Zamboanga City Joins Earth Hour

Lights are out Saturday, March 26, 2011 on a village in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines as it joins Earth Hour, a global grass-roots movement encouraging individuals, businesses and governments around the world to take positive actions for the environment, and celebrating their commitment to the planet by switching off their lights for one designated hour. Earth Hour began in Sydney in Australia on March 31, 2007 when more than two million individuals and two thousand businesses turned off their lights for one hour to take a stand on climate change. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 26, 2011) – The southern Filipino city of Zamboanga switched off its lights late Saturday as it joined the global campaign dubbed as “Earth Hour” to save energy.

The local Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative turned off power for half an hour at 8:30 p.m., but many private homes opted to stay without electricity for one hour to comply with the campaign.

Earth Hour is a global grass-roots movement encouraging individuals, businesses and governments around the world to take positive actions for the environment, and celebrating their commitment to the planet by switching off their lights for one designated hour.

It began in Sydney in Australia on March 31, 2007 when more than two million individuals and two thousand businesses turned off their lights for one hour to take a stand on climate change, according to Earthour.org.

Since then, Earth Hour grew to become the greatest environmental action in history with individuals, businesses and governments across more than 100 countries coming together to show the path to a sustainable future is a collective journey. (Mindanao Examiner)

Fugitive Philippine senator returns from Hong Kong after court voids arrest warrant in murders

MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine senator who fled double murder charges more than a year ago returned to the country on Saturday after a court voided the arrest warrant against him, police said.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson arrived in central Cebu city from Hong Kong and planned to fly on to Manila later Saturday, national police spokesman Agrimero Cruz said.

Lacson was charged with the killings of high-profile publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and his driver in 2000. He has denied involvement.

Lacson, a former national police chief, was one of then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's staunchest critics. He left for Hong Kong on Jan. 5, 2010, and in a statement a month later said he was a victim of an alleged conspiracy involving Arroyo and feared for his life in the Philippines.

The Court of Appeals ruled last month that there was no probable cause for the arrest warrant and said the main witness against him — one of his former police deputies — was unreliable. The trial court's options could include ordering a reinvestigation or dismissing the case on a motion by Lacson's lawyers.

Dacer's U.S.-based daughters have sued Lacson and ex-President Joseph Estrada in San Francisco for alleged complicity in the murder under a U.S. law that allows federal courts to consider accusations of human rights abuses committed outside the United States.

Estrada has denied any involvement in the killings.

Dacer represented a number of top political figures.

He and his driver, Emmanuel Corbito, were abducted from a Manila street and were later found strangled and burned. Investigators identified their corpses using dental records.The reasons for the murders remain a subject of speculation. (Associated Press)

Kidapawan City launches anti-rabies campaign

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 26, 2011) - The local government of Kidapawan City has launched an anti-rabies campaign as part of an aggressive program to control if not eradicate cases of dog bites.

More than 300 cases of dog bites have been reported the past two months in different villages in Kidapawan. Although the City Health Office has a steady and aggressive anti-rabies education program, it continues to encourage dog owners to have their pets vaccinated regularly and keep the animals in cages.

Rabies is a preventable viral disease of mammals most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal. The rabies virus infects the central nervous system, ultimately causing disease in the brain and death.

The early symptoms of rabies in people are similar to that of many other illnesses, including fever, headache, and general weakness or discomfort. As the disease progresses, more specific symptoms appear and may include insomnia, anxiety, confusion, slight or partial paralysis, excitation, hallucinations, agitation, hypersalivation (increase in saliva), difficulty swallowing, and hydrophobia (fear of water). Death usually occurs within days of the onset of these symptoms.

Gunmen attack police in Zamboanga City

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 25, 2011) – Gunmen opened fire on a police patrol in Zamboanga City in Mindanao, but there were no reports of casualties or injuries, officials said Friday.

Officials said the police were pursuing two motorcycle gunmen late Thursday in the village of Ayala when they came under fire.

