MANILA — Human rights groups expressed alarm on reports of aerial strafing in indigenous peoples communities in Pola, Oriental Mindoro. 

Bigkis at Lakas ng mga Katutubo sa Timog Katagalugan (BALATIK) reported that elements of the 76th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (IBPA) have engaged aerial strafing in Brgy. Tagumpay on February 19, due to an encounter with the New People’s’ Army (NPA).

“This incident is the most recent violation in Mindoro, committed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), especially to the indigenous peoples,” said BALATIK in a Filipino statement, underscoring that the strafing is a form of indiscriminate attack.

Strafing is a military practice of attacking ground targets with bullets or bombs mounted in the aircraft. Rule 12 of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) defines indiscriminate attacks as those not directed at a specific military objective.

“Indiscriminate attacks are those which employ a method or means of combat the effects of which cannot be limited as required by international humanitarian law; and consequently, in each such case, are of a nature to strike military objectives and civilians or civilian objects without distinction,” IHL rule stated.

The encounter was confirmed by Pola Mayor Jennifer Mindanao Cruz, in a Facebook post on February 19. Meanwhile, BALATIK confirmed that the incident led to the forced displacement of civilian communities in barangay Tagumpay and its adjacent barangays.

Since 2023, the AFP has been pronouncing that the region of Oriental Mindoro is under the focused military operations as part of their counterinsurgency campaign.

“Focused military operations in Mindoro resulted to more military deployment in the island — the most recent case is the deployment of 1st Infantry Battalion in November 2024,” BALATIK noted, adding that Occidental and Oriental Mindoro are among the most militarized areas in the Southern Tagalog region.

In Oriental Mindoro, Mangyan-Hanunuo youth leader Jay-El Maligday, 21, was killed by the 4th IBPA in a “combat operation against the New People’s Army” on April 7 last year. The military claimed that they have recovered a Remington caliber .45 loaded with four live ammunition, which the family denied and witnessed.

The family filed a complaint to the Ombudsman on November 28 last year, against five military officers of the 4th IBPA, facing charges for violations of Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity. There has been no decision about the charges up to now. 

Read: Family of slain youth IP files charges vs military

Meanwhile in Occidental Mindoro, Bulatlat also reported the harassment of 29 Iraya Mangyan farmers and their families in Hacienda Almeda. Seven private goons and four members of the Police Regional Mobile Group detained 17 elderly residents and 12 minors without warrants on October 18 last year.

The focused military operations, BALATIK feared, could result in more cases of human rights violations in the region, most of which they claimed are yet to be documented. 

“Counterinsurgency operations unfold as clearing operations conducted in the rich ancestral lands of Mangyan, to prepare for the entry of infrastructure projects in energy, mining, and ecotourism without the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) of the indigenous peoples,” the group said.

Meanwhile, Environmental Defenders Congress (EDC), a national alliance of environmental defenders and defenders groups, reported that in Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro, numerous mining and energy projects are already encroaching in the ancestral lands of Mangyans.

“Companies such as David M. Consunji Inc. (DMCI), Pitkin Petroleum Limited, CleanTech Global Renewables, and The Blue Circle are pushing these developments,” EDC said in a statement.

Both BALATIK and EDC have called for thorough, immediate, and independent investigation on the reports of aerial strafing incident and other human rights violations committed in the region.

“The recent events in Oriental Mindoro are not isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern of state-sanctioned violence against environmental defenders and indigenous peoples across the Philippines,” EDC added.

An independent fact-finding team led by Karapatan Southern Tagalog (ST) is ongoing to probe the situation of civilian communities in Oriental Mindoro. They have a dialogue with Pola Municipal Administrator Meynardo Axalan to conduct a courtesy call with Pola Mayor Cruz.

“Local communities are already saying that the military operations of the 76th IBPA continue in the mountains where Mangyan indigenous peoples reside,” Karapatan ST said. 

The group added, “The indigenous peoples and residents were prohibited to tend to their crops, bananas and copras. This resulted in hunger, especially that there is no relief provided for them.”

Fear and trauma for children and civilians were also among their initial findings in the area. The community of Pola, Oriental Mindoro is yet to bounce back from the oil spill caused by capsizing of MT Princess Empress in 2023.

The fact-finding team also described the situation in the region as “de-facto Martial Law,” adding that they were blocked from entering the community. “If the military does not have the intention to resolve the problems of Pola, they should stop their operations that only destroy livelihood and violate human rights of the community,” the group said. (AMU, RVO)  ###