Rights victims press PH complaint vs Myanmar junta chief
Myanmar survivors are urging Philippine authorities to advance a 2023 criminal complaint against junta leader Min Aung Hlaing that remains pending before the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The Chin Human Rights Organisation (CHRO), which represents the complainants, said in a statement that the push is linked to broader international accountability efforts, including proceedings involving former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s trial at the ICC in The Hague has breathed new impetus into our case,” said lawyer Romel Bagares, who represents the complainants.
The appeal was made on Saturday as Southeast Asian leaders met in Cebu City for regional talks where Myanmar’s ongoing conflict remains a key issue for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
The complaint was filed in 2023 before the DOJ by survivors and relatives of victims from Myanmar’s Chin State.
It alleges violations of the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity that obligates the prosecution of war crimes committed elsewhere under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
Bagares said the justice department had already acknowledged that the allegations could fall under Philippine law, but the case has not yet advanced to a formal investigation.
“The evidence we submitted corresponds to offenses punishable under the International Humanitarian Law Act,” Bagares said.
Among the incidents cited is the killing of Pastor Cung Biak Hum in September 2021 in Thantlang, Chin State.
Rights groups said he was shot while trying to extinguish fires during military operations in the area. Myanmar’s military has denied allegations of widespread abuses.
Myanmar has been in crisis since the military takeover in 2021 that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, triggering armed resistance and accusations of widespread human rights violations.
The CHRO said the push reflects growing international accountability efforts and cited similar legal actions in other jurisdictions.
“The Philippines under President Bong Bong Marcos has shown Asean and the world great leadership in advancing international accountability,” the organization said.
“We trust that his administration will support decisive action in our case in the Philippines, moving with the trend towards accountability against the Myanmar junta in Asean and beyond, given that there are now cases against Min Aung Hlaing in Argentina, Indonesia, Timor Leste and Turkey,” it added.
The Asean has excluded Myanmar’s military leadership from summit-level meetings since the 2021 coup, as the bloc continues efforts toward a regional peace plan aimed at ending the conflict.
