The Center for Women’s Resources (CWR) welcomes the announcement that Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina migrant worker who has unjustly spent 14 years on death row in Indonesia, will finally be coming home following an agreement between the Philippine government and Indonesian authorities. Although this is a significant step toward ending the years of suffering and injustice that she has endured, CWR joins rights groups’ appeal to President Marcos Jr. to grant her full and absolute clemency.
Mary Jane Veloso’s case is a tragic example of how vulnerable migrant workers—especially women—can fall victim to human trafficking and unfair legal processes. Authorities arrested Mary Jane Veloso in 2010 upon her arrival in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, after finding heroin hidden in the lining of a suitcase her recruiters had provided. Convicted of illegally importing drugs, she has been on death row after enduring a series of unfair trials.
Prior to her arrest, Mary Jane worked as a domestic helper in Dubai to support her two young children. After an attempted sexual assault, she fled the country, returning home jobless and penniless. Despite the trauma, she decided to work as a maid in Malaysia. However, her recruiter instructed her to travel to Indonesia, where she received a suitcase filled with illegal drugs, as there were no jobs available in Malaysia.
Mary Jane’s case highlights the harsh realities faced by many Filipinos, particularly women, who are driven by economic hardship to work abroad—only to fall victim to human trafficking and endure inhumane working conditions. The number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) surged to 2.16 million in 2023, with women making up the majority, often subjected to precarious labor conditions.
We stand in solidarity with Mary Jane and all migrant workers and their families. Mary Jane’s execution was stayed in 2015 due to strong local and international pressure as well as the steadfast demands of the Philippine and Indonesian movements. While her return is a victory, the fight for her absolute clemency and protection of all migrant workers continues.
We call on the Philippine government to take immediate and concrete steps to ensure the safety and well-being of all Filipinos working overseas and, more importantly, to address the root causes of migration! #
The Center for Women’s Resources (CWR) stands in solidarity with the Filipino people, especially women, children, and other marginalized sectors, in demanding rightful compensation for the devastating impacts of disasters in their communities. The series of catastrophic events in recent weeks have laid bare the deep vulnerabilities of women. As the effects of the climate crisis become more pronounced, communities across the country are grappling with a cycle of poverty, hunger, loss of lives and livelihoods, and limited access to basic services.
In recent weeks, the death toll from the combined effects of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (Trami) and Typhoon Leon (Kong-rey) has reached 160, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). More than 9.6 million Filipinos were affected, including 617,168 who have been displaced from their homes.
Women, who already bear the disproportionate effects of poverty, are increasingly tasked with the burden of securing food, shelter, and care for their families amid disaster and displacement. As primary caregivers, a role determined by gender norms and societal expectations, women face greater demands during such crises.
Olivia Bajas, a resident of Brgy. Tumana, Marikina, faced the daunting task of cleaning the thick mud left inside her house followingTyphoon Carina and the southwest monsoon or habagat. She was unsure how to recover from such a devastating impact—there was no food and the flood waters had reached as high as their roof. The Marikina City LGU also recorded 31,128 evacuees across35 evacuation sites in the city.
In Bicol, Severe Tropical Storm Kristine affected more than 4.2 million Filipinos, which is approximately 986,974 families.. The storm has resulted in a death toll of 81, with 66 individuals injured, and 34 reported missing. As of October 28, the total damage to agriculture and infrastructure is estimated at Ph 3 billion.
In Cagayan, Typhoon Marce, which had the worst impact according to Gov. Manuel Mamba, caused Php 1.4 billion damage to agriculture, Php 25.3 million damage to infrastructure, and displaced 29,808 people, or 9,959 families, across 245 barangays.
According to NDRRMC, there are 1,145,942 individuals or 295,576 families affected by tropical cyclones Nika, Ofel, and Pepito in Northern Luzon. The cyclones also partially damaged 7,401 houses and totally damaged 437 others.
Low wages and income and rising cost of living make it nearly impossible for these families to recover, let alone rebuild their lives.
What exacerbates this situation is the environmental destruction caused by large-scale mining and quarrying operations and other large-scale resource extraction activities—many of which are controlled by local and foreign corporations and allowed to operate by the government. These activities are not only extracting our natural resources but also destroying vital ecosystems that protect our communities from the worst effects of the climate crisis.
The aggressive implementation of development projects that often disregard the rights and welfare of local communities, and the environment also contribute to the degradation of natural habitat, disruption of livelihoods and displacement of communities.Many of these projects require land use conversion and reclamation, which further accelerate deforestation and biodiversity loss.
According to Kalikasan, there are currently 19 mining projects operating in Rizal covering 3,622 hectares.. Two hydropower projects, the Kaliwa-Kanan Laiban Dam and the Wawa Dam, are also ongoing. When Typhoon Enteng hit the province in September, eight people lost their lives due to drowning and landslides.
As the world watches the ongoing COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, we must remain critical of the false solutions being peddled by corporate interests. Many of the proposed solutions focus on technological fixes, market-based mechanisms, and greenwashing, which fail to address the systemic drivers of the climate crisis. Despite the urgency of the crisis, big polluting corporations from imperialist countries continue to evade accountability.
The Filipino people must demand justice and accountability. Particularly, those affected must be compensated for the loss of lives, livelihoods, and damage to properties. The Filipino people must unite to demand that the Philippine government end its complicity in extractive and destructive mining and quarrying and instead, take a stand for the protection of the people and our environment. We call on everyone to unite in the struggle to fight for compensation, to demand real solutions to the climate crisis, and to hold accountable those who continue to profit at the expense of our environment and our lives.
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. #
