South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean (formerly known as DSME) offered its stealthy Jang Bogo-III submarines, with guided-missile systems.

These proposed military deals come in the wake of the US military pivot to Asia. Following the April 2023 decision for four more US military bases in the Philippines, the US has committed US$9.1 billion to its Pacific Deterrence Program for 2024, which provides funds for its allies in the western Pacific, including bases and airfields in the Philippines, Australia and the Northern Mariana Islands. The US will deliver three new C-130J-30 Super Hercules airlifters worth $400 million between July 2026 and January 2027 and negotiations are also underway for the potential sale of American F16 fighter jets. This comes in addition to yearly foreign military financing coming from the U.S. NATO member countries and allies like Canada, France, the UK and Japan are following the lead of the US and joining the increasing number of military exercises conducted in the Philippines, including the upcoming Balikatan exercises in April. 

Claire Chastain of ICHRP Europe, based in Spain, and current Deputy General Secretary of the ICHRP Global Council stated, “Attempts of European countries to strengthen military ties with the Philippines and strike arms sales are based on profit, not people. For people based in Europe, we must use this moment to oppose military deals with the Philippines and raise solidarity support for people in the Philippines facing the brunt of militarization.” 

While the Marcos Jr regime may fashion this military build-up in the name of defense, it will only further exploit the Filipino people and make them more vulnerable to the AFP and to any military clash between the US and China. Arms purchases abroad will be paid for by the Filipino people and the taxpayers of the supplier countries, principally the US. Filipino civilians will be the main casualties in any resulting military clash. 

Reverend Jeong Jin-woo of the ICHRP Global Council based in South Korea commented, “We stand with the Filipinos in their clamor for just peace. While the Marcos Jr regime continues the intensive red-tagging and attacks against the Filipino people under the frame of counter-insurgency, we firmly oppose the modernization of the AFP, which will only make the Philippines and people in the Asia Pacific more vulnerable to the impacts of war.”

While the Marcos Jr administration has expressed intentions to resume peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, the regime’s push to build up its military arsenal threatens the prospects of peace. Human rights and IHL violations in the Philippines have their roots in landlessness, joblessness and widespread poverty, and the Philippine military and police are deployed against popular movements trying to address these very problems. The AFP Modernization Program budget should be re-aligned to genuine agrarian reform and national industrialization to help resolve the roots of poverty and achieve just and lasting peace in the country. ICHRP urges that there be zero military aid and arms deals to the Philippine military and police while the government continues its fascist repression in the cities and the countryside. ###

Contact: Peter Murphy, Chairperson, International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines. Email: chairperson@ichrp.net

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: chairperson@ichrp.net

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 chairperson@ichrp.net