Urgent Alert: NDFP Consultant Kennedy Bangibang and 9 Others Arrested on Fabricated Charges; Jess Gamay and companion still missing

Katribu expresses grave concern over the arrest of Kennedy Bangibang, a peace consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) for the Cordillera, along with nine (9) other individuals, according to reports received by the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance. Bangibang is an Indigenous person from the Taluktok tribe of Tanudan, Kalinga, and a 63-year-old senior, making his arrest, detention, and the reported abuse against him even more alarming and raising serious humanitarian concerns over his safety and well-being while in state custody.

As a peace consultant of the NDFP, Bangibang is covered by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the NDFP. Under this agreement, state authorities are bound to respect his safety and immunity. Bangibang must therefore be accorded the rights and protections guaranteed to persons covered by JASIG.

Reports indicate that Bangibang was brought to and is currently detained in Tabuk City. He and six others who were arrested in Tarlac City were reportedly subjected to physical and verbal abuse by arresting officers. They were struck at the back of their heads, beaten in the face and stomach, and forced to lie on the ground during the operation. They are now facing trumped-up charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

Katribu strongly condemns the arrest of these ten individuals. Among them, Jess Gamay and his companion, remain missing until now and have no pending criminal cases, raising serious concerns of enforced disappearance. All of them arrested are unarmed civilians and non-combatants. Authorities must respect the rights and protections guaranteed under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL). This is especially urgent as March 16 marks the anniversary of the signing of CARHRIHL, a landmark agreement meant to uphold the human rights of civilians and non-combatants amid the armed conflict. Violations such as warrantless arrests, torture, enforced disappearance, and fabricated charges run directly contrary to the commitments made under this agreement.

These arrests and the filing of fabricated charges expose the worsening climate of tyranny, repression, and impunity under the Marcos Jr. regime, continuing the same pattern of repression seen under the previous administration of Rodrigo Duterte. Marcos Jr. must be directly held accountable as well for violations to the JASIG and CARHRIHL, and must be condemned for stalling the peace talks and implementing the National Action Plan for Unity, Peace, and Development (NAP-UPD) which undermines the peace processes and ignores the roots of armed conflict.

We call for the immediate release of Kennedy Bangibang and those others arrested, and for the authorities to surface the two individuals who remain missing. State forces must be held accountable for these violations and must immediately cease the harassment and persecution of those working for genuine peace and justice.