The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is on a renewed rampage of arresting activists and civilians from Southern Tagalog and accusing them of being members of the New People’s Army (NPA).

Peasant and women’s rights activist Fatima Banjawan, a member of Gabriela-Southern Tagalog, was arrested early morning of August 2, 2024 in Purok 5, Barangay Bulala, Sta. Elena, Camarines Norte by elements of the 85th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (IBPA).

In an interview with a humanitarian team that visited her, Banjawan recounted that the arresting team repeatedly interrogated her, threatened to kill her and subjected her to mental and physical torture. She added that she was not allowed to contact her family for two days, made to undergo a medical checkup and given a public attorney without her consent. Prior to her inquest, she was brought to a grassy area where firearms and explosives were laid out, with the soldiers falsely claiming that they were hers. She said her military captors kept on telling her that she should surrender since she is a member of the New People’s Army (NPA), an accusation she has consistently denied. She is currently detained at the Sta. Elena Municipal Police Station.

In Oriental Mindoro, a farmer couple, Marlon and Maribeth Estrella, were arrested on June 18, 2024 in Barangay San Mariano, Roxas town. The Estrellas were charged with violating the Terrorist Financing Prevention and Suppression Act and are currently detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) facility in Bansud town.

On July 11, 2024, Mangyan sitio leader G. Itaw Ramunyan was arrested in Sitio Lucban, Barangay Panaytayan, Mansalay town and charged with violating the Anti-Terrorism Act after the military falsely accused him of involvement in an encounter in the area earlier that day.

On July 13, 2024, four individuals consisting of civilians Tiven Lig On Malan and Endelyn Banay Malan, both members of the Mangyan-Hanunuo tribe and their two passengers Alvin Henry de Jesus and Mary Anna San Pedro were stopped at a checkpoint and accused by soldiers of being members of the NPA. They have been slapped with trumped-up charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives based on planted evidence and are currently detained at the BJMP facility in Roxas town.

In Rizal, military forces from the 80th IBPA illegally arrested peasant organizer Laila Ramos, a member of the Dumagat-Remontado tribe active in the movement opposing the construction of the Kaliwa-Kanan Dam. Ramos was arrested on July 18, 2024 after a supposed encounter that occurred at around 10 p.m. in Sitio Marang, Barangay Burgos, Rodriguez town. The military alleged that an NPA member was killed and two women guerrillas were captured in the said encounter. Ramos, however, denied involvement in any encounter and added that she was arrested alone and does not know the other woman being presented as her alleged companion. Ramos is currently detained at the Rodriguez Municipal Station of the Philippine National Police.

The Marcos Jr. regime must stop targeting civilians in its mad rush to meet its deadline of crushing the insurgency by the end of 2024. Targeting non-combatants in the course of a brutal counter-insurgency drive is an act of desperation and a gross violation of international humanitarian law.