AFP MUST ADHERE TO THE RULES OF WAR! UPHOLD INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW! UPHOLD COMPREHENSIVE AGREEMENT ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW! JUSTICE FOR MARIFE GAYADAN! DEFEND MINDORO!
The ruthless 4th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army has once again committed violations of International Humanitarian Law and the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL). This is evident in their blatant disrespect for the remains of an alleged member of the New People’s Army, Marife Gayadan, who was killed in an “encounter” between the 4th IBPA and the NPA on December 18, 2024, in Sitio Tinis-an, Brgy. San Vicente, Roxas, Oriental Mindoro.
In retrieving the body of the slain alleged member of NPA, the Humanitarian team Karapatan Southern Tagalog and the families of the victims faced intimidation, harassment, disrespect, and even injury from police and military forces. They also experienced significant delays due to the lies and deceit of the 4th Infantry Battalion, led by Acting Commanding Officer Lt. Col. Erwin Glenn D. Romero. Romero falsely claimed that another family also claiming Marife’s body as a new tactic just to delay the operation of retrieving the body and to abduct and seize the body to cover up their heinous crimes against humanity., despite her father, Pepe Gayadan, confirming that she was indeed his daughter.
According to the report from Karapatan ST, the 4th Infantry Battalion encamped the Dimatulac Funeral Homes, where Marife’s body was kept. Inside the funeral home, there was a police mobile from the PNP and a 6x truck from the AFP, along with large firearms, which violated the law as it was located near a community where the military and police illegally took control of the funeral home, and also the Roxas Municipal Police Station. Paralegals and Marife’s father were not allowed to enter, despite the owner of the funeral permitting the team and the family to see the body and requesting just five minutes to see the body. The delay in handling the body led to its decomposition, further highlighting their disregard for basic human dignity.
The humanitarian team also experienced lies and mistreatment at the police station led by the PMaj. Almerc Paul Pornia. They were confronted by ununiformed state agents, whose identities were unclear—whether they were police, military, or intelligence officers. Without consent, they took photos and harassed the paralegal team. The family sought assistance from the local government unit in Roxas, led by Mayor Leo Cusi, but received no response and instead allowed himself to be an instrument by the 4th IBPA. Pepe Gayadan faced interrogation while trying to recover the body from the clutches of the military responsible for the killings.
For two years now Brgy. Sitio, Roxas, Mindoro Oriental has been a focus of massive military and counter-insurgency operation, which has worsened the human rights situation. According to the report from Karapatan ST in March 2022 in San Vicente, bombing from the air using Howitzers was conducted, along with three aerial strafing missions using a V150 tank. In April 2023, around 10,870 residents of Brgy. San Vicente was affected as bombs were dropped and fired an estimated 4 to 6 rounds in “test firing”. The AFP-MIMAROPA carried out harassment, intimidation, and baseless accusations against civilians in San Mariano, Roxas. In December 2022, a minor and two senior citizens were illegally arrested, photographed, and summoned to the AFP camp.
The Asia Pacific Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines condemned these vile acts of collusion between the PNP-Roxas and the 4th Infantry Battalion for their, brutal killing, desecrating the remains of the deceased, and the delay in retrieving the body. The AFP and PNP are heartless for depriving Marife’s parents of the immediate return of her body for proper burial. The coalition also condemns the government of Marcos Jr., the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, for orchestrating the militarization of rural areas. Immediately remove the military from the countryside, including the 2nd IDPA, 203rd IBde, and 4th IBPA, who are sowing violence in Mindoro. The parents fully acknowledge Marife’s path in defending the rights of Indigenous people to land and livelihood, a struggle that is deeply tied to the broader issues of systemic poverty and armed conflict in the country it highlights the urgent need for the Philippine government to recognize the root causes of these conflicts, address the nation’s poverty, and uphold the international humanitarian law.
#UpholdCARHRIHL
#UpholdIHL
#DefendMindoro
