Remembering Victims of Fascism and Defenders of Human Rights in the Philippines
August is International Humanitarian Law Month
Since the start of Rodrigo Duterte’s presidential term in 2016 and his so-called “war on drugs”, blatant unmasked fascism has been the norm for the Filipino people.
This fascism is aided by the policies he put in place like instituting the NTF-ELCAC, an agency that has garnered international outrage for baselessly red-tagging human rights defenders, community organizers, and activists and the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 2020, which erodes legal protections for the Filipino People. Duterte’s barbarous policies extend into the present day under Marcos Jr.’s administration.
Duterte’s whole-of-nation approach that was modeled after U.S. counter-insurgency efforts in its wars in the Middle East, has been rebranded by Marcos Jr. as the ‘National Plan for Unity, Peace, and Development’ (NAP-UPD) which is still being spearheaded by the NTF-ELCAC. This rebrand aims to hide the de facto martial law that Marcos Jr. has instituted in the countryside, and the ATA and Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act (TFPSA) are used to suppress the progressive movements.
August is an especially bloody month for the fascists to bear their fangs. Malaya USA remembers the victims of fascism and extrajudicial killings (EJK) many of whom were defenders of human rights in the Philippines and others, simple citizens who were betrayed by their government. We commit ourselves to the anti-fascist fight and carry on their struggle.
2017
On August 16, 2017, 32 coordinated police operations in Bulacan resulted in the heartless extrajudicial killing of 32 drug suspects
On August 16, 2017, in Caloocan City, unarmed 17 year-old Kian delos Santos was shot by the Caloocan Police Department which claimed he attempted to shoot at police officers or ‘nanlaban’. Autopsy reports found that he was shot while he was lying on the ground face down and CCTV footage found that he had no firearms. His death galvanized the youth to fight against the brutality and deceit of the national police force. Two days after Kian was murdered, the body of 19 year-old Carl Arnaiz was found in a morgue after a falsified shootout with the police and 14 year-old Reynaldo de Guzman was found floating in a creek with multiple stab wounds.
2019
On August 6, Brandon Lee, an American citizen volunteering as a paralegal and human rights officer with Cordillera Human Rights Alliance and the Ifugao Peasant Movement was shot 4 times by the Armed Forces of the Philippines for his advocacy work and fighting for the rights of indigenous peoples. He has returned to San Francisco and has continued his activism and organizing work fighting for human rights in the Philippines here in the U.S. His case remains uninvestigated and has been archived by the Philippine Commission on Human Rights (CHR)
On August 9, 11, and 23 respectively, Alex Lacay, Jeffrey Bayot and Bai Leah Tumbalang, members of KASILO, a Lumad organization advocating for the protection of ancestral lands and fought against the plunder of agricultural businesses were murdered by state forces.
2020
On August 10, Ka Randy Echanis, 72 year old peace consultant, former political prisoner, and activist who advocated for agrarian reform was murdered by state forces in his home. He had sustained head injuries and forty stab wounds, bearing the brutality of Philippine State Forces. In his youth he had fought against injustice and inequality and was subsequently imprisoned by the Marcos Sr. administration. His daughter, Amanda Echanis was later arrested by the PNP on trumped up charges and planted evidence in that same year. His neighbor, Louie Tagapia was also murdered when he went to check on Ka Randy.
On August 17, Zara Alvarez was brutally murdered in Bacolod City after years of red-tagging and state harassment. She was a teacher, health worker, and one of the staunchest human rights defender in Negros, a major hub of state repression. Her death followed the implementation of MO32, a memorandum during the Duterte Administration that deployed more troops to Negros and Eastern Visayas which served as the vehicle for fascism in the region.
2021
On August 12, in Bukidnon, Veneranda Guinanao, the wife of Ricardo Guinanao, a peasant organizer was shot dead after asking plainclothes officers for a warrant to enter her home. Her husband and son were also wounded.
On August 21, in Misamis Oriental, Gerald Ral, a peasant organizer was shot dead by unidentified gunmen while transporting bananas after months of red-tagging and state harassment by the AFP
On August 20, in Negros, Kerima ‘Ka Ella’ Tariman, a peasant organizer, poet, cultural worker, former political prisoner, and revolutionary died in a gunfight with the AFP. Her poetry collection, Pagaaral sa Oras: Mga Lumang Tula Tenggol sa Bago was lauded as one of the best books in 2017. Her husband, revolutionary poet Ericson Acosta was also later killed in Negros on November 2022. Their deaths are direct results of Duterte’s fascist MO32.
2022
On August 22, 2022 Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, negotiators working on the peace talks between the National Democratic Front and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines were tortured and killed by state forces in Samar in clear violation of International Humanitarian Law. They were killed alongside eight other companions, their bodies were loaded on a motorboat filled with explosives and detonated in the Visayan Sea in an effort to conceal the reported torture marks on their bodies.
2023
On August 19, 2023, in San Jacinto, Masbate, women farmers Jelyn Guis Dejomo, Sheryl Salazar Demojo, and Divina Ajitan were killed by the AFP and the Masbate PNP who falsely claimed they were members of the NPA killed during an armed encounter. They had been harassed by state forces prior to their deaths.
2024
On August 16th, 73 year old peace consultant, Concha Araneta-Bocala was killed by state forces in Iloilo, another violation of IHL. Her body was in an advanced state of decomposition when released by the military. Her family had to demand for DNA testing as her body was unidentifiable
2025
This August, the Marcos regime deceptively hosted the Asia Pacific Regional Conference on International Humanitarian Law. This is an affront to all the lives stolen by Marcos and his fascist war criminals in the AFP and the NTF-ELCAC.
We join human rights advocates and people’s organizations in calling for an end to BBM’s de facto martial law in the countryside that’s terrorizing millions of civilians. End the militarization of Mindoro and all rural areas.
Duterte’s hand is clearly bloodied from his countless victims. We remain vigilant and cautiously optimistic that the trial at the ICC will pave the way to more government accountability and cascade justice to the thousands of human rights victims for the victims. Duterte panagutin! Hold Duterte accountable for his crimes against humanity.
