Posted by ReyFort Media
TORONTO – Representatives of Filipino diaspora organizations and Canadian solidarity groups delivered a petition to the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto on Monday, January 12, calling for the immediate release of Filipino-American community organizer Chantal Anicoche from the custody of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Representatives from BAYAN Toronto, Migrante Ontario, the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) Toronto, and Malaya Movement Canada met with Consul Rodney Jonas Sumague to formally submit the petition and accompanying statements. The groups expressed grave concern for Anicoche’s safety and well-being and demanded her immediate release.
“To assume that the AFP can be trusted with Chantal’s safety is a clear contradiction,” said Lui Queano from Malaya Movement Canada. “Such a move legitimizes the very institution responsible for systematic human rights violations and the normalization of repression under de facto martial law in Mindoro.”
The petition delivery is part of a three-day action in Toronto organized by the Filipino diaspora and allies to demand accountability for military violence in Mindoro and the release of Anicoche.
On Sunday, January 11, more than 60 Filipino community members in Toronto, together with solidarity allies, braved freezing temperatures and strong winds to hold a vigil outside the Philippine Consulate. The vigil honoured the lives lost during the January 1 aerial bombing and strafing operations carried out by the Philippine government in Cabacao, Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro, which displaced nearly 200 families and killed 5 civilians including children.
During the vigil, community members condemned the Philippine government’s terror-tagging and black propaganda targeting human rights defenders and community organizers, including Anicoche. Speakers at the vigil underscored that such attacks endanger activists and are used to justify military violence against civilians.
Solidarity groups further linked the bombings in Mindoro to broader patterns of militarization, stating that U.S. imperialism fuels the same bombs and bullets used against Palestinians, Venezuelans, and Indigenous Mangyan-Iraya communities in the Philippines. These areas become targets because of their rich natural resources, preyed upon by foreign companies and military. From Palestine to Venezuela to the Philippines, groups raised a unified call to stop the bombings and end the U.S. war machine.
“These horrific acts of violence within the first week of 2026 have exposed the United States’ desperate attempts to cling to power while anti-imperialist and national liberation movements are strengthening their resistance around the world,” said Kim Garcia, BAYAN Toronto coordinator. “Despite the increasing fascism, we know that there is no level of repression that can stop the people from justly rising up in resistance.”
The petition to release Anicoche gathered a total of 702 signatures across Canada, with 500 collected online and 202 gathered in person.
Media Contact:
Kim Garcia
BAYAN Toronto Coordinator
ReyFort Media 
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