MANILA – Indigenous rights activist Raven Desposado has formally asked the Commission on Human Rights on April 28, 2026  to launch an investigation into the coercion and harassment he experienced while he was organizing the 42nd People’s Cordillera Day in Tadian, Mountain Province.

Desposado is coordinator for Tignayan dagiti Agtutubo ti Kordilyera para iti Demokrasya ken Rang-ay (Takder), an organization of Indigenous Cordillera youth and advocates based in the National Capital Region (NCR).

In his affidavit, Desposado identified military agents Kenjie Lecciones and Private First Class Joebert B. Becares, who pressured him to “surrender” and enlist in “Buklod Kapayapaan” – a group linked to the government’s counterinsurgency body, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

“This case of surveillance and harassment is a violation of my right to life, liberty, and security. I am worrying for my safety and mental health after the incident,” Desposado wrote in the affidavit.

At around 7 a.m. on April 23, 2026, Desposado was approached by Lecciones and Becares while he was waiting at the terminal in Poblacion, Bontoc. The two invited him to their dorm to talk, offering to “clear” his name, and urging him to “surrender so he could live peacefully.”

The two agents repeatedly tried to obtain his contact details and took his photo without consent. Desposado asked them to delete the images, but he discovered that they had already taken earlier photos of him even before approaching him. Shortly after, a white pickup truck with red plates arrived. Onboard were three unidentified individuals who spoke with the agents.

This prompted Desposado to immediately flee the scene and report back to the office of Cordillera People’s Alliance – Mountain Province. In response, Takder issued a statement, affirming that Desposado is a community organizer.

“His convictions are rooted in service, organizing, and the defense of Indigenous peoples’ rights,” the statement read. “This incident is not isolated but forms part of a series of human rights violations and a long-standing systematic pattern of attacks against activists—beginning with surveillance and vilification, escalating to harassment, threats, the filing of fabricated charges, and, at its worst, abduction and killings.”

Desposado served as instructor and resource speaker on Indigenous rights in various communities and schools. Prior to his work with Takder, Desposado was a student leader, having served as president of the PUP Sentral na Konseho ng Mag-aaral in 2011 and secretary general of the university chapter of Sandigan ng mga Mag-aaral para sa Sambayanan (Samasa) .

Samasa PUP condemned the harassment and surveillance of Desposado. “The People’s Cordillera Day is a legitimate and democratic gathering that should never be a target of fascism. We hold the NTF-ELCAC directly accountable for any harm that may be inflicted on Raven,” the group said.

Braving the challenges, organizers commemorated the Peoples’ Cordillera Day in Metro Manila, Baguio, Benguet, Mt. Province, Abra, Kalinga, and Apayao. It is an annual community-centered initiative of the Cordillera people and advocates to assert their fight for ancestral lands, environmental protection, human rights, and livelihood. (RVO)

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