The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) commemorates the third anniversary of the unjust and brutal killing of National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) consultant Ericson Acosta. On November 30, 2022, Acosta, along with Joseph Jimenez of KMP-Negros, was captured alive and therefore guaranteed humane treatment under International Humanitarian Law (IHL). As a peace consultant, Acosta was also protected by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG). Instead, he and Jimenez were heinously executed by elements of the 94th and 47th Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental.

The killing of Acosta exposes the lingering brutality of Duterte-era counterinsurgency policies, particularly Memorandum Order 32, which placed Negros under de facto martial law and intensified militarization. Within the first year of MO 32’s implementation, at least 46 people were killed and 62 individuals were arrested and imprisoned, with roughly 28 of these killings and 60 arrests occurring in Negros. This repressive framework continued under Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who, in the early months of his presidency, kept MO 32 in place as a mechanism to quell activism and suppress legitimate organizing among farming communities. Under Marcos Jr., Negros remains one of the most violently targeted regions in the country, accounting for 48 victims of extrajudicial killings, the highest number recorded in any region. These attacks persist under the same legal and political apparatus established under MO 32.

Acosta, a renowned writer and poet, was also a lifelong peasant advocate who worked closely with KMP during the 2016–2017 peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the NDFP. His contributions helped shape discussions on the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER). He served as a resource person for the NDFP Reciprocal Working Committee on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development.

The mass actions in Luneta and Mendiola yesterday, held in time for Acosta’s death anniversary, underscored the urgency of ousting Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte. Both are unrepentant heirs of dictators and mass murderers, namely Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and Rodrigo Duterte, and both are deeply implicated in corruption. Marcos Jr. now faces mounting demands for accountability as corruption scandals expose him as the central architect, while the impeached Sara Duterte has yet to answer for her documented criminal misuse of public funds. The political fracture of the once-vaunted “Uniteam” over the past year has made clear that unity among the ruling elite exists only to protect their interests and maintain their power over the toiling masses. Their ongoing power struggle will never serve farmers or ordinary people.

In this moment of deepening crisis, the path is unmistakable: the call for justice for all victims of extrajudicial killings and human rights violations demands the complete removal of both Marcos and Duterte from power.

Justice for all victims of political killings!
Marcos-Duterte, walang pinag-iba: parehong korap, diktador, pasista!