HANDS OFF KRIZIA CIRUJANO! DEFEND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS! ABOLISH NTF-ELCAC! 

On December 19, 2024, two (2) individuals one described to be tall, while the other is of average height, and both have a large build. Suspected state agents came looking for the women’s rights activist’s house in Cavite.  They showed their parents the Cirujanos video, which showed them speaking at the mobilization, and other images of Krizia and other unknown persons., and conveyed false and baseless information to the parents that the organization for women’s rights Gabriela is linked to the New People’s Army.  They are also asking for personal information about their personal life. The two agents also said they knew the family’s personal information, including their birthdays, and tried to forcefully find Cirujanos’s personal information, such as where they study and other details. The parents were supposed to have their photo taken, but they refused to be photographed.

This is not the first time that state agents have visited Cirujano’s house to spread false information and risk Cirujano’s life by red-tagging. Recently, two people from the barangay visited the family to inform them that two individuals were searching for Cirujanos and the family and wanted to speak with them. They did not introduce themselves and expressed a desire to file a complaint, but they did not provide a reason for wanting to file it. They also inquired whether Cirujano would attend the protest on June 12, 2024. This was followed up on June 19, 2024, when they again attempted to speak with the parents, looking for the man who had been searching for them.

Cirujano is currently working on Gabriela Southern Tagalog a grassroots organization fighting for women’s rights and a paralegal working against Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC), relief workers, and community teachers.   That is why what the NTF-ELCAC agents are doing is unjust—accusing and spreading false information to vilify and intimidate what Cirujano is doing, which is solely for human rights that the state denies the people. The government is wasting the people’s funds to endanger the Filipino people instead of allocating them for the basic social services needed by the Filipino people. 

The Asia Pacific Coalitions for Human Rights in the Philippines condemned the series of surveillance, intimidation, and red-tagging of women rights activists in Southern Tagalog — Krizia Cirujano. The Marcos Jr. administration and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) relentlessly worked on holidays to spread lies and harm and to instill fear among individuals and organizations who work to advance the welfare of the people and uphold their democratic rights. The Coalition also calls for the international community and other various human rights organizations to continuously call and mobilize to stop red tagging and hold accountable the Marcos Jr. government and their machinery for their human rights violations. ###

#HandsOffKriziaCirujano

#DefendHumanRightsActivists

#DefendWomenDefenders

#AbolishNTFELCAC