Friends of the Filipino People in Struggle (FFPS) open letter to Paola Pampaloni of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Ursula von der Leyen – European Commission President – and to the European Union (EU) and its Member States at large.
Dear Ms. Pampaloni, Ms. von der Leyen, and all others concerned.
We would like to express our deepest concern about the EU’s continued practice of turning a blind eye to grave violations of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (IHL) committed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and other state forces under the Marcos Jr. administration of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP).
As early as August 13, 2023, we had sent an open letter to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, to voice our concerns regarding her public statements that “there is much improvement” when it comes to the human rights situation under the leadership of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
We pointed out that all the repressive mechanisms built and used by the previous Duterte administration had been sustained, if not strengthened by the Marcos Jr. administration. How could one speak of “improvements” when extra-judicial killings, illegal arrests and detention, aerial bombings on communities, and red-tagging persist?
The 19 undersigned organizations – representing concerned citizens of various European nations that are in support of the Filipino people and their aspirations for genuine social change – cautioned the EU on the implications of their statements for the Filipino people, pointing out that statements like these will only embolden the Marcos Jr. administration and discredit the sufferings of the Filipino people and leave them without any avenue for grievance and redress.
A few months after our open letter, on October 31st of 2023, the Southeast Asia Division of the EEAS replied to our urgent concerns, but their reply fell disappointingly short. While they acknowledged ongoing human rights violations such as “the practice of red-tagging and the continuing death toll associated with combatting illegal drug use”, their response lacked urgency and conviction. Instead of taking a firm stand, the EEAS offered platitudes, expressing a supposed “openness from the [Philippine] government side in engaging on the issue of human rights” and that they were to “work with the Philippines in supporting the rules-based international order”.
This timid approach undermined the gravity of the situation, downplayed the deliberate and ongoing violations of the rights of the Filipino people under the Marcos Jr. administration, and signaled a worrying complacency in addressing the plight of the Filipino people.
In fact, even just one month before the reply by the EEAS, two environmental defenders – Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro – were violently abducted by Filipino armed forces and held in secret detention facilities in a clear violation of their Human Rights. Despite the well-documented evidence and widespread national and international attention for their case, the Philippines Court of Appeal denied the two legal protection aimed at protecting them from threats by state forces. They even continue to face legal charges filed by the Philippine military.
The case of Jhed and Jonila is part of a broader trend of state-orchestrated abductions under the Marcos Jr. presidency, a pattern that has persisted even after the EEAS’s reply. On August 30, 2024, the internationally respected Philippine human rights watchdog Karapatan sounded the alarm, stating that “enforced disappearances have become a fast-growing phenomenon under the Marcos Jr. regime”, with many of those abducted remaining missing.
In response to the Filipino people’s cry for justice, FFPS and the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) facilitated an International People’s Tribunal on May 17-18, 2024, in Brussels to shed light on war crimes committed by the US-supported Marcos Jr. and Duterte regimes. The tribunal examined overwhelming evidence of enforced disappearances, along with other acts of violence and repression against the Filipino people and their dissent. It delivered a guilty verdict on all counts, with its findings submitted to institutions such as the ICC, the EU, and the UN to demand accountability.
All of this further emphasizes that while the Marcos Jr. administration might present a false ‘friendly’ face to the international community, the situation in the Philippines remains essentially the same as under Duterte with deliberate, continuous and increasing attacks on the Filipino people and their fundamental rights. These attacks under the Marcos Jr. regime should be faced with international condemnation.
This is why we express our deepest concern and condemnation over the “Joint Press Release on the Fourth Subcommittee Meeting on Good Governance, Rule of Law, and Human Rights” by the EEAS. In this it states that, “The EU and the Philippines committed to continue protecting human rights defenders from violence and harassment and ensuring the freedom of civil society. Both sides underscored the challenges posed by ‘red-tagging’ and recognized the efforts of the Philippines to address it through the decision of the Supreme Court. They underscored the importance of protecting human rights defenders.”
Such a statement is not only ridiculous, but a slap in the face of all human rights defenders and activists in the Philippines who are struggling to achieve genuine justice. How can the Philippine government underscore the ‘challenge’ posed by red-tagging, when it is the Philippine government and its state forces that are the most rabid red-taggers and violators of IHL?
The entire joint press release by the EEAS is a dangerous legitimization of the Marcos Jr. regime, masks its role in the continuous and increasing attacks on the Filipino people and as such discredits the sufferings of the Filipino people and is an attack on their pursuit for justice.
As citizens of the EU, we refuse to be part of Marcos Jr.’s disinformation campaign and we hold the EU leadership on that same regard.
Thus, we urge the EU to objectively reassess the human rights situation in the Philippines and retract any claims of improvement until genuine and measurable changes are evident. Furthermore, we call on the EU to suspend cooperation with the Marcos Jr. administration as long as it persists in its systematic attacks on the Filipino people and their fundamental rights.
Sincerely,
Friends of the Filipino People in Struggle
If you would like to add the name of your organization to the signatories as well, please fill out the following form! https://airtable.com/apprO6IBx0c002q4C/shr6ZlnxvScghuwKo
Signatories:
- Friends of the Filipino People in Struggle
- ALPAS Pilipinas
- Anti-Imperialist Movement (Glasgow)
- Austrodutch
- Both ENDS
- CSRP (Comité de Soutien à la Revolution aux Philippines)
- Friends in Austria
- German Filipino Friends (GFF) / Deutsch-Philippinische Freunde e.V.
- International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines – Europe Chapter
- International Committee DEFEND
- Linangan Art & Culture Network
- Listen Gallery Glasgow
- London – Philippines Solidarity (LPS)
- Nederlands-Filipijnse Solidariteitsbeweging
- Maya SOL
- Revolutionaire Eenheid
- ROOD, Socialistische Jongeren
- ROSA (Radical Organisation of Students in Amsterdam)
- Steunfonds Filipijnen Belgium
- The Wave Eindhoven
- Tromlach
- School of Machines, Making & Make-Believe
- Solidarity Screenings Glasgow
- Union of Cypriots
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