Militant groups said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) should be held accountable for the “desecration” of the body of a slain rebel, calling it a “war crime” as it violates several international humanitarian laws and war protocols.
In separate statements, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Gabriela, and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) condemned soldiers who posed triumphantly over the dead body of New People’s Army (NPA) fighter Jevilyn Cullamat, the youngest daughter of Bayan Muna representative Eufemia Cullamat.
“What government soldiers did was a war crime in violation of several international humanitarian laws and war protocols. The dead, rebel or otherwise, deserve basic respect and decency,” KMP chair Danilo Ramos said.
“Jevilyn was treated like an animal hunted down, then she was paraded like a war trophy. It was as if the military was celebrating the death of a fellow Filipino. Ito ba ang gustong malutas ang digmaan sa bansa? (Is this how this government wants to solve the war in this country?),” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said.
Military Facebook pages and government media outfits circulated photos of soldiers posing over Cullamat’s dead body. There were also some photos wherein Cullamat was made to hold a rifle.
The act is prohibited under international humanitarian laws as the mutilation and maltreatment of dead bodies, even of terrorists and rebels, are covered by the war crime of “committing outrages upon personal dignity” under the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Cullamat was slain in an encounter between the AFP's 3rd Special Forces Battalion and NPA in Surigao del Sur last weekend.
Gabriela called for an independent investigation that will look into the circumstances of the younger Cullamat’s death. As for the “inhumanely desecrating the remains of Jevilyn,” the women’s group condemned the AFP for violating the 1949 Geneva Conventions and additional protocols pertaining to humanitarian treatment in war, as well as the GRP-NDFP Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).
“It is unconscionable that the AFP has resorted to such vile acts, exploiting this incident for their propaganda war against the Makabayan block and Bayan Muna Rep. Cullamat, and against the NPA,” Gabriela said.
“We reiterate that the path to just and lasting peace is something that the Filipino people desire. The armed revolution in the country cannot be extinguished if the government will not address, and instead willfully exacerbate, the systemic injustice and violations of people’s rights and interests,” it added.
The three groups condoled with the Cullamat family and sought justice for the death of the younger Cullamat.