RELEASE CHANTAL! DEFEND PEASANT & INDIGENOUS WOMEN & CHILDREN! DEFEND MINDORO!

GABRIELA USA joins in the calls from around the world to release Chantal Anicoche, a 24 year-old Filipino woman from the U.S. who was present during the Armed Forces of the Philippines's recent terroristic attack on Barangay Cabacao, Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro on January 1, 2026.

In this recent attack, the fascist AFP dropped 12 bombs and flew attack helicopters that indiscriminately shot at the area, resulting in the massacre of 3 Mangyan-Iraya children, the death of Jerlyn Rose Doydora, a young woman leader with Kabataan Partylist, and mass displacement of at least 188 families. Chantal was present during this attack, learning from the Mangyan peoples and was unaccounted for at the time.

Alongside BAYAN USA, we launched a campaign to call for the immediate investigation of Chantal’s whereabouts. A military blockade in the area is preventing human rights organizations from conducting fact finding missions, hindering their ability to shed light on the truth. However, due to the mass movement calling for her immediate surfacing and exposing the Philippine military’s violent crimes - recent videos show she is alive, but now in the hands of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

We have seen accounts of torture and coercion that the AFP is capable of and we are urgently calling for Chantal’s immediate and safe release! We also demand that a humanitarian corridor be opened, allow the fact finding mission in, and expose the extent of the bombing and strafing that have affected the people locally.

This atrocity follows a pattern of heightened militarization of Indigenous and peasant communities in the Philippines, where women are often at the forefront of defending their land and communities.

We are also mourning the murder of Warlita Jimenez, a peasant woman leader from Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, who was killed in her own home last December 23, 2025. It is so clear that the number one perpetrator of violence against Filipino women is the Philippine government.

It is despicable for the AFP and NTF-ELCAC to red-tag and spread lies about the very people they kill - especially the women and children. It is even more despicable that the Philippine government launches a campaign to "End VAW" every year, but fails to report on the hundreds of women activists they harass, imprison, red-tag, disappear, and kill.

As Filipino women, we are endlessly inspired by women like Chantal, Jerlyn, and Warlita, who selflessly choose to be with and uplift the most exploited and oppressed peoples. We shine a light on Chantal especially, who is known by her whole community in the U.S. as a fierce and loving leader, and is a shining example of how we as Filipino women can best serve our people - by going back home to learn the true conditions of the Filipino masses.

We as GABRIELA USA are committed to defending Filipino women activists and demand for the immediate and safe release of Chantal. We also demand that thorough and transparent investigations be conducted for both the massacre in Cabacao as well as the murder of Warlita Jimenez in Negros. We will keep fighting so that all those responsible, including Marcos Jr. and the U.S. who provides the bombs and weapons the AFP uses, are held accountable.

We call on all Filipino women to help us echo these demands, to stand with our sisters, and to fight for a genuinely free and just society!

Release Chantal Anicoche!

Justice for Victims of Cabacao Massacre!

Justice for Warlita!

Defend Mindoro!

Stop the Killings!

Stop the Bombings!

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