Church people, lawyers, human rights defenders, and representatives from different sectors gathered at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Barangay Bata, Bacolod City on September 23 to establish the Manindigan Network chapter in Negros Island. Negros is the second region with a Manindigan regional chapter.

The network is a national campaign that aims to oppose violations of human rights and international humanitarian law (IHL) under the Marcos regime. The national network was founded in Manila on September 6, followed by the formation of Manindigan-Central Luzon on September 12.

According to the One Negros Ecumenical Council, the newly formed network will expand the reach and collaboration of different sectors to advance human rights and IHL in the region. Negros has the highest number of recorded cases of human rights and IHL violations under the Marcos regime nationwide.

At least 1,153 cases of violations have been recorded on the island, affecting 95,400 individuals, including nearly 5,000 minors. The Philippine Army’s 302nd and 303rd IBde units perpetrated these crimes while conducting combat operations on the island.

Even before Marcos assumed power, the blood of farmers, workers, and activists had already been shed on the island under the Duterte regime. In 2018, the Duterte regime imposed a de facto martial law in the region through Memorandum Order (MO) 32, which deployed additional military and police forces in Negros, Bicol, and the Samar islands.

Under MO32, more than 100 cases of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances were recorded on the island. More than 100 farmers, farmworkers, and activists also fell victims of illegal and arbitrary arrests by state forces under fabricated warrants.

Following the framework of the Manindigan national chapter, the regional counterpart groups will campaign for accountability and justice for the victims of the Marcos regime.