Please use the template below to write to H.E.

Rodrigo Duterte, President of the Republic of the

Philippines. Amend the template as you wish. Thank you for your support!
________________________________________________

[date]

Dear President Duterte:

I write today to voice my deep concern regarding the ongoing violence and harassment directed
against Indigenous peoples in Mindanao.

I have learned that the more than 3,000 Indigenous peoples (part of the annual Lakbayan) that
gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Manila on October 19, 2016, to call for peace with justice
and the end to military violence on Indigenous lands were violently dispersed with police batons,
water cannons, and tear gas. I am troubled by reports of a police vehicle running over a group
of protesters. I understand that fifty were injured, and necessary medical attention for the injured
was delayed.

This incident is particularly disturbing when placed in the current context being experienced by
Lumad peoples: arson at the Lumad shelter in Davao City in February 2016, increasingly violent
attacks, harassment, and displacement. These incidents have been well documented by
independent human rights monitoring groups and the media. The media continues to report the
continued involvement of military and paramilitary groups in aerial bombings and ground
operations in Lumad communities; killings of community leaders; torture and sexual violence;
the forced displacement and harassment of students, educators, and residents; and the arrest,
detention, and filing of unfounded charges against Lumad leaders and community members.

I urge the Government of the Philippines to:

1. Establish an independent body to immediately investigate and prepare a public report on the
violent dispersal of October 19, 2016;

2. Ensure an end to the continued harassment and intimidation of the Lumad within and outside
their communities; and

3. Observe and promote the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and all other human rights instruments to
which it is a party and signatory.

Sincerely,

Your name

cc
Hon. Jesus Dureza
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process
Email: stqd.papp@opapp.gov.ph or feedback@opapp.net

Ret. Maj. Gen. Delfin Lorenzana

Secretary, Department of National Defense
Email: info@dnd.gov.ph or webmaster@dnd.gov.ph
Hon. Vitaliano Aguirre
Secretary, Department of Justice
Email: communications@doj.gov.ph

Hon. Jose Luis Martin Gascon

Chairperson, Commission on Human Rights
Email: chairgascon.chr@gmail.com

Hon. Neil Reeder

Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines Embassy of Canada
E-mail: manil@international.gc.ca

Christie Neufeldt
Program Coordinator, Public Witness
E-mail: cneufeldt@united-church.ca