Rights violations will continue if Oplan Kapayapaan is Oplan Bayanihan 2.0

“If Oplan Kapayapaan of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is a continuum of Oplan Bayanihan, we expect that human rights and international humanitarian law violations will continue, especially in struggling communities and among the poor majority of peasants and workers,” Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said on the AFP’s new counter-insurgency program under the Rodrigo Duterte administration.

“From the initial statements by AFP officials describing Oplan Kapayapaan, the ‘whole of nation approach’ was deemed as an effective framework in addressing the so-called insurgency. What the AFP conveniently left out is that this framework caused the killings of Lumad and other national minorities and peasants, the forcible evacuation of civilian communities, particularly those tagged as ‘NPA supporters’, and the illegal arrests and detention of activists. The human rights record of the BS Aquino administration is proof of this,” Palabay stated.

Table
1:

Violation
of Civil & Political Rights

Under
the Noynoy Aquino Government

(July
2010 to June 2016)

Violations	No. of Victims
Extrajudicial killing	332
Enforced Disappearance	30
Torture	244
Rape	12
Frustrated Extrajudicial Killing	624
Illegal Arrest without Detention	1,131
Illegal Arrest and Detention	635
Illegal Search and Seizure	289
Physical Assault and Injury	574
Demolition	12,331
Violation of Domicile	1,129
Destruction of Properties	4,245
Divestment of Property	952
Forced Evacuation	108,612
Threat/Harassment/Intimidation	200,743
Indiscriminate Firing	92,247
Forced/Fake Surrender	319
Forced Labor/Involuntary Servitude	125
Use of Civilians in Police and/or Military Operations as Guides and/or Shield	1,839
Use of Schools, Medical, Religious and Other Public Places for Military Purpose	79,961
Restriction or Violent Dispersal of Mass Actions, Public Assemblies and Gatherings	24,699

The AFP’s whole of nation approach, adopted from the United State Counter-insurgency Guide of 2009, sought to “win the peace” through a combination of primarily military combat operations and intelligence and use of civilian agencies and entities for its military objective in the guise of “peace and development programs,” Karapatan said.

“Civilians are victimized and the root causes of the armed conflict remains unresolved. If the AFP and State security forces under the Rodrigo Duterte administration will have the same framework and approach of the past regimes and with their fascist and mercenary character, the Filipino people will continue to experience unpeace in communities,” she said urther.

“The whole of nation approach, in the guise of ‘peace and development programs’ or civil military operations of the AFP, legitimizes military occupation of communities. Even during the period of the GRP unilateral ceasefire in line with its peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, human rights violations by the military and police continued in suspected areas of the New People’s Army,” Palabay said.

“During the first six months of Duterte presidency, there were 19 victims of political killings, two enforced disappearance victims, and illegal arrests continued. Human rights violations persisted in communities, due to the military’s indiscriminate firing and bombing and use of schools and public places,” Palabay said.

Table 2:

Violation
of Civil & Political Rights

Under
the Rodrigo Duterte Government

(July
2016 to December 2016)

Violations	No. of Victims
Extrajudicial killing	19
Enforced Disappearance	2
Torture	6
Frustrated Extrajudicial Killing	28
Illegal Arrest without Detention	414
Illegal Arrest and Detention	30
Illegal Search and Seizure	33
Physical Assault and Injury	69
Demolition	60
Violation of Domicile	86
Divestment of Property	41
Forced Evacuation	13,734
Threat/Harassment/Intimidation	18,675
Endangerment of, Threat against Civilians due to Indiscriminate Firing, Bombing, Artillery Fire, Landmines, etc	17,107
Forced/Fake Surrender	5
Forced Labor/Involuntary Servitude	9
Use of Civilians in Police and/or Military Operations as Guides and/or Shield	5
Use of Schools, Medical, Religious and Other Public Places for Military Purpose	14,097
Restriction or Violent Dispersal of Mass Actions, Public Assemblies and Gatherings	1500

“If the AFP’s priority in Oplan Kapayapaan is indeed the ‘destruction of Abu Sayyaf, Maute Group, BIFF and other foreign and local terrorists,’ there is no need for the army to stay in communities looking for members of the New People’s Army, harassing the residents they suspect as supporters and members,” Palabay said. “The soldiers should pull out now from peasant and tribal communities,” Palabay said.