CWR | Center for Women's Resources

As the Philippine government hosts the International Conference on Women, Peace, and Security from October 28–30, the Center for Women’s Resources (CWR) expresses its deep concern in light of the ongoing and relentless attacks against Filipino women.

The Philippines have witnessed a disturbing trend of militarization and violence that disproportionately affects women. The total number of victims of various human rights violations has reached millions since Marcos Jr. took office as president in June 2022. This includes threat and harassment, forced evacuation, bombings, among others. There are 755 political prisoners held in various detention facilities nationwide as of June 30, 2024, with 103 of them arrested under the Marcos Jr. regime. Of this number, 147 are women, and more than half are farmers. There are 21 women victims of extrajudicial killings and four cases of enforced disappearances of women. The government’s collusion with foreign military powers exacerbates these kinds of violence, undermining the very rights and protections that such conferences purport to uphold.

The current geopolitical landscape, dominated by the United States’ militaristic strategies, uses the language of gender equality and women’s rights as a pretext for further military and economic intervention in the Asia-Pacific region. This is particularly troubling as the US seeks to entrench its influence against rising powers, such as China, under the guise of promoting peace and security.

The expansion of foreign military presence in the country poses additional vulnerabilities to women and all Filipino people. Earlier this year, more than 16,000 troops, including military personnel from Australia and France – joined the annual Balikatan exercises. In July 2024, the US government announced $500 million for the purchase of defense equipment and military services, purportedly to boost the country’s external defense capacity at a time of growing friction with China, particularly in the South China Sea.

In addition, the proliferation of Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites and continuous military exercises across the country indicate threats to our security, and the vulnerability of women to abuse. Numerous cases of human rights violations and abuse of women have been recorded since the time of the US military base presence in the country and with the regular conduct of Balikatan exercises.

Women’s rights, peace, and security cannot coexist with militarization and oppression. Instead of facilitating US interests, we call for genuine efforts that prioritize the safety, dignity, and rights of Filipino women and ensure that their voices are central to any discourse on peace and security. Alongside this, we hold the Philippine government accountable for its actions and demand that it uphold the rights of women in the Philippines, rather than using them as mere rhetoric in the service of foreign agendas. #

The Center for Women’s Resources joins peasant groups and advocates in reiterating calls for genuine land reform amidst rampant landlessness, land grabbing, land-use conversion, and displacement of peasant families. Peasant groups and advocates underscore the crucial role played by political dynasties in perpetuating corruption and in exacerbating poverty and landlessness in the country.

The political landscape in the Philippines remains dominated by landlords and business elites with vested interests to maintain a system that strips peasant women of their right to land and life. By occupying political positions while controlling vast agricultural estates, they shaped economic policies that prioritize their own economic and political interests over the needs of the rural poor.

Alongside land grabbing, displacement, and land use conversion, repression and attacks against the farmers remain rampant under the current administration of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. In the Southern Tagalog region, the Santa Rosa Realty Development Corporation (SRRDC) attempted to displace farmers of Barangay Casile, Cabuyao by blocking 24 hectares of farmland and affecting the mobility of 11 families in their community.

The SRRDC is constructing fences for a major road project to connect Casile with the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) without valid permits or prior consultation with local farmers. Barangay Casile is part of the 7,100-hectare Hacienda Yulo, controlled by cronies of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Farmers there have faced threats and eviction attempts from Yulo-Ayala security forces for four years, with armed goons raiding and burning homes of farmer leaders.

In Occidental Mindoro, 29 Mangyan Iraya residents from Hacienda Almeda in Abra de Ilog were forcibly detained by private goons and police. Families of these Mangyan Iraya residents – 17 elders and 12 minors have lost contact with their loved ones and without news of their whereabouts.

The Irayas have been victims of harassment, enforced disappearances, and killings since the 1990s. The lands seized by Hacienda Almeda Inc. and real-estate developer Pieceland Corporation include the Iraya’s settlements, sacred groves, burial sites, watersheds, and sources of livelihood across approximately 1,546 hectares. This is despite multiple rulings in favor of the farmers and the Iraya Mangyan, the Almeda family continues to exploit loopholes in the bogus and failed CARP to delay and obstruct the redistribution of land.

We stand in solidarity with peasant women fighting for genuine land reform. Their demand for land is an assertion of economic survival, dignity, and life. Their courage in the face of oppression is a testament to their strength. By dismantling the system of political dynasties , we can ensure the peasantry’s rightful access and control over land and resources, and create a future where justice and life thrives. #