Humanitarian and human rights organizations on Monday renewed calls for unrestricted access to Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro, warning that the area has become heavily militarized and inaccessible to independent aid groups.
The appeal was led by the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) and People Rising for Climate Justice (PRCJ), which criticized the Philippine government and private corporations for what they described as escalating attacks on Mangyan Indigenous communities.
Reports of Violence and Displacement
ICHRP said three Mangyan-Iraya children were killed in an aerial bombing in Barangay Cabacao on January 1, allegedly carried out by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The incident reportedly displaced hundreds of farmers and Indigenous residents, forcing families to flee their homes and disrupting livelihoods in the area.
The groups said communities affected by the violence are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, including food, medical care, and psychosocial support.
Limited Access and Oversight
ICHRP-US member Damien Connor raised concerns over what he described as restrictions on investigations, claiming that only groups affiliated with the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the military are currently allowed to conduct inquiries.
He said the lack of independent access undermines transparency and accountability, calling on authorities to allow neutral humanitarian organizations and human rights monitors to enter Abra de Ilog to assess conditions on the ground.
