APCHRP: Condemn the mass displacement of residents in Toboso, Neg. Occidental! Junk M.O. 32 now!
The Asia Pacific Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (APCHRP) vehemently condemns the dastardly acts of violence perpetrated by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Negros Occidental province, which displaced 653 residents. These actions were carried out in the aftermath of armed encounters between the AFP and New People’s Army (NPA), and involved aerial strafing and artillery fire into civilian communities. It is the indiscriminate nature of these military actions that constituted a violation of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and resulted in the mass displacement of civilians.
These actions were carried out in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso town in Negros Occidental province. Since Memorandum Order no. 32 (MO 32) came into effect under the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, the island of Negros has been heavily militarised. The AFP has been justifying such aggressive militarisation in light of its war with the NPA, however, this has only resulted in widespread human rights violations, repeated disruption of civilian livelihoods, and the prevalent displacement of entire communities amid military operations. Instead of safeguarding Filipino civilians, M.O. 32 has inadvertently placed Negros island in a de facto martial law. Not only do civilian communities feel less safe, they face nonstop disruption in their lives and live under constant fear of large-scale combat breaking out.
The M.O. 32, started by Duterte and continued by the present regime of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., has also been used to protect the interests of large landowners – many of whom are abusive to their labourers and intimidate labour unions. A notable case was the brutal killing of nine members of the National Federation of Sugar Workers in Sagay town in 2018, now remembered as the Sagay massacre. Placing Negros Island under a blanket militarisation has only resulted in wonton human rights violations; this includes the brutal assassination of health worker and human rights advocate, Zara Alvarez, in 2020; and the heinous beheading of peasant farmer Bernardo Guillen by military elements that same year as well. According to data from human-rights watchdog, Karapatan, between 2022-25 there have been 135 victims of extrajudicial killings nationwide, of which 52 occured in Negros Island.
The APCHRP calls for accountability from President Marcos Jr., as the head of state and commander-in-chief of the AFP, for the violence perpetrated under his administration by the military. We demand the immediate junking of Memorandum Order No. 32, implemented in 2018 under the pretext of a “state of lawless violence” in Negros, as it has only resulted in pervasive human rights violations and infringement of international humanitarian law (IHL). M.O. 32 has only enabled bloodshed and has been weaponised against legitimate activists and human rights defender, under the guise of counter-insurgency.
Furthermore, we call on the Armed Forces of the Philippines to fully comply with and uphold International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CAHRIHL), ensuring the protection and respect of civilians’ rights. Instead of employing military operations which only resort into senseless violence, we implore the Marcos government to instead address the root causes of the armed conflict: abject poverty, landlessness, and abuses carried out by exploitative landlords.
