BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Peasant, labor, and artists’ groups called for the release of Julie Ann Balora, a sugar workers’ organizer detained in Negros Occidental days after a military operation in Toboso town killed 19 people.
The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, Tambisan sa Sining, Artists for Just Peace, and the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights condemned Balora’s arrest, saying she and her companions were stopped without a warrant at about 6 p.m. April 22 along the circumferential road in Barangay Matab-ang, Talisay City.
Balora, an organizer of the National Federation of Sugar Workers and a National Council member of the Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura, was traveling south from Victorias City in a rented van with four male companions when an unmarked vehicle allegedly cut them off. Other vehicles then surrounded them, and armed operatives reportedly ordered them out at gunpoint and forced them to kneel, according to accounts reported to Paghimutad through Human Rights Advocates Negros Island.
The arrest came three days after the April 19 military operation in Toboso, Negros Occidental, where 19 people were killed. Rights groups have linked Balora’s detention to what they described as intensified militarization in Negros Island and continuing attacks on farmworkers, organizers, and their families.
CTUHR said Balora’s arrest showed what it described as continuing military brutality in Negros under the Marcos administration.
“Marcos Jr. and the military seem to have resumed martial law in Negros, which was carried out by both dictators Ferdinand Marcos and Rodrigo Duterte,” said Kamz Deligente, CTUHR executive director. “Balora’s arrest really shows that they do not distinguish between armed rebels on the one hand and unarmed unionists and activists on the other in their campaign of repression.”
KMP said the arrest showed a continuing pattern of attacks against peasant organizers and their families in Negros.
“The right to organize is not a crime. The real crime is the chronic repression of those who fight for land, livelihood, and workers’ rights in the countryside,” KMP said.
Armed operatives reportedly placed two bags inside the vehicle, which authorities allegedly claimed contained firearms and grenades. Balora denied ownership of the items, while human rights advocates described the incident as a case of planted evidence.
KMP and Tanggol Magsasaka spokesperson Ronnie Manalo said the allegation against Balora “bears the hallmarks of evidence planting to justify the arrest and prosecution of peasant organizers.”
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Balora and the others were subsequently brought to the Talisay police station and interrogated without legal counsel. An HRAN report also alleged that one detainee was separated for questioning, and another was punched in the chest.
“No human rights, no workers’ right to freedom of association, no arrest warrants, no due process, just planted evidence and trumped-up charges,” Deligente said. “Negros now seems to be a lawless land, where the military, with Marcos Jr.’s protection, rules with brute force.”
CTUHR said Balora’s arrest brought the number of political detainees from the labor movement to 20, following the March 11 arrest of community health workers Dr. Ana Marie Rilloroza and Marc Arriane Mendiola in Tarlac City.
The labor rights group also said the case reflected findings by the International Labour Organization’s High-Level Tripartite Mission to the Philippines in January 2023 and United Nations special rapporteurs that counterinsurgency operations have been used to suppress workers’ freedom of association.
Tambisan sa Sining said Balora’s arrest was part of what it described as a broader campaign of repression in Negros.
“It is not a crime to organize and fight for the rights of the people,” the cultural group said in Tagalog. “The true crime is the militarization of the countryside, the killing of farmers, and the repression of communities seeking only justice and livelihood.”
Artists for Just Peace also demanded Balora’s release, and called for the defense of Negros Island against what it calls ‘fascist attacks’.
“While the food, economic, and oil crisis are being sidelined, they US-Marcos regime is continuing its fascism and attacks against peasant organizers,” the artists’ group said in Tagalog.
Balora is also a volunteer journalist for Paghimutad and hosted the online radio program “Kaling kag Tugda,” which highlighted peasant and people’s issues in Negros Island.
Tambisan sa Sining said Balora’s sister Genevieve was among those killed in Toboso. Another sister, Harlyn, was arrested in 2022 in Isabela, Negros Occidental, in what groups also alleged was a case involving planted evidence.
KMP urged the Commission on Human Rights to investigate and called for all charges against Balora to be dropped. CTUHR also called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to order an impartial investigation into the April 19 Toboso killings and ensure accountability for military personnel involved.
Paghimutad 