By On January 1, 2026, a military operation by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Sitio Mamara, Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro, killed five civilians, including three Indigenous children and displaced 769 civilians. The operation, involving aerial bombardment by Armed Forces of the Philippines attack helicopters, destroying the homes and farmlands of the Mangyan-Iraya Indigenous community.
Photo source: Leo Visions, via Unsplash, July 8th, 2022.
30-01-2026 | Roberta Moisuc | Asia Team Researcher, Global Human Rights Defence.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines violated principles of international humanitarian law during the recently conducted military operations in Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro, on January 1st, 2026.
Around six AM on New Year’s Day, forces of the Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army, alongside forces of the Scout Ranger Battalion, conducted a “strike operation” against members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Sitio Mamara, Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro. Locals in the area saw four Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) attack helicopters, drop 12 bombs, and conduct aerial strafing in the area.
The bombing resulted in the killing of five individuals, including three Indigenous children and two other civilians. The attack has left the civilian population and Mangyan-Iraya Indigenous People experiencing severe trauma as the bombings lasted three hours, with 769 individuals who were forcibly displaced and evacuated to a local high school. Their livelihood is now severely affected, as crops, farmland, and animals were destroyed in the aftermath. Additionally, a youth activist working with the Indigenous communities in the area got separated from her group and is now under military custody.
The Philippine government is a signatory party to both the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Additional Protocols. The instruments were incorporated through the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity (Republic Act 9851). The act defines “attacking or bombarding by whatever means, towns, villages, dwellings or buildings which are undefended and which are not military objectives” as specific violations of international humanitarian law. Additionally, Article 51 of the Additional Protocol I prohibits indiscriminate attacks by bombardment which may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life. The operation was a clear violation of these principles.
