October 24, 2017

DEFY AND DEFEAT TYRANNY!

Tyranny has a face and an iron fist.

State fascism in the country heightened this year, not just with harsh words but also with
harsh attacks on peoples rights. This became very concrete with the governments
implementation of Oplan Kapayapaan mobilizing all its resources and forces to subdue
legitimate peoples dissent. It has walked further away from the path of just and lasting
peace.

The face of tyranny in the country is the current regime of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte
as supported by the government of the United States of America. With Oplan
Kapayapaan, it has allotted a significant part of the peoples taxes for military and State
security purposes, and its war to protect the interests of the ruling classes rather than to
serve the much-needed services for the people such as land, livelihood, health, and
education.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and other State security forces comprise the
iron fist of the tyrannical rule.

The AFP Northern Luzon Command notoriety in violating human rights and international
humanitarian law continues with the operations of its 5th and 7th Infantry Divisions.

The 7th Infantry Division, and units under it, such as the 24th and 81st Infantry Battalions
and the 71st Division Reconnaissance Company are implementing Oplan Kapayapaan like
they were tasked to implement Martial Law.

All communities covered by operations of the said units in Abra and Ilocos experience
militarization. Community leaders, even officials of local government units are
threatened, harassed and intimidated, if not coopted by these State security forces.
Barangays are even threatened with budget reduction from the local government
allotment. Illegal arrests have been conducted against peasant leaders in Ilocos and
against civilians, including a minor in Abra since February this year. Political vilification
of development workers and human rights activists, youth organizers and church leaders
and workers persist with community and school fora, lectures, social media posts and
other public disinformation campaigns. The 24th IBPA Wildcats the first AFP
territorial battalion, and also the Palparan Battalion has consistently maligned Shirley
Ann Angiwot in social media tagging her and NDFP Peace Negotiations Observer
Roman Catholic Bishop Sergio Utleg, other priests and church workers as enemies of
the State connected with the NPA since August of this year. This is the same unit that
conducted military operations in the communities of the Mabaka and Binongan people of
Malibcong, Abra last March that launched indiscriminate airstrikes after Duterte gave
them commands to flatten the hills when the peace talks were stalled.

Recently the Philippine government issued statements on the declaration of a

revolutionary government, which is in the same tone as a nationwide Martial Law
Declaration. It formed the Inter-Agency Committee on Legal Action (IACLA) which is
is similar to the Inter-Agency Legal Action Group (IALAG) of previous regimes. It is a
platform for State-sponsored terrorism using the Philippine justice system against
legitimate political dissent. It has been a practice by State security forces to use trumped
up charges to threaten, harass, intimidate and neutralize whom they deem as enemies
of the State including legal political activists.

Since July, the 81st IBPA and the 71st DRC filed trumped up charges against women
human rights defenders working in the Cordillera in the persons of Sarah Abellon-Alikes,
Sherry Mae Soledad, Joanne Villanueva, Rachel Mariano and Asia Isabella Gepte.

All five activists belong to legal and legitimate organisations in the Cordillera peoples
movement. They work for the promotion and respect of indigenous peoples. All are
advocates for peace, supporters of the Peace Talks between the Government of the
Republic of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines. All are
working to support marginalized communities. Two of these women have young
children while another recently gave birth to her first child.

Sarah and Sherry Mae are both with the Katinnulong dagiti Umili ti Amianan-Regional
Development Center. Sarah is a pioneer of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA).
Rachel is with the Cordillera Health, Education, Services and Training in the Cordillera
(CHESTCORE). Villanueva works with the Cordillera Womens Education, Action,
Research Center (CWEARC) and Asia is a convenor of Binnadang, a network of
advocates supporting Cordillera indigenous peoples issues and campaigns, and a staff of
the joint secretariat of the NDFP nominated section to the Joint Monitoring Committee
on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.

What should we do in these trying times?

We should continue to strongly weave the lessons taught to us by those who defied and
defeated Martial Law. Even in the darkest years of the Marcos dictatorship and tyranny,
repression was faced with organized resistance, fear was met with courage and human
dignity was reclaimed even in the darkest and most difficult times.

Tyranny has a face and an iron fist but it cannot daunt the peoples courage.

For reference: Windel Bolinget, Chair, Cordillera Peoples Alliance

Audrey Beltran, Vice Chair, Cordillera Human Rights Alliance