Surface Two Youth Activists Abducted In Cagayan Valley

September 15, 2024

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) calls for the surfacing of Andy Magno and Vladimir Maro who were abducted by suspected state forces in San Pablo, Isabela in the Cagayan Valley Region on September 11, 2024.

Magno and Maro are both youth activists turned peasant organizers. Magno is a graduate of the Development Studies program in the University of the Philippines - Manila, a former chairperson of the youth environment organization, Minggan UP Manila, and the former coordinator for Kabataan Partylist - Cagayan Valley. Maro is an advocate for migrant workers’ rights.

ICHRP is alarmed by the recent spate of enforced disappearances under the Marcos Jr. government. In the month of August alone, environmental activist Rowena Dasig was abducted in Quezon Province, while James Jazmines and Felix Salaveria were abducted in Albay Province in separate incidents.

The rise in abductions and other human rights (HR) and international humanitarian law (IHL) violations including red-tagging, enforced disappearances, harassment, intimidation, forced surrenders, and even hamletting, strafing, and aerial bombing in the countryside point to the intensified US-backed counterinsurgency operation of the Philippine government.

The latest annual joint military exercise dubbed Balikatan (shoulder to shoulder) that ended in May 10, 2024, also took place in Cagayan Valley Region where the recent abduction incident happened. The United States reportedly sent 11,000 American troops and also deployed its Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) guided missiles. The Balikatan exercise also involved Australia and France and several countries joined as observers. France also deployed a warship.

Of the four (4) new military bases of the US in the Philippines, three (3) are located in the Cagayan Valley Region and one (1) of the three (3) is in Isabela province where Magno and Maro were abducted.

ICHRP calls on the international community to amplify the calls to surface the increasing number of activists abducted in the Philippines, and for the Marcos Jr. government to be held accountable for its continuing HR and IHL violations against the Filipino people.

We also call on the freedom-loving people of the world to call on your governments to stop supporting the Philippine government to further commit brazen HR and IHL violations against the struggling Filipino people who are exercising their right to self-determination in seeking a just and lasting peace.

Stop Enforced Disappearances! Surface all Desaparecidos!

Uphold Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law!

Support the Filipino People’s Right to Self-Determination!

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