Moro, Indigenous Peoples, and rights groups trooped to the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) General Headquarters on Monday to commemorate Indigenous Peoples and Moro Human Rights Day and protest the escalating militarization and state-sponsored attacks on their communities, now further compounded by systemic corruption.
Beverly Longid, a Bontok-Kankanaey woman and national convener of Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas, lambasted the ballooning AFP budget despite its claims of having achieved the “strategic defeat” of the New People’s Army (NPA).
“Nagyayabang ang AFP na ‘strategic defeat’ na raw ang NPA. Ngunit bakit ang AFP pa rin ang may pinakamalaki at patuloy pang lumolobong budget sa buong gobyerno? Ang totoo: ang AFP, sa laki ng budget nito, ay sandata para supilin ang taumbayan, hindi para protektahan sila,” said Longid. For 2026, the AFP is set to receive ₱282.9 billion, or 95% of the Department of National Defense’s proposed budget.
Longid stressed that AFP deployment is not merely for counterinsurgency but operates as an “investment defense force” guarding destructive, large-scale, and foreign-owned mines, dams, logging operations, and plantations rejected by Indigenous communities. “Saan nakapwesto ang mga militar? Sa mga komunidad naming Moro at Katutubo. Sino ang binobomba? Mga baryo namin at iba pang pamayanang lumalaban. Sino ang pinalalayas? Mga Katutubo, Moro, magsasaka–mga ordinaryong tao.”
She also condemned the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) for enabling land grabbing, facilitating fraudulent FPIC processes, and acting as a machinery of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) in red-tagging Indigenous leaders and defenders instead of upholding its mandate to protect Indigenous rights.
Manobo woman Julieta Gomez of Sandugo – Movement of Moro and Indigenous Peoples for Self-Determination and former political prisoner, decried the funneling of public funds into fascism and corruption through the NTF-ELCAC and its Barangay Development Program (BDP). “Ginagamit ang BDP para sa sapilitan at pekeng pagpasurender sa mga sibilyan, sa pagrekrut ng paramilitar at CAFGU, at sa militarisasyong nagdudulot ng matitinding paglabag sa karapatang pantao sa aming mga komunidad.”
Gomez raised concerns over the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s proposed ₱8.08 billion budget for NTF-ELCAC in 2026 and called for its investigation, citing questionable expenditures such as the hiring of 700 engineers for NTF-ELCAC projects.
Iranun woman activist Amirah Lidasan of the Moro-Christian Peoples Alliance (MCPA) warned against the deepening U.S. military presence through the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), including sites established on Bangsamoro territories. She noted that the nine EDCA sites in the Philippines now constitute the largest network of U.S. military access points in Southeast Asia.
“Ang EDCA ay tahasang pagpapahintulot ng administrasyong Marcos sa dayuhang puwersang militar na gamiting lunsaran ang lupain ng Bangsamoro para sa interes ng Estados Unidos. Habang sinasabi nilang pinipigilan nila ang insurgency at terorismo, inuuna naman nila ang pagbubukas ng aming lupain sa dayuhang kontrol,” said Lidasan.
The growing military budget, the groups stressed, has directly translated into intensified human rights violations.
Chuwaley Capuyan of TAKDER, a Bontok-Ibaloi-Kankanaey woman and daughter of desaparecido Dexter Capuyan, highlighted the alarming rise in abductions, enforced disappearances, killings, and illegal arrests of Indigenous Peoples and advocates under the Marcos–Duterte administration.
“Ang ganitong mga atake ay nagiging mekanismo para pigilan ang pang-oorganisa sa komunidad at pahinain ang pakikibaka para sa sariling pagpapasya. Dugo ang nasa kamay ng estadong nagpapanatili ng kawalang pananagutan,” said Capuyan, citing the killings of Indigenous youth Jay-el Maligday, Kuni Cuba, and Elioterio Ugking, whose deaths were justified by branding them as “armed rebels.”
Mangyan-Iraya Sonny Sinigmayon of Sitio Malatabako, Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro, shared how Pieceland Corporation has forcibly occupied their ancestral lands, subjecting communities to harassment, displacement, and persistent threats. He emphasized that corporate intrusion has made daily life unsafe and undermined their struggle to protect their territory. “Araw-araw kaming nabubuhay sa takot dahil sa presensya ng private goons at maging ng kapulisan at militar habang pilit kaming pinalalayas sa aming sariling lupang ninuno.”
Meanwhile, Ryan Serquina of Kabataan para sa Tribung Pilipino condemned red-tagging and terror-tagging as deliberate state tactics to silence and intimidate the youth. “Sinasabi nila, bine-brainwash kami ng mga progresibong organisasyon. Pero kung harap-harapang ninanakawan ng gobyerno ang ating kinabukasan, kabuhayan, at karapatan, hindi ba tayo magagalit?”
Balangao woman Kim Falyao of the Bai Indigenous Women’s Network slammed the Marcos-Duterte administration for using repressive policies against the people while diverting billions away from essential social services needed by Indigenous and Moro communities.
“Walang magpapasko nang busog kundi ang mga kurap na kontraktor, kongresista, senador, at sina Bongbong Marcos at Sara Duterte mismo! Tayo na nga ang ninakawan, tayo pa ang ginagawang kriminal,” said Falyao. She also noted the striking disparity in government priorities: while only ₱500 is allotted for a family’s Noche Buena, the NTF-ELCAC allocates ₱60,000 for every forced and fake surrender.
Falyao closed the action with a call for accountability. “Hindi natin hihintayin ang eleksyong 2028. Ngayon pa lang ay kumikilos na tayo upang panagutin ang gobyerno at ang mga ahensya nito tulad ng AFP. Kailangan nang patalsikin ang mga hari at reyna ng korap, na walang iba kundi sina Marcos at Duterte! Dahil walang ibang pinagmumulan ang lahat ng ito kundi ang kanilang pamumuno.”
The groups emphasized that their mobilization is also held in honor of Dumagat leader Nicanor “Ka Kano” delos Santos, who staunchly defended the Sierra Madre against destructive dam projects and was assassinated in 2001 under former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. #
