APCHRP: JUSTICE FOR KA JOJO and KA KIM! STOP THE KILLINGS AND ARREST OF THE NDF! UPHOLD CARHRIHL! UPHOLD IHL!

The Asia Pacific Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (APCHRP) vehemently condemns the killings of two civilian members of the National Democratic Front (NDF). Such murderous acts committed by the U.S.-Marcos regime are significant violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) and should be rebuked by those who value human rights.

The NDF confirmed in a statement that its two civilian consultants, Nonoy Ponteras (AKA “Ka Jojo”), 48, and Marisa Pobresa (AKA “Ka Kim”), 23, were abducted from their residence in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental province. They were forcibly taken into a van and brought to an undisclosed location, and the next day their lifeless bodies were found in Cadiz City. A spokesperson for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) disseminated a lie the following day, stating that the two civilians were killed in an encounter between the military and the revolutionary New People’s Army (NPA). In reality, the evidence more accurately presents an illegal abduction and subsequent execution of the two civilian staffers.

According to NDF-Negros, Ka Jojo, 48 years old, was one of its top officials, while Ka Kim, 23, was a staff member of the organization’s regional office. It added that both were tasked with consulting workers, farmers, farm laborers, and various poor and oppressed sectors across the island to help give voice to their grievances and advance their struggles. Neither were armed combatants with the NPA, but rather civilian staff of the NDF. By murdering the two, the U.S.-Duterte regime and their mercenaries in the AFP have not only violated IHL but also cast a deep blemish on the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).

Instead of addressing the roots of the armed conflict in the Philippines, the U.S.-Marcos regime chooses to wage a reckless and inhumane counterinsurgency war instead – targeting even unarmed civilians. It is not just non-combatants attached to the NDF who have been attacked by the regime, but even ordinary citizens have been harassed with indiscriminate bombings and aerial attacks on civilian communities. It is abundantly clear that the U.S.-Marcos regime has no intention of resuming the stalled peace talks between the NDF-CPP-NPA and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP), and would rather see countless more lives lost in their senseless counterinsurgency campaign.

The treacherous abduction of Ka Jojo and Ka Kim, and their brutal executions, show that the U.S.-Marcos regime has no respect for IHL. The Marcos government and its state forces are conflating unarmed civilians with armed combatants, dictated by their American imperialist masters, which is the source of human rights violation in the Philippines.

The APCHRP urges the U.S.-Marcos Regime to respect IHL and uphold the CARHRIHL by not targeting unarmed staffers and confine military operations to armed combatants only. At the same time, we reiterate our previous call to demilitarize rural communities in the Philippines by removing military troops stationed in civilian areas – as these lead to wanton human rights violations. Stop the attacks and arrests of NDF members and address the root causes of the armed conflict in the Philippines now!

#UPHOLDCARHRIHL

#UPHOLDIHL