Stop the plunder of our lands and territories! End militarization of our communities! Uphold Indigenous Peoples’ Rights!
- Katribu Nasyunal
- 24 hours ago
- 4 min read
December 10, 2025 - On International Human Rights Day, Indigenous and Moro Peoples join the Filipino people in exposing and confronting the worsening human rights violations and corruption under the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte administration. Indigenous territories face intensified plunder, state violence, and militarized repression disguised as “development.”
Across the archipelago–from the Cordillera and Southern Tagalog in Luzon, to Panay and Negros in the Visayas, and to Mindanao–large dams, energy projects, mining operations, and plantations continue to encroach on Indigenous lands. Fraudulent free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) processes, counterinsurgency-linked “development” programs, and the deployment of military battalions enable corporations to seize land while criminalizing community resistance.
In the Cordillera, communities remain targets of corporate greed and militarization, from destructive dams and mining projects to the harassment of Indigenous women leaders Betty Belen and Elma Awingan-Tuazon. Leaders of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance still remain designated as “terrorists,” part of the state’s systematic attempt to delegitimize Indigenous resistance.
In Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro, the Mangyan-Iraya continue to resist land-grabbing by Pieceland Corporation. The company has filed civil and criminal charges against Indigenous residents while military and company security conduct harassment and intimidation. Since October 2024, local authorities and security forces have restricted the entry of food and supplies, weaponizing hunger to forcibly displace the community.
In Sitio Marihangin, Bugsuk, Balabac, Palawan, the Molbog face continuous harassment from claimants of their ancestral land, where the San Miguel Corporation-subsidiary Bricktree Properties plan to build an eco-tourism project. On December 9, 2025, nearly 300 community members received court summons after nine individuals claimed ownership of their land. Some summons were even issued to children and deceased residents, highlighting the absurdity and injustice of these land-grabbing schemes.
In Panay, Tumandok communities continue to defend their land from the destructive Jalaur Mega-Dam project. The Jalaur River for the Peoples Movement reports that at least 500 hectares of ancestral land have already been occupied, displacing Tumandok families and destroying livelihoods. On December 30, 2020, nine Tumandok leaders were massacred in a police-military operation for their opposition to the project.
In Negros, Indigenous farmers face displacement due to the corporate expansion of the Consunji-owned Hacienda Asia Plantation Inc. (HAPI). HAPI continued operations despite failing to secure FPIC, relying on the presence of military, paramilitary, and armed guards to surveil and harass farmers.
In South Cotabato, opposition to the open-pit Tampakan mining project continues. B’laan communities, farmers, and church leaders have filed petitions against the extension of the Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) of Tampakan-operator Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI), whose operations threaten vast swaths of ancestral lands.
Militarization has escalated dramatically under Marcos Jr. No less than 10 incidents of bombings on ancestral lands have been recorded, putting Indigenous communities in constant danger. Extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and illegal arrests continue with impunity. Until today, we search for Indigenous rights defenders Dexter Capuyan, Bazoo de Jesus, Felix Salaveria Jr., and all other desaparecidos.
We likewise demand the immediate release of all political prisoners, including 108 Indigenous Peoples and advocates, 21 of whom were detained under Marcos Jr. We call to free Dumagat political prisoners Rocky Torres and Dandoy Avellaneda, and advocates Emilio Gabales III and Aldeem Yañez, among others who face trumped-up charges.
These abuses are enabled and legitimized by state institutions. The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), now 28 years in operation, remains complicit in enabling plunder, consistently siding with corporations and state forces instead of fulfilling its mandate to protect Indigenous rights. As part of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), the NCIP also plays a direct role in Indigenous rights violations, especially through the facilitation of fraudulent FPIC and the targeting of Indigenous leaders through forced and fake surrenders.
Additionally, the NTF-ELCAC and its deceptive Barangay Development Program funnel billions into militarization, psywar operations, surveillance, and displacement, funds that should have gone to social services and genuine community development.
Marcos Jr. further deepens this crisis through lopsided agreements that endanger Indigenous communities and the Filipino people. From unfair U.S. tariff agreements that undermine local producers to a U.S. ammunition depot in Subic and EDCA sites strategically placed across Indigenous and Moro territories, the administration drags the country into geopolitical conflict while expanding militarized zones on ancestral lands.
As the Marcos-Duterte administration deepens corruption and strengthens military operations, Indigenous and Moro communities bear the brunt of these attacks. But they continue to stand firm in defense of land, life, and self-determination.
Katribu urges the Philippine government to respect and uphold its obligations under domestic and international laws, including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and other human rights conventions it has committed to. These violations of Indigenous Peoples’ rights are clear violations of the government’s human rights obligations and breach international humanitarian law.
On International Human Rights Day, the people’s demands are unequivocal: end militarization and bombings of communities, stop red-tagging and terror-labeling of Indigenous Peoples; stop the plunder of ancestral lands and territories; free all political prisoners; abolish the NCIP and NTF-ELCAC; and hold Marcos and Duterte fully accountable for corruption and state fascism.
Today, Indigenous and Moro Peoples rise to defend their communities: united in struggle, unyielding in resistance, and determined to end this regime of plunder and terror.
MARCOS-DUTERTE, PATALSIKIN! KORAP AT PAHIRAP SA MORO AT KATUTUBO!
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Reference:
Beverly Longid
National Convener
Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas
Katribu Public Information Desk
+63 969 024 4465