The Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women and Asosasyon dagiti Mannalon a kababaihan ti Isabela-Amihan (AMBI-Amihan Isabela) slammed the harassment, forced surrender, and red-tagging faced by its chapter members and leaders in Isabela throughout the month of August 2023. The peasant women group emphasized the countless violations of the Constitution’s Bill of Rights as well as the Comprehensive Agreement for the Respect of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law or CARHRIHL perpetrated by state forces, and highlighted peasant women as one of the most vulnerable victims of these violations.
“Peasant women have the right to organize, and the right to assert their rights to land, food, and justice. This is the just and necessary work being done by AMBI Amihan Isabela, established in 2017, whose leaders and members are being red-tagged, harassed, threatened, and forced to sign documents of fake forced surrender in their own homes,” exclaimed Amihan chair Zenaida Soriano.
“Bakit pinapalinis ang mga pangalan nila? Walang marumi sa pangalan ng mga kababaihang magbubukid na nagtataguyod sa kanilang karapatan, at dinedepensahan ang kanilang mga pamilya at sakahan.”
Last August 27, despite already suffering the destructive effects of Typhoon Goring on their crops, peasant women and other residents of Brgy Lampogan, Tumauini, Isabela were forcibly coerced to sign documents that would purportedly serve as proof of their ‘surrender,’ while pledging allegiance to the government. The police and soldiers of the 5th Infantry Battalion initially tried to manipulate residents to go to the barangay hall with the promise of rice and relief goods in exchange for forced surrender. When no residents came, state forces followed 30 peasant women to the house of a barangay leader and forced them to surrender.
Prior to this, police and military forces profiled and took pictures of each house to systematically begin carrying out forced surrenders. Residents were shown the pictures of organizers Renato Gameng and Cita Managuelod and asked to identify them. The barangay captain, police, and soldiers also repeatedly red-tagged Amihan Isabela, the legitimate organization of women farmers in the region.
Members and leaders of AMBI Amihan Isabela were harassed, interrogated, and forced to ‘clean their name’ in their own homes by officers in civilian attire. These include peasant women Cloudine Umalia, Kagawad Fely Santiago, and Kagawad Rogelio Torres.
“During the pandemic, the peasant women of AMBI Amihan launched a campaign against hunger and fed their community through the organic communal garden that they tended to. AMBI Amihan campaigns for farmers’ rights and livelihood, and for the government to fulfill its mandate of providing relief goods and support during calamities. And yet the police and military red-tag and threaten the members of AMBI Amihan and their families, acting as though they are terrorists when in reality, the PNP and AFP are the ones terrorizing peasants.
“The Marcos Jr administration and its police and military cronies must not get away with any more human rights violations. We call for the protection of AMBI Amihan and justice for its members who have had their rights violated. We reiterate our calls to stop militarization in the countryside and pull out military troops now.” Soriano ended. ###
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