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Photographs posted by the Army online show that children were on the top of military armored vehicles, while some of them were assisted by soldiers in holding long firearms.
Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay called it “baffling” that Anicoche would be found a week later despite the presence of four military battalions in the area.
Her disappearance follows the death of Jerlyn Rose Doydora, a youth activist from Kabataan Party-list who was also in the province on January 1.
“The training teaches us how to fight for our rights. Some of us are no longer silent nor do we submit in fear."
“These bombardments endanger civilians, particularly farmers and indigenous Tumandok communities who are already vulnerable."
“The incidents we are reporting happened in a month when we should be observing International Humanitarian Law."
The mission was conducted in response to the reports of militarization in rural and ancestral lands, and to document violations of International Humanitarian Law. Instead, the mission team were subjected to surveillance, intimidation, and threats.
Based on a series of videos posted by Karapatan Southern Tagalog, alleged military intelligence agents interrogated the caretaker of the lodging occupied by the team on February 26. There were also reports of unidentified men on a motorcycle following the humanitarian team as they entered and left Pola. Meanwhile, in Bulalacao, suspected intelligence agents were seen taking pictures of the team without their consent. When confronted, they quickly fled.
“Unless the root causes of this conflict are addressed, Palestinians and Israelis cannot even begin to hope for a brighter future built on rights, equality and justice. Israel must dismantle the brutal system of apartheid it imposes to dominate and oppress Palestinians and end its unlawful occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory once and for all."
Nicolas Aca’s performance expressed a critique on “how religion can bind devotees to their leaders' agenda as if in chains.”
‘Palit-ulo’ is the practice of arresting and charging family members when the police fail to apprehend a suspect, a common pattern which Karapatan traced to the administration of Rodrigo Duterte at the height of the drug war.
Lolita Abril urged the CHR to conduct an independent investigation into the killing of her husband Ronel Abril and another coconut farmer Roger Clores last September 26. The two were allegedly killed by elements of the 2nd Infantry Battalion (2nd IB) in an “armed encounter.”
“These reports included military encampments near the farming communities, coercion to sign documents of disaffiliation, forced surrenders, and the profiling of farmer-residents, who were threatened with arrest and abduction if they refused to cooperate,” said KMP.
“The four men were forced to strip off their shirts. Along with [Hannah] Cesista, they were forced to roll in the mud. The witnesses said they were pleading with state forces to stop their inhumane acts but to no avail."
Under Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, hors de combat (incapacitated combatants/out of fight) either through sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall be treated humanely.
The responsibility to observe IHL lies in the Philippine government because they are the duty-bearers. In the human rights framework, the duty-bearers are accountable to the people and have the responsibility to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights. Rights violations committed by the state can be classified into two: [1] Commission as direct violators, and [2] Omission which is more similar to state neglect.
“Indiscriminate aerial bombing is disallowed under IHL because it violates the basic principles of the means and methods of warfare and the objects or subjects of attack in an armed conflict.”
“Men have not been able to go back to the farm and our children are already starving, all because we are prohibited to continue our only livelihood in our farms in the mountains,” Capinlac said in Filipino.
“While no words can truly console Kuni's family, we stand in unwavering solidarity with them and all Lumad people fighting for their children's right to education amidst escalating violence, militarization, and impunity in their ancestral lands,” said SOS Network, demanding justice for Kuni, his family, and all victims of Lumad killings.
In the situation report of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), a total of 3,633 families or 12,814 persons were affected in 14 barangays in Dipaculao and Maria Aurora, Aurora.
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