Press Release
Iloilo City – Amnesty International Philippines said that it sees no meaningful progress in the government’s effort to address the human rights situation in the Visayas despite rising protest actions across regions. Launching its State of the World Human Rights Report 2025/26 in Iloilo City during the Visayas leg, Amnesty International Philippines reports locally on armed conflict, political repression, attacks on press freedom, displacement, and corruption under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“What we are witnessing is the normalization of violence and impunity. Communities are displaced, human rights defenders are threatened, and ordinary Filipinos lose their homes and livelihoods, but accountability remains absent,” said Ritz Lee Santos, III, Section Director of Amnesty International Philippines.
The organization reported on the continuing militarization in the Visayas explaining how armed encounters rarely occur in a vacuum. It also reiterated its concerns over the initial investigations of the Toboso massacre and emphasized how the same vulnerable groups endure the consequences of the armed conflicts.
“For decades, communities in Negros have lived under intense counter-insurgency operations. Various areas have been treated as hot spots for rebel encampments, making lives of farmers and sugarcane laborers particularly difficult as they endure constant surveillance and harassment both by state and non-state actors. The consequences of armed conflicts remain devastating, where civilian deaths, displacement, and violations of international humanitarian law relentlessly occur,” Santos explained.
For decades, communities in Negros have lived under intense counter-insurgency operations. Various areas have been treated as hot spots for rebel encampments, making lives of farmers and sugarcane laborers particularly difficult as they endure constant surveillance and harassment both by state and non-state actors. The consequences of armed conflicts remain devastating, where civilian deaths, displacement, and violations of international humanitarian law relentlessly occur.
Ritz Lee Santos, III, Section Director of Amnesty International Philippines
Amnesty International Philippines stressed that it is the poor and marginalized rural communities who continue to bear the heaviest burden during armed encounters. It also warned about how the deepening impasse on peace negotiations could worsen red-tagging, enforced disappearances, political killings, and attacks on civilians.
“Militarization has become the government’s go-to response to dissent, instead of addressing the root causes of protests. The government ignores the fact that peoples’ resistance comes from their suffering while enduring poverty and inequality. Amnesty International Philippines calls on DND Secretary Gilbert Teodoro to revisit the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) which established protections and principles for peace talks nearly three decades ago between the government and CPP-NPA. All parties must recommit to respecting the IHL and protecting civilians. Peace can never be achieved through violence and fear,” added Santos.
Santos also expressed concern over statements made by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) commending civilian cooperation during a recent military operation which was followed by another armed encounter in Negros Occidental over the weekend.
“When civilians are publicly framed as military assets, they are placed at greater risks. It blurs the distinction between combatants and civilians and perpetuates a cycle of violence instead of creating conditions for peace-building,” Santos stressed.
When civilians are publicly framed as military assets, they are placed at greater risks. It blurs the distinction between combatants and civilians and perpetuates a cycle of violence instead of creating conditions for peace-building.
Beyond armed conflicts, Amnesty also noted a pattern of intimidation and attacks against human rights defenders (HRDs), development workers, lawyers, environmental activists, and community organizers across Negros and Panay. Santos said various reports show that wherever communities resist human rights violations, red-tagging follows as a deliberate strategy to silence dissent.
“Red-tagging creates a condition where threats, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and killings of activists are normalized. It places lives in danger long before any trumped-up charges or armed encounter happens. HRDs are being punished simply for helping communities assert their rights,” Santos said.
Amnesty International also cited the conviction of Frenchie Mae Cumpio as one of the clearest examples of how impunity is being weaponized against the press. The misuse of counterterrorism laws and red-tagging continues under Marcos Jr.’s administration despite national and international pressure to end the practice. The organization also released an urgent action for Tacloban 5, calling for an end to their persecution and for their immediate and unconditional release.
“When journalism and human rights work become grounds for retaliation, it reveals how far the culture of impunity has spread, and it also becomes a warning to any individual critical of the government. By institutionalizing repression into laws, the government creates the illusion that it legitimately protects public interests, when in truth, the roots of people’s suffering remain unaddressed,” Santos lamented.
Amnesty International also condemned the travel ban imposed by the Bureau of Immigration against its own Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, as a result of her previous work as UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings. Despite recent appeal, and two administrations since former President Rodrigo Duterte publicly attached Callamard, the ban has not been lifted. The continued targeting of HRDs, development workers and activists reflects broader state neglect toward communities already struggling with displacement, poverty and economic insecurity.
“We find it deplorable that President Marcos Jr. continues to turn a blind eye on the worsening situation of HRDs, especially when most of what his government neglects to provide in terms of service is provided for by local and international NGOs. 700 families facing demolition and 16,000 vendors and workers on the verge of losing their livelihood at Cebu’s Carbon market turn to community organizers to resist displacement. Iloilo fisherfolks who marched for 40 kilometers in protest of a court ruling affecting municipal fishing waters rely on NGOs for support. The Ati people of Boracay, driven away from their ancestral lands in favor of big business interests, are assisted by development workers to claim their rights. The proliferation of these issues comes from the systematic abandonment of the rights of the poorest and most vulnerable,” Santos reiterated.
Amnesty also pointed out that state neglect becomes even more evident during disasters and climate crisis especially amid controversies surrounding anomalous flood-control projects in typhoon-affected areas in the regions, and the failures of both the national and local governments in the Visayas to shield poor households from economic shock.
“Impunity and corruption are not abstract issues. They determine whether families can eat, children can go to school, or communities survive disasters. Corruption is a product of lack of accountability, and so are crimes against humanity. And both are products of the same culture of impunity that perpetuate at the national and local levels. Human rights cannot survive where fear, corruption, and impunity are allowed to flourish. This government must decide now whether it will continue to protect power and privilege or finally uphold the rights of every Filipino.” Santos concluded.