Philippines-Canada Task Force for Human Rights (PCTFHR)
Solidarity Message

Canadians express solidarity and support  of the Cordillera people’s struggle to assert peoples’ rights, oust the Arroyo regime and advance the politics of change

April 24, 2007

The Philippines-Canada Task Force on Human Rights (PCTFHR) marks this 23rd celebration of Cordillera Day with a renewed commitment to fully support in the spirit of international solidarity the struggle of the Cordillera people to assert their basic rights, oust the Arroyo regime and advance the politics of change.  As a cross-Canada network of Canadian and Filipino-Canadian individuals and organizations, we salute the resolve and militancy of the Cordillera People’s Alliance in continuing their struggle, despite the Arroyo regime’s despicable campaigns of counter-insurgency, political killings and state terror which only hurt the people.

This Cordillera Day is particularly poignant for us in the PCTFHR as you prepare to salute your martyrs and victims of human rights violations.  In November 2006, a team traveled to the Cordillera region as part of the PCTFHR’s Canadian Human Rights Fact-Finding Mission to the Philippines.  The team investigated cases of extrajudicial killings, frustrated extrajudicial killings, harassment and illegal detention, including the frustrated extrajudicial killing of Reverend Billy Austin of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines and the illegal detention and harassment of Jo Perez of the Ilocos Human Rights Advocates.  We concluded that there is a clear pattern of state-perpetrated politically-motivated extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, assassination attempts and other forms of harassment in the Philippines, including the Cordillera region.

We also concluded that there is increasing militarization and breakdown of civilian authority in the country in the context of the Arroyo regime’s counter-insurgency program, Oplan Bantay Laya (Operation Freedom Watch).  Our team witnessed the harsh impacts of this counter-insurgency program when we investigated the summary execution of farmer Jhon Maximo in Boliney, Abra and the harassment of the villagers of Baclinayan, Abra by elements of the Philippine military.

Based on our findings, we have continued the campaign to raise awareness about the political killings in the Philippines.  In particular, we continue to call upon the Canadian government to redirect our taxpayer dollars in the form of the $22 million in Canadian foreign aid away from the repressive and militarist Arroyo regime and to progressive community-based groups like Karapatan that advocate genuine development and uphold human rights and the dignity of life.  It is only in this way that we can build people-to-people solidarity in the framework of a genuine, grassroots-based and collaborative model between those organizations in the Philippines and Canada who are working with the communities most affected by the human rights crisis.

We are also aware that the political killings are taking place in the context of the Arroyo regime’s continuing violation of the economic rights of the Cordillera people.  In particular, we condemn the Arroyo regime for its subservience to foreign interests that wish to further plunder the Cordillera people’s patrimony.  We will continue to expose the role of Canada and Canadian corporations, particularly those from the mining sector, in pursuing an agenda of development aggression in the Cordillera and other regions of the Philippines.  The actions of imperialism and foreign multinational corporations must be exposed and opposed as detrimental to the people’s agenda for genuine change, self-determination, and national freedom and democracy.  We are confident that your struggle to advance the politics of change in the upcoming May elections will be successful.

We wish you success in your commemoration of Cordillera Day and we assure you that we are in solidarity with your struggle in defense of your ancestral domain and for your self-determination.  We salute your courage and perseverance and wish you more gains and victories in the struggles ahead.

Expose and oppose state terror, repression and martial rule in the Philippines!
Stop Canadian aid to the repressive, militarist Arroyo regime!
Uphold the dignity of life and support the struggle of the Cordillera people!
Long live international solidarity