Rights group denounce recent attacks against land rights defenders in typhoon-affected communities
KARAPATAN Public Information
November 18, 2025
Reference: Cristina Palabay, KARAPATAN secretary general, 09173162831
KARAPATAN Public Information Desk, 09189790580
Rights group denounce recent attacks against land rights defenders in typhoon-affected communities
Human rights alliance Karapatan decried the recent wave of attacks against land rights defenders in Negros Occidental and Cagayan Valley, provinces which were impacted by typhoons Tino and Uwan.
Karapatan’s chapters reported the arbitrary arrest of peasant organizer Stalin Valencia in Cagayan Valley and the killing of Joan Escuadro, a member of the Asosasyon sang Mangunguma kag Mangingisda sa Linaon (AMMLIG) in Negros Occidental, citing the incidents as evidence of a broader pattern of fascist terror amid the destructive impact of ghost or substandard flood control projects and growing calls for accountability of corrupt public officials.
“Such attempts to silence rural organizers and their communities reflect a systematic campaign of terror against those who defend the land, the people, and their rights,” said Cristina Palabay, Karapatan secretary general.
On November 3, 2025, Joan Escuadro, a peasant member of AMMLIG, was shot dead inside her home in Manauban, Linaon, Cauayan, Negros Occidental. Witnesses identified the gunmen as individuals known as “Danny” and “Aslyn.” Two of Escuadro’s children, aged 2 and 6, witnessed her killing. According to the Human Rights Advocates-Negros, on November 5, the gunmen were seen with troops from the 15th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army at a nearby abandoned house, just across Escuadro’s home.
On the evening of November 15, 2025, state agents in civilian clothes abducted Stalin Valencia as he was walking on a bridge in San Mateo,Isabela. They forced him into one of their four vehicles, and took him to the San Mateo police station.
Valencia’s family was only able to access him in the afternoon of November 16, 2025, as they questioned the 502nd Infantry Battalion’s attempts to take custody of Valencia. He faces multiple fabricated charges, including murder and frustrated murder. After his detention, the 502nd Infantry Battalion reportedly arrived to take custody of him. Valencia is a long time peasant organizer and an environmental activist in Cagayan Valley.
“We demand justice for Escuadro and all victims of extrajudicial killings, as we call for the immediate release of Valencia and other victims of arbitrary or illegal arrests.” Palabay ended.
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KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties. It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign.