Amid mounting evidence of massive corruption in flood control and infrastructure projects in Occidental and Oriental Mindoro and across the MIMAROPA region, the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) challenged the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and state security forces to end their attacks on peasant and Indigenous communities and instead pursue those involved in corruption in Mindoro. Some P289.5 million worth of infrastructure and flood control projects across Mindoro Oriental are under investigation, many are related to still-at-large Zaldy Co and his company Sunwest Corp.

KMP Chairperson Danilo Ramos said it is glaringly unjust that while billions of pesos have been lost to anomalous flood control projects and other infrastructure scams, the full force of the state is unleashed not against corrupt officials and contractors but against poor farmers, Mangyan communities, and civilians.

“Ang dapat na hinahabol at tinutugis ng gobyerno ay ang mga magnanakaw ng kaban ng bayan at hindi ang mga magsasaka at katutubo na pinahihirapan ng militarisasyon.”

Recent data show that Oriental Mindoro alone has recorded 119 incidents of human rights violations affecting more than 17,000 individuals, including peasants, Indigenous Peoples, and other civilians. At least four incidents of aerial bombing were documented in Pola, Mansalay, and Baco, displacing and terrorizing more than a thousand residents. These attacks occurred amid the deployment of multiple AFP units, including the 76thIB, 1st IB, 59thIB, and the 5th Special Reconnaissance Battalion. Similar violence was reported during New Year operations in Abra de Ilog in Occidental Mindoro, where armed clashes and bombings killed civilians and endangered communities.

“These bombings and combat operations are being carried out in farming and indigenous areas, in clear violation of International Humanitarian Law,” Ramos said. “Mga komunidad ng sibilyan – mga magsasaka at Mangyan-Iraya ang binomba ng militar. Tahasang pagyurak ito sa karapatang pantao.”

KMP warned that the escalation of militarization in Mindoro coincides with the aggressive push for large-scale mining, renewable energy, and ecotourism projects following the lifting of the 25-year mining moratorium by the provincial government. In Abra de Ilog alone, these include the resumption of mining operations by Agusan Petroleum, the planned 375-megawatt Abra de Ilog Wind Energy Project targeted to operate by 2031, and the privatization of the Luyang Baga Cave in Barangay Cabacao for ecotourism – an area that stands on the ancestral lands of farmers and the Mangyan-Iraya Indigenous people. Communities opposing these projects have faced years of harassment, intimidation, and sustained military presence, while land and natural resources are opened up for corporate exploitation

“Ang nagaganap na matinding militarisasyon sa buong Mindoro ay malinaw na panangga para sa malalaking negosyo: mga minahan, renewable energy, at turismo habang tinatabunan ang malawakang katiwalian sa imprastruktura, kabilang ang mga flood control projects,” Ramos said.

KMP emphasized that previous cases of killings, enforced disappearances, human rights violations, and breaches of International Humanitarian Law in Mindoro remain unresolved, reinforcing a pattern of impunity that benefits the powerful while criminalizing the poor.
“The AFP claims it is protecting communities, but the reality is the opposite,” Ramos said. “Ang pinoprotektahan nila ay ang interes ng iilang nasa kapangyarihan at mga pulitikong sangkot sa korapsyon at mga korporasyong sumisira sa lupa at kabuhayan ng mamamayan.”

KMP called on the Marcos Jr. administration to immediately stop aerial bombings and combat operations in civilian areas, pull out military forces from peasant and Indigenous communities, and ensure that those responsible for corruption in flood control, mining, and other infrastructure projects in Mindoro are held accountable.

“Until the real plunderers of Mindoro are made to answer for their crimes, the people will continue to resist,” Ramos said. ###