Groups urge humanitarian aid access to Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro

Humanitarian groups on Monday called for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro, which they described as a “militarized island.”

Led by the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) and People Rising for Climate Justice (PRCJ), the groups condemned the Philippine government and corporations, accusing them of attacking the Mangyan Indigenous people.

In a statement, the ICHRP said three Mangyan-Iraya children were killed during an aerial bombing, allegedly by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, in Barangay Cabacao on January 1, while displacing “hundreds” of farmers and Indigenous Peoples.

ICHRP-US member Damien Connor said only groups affiliated with the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the military are allowed to conduct investigations.

“Despite attempts by humanitarian groups to conduct independent fact-finding missions to investigate the many reported violations of human rights and international humanitarian law after the most recent bombings, the only groups that have been allowed into the most impacted areas are affiliated with NTF-ELCAC and military,” Connor said during a press conference.

The groups also called for an end to the alleged military siege on Abra de Ilog and multiple development projects supposedly linked to increased militarization.

Sought for comment, the military said civil society members who conduct investigations went through proper channels, while humanitarian activities are also conducted by local government units. 

“It is important to take note that the Civil Society members who conducted fact-finding mission have undergone the proper channels, among them asking permission from local chief executives particularly the Mayor, Barangay Chairman and Sitio Leaders. Relatedly, information gathered from the ground stated that humanitarian activities in the area was conducted also by the local government unit,” Colonel Michael Aquino, spokesperson of the 2nd Infantry Division (2ID), said in a Viber message sent by NTF-ELCAC.

This echoed a statement by groups Buklod Kapayapaan Federation Inc. and Hands Off Our Children Movement Inc., who said that no Mangyan-Iraya children died and no residents were hurt. The groups also said the encounter took place in a pasture away from the residents, and there was no research activity conducted.

It added that there was also evidence proving that the military clashed with an armed group, while residents reported earlier violent incidents linked to the CPP-NPA. — BM, GMA Integrated News