Media walk out on CHR Commissioner's press conference: ABS-CBN

Coco Quisumbing (Video grab from ABS-CBN Television)

MANILA, Philippines - Some media people covering the press conference yesterday of Commissioner Coco Quisumbing of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) walked out after she scolded them for not following her instructions.

The press conference was called by CHR to address the issue of the torture scandal involving Manila policemen.

"If you're not in my line of sight, I'm not going to talk to you. If you're not going to listen to me and position yourselves as I ask you to, I'm just gonna walk out the door," Quisumbing said.

She wanted the press people to sit in the order she wanted them to in one place so she will only look at them in one direction.

"Do you hear me?" she asked. The press mumbled, "Yes ma'm."

"Ano?" she asked. The press answered again, "Yes, ma'm."

"I don't hear all of you," she said.

Quisumbing then singled out some media people. "Hindi ka nga puwede diyan. Bawal diyan. Everyone should be on the same side para hindi ako paganun-ganun! I'm sorry. Mainit ang ulo ko ngayon!" she said.

Spotting someone, she said, "Ikaw naka-green shirt. Hindi kita kilala. I'm not going to answer any of your questions. Sinabi ko na sa inyo, diyan kayo. Gaano kahirap ba 'yan? Lady with the white undershirt, you should be nicer to the people you interview. Be polite and answer her, OK?"

Quisumbing, who used to be a journalist, said she just wants the media to get good video footage.

"I'm not doing this for me. These are not kaartehan! If I'm facing that way, maganda ba ang shot niyo? I could have sat up there. Pangit ang inyong shot! Pinag-isipan ko ang trabaho niyo," she explained.

As some reporters left, Quisumbing asked, "Sino'ng umalis?"

In spite of what happened, the rest of the media stayed to finish their duty to cover the CHR's stand on the torture scandal.

Last month, President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III said Cabinet members will undergo a media seminar so they can deal with the media well. This was announced after two Cabinet members, Education Secretary Br. Armin Luistro and Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda, figured in some misunderstandings with the media.

Secretary Luistro accused the media of muddling the issue of sex education when he was asked for his comment about the topic, while Lacierda made the Malacañang press corps wait for hours for a scheduled press conference.(Report from ABS-CBN News)


Link: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/08/21/10/media-walk-out-chr-commissioners-presscon

Respect human rights, military and rebels told

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Human Rights on Sunday called on the military and rebel forces in Basilan to respect human rights and humanitarian law even as they engage in combat, and urged the government to quickly assist civilians affected by the fighting.

This came after reports that President Gloria Arroyo ordered the Armed Forces to "annihilate the Abu Sayyaf" armed group in Mindanao.

“Armed battle is not an excuse for anyone to violate the human dignity of opposing forces or to violate the rights of civilians,”said CHR Chairperson Leila De Lima.

“Its particularly ironic that this battle and reported atrocities such as hacking at soldiers were committed at the very same time the CHR was holding a National Summit on International Humanitarian Law to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Geneva Conventions which is on August 12th,” she said.

De Lima said the CHR will work to bring the Summit recommendations to policy and action by the relevant actors, including rebel groups.

Among the results of the Summit, participants from various sectors including the government and uniformed services called on all parties to armed conflict to respect IHL and the rights of protected persons such as civilians, medical personnel and non-combatants even if they belong to one of the fighting sides. Prisoners of war and wounded soldiers belong to this latter group.

Bill allows CHR to suspend cabinet members, LGU execs that violate human rights

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Human Rights shall be authorized to suspend a member of the Cabinet, a Governor, Mayor or any official of the local government unit (LGU) if found guilty of violating human rights under a bill being considered by a House body.

Rep. Roman Romulo (Lone District, Pasig City), however, expressed apprehension over the said provision of House Bill 1420, which is now the subject of deliberation by the House Committee on Human Rights chaired by Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III (4th District, Quezon).

Section 23 of the bill authored by Akbayan Rep. Ana Theresia Hontiveros states that the CHR may preventively suspend any elective or appointive public officer or employee, including members of the Cabinet, local government, government-owned-or controlled corporations and their subsidiaries.

Exempted from the coverage of this authority are the President, the Vice President, the Senate President, the Speaker of the House, the Chief Justice, the Members of Congress, the judiciary and other impeachable officials.

Roman said the specific provision of the proposed bill, also known as the Commission on Human Rights Act of 2007 should be clarified and those stakeholders going to be affected should be consulted.

Romulo told the recent public hearing of the human rights panel that with the bill, the CHR will not only be a "superbody" but will have the authority to suspend for three months any Cabinet member, local executive or even officials of government controlled corporations whom they think has violated human rights.

"The sole guideline here is if the evidence of guilt is strong against those officials," Romulo said.

CHR Chairperson Leila De Lima explained to the committee that the adoption of a new charter for the CHR is aimed at protecting and strengthening its independence and operational effectiveness.

"The status of the CHR as an independent and constitutionally created institution must be protected, and its power to delineate its own organizational structure and to have fiscal autonomy is one of the key element of this proposed charter," De Lima said.

