The Bigkis at Lakas ng mga Katutubo sa Timog Katagalugan (BALATIK or Unity and Strength of Southern Tagalog Indigenous People) strongly condemned the military and police for harassing and intimidating Dumagat communities in Tanay, Rizal, and Mangyan-Iraya communities in Abra de Ilog, Mindoro during the International Solidarity Mission (ISM) led by Peoples Rising for Climate Justice. The activity aimed to investigate and stand in solidarity with communities experiencing oppression, land grabbing, corruption, and militarization.
On the activity’s first day on October 11, AFP and PNP agents immediately harassed the delegates. In Occidental Mindoro, local agencies repeatedly subjected delegates to fabricated processes in attempts to prevent them from pursuing their planned activities.
On October 12 in Tanay, Rizal, 80th IB elements harassed the delegates. They coerced the delegates to give their names. Six soldiers were also seen patrolling around their lodging that night. The group had planned to launch a community kitchen for the indigenous people but the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples forbade it.
According to the group, suppressing activities that seek to expose the real state of human rights in the region is not new in Southern Tagalog. A de facto martial law prevails in the area, worsening the human rights crisis in the country.
Southern Tagalog is considered the most militarized area in Luzon. There has been proven direct correlation between militarization and the presence of foreign-backed and environmentally destructive projects forcibly built on ancestral lands to suppress indigenous opposition.
In Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro, Pieceland Corporation charged 32 indigenous persons with fabricated cases such as malicious mischief, trespassing, and usurpation or occupation of real rights and properties to force them out of their ancestral lands. The company has fenced and imposed hamletting or a food blockade on the Malatabako community for over a year.
In Tanay, Rizal, the military relentlessly threatens and harasses the Dela Cruz family for filing charges against the 80th IB who willfully killed Randy and Puroy Dela Cruz in 2021, known as the Bloody Sunday Massacre.
Soldiers continue to harass the community, affecting the residents’ livelihoods and starving the people.
“We call for strong and solid support from various sectors and allies in continuously exposing these issues and for standing with us against plunder and militarization in our communities!” the group declared.
