On August 9, 2025, a police officer from the Philippines National Police (PNP) Roxas and soldiers from the 203rd Infantry Brigade harassed and held at gunpoint student volunteer paralegals from the University of the Philippines who were conducting a fact-finding mission.

The students were investigating reports of militarization in rural and ancestral lands, and documenting violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in Roxas, Oriental Mindoro. While there, state security forces surveilled, threatened, and intimidated them.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the intimidation and harassment, including threats of violence, of students for exercising their freedom of expression – conduct which is protected by international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which the Philippines is a party. Security forces must refrain from actions that chill or restrict such conduct. In addition to harm to the immediate victims, intimidation and harassment in response to peaceful expressive activity undermine academic freedom and democratic society generally.

Sources:
https://www.bulatlat.com/2025/08/13/soldiers-disrupt-harass-fact-finding-mission-in-mindoro/
https://www.facebook.com/kabataan/posts/pfbid02XE6QHYE3vixRhhmYekoFerKxq6iiQuvqc73CW989h5UV9fiUZBRCayJR6qFgZ1zal