Respect Human Dignity: KATRIBU demands AFP release the remains of NPA fighters killed in Abra encounter

KATRIBU calls on the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to immediately and unconditionally release the remains of the three slain alleged members of the New People's Army (NPA) to their families, relatives, community members, and humanitarian groups assisting in the retrieval and burial of their bodies. Performing these humanitarian tasks should be free from harassment, intimidation, surveillance, red-tagging, or any form of reprisals. According to reports, the three were killed in a reported encounter between the NPA and the 5th Infantry Division of the AFP on August 4, 2026, in Licuan-Baay in Abra.

We call on the military and police to strictly observe International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and its obligations under international human rights standards. The dead must be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their affiliation. Their remains must never be desecrated, used for propaganda, publicly displayed in a manner that degrades their dignity, or withheld from their loved ones. Families have the right to recover and bury their dead according to their cultural traditions and beliefs.

For Indigenous Peoples, honoring the dead is not merely a humanitarian obligation but a sacred cultural responsibility deeply rooted in our traditions and collective identity. Respect for the dead is inseparable from respect for Indigenous culture, dignity, and human rights.

This incident also underscores the urgent need to end the militarization of Indigenous communities and ancestral lands through the immediate pullout of military troops and the dismantling of military encampments in civilian communities. Prolonged military deployments, combat operations, and counterinsurgency activities in Indigenous territories have repeatedly resulted in fear, forced displacement, restrictions on livelihoods, red-tagging, harassment, and other human rights violations against Indigenous Peoples. Far from bringing peace, militarization has intensified insecurity while paving the way for the entry of large-scale mining, dams, plantations, energy projects, and other destructive ventures that threaten Indigenous communities and their ancestral domains.

To address the root causes of these recurring violations, we call for the resumption of peace talks between the Government of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), including the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People's Army (NPA), to tackle the longstanding economic, political, and socio-cultural roots of the armed conflict and achieve a just and lasting political settlement. A genuine peace process that upholds human rights, respects Indigenous Peoples' rights to their ancestral lands and self-determination, and addresses the structural causes of conflict is essential to ending the cycle of violence and ensuring that Indigenous communities can live in peace, security, and dignity.

We reiterate our demands for the immediate and unconditional release of the remains of those killed to their families; the pullout of military troops, detachments, and combat operations from Indigenous communities and ancestral lands; an end to counterinsurgency programs that target Indigenous civilians and organizations; and accountability for all violations of International Humanitarian Law and the collective rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Reference:

Beverly Longid

National Convener

KATRIBU Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas