JUSTICE FOR TEACHER ROWE LIBOT! STOP THE ATTACKS ON THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES!
The Asia-Pacific Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (APCHRP) strongly condemns the brutal murder of Lumad Teacher Rowe Libot in a remote village in Kalamansig Sultan Kudarat on July 27, 2023. We demand immediate justice for Libot’s death and accountability from the Marcos Jr. government and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to stop its destructive counter-insurgency operations against the poor, the neglected, and the silenced.
From 2014 to 2018, as an embodiment of an Iskolar ng Bayan, Libot served as a student-leader and studied diligently to complete his bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education major in English at the Liceo de Davao-Tagum. After graduation in 2018, Libot continued to serve Lumad communities in Mindanao as a volunteer teacher for the Center for Lumad Advocacy Networking and Services (CLANS). Until his murder, Libot was a persistent Lumad teacher and Indigenous peoples’ rights advocate against imperialist plunder, militarization, and state’s criminal negligence.
He also learned with and taught the community alternative discourse, ways of living, and collective endeavors—a radicalism that grasps the roots of social inequality which prompted the 37th “Conqueror” Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army to redtag and kill Libot and terrorize the Dulangan-Manobos. As the Marcos government prioritizes the entry of destructive mining, logging, and plantation businesses in Mindanao over basic social services such as education, healthcare, and livelihood, Rowe’s life and death narrates the deprivation and destruction of human rights at the expense of so-called “development” that would only benefit a few.
The military claims that Libot was a “communist-terrorist” they killed in an encounter in the mountains of Sultan Kudarat. However, any statement from the 603rd “Persuader” Infantry Brigade which commands the 37th IB, cannot persuade us to believe in their manufactured lies to cover up the ingrained culture of impunity and violence that their troops have inflicted on the Indigenous Peoples in Southern Mindanao. The practice of killing activists and then branding them “communist terrorists” is an old trick from the AFP’s dirty playbook. Libot’s fellow teachers, Chad Booc and Jurain Ngujo of the New Bataan 5 were also victims of this incorrigible tactic.
These senseless killings have normalized the stifling of criticism. Crucial to oppose these killings is our call for justice and accountability for the death of Libot and numerous victims of state terrorism. We demand the Philippine government and the AFP to stop the attacks against Indigenous peoples’ activists and their communities. We also call on the Commission of Human Rights to conduct an independent investigation on the case. Lastly, we urge the public to amplify our calls for justice for Libot and the improvement of the human rights situation in the country. Hold the perpetuators of this dastardly acts accountable. ###
#StoptheAttacks
#DefendtheDefenders
