Surface Patricia Cierva and Cedrick Casaño!
The Asia Pacific Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (APCHRP) urgently calls upon the government of the Philippines, specifically President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and instigator behind the disturbing series of abductions and forced disappearances, to surface Patricia Cierva and Cedrick Casaño and uphold CARHRIHL.
As per the statement released by KARAPATAN Human Rights Alliance, Patricia Cierva and Cedrick Casaño were forcefully taken by the 501st Infantry Brigade on May 18th in Brgy. Cabiraoan, Gonzaga, located in the province of Cagayan. Both of them are dedicated community organizers who champion the rights of farmers, youth, and indigenous groups.
Cierva was a student leader at the University of the Philippines – Manila and served as a member of UPM College of Arts and Sciences Student Council. Prior to being a full-time organizer in the peasant communities of Cagayan, she also led campaigns in her university as the Secretary-General of the system-wide alliance of UP student councils, KASAMA sa UP.
At present, the appalling abduction of Cierva and Casaño marks the twenty-first instance of forced disappearances under President Marcos Jr. This event occurred just a few weeks after fellow community organizers from North Luzon, namely Dexter Capuyan and Gene Roz Jamil “Bazoo” de Jesus, were forcibly taken by state forces. The documented count of abduction cases under Marcos Jr. has already exceeded the corresponding number recorded during the previous administration under Rodrigo Duterte in his six-year term.
This crackdown targeting community organizers and activists in North Luzon aligns with the ongoing US-RP Balikatan Exercises and the construction of new EDCA sites within the region. APCRHP expresses deep concern regarding these abductions, as they manifest explicit violations of human rights and International Humanitarian Law within the context of a civil war in the Philippines.
We stand in solidarity with the families, friends, and colleagues of Cierva and Casaño in calling for the immediate and safe return of their loved ones, as well as the other victims who remain missing. We implore the Philippine government to end its alarming and inhumane schemes such as labeling of individuals as terrorists, illegal arrests and forced disappearances, extra-judicial killings, and other unjust measures against those who express critical views of its policies. It is of utmost importance that the government upholds the principles outlined in the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) consistently and unwaveringly.
#StopMilitarizationInCagayanValley