Three bullets fired by gunmen hit the police jeep.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attack, but officials suspect the shooting was connected to an earlier police raid that led to the recovery of illegal weapons in a nearby area. (Mindanao Examiner)

Kidapawan residents join march for World TB Month

Residents in Kidapawan City in Mindanao join a march in observance of the World TB Month. (Photo by Geo Solmerano)

Tagum City Launches 'Run For Peace'

Sketch from mervson.com

BE AN ADVOCATE OF PEACE...REGISTER & JOIN US.

21K, 10K, 5K, 3K

RUN OF PEACE

10 April 2011

Rotary Park, Tagum City

Registration Fees are:

Php 150 for 10K, 5K, & 3K category

Php 250 for 21K with Finisher's Medal, inclusive of Singlet, Racing Bib, Finisher's Cert & Kit

Registration Areas:

Vice Mayor's Office, 3rd Floor, SP Bldg., Bonifacio St., Tagum City and

Headquarters of 3rd Special Forces Battalion, Brgy. San Isidro, Tagum City

For inquiries, contact:

CP 0917 5543712, 0928 3912862 & 0922 4909088

Landlines: (084)400 1346 & (084)217 3412

Malaysia-bound Filipino tourists intercepted in Zamboanga City

Photo from http://utweet.it

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 24, 2011) - Local police held Thursday dozens of Filipino women intercepted in Zamboanga City in Mindanao Island on their way to the Malaysian state of Sabah.

Police suspect the women were recruited from as far as Luzon Island and other provinces and Metro-Manila to work in the oil-rich state near the southern Filipino province of Tawi-Tawi and other countries in Asia and the Middle East.

It said more than 80 women were supposed to take a chartered flight to Malaysia when airport security intercepted them on Thursday.

The women said they were on a travel tour, but many of them could not answer routine questions asked by immigration officers at the Zamboanga International Airport.

Police have mounted an investigation into the group on suspicion they were victims of human trafficking and have sent them to social centers for further questioning.

According to a Washington-based organization, which monitors human trafficking cases around the world, the Philippines is a source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking.

The number of Philippine and foreign child victims in the country range from 20,000 to 100,000. Foreign tourists, particularly other Asians, sexually exploit women and children in the Philippines, the HumanTrafficking.Org reported.

It said Filipino men, women, and girls were trafficked for labor and sexual exploitation to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, South Africa, North America, and Europe.

But other statistics show that the number of women trafficked range from 300,000 to 400,000 and the number of children trafficked range from 60,000 to 100,000. Many Filipino men and women voluntarily migrate to work abroad but later coerced into exploitative conditions.

The Philippines was placed in Tier 2 in the 2007 U.S. Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report for not fully complying with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but making significant efforts to do so, the HumanTrafficking.Org further said.

The 2003 Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act criminalizes human trafficking, with penalties up to life in prison. The law allows private prosecutors, including nongovernmental organizations to file lawsuits against traffickers. (Mindanao Examiner)

Filipino LGBTs back Lady Gaga's call on Malaysian Censorship of "Born This Way"

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 24, 2011) - An alliance of progressive Filipino lesbians, gays, bi-sexual and transgender, and their allies came out Thursday to support the war call issued by pop star Lady Gaga to fight anti-gay censorship in Malaysia.

The multi-awarded singer Lady Gaga exhorted Malaysian lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to oppose the removal by radio stations in Malaysia and the Hong Kong-based music cable programmer Channel V of lyrics in her hit anthem that promoted LGBT pride.

Goya Candelario, spokesperson for the Progressive Organization of Gays (ProGay Philippines) said that it fully support Lady Gaga's position, and said it is calling on its members to boycott Channel V and its advertisers.

Radio stations in Malaysia were playing censored versions of "Born This Way" that removed the passage "No matter gay, straight or bi, lesbian, trans-gendered life, I'm on the right track, baby."




In an online interview, Gaga said: "What I would say is for all the young people in Malaysia that want those words to be played on the radio, it is your job and it is your duty as young people to have your voices heard."

In the neighboring country of the Philippines, gay activists protested the censorship made by Channel V, which said the editing was done because the cable firm provided content for the entire Southeast Asian market, even if media rules in Malaysia do not apply to the Philippines.

"We the oppressed LGBTs in the Philippines are united behind our Malaysian LGBT comrades. We demand that all media outlets in Asia play "Born This Way" in its original version and stop censorship that will victimize LGBT freedoms," the ProGay Philippines representative said.

