Ahead of the International Working Women’s Day (IWWD) on March 8, peasant women led by the Amihan Women along with human rights advocates troop in front of the Department of National Defense (DND) to condemn the US-Marcos regime’s relentless bombings and militarization of peasant communities.

Across the countryside, landless peasants suffer from state-sponsored violence under the guise of counter-insurgency. In 2023, five aerial bombing incidents were documented: February 2 in Baggao, Cagayan; March 5 and 9 in Kalinga; April 6 in Rizal; September 22 in Masbate; and August 5 in Negros Occidental. In 2024, three more bombings took place: February 22 in Negros Occidental, February 29 in Iloilo, and April 2 in Abra and Ilocos Sur. The latest attack was recorded on March 1, 2025, in Oriental Mindoro committed by the 4th Infantry Battalion and 203rd Infantry Brigade.

Under International Humanitarian Law (IHL), the indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas is a grave violation and constitutes a war crime; the Geneva Conventions, Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force all prohibit wholesale attacks and disproportionate use of military force against civilian populations. Under domestic laws, the Republic Act No. 9851 or An Act Defining And Penalizing Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law supposedly criminalizes intentional attacks against civilians and indiscriminate use of force affecting non-combatants.

Despite these “legal protections,” the Marcos Jr. regime continues to prioritize unbridled militarization over genuine land reform and rural development, forcing peasant families into deeper poverty and displacement. On the other hand, the government’s counter-insurgency programs are far from addressing the roots of armed conflict, only serving as a smokescreen for land grabbing and corporate land monopolization, depriving farmers of their right to till their land.

“Hindi nila tayo tinatantanan, kaya dapat patuloy tayo sa paglaban para sa ating mga karapatan,” stressed Jenny Rapiz of Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Bulacan (AMB). Bulacan farmers continue to experience the creeping terror of militarization, and are constantly subjected to human rights violations (HRVs) impeding on their life and livelihood.

The criminal Marcos administration does not stop at direct fire against the people, and perpetrates widespread abuse, exploitation, against the vulnerable peasant women in the countryside. Illegal military occupation of civilian spaces such as barangay halls, daycare centers have caused immense suffering particularly for women and children. Threats, harassment, extrajudicial killings, red-tagging, illegal arrests, rape, and sexual violence are rampant, leaving communities in constant fear and trauma.

Farmers will continue to amplify the call to defend peasant women, and will join the massive mobilization on March 8. “We call on all human rights advocates, progressive organizations, and the international community to condemn the state-sanctioned violence against peasant communities, hold the US-Marcos regime and its rabid dogs from the Armed Forces of the Philippines accountable for war crimes, rights abuses and IHL violations. We demand an end to militarization and aerial bombings in rural areas, and to support the struggle of peasant women and farmers for land, food, and justice!” ###