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]

Press Release
January 4, 2024

“The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) strongly condemns the disproportionate use of weapons in an aerial bombardment by the 403rd Infantry Brigade, 4th Infantry Division of the AFP on December 25 until December 26, 2023, in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon, in Northern Mindanao. This demonstrates a brazen disrespect for human rights and international humanitarian law by the AFP,” said Peter Murphy, ICHRP Chairperson.

The bombings from drones, fighter jets, and firing of howitzers at a rebel camp and its surrounding area took place during a two-day unilateral ceasefire declared by the New People’s Army (NPA). Instead of reciprocating the ceasefire, the AFP launched military offensives, brazenly violating the rules of engagement. In the Bukidnon incident, the AFP used multiple 250-pound bombs and artillery rounds made by Israeli company Soltam Systems. 10 people were reportedly killed during the bombardment, and the explosions caused environmental destruction and terror in villages surrounding the area.

In an earlier incident, on December 17, 2023, the 59^th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, augmented by Philippine Navy and Philippine Air Force troopers, killed two civilians and five NPA in an attack against an NPA encampment in Batangas, Southern Tagalog. Human rights workers documented the desecration of the bodies of the seven, including signs of rape. Relatives could hardly identify the bodies. The two civilians, Pretty Sheine Anacta, 19, and Rose Jane Agda, 30, were said to be visiting a relative in the NPA. 

Murphy continued, “Through its disproportionate use of force and terrorizing of local farmers during the military offensives, the AFP violated international humanitarian law (IHL) and showed blatant disregard for the well-being of the people. This violation of the rules of war is especially shocking given the recent indication of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) to resume peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), which represents 18 revolutionary organizations including the NPA.”

These recent AFP offensives are part of a series of bombings and other attacks on alleged NPA members in civilian areas. As reported by human rights alliance Karapatan, over 22,000 people across the Philippines were affected by AFP bombings between July 2022 and November 2023. These violent bombardments and military action in the countryside are part of the GRP’s so-called “counter-insurgency” strategy, which  utilizes tactics including forced evacuation; hamleting and forcible reconcentration of civilian communities; forced “surrendering” of civilians; arbitrary arrest and enforced disappearances; torture; and extrajudicial killings.

“In the face of such brutality from the AFP in its war against the NPA, ICHRP reiterates its support to the Filipino people’s call for a genuine solution to the armed conflict by addressing the roots including widespread poverty, lack of jobs and industry, and the uneven distribution of land,” continued Murphy. “We have expressed support to the November 2023 joint statement of the GRP and NDFP indicating their desire to resume peace talks, providing a path towards just and lasting peace in the country.

“ICHRP calls on both parties to respect previous agreements such as the Hague Joint Declaration, the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL), and the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), which guarantees the safety of peace negotiators, consultants, staff and all those who are involved in the peace negotiations.”

Further comment: Peter Murphy, ICHRP Chairperson, +61418312301, [email protected]

Press Release

December 16, 2023

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) joins the Filipino people in amplifying the call for the resumption of the peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

“The Oslo Communique signed last November 23 is a positive step towards resumption of the peace process. It is a fitting development because today marks one year since the passing of former NDFP Chief Political Consultant Professor Jose Maria Sison, who dreamt of a just and lasting peace for his motherland. He played a key role in peace negotiations between the NDFP and GRP through several decades,” said ICHRP Global Chairperson Peter Murphy.

Jose Maria “Ka Joma” Sison’s contributions to the Filipino people’s struggle for a just and genuine peace in the Philippines cannot be overstated. As Chief Political Consultant of the NDFP, he helped forge several agreements between the two parties, such as the The Hague Joint Declaration in 1992 that outlined the objective, the framework, and the agenda of the peace negotiations; the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) in 1995; and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) in 1998, among others.

The approval of CARHRIHL by the principals of the two Parties in 1998 was very significant. The Parties agreed to respect human rights and to be bound by the principles of international humanitarian law while they are at war. The CARHRIHL is one of the four substantive agenda items of the peace talks.

In 2016, both Parties agreed to tackle the specifics of the draft agreement on the second agenda, socio-economic reforms.

The provisions of the draft Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER) comprise the bulk of the peace agenda, since socio-economic reforms in Philippine society are central to resolving the roots of the armed conflict – poverty, joblessness, and landlessness. The Negotiating Panels reported in 2017 that they were almost done and very eager to sign the CASER.

“It is unfortunate that former President Duterte terminated the peace talks through Proclamation 360, just when major progress was being made in 2017. The passage of CASER is pivotal in the upcoming rounds of peace negotiations in 2024, if both parties want to advance to the next peace agenda item, political and constitutional reforms,” added Murphy.

“While we are hopeful that the peace negotiations in 2024 will bear fruit, ICHRP will continue to expose and oppose the continuing violations of human rights and international humanitarian law happening in the Philippines. We want to let President Marcos Jr. know that the international community is closely watching his government,” concluded Murphy.

Further comment: Peter Murphy, ICHRP Chairperson, +61418312301

[email protected]