APCHRP Press Release
The Asia Pacific Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (APCHRP) abhors the shooting and killing of father and son King and Reymark Abalos of Sto. Niño, Paranas, Samar in the morning of 5 February by the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) 87th Infantry Battalion.
“This tragedy is another addition to the AFP’s ongoing campaign to turn Samar into the ‘howling wilderness’ – a place where wanton human rights violations and systematic disinformation campaigns occur. Staying true to their imperialist backers, the AFP perpetrate extrajudicial killings and other violations of human rights akin to what the Americans did at the peak of their colonial control over the Philippines,” says Sister Patricia Fox, APCHRP spokesperson.
The Abaloses were on their way to their farm at around eight in the morning when they were shot at by the military. According to local reports, soldiers picked on the father and son duo after a failed encounter between the military and the New People’s Army (NPA) earlier that morning. In line with several prior cases of the AFP killing unarmed civilians, elements of the military had mistakenly accused the victims of being NPA combatants.
The slaying of the Abaloses is another harrowing case of civilians being killed by state forces’ irresponsible “red-tagging”, or the act of conflating civilians with rebel combatants. These senseless killings also fall into a pattern of recklessness and trigger-happy behaviour by the AFP, who have in recent months killed other innocent civilians unprovoked.
Last December, soldiers shot dead fourteen-year-old Jeffrey ‘JP’ Osabel and 18-year-old Redjan Montealegre as they were walking back home after attending a Christmas party. Neither of the two were rebels or even armed, but state forces fired upon them as though they were. Aside from killings, state forces have also been behind the abduction and filing of trumped-up charges against civilians under the guise of “counter-insurgency”. Last month, two church workers with the United Methodist Church (UMC) were charged with “financing terrorism” cases by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police (PNP-CIDG).
In late January, state forces turned their sights on Myrna Cruz-Abraham – a veteran activist and human rights advocate with Karapatan. She was apprehended by elements of the PNP while she was at the supermarket with her grandchildren, on trumped-up charges of frustrated murder. Cruz-Abraham was in police custody for a week before sustained protests and condemnation by human rights groups pressured the authorities to release her. Though she may be free, the ordeal still left Myrna and her grandchildren with trauma and unnecessary stress.
Under the administration of President Bongbong Marcos Jr., the military have fostered an environment of fear in the countryside through intensified militarization of civilian communities. The AFP have made their presence in these civilian towns and villages permanent, constantly harassing private individuals by accusing them of being combatants or supporters of the NPA. The recent killings and unlawful arrests and abductions of civilians are direct results of this militarization campaign by the AFP and the Marcos Jr. government, and these atrocities will only continue unless military personnel withdraw from these civilian areas.
“Families in the countryside are being destroyed because of the AFP’s continued killing of the youth, innocent, and unarmed, as well as tagging them as slain combatants to sow fear and destroy solidarity towards justice for these victims,” Fox said.
King Abalos also had a history of being targeted by the military, having been recruited by the AFP last year to work as an asset for the military to conduct surveillance. He actually departed Samar due to these constant harassments and only returned to the province recently, a decision that would ultimately cost him and his son their lives.
“We also condemn the disinformation being utilized by the military towards the mainstream media. The media must be cautioned and must be critical of the information that is being fed to them by the military.”
“They must not parrot the tales of the AFP in order for state forces to justify killing civilians by branding innocent and unarmed civilians as members of the NPA. The APCHRP invites the media to conduct investigations as well and collaborate with human rights groups in order to verify information on these kinds of encounters,” Fox added.
“We continue to be in solidarity with peace-loving Filipinos against human rights violations, especially as these harm civilians. The continuation of peace talks and the respect of the international humanitarian law must be pursued for just and lasting peace,” Fox ended.
