Day 3 has shown no letup in the persistent trend of continuous harassment, intimidation, and surveillance by state forces that have been targeting the International Solidarity Mission (ISM) since day 1.
In an escalation of surveillance and harassment there were reported incidents of unidentified individuals on motorcycles, aerial drone surveillance, as well as military and police presence near their camp in Mindoro. Here, ISM delegates were looking into the situation of a local Mangyan-Iraya indigenous community that had been displaced from their lands. Similar harassment and surveillance have also been reported from the other provinces the mission has visited.
“We demand an immediate end to these attacks and for the Philippine government to allow us to freely conduct our International Solidarity Mission,” said Daning Ramos of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, who joined the ISM team in Occidental Mindoro.
“The International Solidarity Mission has no intention other than to learn more about the reality of people on the ground in one of the countries most impacted by climate change in the world,” said Rachelle Junsay, spokesperson of Peoples Rising for Climate Justice (PRCJ). “We call on the international community to take a stand against these attacks.”
We echo this call of the local organizers and encourage all friends of the Filipino people in struggle, international organizations and networks to issue statements of support and solidarity for the ongoing ISM and amplify its reports.
The ISM stands resolutely with rural poor communities and their struggles, while the corrupt US-Marcos regime squanders millions of dollars on drone surveillance and military deployments for state attacks. All of this only encourages us to further help expose the various crimes the regime is trying to bury.
US-backed violence by the Marcos regime will neither break the Filipino people’s struggle for liberation nor prevent international allies from extending support!
Please read-on for short recaps of the third day of the mission in some of the provinces visited by the international delegation, and make sure to help promote all the findings of the ISM.
Mindoro
In Mindoro our FFPS members and other delegates of the mission were able to express their international solidarity, deeply integrate with local Mangyan-Iraya Indigenous communities and learn from their struggles, and join them in fighting back against forced displacement and human‑rights abuses by Pieceland Corporation, demanding justice for their ancestral land.
The Mangyan have been charged with trespassing and destruction of private property when the company fenced off the land, and have even been placed under a de-facto hamletting. These go hand in hand with other human rights violations and war crimes such as the killing of Jay-El Maligday, aerial strafing, and bombing of Mangyan communities in Oriental Mindoro.
All of these land struggles are also in the context of destructive and exploitative dredging and mining projects in the province. As the Indigenous communities’ lands are rich in natural resources, they fall prey to exploitative foreign and domestic companies, driving the people to strengthen their resistance and defense of their rights.
Negros
In Candoni, Negros, the delegation was able to visit local communities directly affected by palm oil plantation projects by HAPI Inc. which threaten to displace over 300 farming families.
This is part of a disturbing trend visible throughout the Philippines: land-grabbing under the guise of renewable energy projects, including land-use conversion into solar farms. These so-called ‘green’ projects continue to displace local farmers from their lands.
As international solidarity activists it is especially important to be aware of these struggles. Even though such projects will be marketed, even outside the Philippines, as green projects; they are in essence forms of climate injustice, bringing more hardship to the most exploited and oppressed sections of society whilst enriching the exploiters who are responsible for the climate crisis.
For the full recap of the day in Negros, please visit:
- https://www.facebook.com/peoplesrisingcj/posts/pfbid02TEWLeTaUqoEiEvte2293Bwprtnkbir6sEkdRYpVnhmYiX37QtuMzyT5JpG6MH1EXl
- https://www.instagram.com/p/DPvVnx9k9pE/?igsh=MWducXdpM3A0dGlkbQ==
Rizal
In Rizal the ISM was successfully launched despite ongoing harassment and threats by the AFP. Delegates are currently integrating with indigenous communities that are facing land struggles, particularly against dam projects. Similar to the other provinces, mining and quarrying operations that exploit the local resources for foreign profit are big issues in the area.
Eastern Visayas
In Eastern Visayas the delegates were able to hear first-hand the stories of a community member who was forced by the Philippine military to ‘surrender’ as ‘rebel’.
This is a common product of US-Marcos’ counterinsurgency strategy, which combines military actions with so-called ‘civil’ operations. In essence, it militarizes the civilian aspects of the state and removes the distinction between combatants and civilians. In many cases activists and other civilian community members are forced to surrender themselves to the AFP as ‘former rebel fighters.’ In our primer you can read more about the practices of forced surrenderee, hamletting and other counterinsurgency operations by the US-Marcos regime: https://ffps.info/2025/09/30/new-ffps-primer-on-counter-insurgency-in-the-philippines/
The region continues to struggle to recover from Typhoon Yolanda while organizations face harassment. Here as well there are many issues of destructive infrastructure projects, as well as ecotourism ventures, that threaten the livelihoods of fisherfolk and farmers.
The US-Marcos regime doesn’t want you to share these stories
To close off this ISM update, we would just like to re-iterate the urgent call by Philippine organizers for international support with the ISM and to take a stand against these attacks.
Please issue statements of support and solidarity for the ongoing ISM, amplify its reports by sharing them with your friends, and highlight the struggles of the Filipino people against imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism.
The key findings of the ISM will be presented at the Asia Pacific People’s Conference Against Climate Imperialism and Militarism in Manila on October 16–17. For the comprehensive reports and updates, please stay up-to-date through our website https://ffps.info/international-solidarity-mission-ism/ and by following https://www.facebook.com/peoplesrisingcj or https://www.instagram.com/prcj.global/