Philippines - AFP is utterly reprehensible for violation of rights of on-leave pregnant Red fighters

Marco L. Valbuena, Chief Information Officer
Communist Party of the Philippines

December 22, 2023

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) condemns in the strongest terms the blatant disregard of the 11th Infantry Battalion for humanitarian laws when it abducted two pregnant Red fighters Ka Aubrey and Ka Sarah last December 18 from their resting place in Siaton, Negros Oriental and held them incommunicado.

As per the AFP's modus operandi, Ka Aubrey and Ka Sarah were denied their rights including legal representation and family visitation, and were instead subjected to mental and emotional torture. They were then made into a public spectacle when the fascist paraded them as "surrenderees."

The AFP's claim that the two were "rescued" is a gross distortion of the truth to cover up their crime of abduction and secret detention.

Pregnant and denied of their rights, the harrowing experience that they were subjected by the fascists is beyond imagination. In its desperate attempt to project victory against the NPA and the revolutionary movement, the AFP is sparing nobody. It is an act of extreme cowardice that the AFP is attacking pregnant women, as well as civilians.

We recall how several pregnant NPA Red fighters on leave, Cherilyn Rebita (Ka Jan), Aurily Havana (Ka Laiza), and Jennifer Binungkasan (Ka Laile) underwent a similar experience a year ago in Northern Mindanao. Havana and Binungkasan were secretly detained for 65 days before the AFP acknowledged having them in custody as "surrenderees." Rebita, along with another Red fighter, was held for 69 days before being “released” by the military agents on November 3, 2022 to perform a “mission” against the NPA, while the fascists kept her infant, Baby Rhea, hostage.

We demand that Ka Aubrey and Ka Sarah's rights be respected, be given full medical attention, and be immediately granted visitation from their families and relatives, as well as their chosen counsel. We also demand their immediate release in accordance with Article 76, Paragraph 2 of Protocol 1 of the Geneva conventions, which gives utmost priority to cases of pregnant women in custody of any party to the armed conflict.

We call on the Filipino people, defenders of women’s and children’s rights, human rights and international humanitarian law, peace advocates and other organizations to exert efforts to expose the AFP’s dirty operations and help the victims attain justice.

PRWC | Philippine Revolution Web Central
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