In 2001, ProGay Philippines activists picketed the Malaysian embassy in Manila asking the government of Prime Minister Mahathir to stop the persecution of his estranged deputy minister Anwar Ibrahim, who was sacked and jailed for trumped up sodomy charges.


Video from YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV1FrqwZyKw

Filipino broadcaster shot

An undated mug shot of Len Sumera posted on the website of radio station dzME; is killed on Thursday, March 24, 2011 in Malabon City in the Philippines.

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 24, 2011) – A Filipino broadcaster was killed in a broad daylight attack Thursday while on her way to the radio station dzME in Malabon City.

The radio station said Len Sumera was shot in the nape and the bullet exited through the eye. The 44-year victim had also worked in the past with radio stations dzXL and dzAR before moving to dzME where she hosted a program.

Sumera was to report for her 10:30 a.m. program called “Arankada 1030” at dzME’s studio in Caloocan City when the attacker shot her at around 9:00 a.m.

The radio station, which has been operating the past three decades, said the killing could be connected to a land conflict, but it did not give details about the motive of the attack which occurred near Sumera’s house.

Just early this year, a lone gunman also killed a Filipino broadcaster Dr Gerardo Ortega in Palawan province.

Ortega, who worked for the Radio Mindanao Network, was shot in the head in January as he was shopping for clothes at a thrift shop in Puerto Princesa City, police said.

The gunman, Marlon de Camata, was captured as he tried to flee after the shooting and admitted he was contracted to kill the broadcaster because of his criticism of some politicians involved in illegal mining in Palawan.

More than 140 journalists had been killed in the Philippines since democracy was restored in 1986, but most of the murders remain unresolved. In 2009, gunmen also killed at least 32 journalists who were among 57 people at a political convoy in Maguindanao province in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)

"Maguindanao massacre" remembered

Journalists and civil groups, including government prosecutors in Kidapawan City in Mindanao light candles and offer prayers during the commemoration of the 2009 “Maguindanao massacre” where 57 people, including at least 32 journalists and media workers were brutally murdered by ruthless gunmen who were followers of a powerful political clan in Maguindanao province. (Photo by Geo Solmerano)

Philippine leader calls on people to do "Bayanihan"

President Benigno Aquino III. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday called on the people of Northern Mindanao to continue tapping into the spirit of “Bayanihan” that runs in the blood of the Filipinos in order to finally lift the country, back to its rightful place under the daylight.

Aquino sounded the call during his visit in Cayagan de Oro City, his first time to come, since he was sworn to office on June 30, 2010.

Recalling his campaign, the President said he promised the Filipino people a government of reforms to put an end to corruption that has been so prevalent in the years leading up to his election.

He also said he promised a government that does its job, one that is not allergic to the word “overtime,” and one that puts the interests of the Filipino people on the forefront of every single project.

“We are delivering on these promises now and this has redounded to significant improvements in many areas of concern, especially, our economy,” he said.

For all of these, President Aquino said his administration now is continuing to do a number of initiatives to foster a business environment that attracts even more investments and leads to even more growth.

Among these initiatives are the cutting of bureaucratic red tape that has plagued businesses in the Philippines for so long, the reassessment of the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s tax ruling processes and the reduction of requirements for bidding at the Department of Public Works and Highways from 15 documents to just eight.

But what really counts is the change in the way the people live, as favorable economic numbers must lead to feeding the hungry, tending to the sick, and sending children to school, Aquino said.

“Our job is to make sure that our economic growth is felt by each and every Filipino. It is as tangible as adequate food on the table, fully-equipped hospitals that treat our sick and accurately written books that our children can read and learn from,” he said.

The President also said that he has allocated larger budget to poverty alleviation projects, such as conditional cash transfers, more than doubling its reach to 2.3 million families, now.

By helping families help themselves, we are ensuring that their children are going to school, their babies vaccinated and mothers are kept healthy through regular check-ups, he said.

Aquino was here to attend the meeting of the Joint Philippine Economic Briefing and Regional Development Council with officials of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas held at the Mallberry Suites Business Hotel.

