Philippines: Indigenous rights groups appeal Duterte to drop trumped-up charges against Igorot activist Sarah Abellon-Alikes

Mr. Rodrigo Duterte
President of the Republic of the Philippines

Re: Drop the trumped-up charges against Igorot activist Sarah Abellon-Alikes and Stop the Vilification of Human Rights Activists

Dear President Duterte:

Greetings from the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP).

We, the undersigned, express our deep concern and condemnation on the trumped-up charges filed against Igorot activist Sarah Abellon-Alikes. She is currently facing arson and robbery charges connected to the burning of two trucks of Philex Mining Corporation by alleged members of the New Peoples Army in Itogon, Benguet last 9 February. She has been temporarily released on bail on 11 February 2017 after she was detained without charges upon her arrest by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and turned her over to the Philippine National Police.

Abellon-Alikes is an indigenous woman human rights defender from Mt. Province of the Cordillera Administrative Region. She is a pioneer of the Cordillera Peoples’ Alliance (CPA) and member of the Board of Directors of the Regional Development Center – Katinnulong dagiti Umili ti Amianan (RDCKaduami). She has always been an advocate for peace, a supporter of the peace talks, and has been working to support marginalized communities in Cordillera and the rest of Northern Luzon. We firmly believe that it is because of her work that she was targeted and arrested on trumped-up charges.

With the cessation of the peace talks and the declaration of “all-out war” by your administration, targeting and vilification of human rights activists and development workers have intensified. We then call on your administration and relevant government agencies concerned to:

• Drop the trumped-up charges of arson and robbery against Sarah Abellon-Alikes;
• Release all political prisoners and stop the targeting, vilification, and political persecution of indigenous peoples, activists and development workers;
• Withdraw the declaration of “all-out war” and continue the peace talks;
• Respect and implement the gains that were made in the three rounds of the peace talks and the agreements that have been signed between the Government of the Philippines and National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP);
• Adhere to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and all the major Human Rights instruments that the Philippine government has signed and ratified.

Respectfully,
Gam Shimray
Secretary General
Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact

List of endorsements: 

Submitted by email to:

Mr. Rodrigo Duterte
President of the Republic of the Philippines
E-mail: op@president.gov.ph

Copy furnished to:

Mr. Jesus Dureza
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process
Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP)
Email: stqd.papp@opapp.gov.ph, feedback@opapp.net

Mr. Delfin Lorenzana
Secretary, Department of National Defense
Email: info@dnd.gov.ph, webmaster@dnd.gov.ph

Mr. Vitaliano Aguirre
Secretary, Department of Justice
Email: communications@doj.gov.ph

Mr. Jose Luis Martin Gascon
Chairperson, Commission on Human Rights
Email: chairgascon.chr@gmail.com

Click here to download full endorsement letter.