APCHRP: New military agreement with New Zealand a form of tacit support for the Philippine Military’s human rights abuses
The Asia Pacific Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (APCHRP) strongly opposes the impending Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and New Zealand. The bilateral military agreement allows the militaries of both countries to train on each other’s territories, along with other skill-sharing activities that would benefit both armed forces.
It has been reported that New Zealand and the Philippines are close to concluding talks for the VFA, with a finalized agreement possible as early as the second quarter of this year. This military accord is one of several bilateral defence deals the Marcos Jr. government is proposing with US-aligned countries, with another deal with Canada reportedly close to completion as well. Identical arrangements are already in place with Japan and Australia, further entrenching the Philippines into the military orbit of the United States.
Not only do these VFA deals pull the Philippines into reckless US military expeditions, the country also has an ugly history of abuse and atrocities as a result of foreign soldiers visiting the country. The Philippines’ VFA pact with the United States has resulted in a multitude of scandals and abuses – one prominent case is the assault and murder of Filipina trans woman Jennifer Laude in 2014, who was killed by a visiting U.S. marine. Environmental destruction is also a regular feature of these joint military exercises, with the live-fire drills causing permanent and significant damage to the natural environment.
Above all, the New Zealand government’s decision to enter into such an agreement with the Philippine military is ill-timed considering the series of abuses of international humanitarian law (IHL) that the Armed Forces of the Philippines has recently been accused of. The APCHRP had spoken out about the killing of two Filipino youth last December, who were merely walking home after attending a Christmas party before being shot unprovoked by elements of the military. JP Osabel, 14, and Redjan Montealegre, 18, were brutally killed in Uson town, Masbate and an inquiry into their deaths is yet to be conducted by the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Another young Filipino, Gerald Gestole, aged 24, was abducted by the military last month in a bid to pressure his father – who has a pending arrest warrant from the state – to come out of hiding and surrender. Gestole has no criminal liabilities himself, but he has been illegally held in custody by state forces to target his father. Hundreds of miles away, in Negros Oriental province, three developmental workers: Federico Salvilla, Perla Jaleco and Dharyll Albañez, were arrested on trumped-up charges of financing “terrorism”. The three are members of a well-known development NGO that supports sustainable agriculture and peasants and fisherfolk in the province but this has somehow been linked to terrorism, accused of supporting the New People’s Army (NPA) rebellion.
Trumped-up charges relating to financing terrorism have also been levelled against other civil society organizations who have genuine operations. Three employees of the United Methodist Church (UMC) in the Philippines were accused of those allegations in Zamboanga Sibugay in January, while similar accusations have been made against four peasant community organizers in Central Luzon that led to their arbitrary detention. Since the enactment of Republic Act No. 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, there has been an uptick in the number of victims of the two terror laws, especially among church institutions and development NGOs. KARAPATAN documented at least 112 victims of the terror laws.
Rather than condemning these violations, the New Zealand government has decided to engage the AFP and the Marcos Jr. government in a partnership. These agreements, pushed by the Marcos Jr. administration, only bring harm to the Filipino people. Instead of addressing urgent issues such as rising prices, the lack of funding for basic social services, and the need for higher wages, the government prioritizes military pacts with foreign nations instead. .
The APCHRP calls on the Marcos Jr. administration to immediately withdraw these military agreements and put an end to foreign military funding, particularly from the United States, which has long been used to justify intensified counter-insurgency operations in rural areas. It is crucial to closely monitor and strongly oppose such agreements, as they directly impact the welfare of the people in both nations. The Marcos Jr. administration must heed the demands of the people and immediately scrap the VFA and EDCA, JUSMAG, as well as put an end to the Balikatan Exercises.
We also urge other international community and human rights groups to expose and denounce these military agreements, which ultimately serve the interests of foreign powers at the expense of ordinary citizens. The people deserve policies that uphold sovereignty and human dignity—not agreements that perpetuate militarization, human rights violations, and environmental destruction.
#JunkEDCA
#JunkVFA