He also graced the awarding and distribution of certificates at the Oro Christian Grace School, this city, for the region’s beneficiaries under various government programs. (Rutchie Aguhob)

Mindanao Examiner names new staffs

We are happy to inform the general public that Mindanao Examiner has new video and graphics editors, Jeffrey Garcia and Jonalyn Mendoza, who are both experts and have wide knowledge in media productions and excellent skills in various fields of Information Technology.

Jeff and Jona, who studied in Ateneo de Zamboanga University, have replaced graphic artist Ireneo "Jung" Francisco and video editor Ramon Noel Deles.

The Mindanao Examiner is a multi-media company based in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines and engaged in newspapering, cable television broadcast, and filmmaking and offers photography, video productions and creative graphic designs.

NPA rebels kill 2 in Davao ambush

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 23, 2011) – Two government soldiers were killed and two others wounded in an ambush Wednesday by communist rebels in the southern Philippines, officials told the Mindanao Examiner.

Officials said New People’s Army rebels detonated a landmine in the village of Santa Cruz in Davao del Sur’s Sibulan town where troops were conducting an outreach program.

“These criminal acts by the New People’s Army are desperate moves in preventing the delivery of developmental programs of the government. This group showed their real criminal motives and we condemn their continued use of landmines,” said Lieutenant Colonel Lyndon Paniza, the spokesman for the Army’s 10th Infantry Division.

Paniza did not give details of the attack except that rebels detonated an anti-personnel landmine that targeted soldiers involved in peace and development projects in the town.

The rebels, who are fighting for decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country, have previously accused the military of using peace and development programs as a cover for its anti-insurgency campaign. (Mindanao Examiner)

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Justice For Maguindanao Massacre Victims; 16 Months Had Passed!

It is 16 months now since the Maguindanao massacre where at least 32 journalists were among 57 people brutally murdered.

House approves impeachment complaints vs Ombudsman

Merceditas Gutierrez. (Photo from megascene.net)

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 22, 2011) - The House of Representatives approved early Tuesday the impeachment complaints against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.

With a total 210 affirmative votes, 47 negative, and four abstained, the House of Representatives on Monday night approved House Resolution 1089 containing the impeachment complaints.

Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Farinas, House justice committee vice chairman, said the huge number of lawmakers who voted to approve the impeachment case is a clear signal of the Lower Chamber’s support of the case.

"Magandang signal ito para sa Senado na buo ang mga kinatawan. It sends a clear signal on the impeachment action of the House," the Philippine News Agency quoted Farinas as saying.

Farinas said with the approval of House Bill 1089, the Ombudsman will now have a chance to defend herself at the Senate.

"Siya na rin po mismo ang nagsabi sa atin na handa siyang humarap sa Senado. Kaya let’s bring it on," he said.

Agham party-list Rep. Angelo Palmones said what the House did could be interpreted as "a demonstration of People Power in Congress."

"The members knew their mandate; they knew they had to exercise the power the people gave them in the last polls. What the House did was a reaffirmation of the people's anti-corruption message, which was explicitly expressed in the last polls," he said.

"Merci (Gutierrez) and her ilk could saw what they want, but the message is clear. The people wished the removal of the corrupt," he added.

House committee on justice chair and Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., in his sponsorship speech on House Resolution 1089, said the panel followed due process in deliberating the impeachment complaints against the Ombudsman.

"This is the product of complete impeachment proceedings. Despite initial setbacks and difficulties experienced by the House committee, no shortcuts were taken and every procedure was observed," he said.

Tupas said the committee has determined the sufficiency of form and substance, sufficient grounds and probable cause of the Ombudsman’s case, as stated in the House rules of impeachment.

Gutierrez is being accused of betrayal of public trust for the supposedly low conviction rates of the Office of the Ombudsman under her term, and for her alleged inaction in five high-profile cases.

The Lower Chamber will now transmit the impeachment complaint to the Senate for proper trial.

