In SONA 2025, Panaghiusa dares Marcos Jr. to address violations vs. IP

[TAGALOG] Sa SONA 2025, hinahamon ng Panaghiusa si Marcos Jr. na harapin ang mga paglabag laban sa Katutubo

In the fourth State of the Nation Address, Panaghiusa Philippine Network to Uphold Indigenous Peoples’ Rights calls on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to acknowledge and address the real conditions of the country, especially the worsening plight of the Indigenous Peoples. We condemn the continued legacy of exploitation, repression, and human rights violations under his administration. Rather than promoting inclusive development, Marcos Jr.'s policies escalated violence and displacement in Indigenous communities, while enabling the sale of ancestral lands to foreign and corporate interests.

Marcos Jr. and the Indigenous Peoples last State of the Nation Address 2024.

“We must not overlook that Marcos Jr. is no different from his predecessor, Duterte. They are both vying for power and economic gains while the Indigenous Peoples are left to endure poverty, displacement, and relentless militarization,” said Beverly Longid, a Bontok-Kankanaey and Co-convenor of Panaghiusa.

In its third year, the Marcos administration has shown no sign of reversing the repressive trends from the Duterte era. Instead, Indigenous communities report heightened attacks and the use of anti-terrorism laws to silence and criminalize their resistance.

Panaghiusa denounces the continued existence of Executive Order No. 70 and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), both of which have been used to red-tag, terrorist label, and prosecute Indigenous Peoples under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.

The wrongful conviction of the Talaingod 13, the terrorism financing cases against individuals like Marcylyn Pilala and Alaiza Lemita, and the arbitrary terrorist designation of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance leaders are just some examples of the weaponization of the law.

“The Indigenous Peoples face the same situation of poverty and oppression. From the mountains of Kalinga to the plains of Sultan Kudarat, our communities are being bombed, our youth murdered, and our leaders abducted or jailed. Marcos Jr. must be held accountable,” Longid asserted.

Under Marcos Jr.’s administration, Karapatan reports 129 extrajudicial killings and 15 enforced disappearances—many targeting Indigenous leaders and youth. Military operations masquerading as counterinsurgency claimed the lives like Mangyan-Hanunuo youth Jay-El Maligday and Manobo-Dulangan youth Kuni Cuba. Bontok-Ibaloi-Kankanaey Dexter Capuyan and advocate Bazoo De Jesus remain missing despite families, legal counsel, and human rights defenders’ efforts.

In BARMM, 84 Non-Moro Indigenous Peoples have been killed, including 12 leaders, seven youth, and seven women. Despite the alarming death toll, no perpetrators have been brought to justice. Families of the victims face barriers such as threats to their lives, lack of resources, and distrust in the justice system, which prevent them from filing cases.

To date, there are 109 recorded political prisoners who are Indigenous Peoples and advocates. Under Marcos Jr., at least 22 have been arrested and remain in detention. Among the notable cases are those of Dumagat people Rocky Torres, Avelardo Avellaneda, and Mario Juan. Advocates such as Raymart Moneda, Aldeem Yanez, and Romeo Binayon are among those detained for advancing Indigenous Peoples’ rights. These arrests show the systemic criminalization of Indigenous Peoples and solidarity work under the Marcos Jr. administration.

“Marcos Jr. talks of economic growth, yet this comes at the cost of plundering our ancestral domains. We are not against development. In fact, we call for genuine development. We are against human rights violations and desecration of our ancestral land that comes with their ‘so-called development,” said Longid. 

Behind these violent attacks are large-scale development projects imposed without genuine Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). Marcos Jr. has aggressively pushed mining, renewable energy zones, and forest carbon projects into ancestral lands. This includes the $76.4 million government investment that was channeled into the Australian-owned Makilala Mining Company, set to operate in the Indigenous territory of Kalinga.

In Palawan, the Molbog and Cagayanin communities of Marihangin Island face violent displacement over an eco-tourism project backed by San Miguel Corporation’s Bricktree Properties Inc. Since June 2024, armed forces have harassed residents and demolished homes despite a pending CADT application. Indigenous groups condemn this as land grabbing disguised as “green” development.

Meanwhile, in Mindoro, 29 Iraya Mangyan farmers were arrested in Hacienda Almeda in October 2024, despite Department of Agrarian Reform rulings favoring their claims under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. Backed by state forces, the Almeda family continues to block redistribution through intimidation, evictions, and food blockades.

“We call on the newly elected Congress and Senate to prioritize the Indigenous Peoples’ Agenda. This is not just a policy wish list. It is our urgent and long-standing demand for justice and rights to ancestral land and self-determination,” the co-convenor emphasized.

Key demands in the 1Sambubungan Indigenous Peoples' Agenda include:

• Revoke EO 70 and abolish NTF ELCAC. Implement and support IP-led community development projects and address the root causes of insurgency.

• Assert state accountability and respect for International Humanitarian Law, International Human Rights agreements, and local human rights laws.

• Certify as urgent a bill that criminalizes and penalizes the practice of terrorist labeling and red-tagging of Indigenous Peoples.

• Pass the Human Rights Defenders Bill, which includes the protection of Indigenous Peoples’ rights defenders.

• Enact the People's Mining Bill or the Alternative Minerals Management Bill to replace the flawed  Philippine Mining Act of 1995. 

• Stop the construction of large dams in ancestral lands. Stop the construction of the Kaliwa Dam, Jalaur Dam, and Gened 2 Dam, among others.

• Investigate and review documented violations of Indigenous Peoples’ rights to land, and compel government and transnationals to comply with international humanitarian laws and signed agreements, including rights-based business practices. 

“We demand accountability for every bomb dropped on our ancestral land, every law twisted to silence our voices, and every hectare of our land stolen. The Marcos regime must answer for its violations of Indigenous Peoples’ rights,” the co-convenor concluded. #

Reference:

Beverly Longid

Co-convener

Panaghiusa Philippine Network to Uphold Indigenous Peoples’ Rights