​FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: On the reported departure of Fil-Am activist Chantal Anicoche for the US

[KARAPATAN Public Information]

PRESS RELEASE

1 February 2026

Reference: Cristina Palabay, KARAPATAN secretary general, 09173162831
KARAPATAN Public Information Desk, 09189790580

On the reported departure of Fil-Am activist Chantal Anicoche for the US

Filipino-American activist Chantal Anicoche reportedly departed on January 29, 2026, for the United States, according to press releases by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the 2nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army, who had Anicoche in custody for at least 22 days.

Anicoche was allegedly found by military troops on January 8, during clearing operations near the site of an encounter between the New People’s Army (NPA) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Occidental Mindoro. The AFP released the video a week after military forces conducted bombings and aerial strafing in Brgy. Cabacao, Abra de Ilog, on January 1.

According to the AFP, Anicoche signed a manifest of undertaking to complete medical treatment at a military hospital inside Camp Capinpin. Her departure was reportedly the result of an Order to Leave by the Bureau of Immigration after she allegedly admitted to being affiliated with organizations that have ties to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the NPA.

The Order to Leave implies that Anicoche is considered by the Philippine government as an undesirable alien due to her alleged affiliations with the CPP and the NPA. The statement of the NTF-ELCAC on Anicoche’s departure contained veiled threats on the possibility that she may face tremendous risks and may be persecuted once she arrives in the US, on the premise of her supposed admissions.

The NTF-ELCAC has likewise hinted that even with Anicoche’s departure, they intend to continue red-and terror-tagging her, the organizations she is affiliated with and the Philippine-based organizations that demanded her immediate release from military custody. They also intend to exploit Anicoche’s situation to drumbeat an ongoing campaign to prevent the youth from involving themselves in social issues, all in the guise of preventing “terror-grooming.”

The question with regard to Chantal Anicoche’s case rests on the dubiousness of any document she may have executed, including the alleged confessions and admissions elicited from her, while under military custody. As attested to by the survivors of abduction like Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano, Dyan Gumanao and Armand Dayoha, and many others, any document signed while under military custody is suspect, because this was accomplished under duress.

The fact remains that Anicoche should have been immediately released by the military since there were no pending cases against her. Videos released by the military of her alleged discovery in a shallow thicket-covered hole also showed that she was not in possession of any kind of weapon and was not in the act of committing a crime.

The communities in Mindoro, however, remain at great risk with the continuing military operations in rural and indigenous areas.

To mask the impact of the bombings, indiscriminate strafing, forced displacement and other violations of International Humanitarian Law, the AFP and the NTF-ELCAC utilize their State terror toolbox through their “whole of nation approach” as they undermine civilian authority and attempt to stifle the exercise of human rights work, freedom of association and expression. The weaponization of terror laws and proposed measures poised to worsen the provisions of these laws are invoked to create a chilling effect and intensify the climate of impunity. All these and more are outlined in Marcos Jr. 's blueprint for State terror, the National Action Plan for Unity, Peace and Development.

KARAPATAN will continue to stand with victims of human rights violations and support their efforts to seek justice, and thwart any move by the State to conceal violations, evade accountability, and perpetuate a culture of impunity.

KARAPATAN reiterates that respect for human rights and International Humanitarian Law is never about the State-funded and -driven curation of narratives that conceal and obscure the social problems and undermine the exercise of rights to justify political repression. It is about the genuine resolution of the root causes of oppression and exploitation of the poor majority.

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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.  It was established in 1995.