A two-thirds vote of all senators - in this case 16 out of the 23 senators - is needed to convict the Ombudsman. (By Lilybeth Ison, PNA)

US Ambassador visits Sulu, Basilan provinces; pledges more support for peace, development

Photos released by the Sulu Provincial Government show US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr., being welcomed by employees at the Capitol site in the southern Philippines on Tuesday, March 23, 2011. And Governor Sakur Tan offering Thomas a rice cake. Thomas pledges to support peace and development efforts in Sulu, one of five provinces undef the Muslim autonomous region. (Text: Mindanao Examiner)

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 22, 2011) – US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. visited Tuesday Sulu and Basilan provinces in the southern Philippines and pledged more support to the government’s peace and development efforts there.

Thomas, accompanied by Gloria Steele, the Philippines Mission Director of the US Agency for International Development Philippines, and American military officials, met with Governor Sakur Tan and other local government leaders.

In his statement, Thomas paid tribute to the governor for “being a gracious host and hope that the people of the United States will continue to work together with the people of Sulu to bring about development and peace in the province.”

Tan, for his part, expressed the appreciation of the provincial government and the people of Sulu for the support and assistance the American people had extended in various community projects in the province.

Thomas also flew to Basilan province where he met with Governor Jum Akbar.

Thomas first visited Zamboanga City on Monday before heading to Sulu and Basilan where he inspected US-funded projects. He also signed a $1.3 million grant in support of the Literacy for Peace and Development Program for adults in the Sulu Archipelago.

The US through its various agencies, has supported and funded many infrastructure projects in Sulu province where American troops are deployed since 2006. US forces are also stationed in Zamboanga City and Basilan, and others parts of Mindanao since 2001 to help train local troops in fighting terrorism. (Mindanao Examiner)

Bed anyone?

A motorcycle driver transports a wooden bed in Kidapawan City in Mindanao unmindful of the danger on the streets. Motorcycle has become one of the major means of transportation in the Philippines. (Photo by Geo Solmerano)

Mining firm told to cease activities in Zamboanga del Sur town

ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 22, 2011) - The Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Western Mindanao has issued a "cease and desist order" against a mining firm claiming to be a representative of the Subanon indigenous people of Bayog town in Zamboanga del Sur province.

It said Lupa Pigigetawan Mining Company Incorporated was ordered to stop all its mineral exploration activities in Bayog, particularly in areas where another mining company - Bayog 9 Metals Corporation - has an existing exploration permit.

Bayog town is rich in iron ore deposits.

Subanon villagers said the Lupa Pigigetawan Company also employs heavily armed security force whose agency is reportedly owned by former police and military generals.

Regional Director Director Alberto Johann Jacildo, of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, said Lupa Pigigetawan Mining Company also “failed to comply with other mandatory and procedural requirements in order to carry out lawful mining activities.”

Jacildo said that after careful verification, they found out that the mining company “did encroach and perform mining exploratory works on the area of Bayog 9.”

Raul Calumpang, now the acting Mines and Geosciences Bureau, said they will form a team to investigate reports that Lupa Pigigetawan Mining Company violated the government's cease and desist order.

"We have received reports that despite the cease and desist order, the Lupa Pigigetawan Mining Company continued on with their exploration activities in Bayog towm," he told the Mindanao Examiner in a separate interview.

He said Jadilco is on an official leave and would report back to work next week. But he assured that the Mines and Geosciences Bureau would act on the complaints against Lupa Pigigetawan Mining Company.

"They could lose their permit if the reports are true. We will investigate these reports," Calumpang said.

Village officials of Conacon, the host community where the Lupa Pigigetawan Mining Company has been conducting illegal activities, have also issued a resolution declaring the company’s security agency, A-Y 76 Security Specialists Inc., as "persona non grata."

The resolution alleged that the agency’s heavily armed security personnel have set up an illegal boom and barrier on a public road and prevented village officials from accessing the area.

The resolution added that the security guards, “with finger on the trigger of their AK-47 caliber guns,” have caused people in the community “to worry and be afraid”.

Other sources also said that even Bayog town Mayor Jun Babasa was, at one point, allegedly barred by the security guards and company officials from inspecting the area.

Lupa Pigigetawan Mining Company insisted that its activities in Bayog town are authorized under a so-called Special Ore Extraction Permit signed by former Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Jose Atienza a few days before he vacated his post in 2009.

The Special Ore Extraction Permit, however, states that the “mining operation authorized under this Permit shall not be undertaken in areas covered by valid and existing mining contracts and permits of other parties concerned.”

