Stop the harassment of Dumagat political prisoner Mario Juan, and junk all trumped-up charges against him! Sabukan on all Indigenous Peoples political prisoners!

KATRIBU condemns the harassment and intimidation against Dumagat political detainee Mario Juan, who is currently detained at the Aurora Provincial Jail. Mario Juan is a senior citizen and a Dumagat Alta of Maria Aurora, Aurora. The harassment was carried out by elements of the 91st Infantry Battalion (IB), accompanied by so-called “rebel returnees” pressuring him into revealing alleged firearms supposedly hidden in Brgy. Malakawayan, Dingalan, Aurora. He was also coerced into “surrendering” in exchange for military aid and assistance. On May 20, 2026,  these military elements repeatedly entered and exited the jail premises, interrogating Mario about the identities of those visiting and supporting him. They did so without logging their names in the precinct logbook, blatantly disregarding jail security protocols and procedure

The series of harassment intensified after RTC Branch 91 dismissed the two counts of murder and multiple frustrated murder charges against Mario on April 30, 2026. Despite the dismissal of these fabricated charges, Mario remains detained due to another remaining trumped-up case of murder and frustrated murder. The 91st IB’s acts constitute clear harassment, intimidation, and vilification against a political detainee.

This harassment of Mario is highly concerning given his involvement in defending Indigenous Peoples’ rights through the Samahan ng mga Katutubo sa Sierra Madre (SKSM), where he became active in 2007. Prior to its inactivity due to intensified state attacks against Indigenous organizations and communities resisting destructive projects, SKSM actively resisted destructive projects and land grabs in the Sierra Madre, including the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (APECO), which threaten the ancestral lands, livelihoods, and collective rights of the Dumagat people.

The filing of fabricated charges against Mario Juan and his unjust detention since October 21, 2024 reflects the state’s continuing use of trumped-up cases to silence Indigenous leaders and weaken legitimate struggles for ancestral land, self-determination, and human rights. Marcos Jr. strengthens the vilification, criminalization, militarization, and repression faced by Indigenous Peoples’ rights defenders across the country through the National Action Plan for Unity, Peace and Development (NAP-UPD). He refuses to address the root causes of armed conflict, such as landlessness, poverty, historical injustice, and the systematic dispossession of Indigenous Peoples from their ancestral lands. Instead of resolving these conditions, Marcos Jr. chooses to empower the NTF-ELCAC and the military who commit grave human rights and International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations against communities asserting their collective rights and defending their lands from destructive projects.

KATRIBU calls for the immediate cessation of harassment and intimidation against Mario Juan and the full respect for his rights as a political detainee. We demand the junking of all fabricated charges against him and his immediate release. We likewise call on accountability from Marcos Jr. as chief executive of the government and all its institutions.

Sabukan on all Moro and Indigenous Peoples political prisoners!

Reference: Funa-ay Claver, Sec-Gen