KARAPATAN condemned the spate of harassment incidents against youth and church activists in Tacloban City in the past several days and called on the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to take decisive steps in calling the attention and put a stop to these forms of threats and bullying by the military and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
“In a span of one week,” decried KARAPATAN secretary general Cristina Palabay, “nine such incidents have already been reported.”
“According to field reports from human rights groups in Eastern Visayas,” said Palabay, “University of the Philippines Student Regent and National Union of Students in the Philippines vice president for the Visayas Jon Ivan Torrero’s residence was visited by state agents while he was not around. The military elements, who were accompanied by a ‘rebel returnee,’ questioned Torrero’s parents and siblings and showed them his Facebook posts, telling them that at 21 years of age, Torrero talks like a ‘red fighter.’” They reportedly told his parents that unless he stops criticizing the government, he will not be removed from the list of people under surveillance. They warned Torrero’s family that Jon is being closely monitored both at home or at the university. These unwelcome visits occurred on August 4, 5 and 16, 2025.
Palabay added: “On August 15, 2025, policemen went to the former residence of a 20-year old member of Kabataan Partylist (KPL) in Tacloban City allegedly because of her connection to the Tacloban 5, referring to political prisoners Frenchie Mae Cumpio, Alexander Abinguna, Marielle Domequil and two other activists who were arrested in February 2020 in Tacloban City. The police falsely claimed that the KPL member has been visiting them in jail three times a week every month because she had personal connections with them. But in fact,” said Palabay, “it was her first time to visit them on August 6, 2025. The policemen showed the logbook entry and her ID picture taken on the day of the said visit, which violated her right to privacy. She was also told that she has been under surveillance for some time now.”
“On August 6, 2025, Kyle A. Domequil, 23 years old, the spokesperson of Free Tacloban 5 Network and sister of political prisoner Marielle Domequil, was visited by barangay officials from a nearby village, who told her that the military was requesting her presence at the barangay hall for a dialogue. They showed her a graduation photo, which they claimed was given to them by the military.”
“Earlier, on July 30, 2025,” Palabay added, “a store owner near the University of the Philippines-Tacloban sent a message to UP students who frequently hang out near her store, asking them to inform Paul Lachica — a UP student and BAYAN-Eastern Visayas Coordinator — not to visit the area for the time being because several men who identified themselves as soldiers had inquired about Paul’s whereabouts and instructed her not to allow him to stay in the vicinity.”
“On top of all this,” said Palabay, “reports have come in that three pastors and churches in southern and western Leyte were reportedly visited, intimidated and harassed by state agents.”
In 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that red-tagging is a threat to a person’s life, liberty and security. “This vicious pattern of red-tagging, threatening, harassing and intimidating student and church activists in Leyte is disturbing, given the fact that victims of harassment often end up being subjected to worse violations such as extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearance or unjust arrest and detention on trumped-up charges. There is no doubt that it is the NTF-ELCAC’s handiwork, as it has notoriously done so in all parts of the country,” said Palabay.
“We urgently call on the CHR, which has previously received numerous such reports, to put a stop to this harassment, before these malevolent state agents graduate to committing more serious human rights violations against their victims,” concluded Palabay.