The Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL) has denounced the Marcos Jr. administration for failing to rein in the police and military in harassing indigenous communities in Cagayan Valley, with IPMSDL leader Beverly Longid exposing that no less than four IP leaders have been red-tagged since May 2024 and threatened with arrest.
“IPMSDL condemns the continuing harassment and red-tagging of Mafel Macalanda, regional coordinator of Punganay – Indigenous Peoples Organization in Cagayan Valley, and IP leader Lina Ladino along with their families and friends, by government agents,” Longid disclosed on July 12, 2024.
Members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) warned Macalanda of her purported criminal cases in the first week of July, and accused her of having close links with the New People’s Army (NPA), which have been battling the military in Cagayan and Isabela provinces. Macalanda’s relatives said the frequent threats of Mafel’s arrest, prosecution and incarceration have made them uneasy, noting that both the PNP and the Philippine Army (PA) are notorious for fabricating evidence and filing criminal complaints against their targets.
Aside from Macalanda and Ladino, the PNP and the military have also threatened to arrest Agnes Mesina of Koalisyong Makabayan and James Paredes of Kabataan Party-list – Cagayan Valley, both of whom have been helping IP groups in the region.
On May 20, intelligence operatives of the 5th Infantry Division (5th ID) barged into the home of Lina Ladino and tried to convince her to cooperate with them, offering her with money in exchange for information leading to the arrest of activists and IP leaders in Cagayan Valley. Since 2020, the police and the 5th Infantry Division had been harassing Ladino to “surrender.”
Macalanda has worked closely with IPMSDL as an advisory council member of the Asia Young Indigenous Peoples Network (AYIPN) and committed to promote solidarity between the IP of Cagayan Valley and the global IP network. On the other hand, Ladino is a staunch defender of human rights and has participated in activities co-organized by IPMSDL under the Ground Zero Alliance (then known as Silenced Suffering) and has bravely reported and condemned incidents of aerial bombardments in the region.
“Lina and Mafel as anti-imperialists, have also strongly opposed the construction of US military bases in Isabela, deceitfully being pushed by the US government through the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA),” Longid stressed. “These attacks against Mafel and Lina are just a few of the many cases of continuing persecution of IP leaders and human rights workers by government forces. In many parts of the globe judicial harassment and political persecution have been weaponized against dissenters, with ruling tyrants hoping to silence activists and leaders and bar them from carrying on their work,” she added.
Longid also condemned foreign meddling in the region, blasting the US for backing counter-insurgency and “anti-terror” campaigns in Cagayan Valley. “It is not only happening in the Philippines but in other parts of the world as well, where Indigenous Peoples are organizing themselves into movements that defy oppressive and exploitative systems. IP, peasants, and workers are conveniently branded as ‘terrorists’ and ‘enemies of the State’ and thus used to justify trumped-up charges, harassment, bombings, and killings,” she concluded.