“Mining, environmental, and other relevant rules and regulations shall be complied with. Failure to comply with the foregoing and/or with the terms and conditions of this Permit shall give cause for its revocation.”

Sources from the Environmental Management Bureau said that, apart from encroaching within Bayog 9’s exploration area, Lupa Pigigetawan Mining Company has a standing violation for conducting mining activities without an Environmental Compliance Certificate, a critical pre-requisite for all legal mining operations.

In the Special Ore Extraction Permit, Lupa Pigigetawan Mining Company claims to be a representative of the Subanons of Bayog.

The firm’s president, Absalon Alcorin, Jr., however, hails from Davao. The two signatory witnesses of the permit, Gualberto Padilla and Rosemary Garrido, are also from Cebu.

Securities and Exchange Commission records show that Lupa Pigigetawan Mining Company was incorporated in Cebu, and that only two of its nine incorporators, Mitubusan Casiano Edal and Timuay Alfredo Dingal, are Subanons.

A source from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples said Lupa Pigigetawan Mining Company did not go through all necessary legal processes and procedures for it to legitimately claim to be an indigenous peoples representative and, therefore, is “not recognized by the NCIP.” (With a report from Ahlia Torres)

Philippine police accused of torturing teener

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 22, 2011) – The Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission has appealed to Philippine authorities on Tuesday to investigate the alleged torture of a Filipino teenager by policemen in the southern city of Kidapawan.

It said John Paul Nerio (See photo released by the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission which shows Filipino teen John Paul Nerio whose bruised body is allegedly perpetrated by policemen in the southern Philippine city of Kidapawan.) was arrested in December after police accused him of being involved in a bar fight, an allegation the young Filipino strongly denied. Nerio said he was beaten up and tortured by policemen in front of civilians and other officers inside their headquarters after denying his involvement in the fight.

Nerio was also charged of violating the city’s curfew ordinance. The AHRC said the policemen who assaulted the teenager are members of the local Special Weapons and Tactics.

“After he was tortured at that location they delivered the victim to the Women and Children's Desk (in the same police headquarters) where they reported the victim's arrest, supposedly for violating the city's curfew. Here, the victim was again physically assaulted and tortured in front of the policewoman recording his case and in open view of onlookers some of whom were civilians,” AHRC said.

It said Nerio has complained about the abuse, but was not recorded by the police. Nerio’s father, Pablito, said he was also ignored by the police when he tried to bring the matter to their attention.

“I was just waiting for a friend near a bar when a rumble erupted. I was scared and decided to go home, but the fighting between two groups of men was just behind me so I decided to run and later hide. The policemen arrived and hurled stones at me and ordered me to come out from hiding and when I did, one of them hit me on the chest with the butt of his rifle and the other with his .45-caliber pistol.”

“I said I was not among those fighting, but they still beat me up and kicked me and pushed me to the ground despite my pleadings and telling them that I am innocent of all their accusations and they won’t listen and brought me to the police headquarters where they continue the beatings,” Nerio said.

(John Paul Nerio’s testimony: http://material.ahrchk.net/audio/AHRC-AUD-016-2011-CEB.mp3)

The AHRC said it has written the Philippines’ Public Attorney’s Office and the Commission on Human Rights in Manila about the torture, but there have been no substantial progress in the case.

“The AHRC has already written appeal letters to the Public Attorney's Office and the Commission on Human Rights in Manila respectively requesting their immediate intervention. However, apart from referring the case to their regional offices, no substantial progress has taken place,” it said.

Persida Acosta, chief of the Public Attorney's Office, said she endorsed the AHRC's appeal to their lawyer, Orlando Dano in Kidapawan City, last week and that he has 10 days to submit a report about the alleged police torture. The Commission on Human Rights said the matter has also been referred to its regional office, but Nerio’s family said there have been no investigations so far.

“None of the field staff from either the Public Attorney's Office or Commission on Human Rights who have been tasked to investigate the complaint, have ever contacted them (Nerio’s family) about their case,” the AHRC said.

There was no immediate statement from the police about the allegations, but police brutality is common in the Philippines and in many cases officers themselves have been accused of extrajudicial killings of criminal suspects. (Mindanao Examiner)