De Lima added that the measure has now specifically laid down other powers and functions of the Commission including the witness protection program, financial assistance program, legal assistance program, protection of Filipinos abroad, proposals for the creation of ad hoc groups for certain exceptional cases and the issuance of clearances. (Fidel Gumawid)

CHR nabalaka sa pagkunhod sa mga mo-eskwela ug enrollment tungod sa random drug testing

Maynila (Mindanao Examiner / Enero 23, 2009) - Ang Commission on Human Rights (CHR) mipasidaan mahitungod sa posible nga pagkunhod sa gidaghanon sa mga mo-eskwela ug enrollment kung ang kagamhanan magpadayon sa iyang giplano nga random drug testing alang sa mga estudyante.

"Ang makuyaw mao nga ang mga estudyante nga nagtungha nga naggamit sa mga ginadili nga druga dili motungha ni mo-enroll tungod kay molikay nga mamahimo nga maka-apil sa sampling," si CHR Chairperson Leila de Lima nagkanayon sa Philippine Information Agency.

Kung kini mahitabo, nahadlok siya nga ang testing makabalda sa pagtoon ug pagpalambo sa mga kabataan sa katungod sa pagbaton sa edukasyon.

"Busa, dili kini nakahimo sa random drug testing counter-productive tungod kay gusto nato nga ang atong mga anak magpabilin sa eskwelahan hinoon awhagon sila nga dili mohimo sa maong dautang kalihokan?, siya ang nangutana.

Ang CHR, usa ka independente nga kahugpoungan nga gitahasan pagpalambo sa tawhanong katungod sa tibnuok nasud, nanawagan pagtantiya sa pagka-epektibo sa random drug testing pagpakigbatok sa kakuyaw sa illegal nga druga ug sa iyang maayong gsangputanan ngadto sa mga kabataan sa dili pa ang kagamhanan mopatuman niini.

"Ang mga menor de edad nga mga estudyante adunay katungod sa pangilaba ug nanawagan sa katumanan sa ilang katungod sa pagkabaton sa edukasyon, nagpugos sa kagamhanan pagtahud sa katungod sa bata sa edukasyon isip iyang mahingdanong katungdanan," matud pa niya.

Philippine Human Rights Body Investigates Killing Of Innocent Civilians

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 8, 2008) – The Philippines Commission on Human Rights has began an investigation into the bloody shootout between policemen and members of a criminal gang that left 16 people dead, including innocent civilians caught in the cross-fire.

Commissioner Lilia de Lima said there is an investigation going and that they have asked the police to provide them detailed reports of what transpired that led to the firefight.

The weekend clash killed five civilians, including a father and his seven-year old daughter. The rest were alleged members of gang blamed for the spate of bank robberies in the metropolis.

Witnesses said members of the Police Special Action Force opened fire on a car Alfonso de Vera, 53, and his daughter, Alyanna, was driving inside the United Parañaque Subdivision 4.

Police said it is also investigating the shootout.

The Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns and its member-organizations led by the Children’s Rehabilitation Center expressed outrage over the killings.

“We extend our condolences with Alyanna’s mother and join her in her call for justice for the death of her loved ones,” said Alphonse Rivera, spokesperson of Salinlahi.

Rivera said the news of the killings of innocent civilians was particularly distressing especially since the human rights community will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights on December 10.

“It is indeed alarming to note that our children are not safe from human rights violations. Whether they are in the countryside’s or in the cities, State forces should always keep in mind the respect for human life, especially children,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)

CHR Pumasok Na Sa Datu Piang Air Strike!

MAGUINDANAO (Mindanao Examiner / September 9, 2008) – Sinimulan na kahapon ng Commission on Human Rights ang isang masusing imbestigasyon sa pagkamatay ng 7 katao dahil sa air strikes na inilunsad ng militar sa Mindanao.

“Narito na ngayon yun mga taga-CHR at nagiimbestiga tungkol doon sa namatay na mga sibilyan,” ani Mosib Tan, ang municipal administrator ng Datu Piang, isang bayan sa Maguindanao.

Napatay diumano ang mga sibilyan matapos na mahagip ng air strike ang kanilang banca ng mga eroplano ng Philippine Air force, ayon sa ulat ng mga residente kay Tan.

Kinilala ni Tan ang mga nasawi na si Daya Manunggal Mandi at ang kanyang mga anak na sina Aida, 17; Faiza, 1; Bai Lyn, 10; King, 8; at Dayang, 6. At ang kanilang ina na si Vilma Mandi. Sugatan rin ang isa pang anak na si Jamaludil Mandi, 17, at nasa pagamutan ngayon sa Cotabato City.

Sinabi ni Tan na nagpatawag na rin ng immbestigasyon si Datu Piang Mayor Samir Uy. “Magpa-file rin ng kaso ang mga pamilya at naulila ng mga nasawi,” ani pa ni Tan.

Nagkapili-pilipit naman ang mga statement ng militar sa Maynila at Mindanao ukol sa naganap. May nagsasabi na pawang mga rebelde ang napatay at mayroon rin nagpahayag na ang mga sibilyan ay naipit sa cross-fire sa pagitan ng militar at rebelde. Mayroon naman na humingi ng paumanhi dahil sa pagkakapatay sa mga sibilyan.

Umani naman ng mga batikos mula sa mga ibat-ibang human rights groups sa Mindanao ang pagkakapatay sa mga sibilyan.

“Many civilians have already been killed and hundreds of thousands more have been forcibly displaced by the military operations. Every time the government declares war, the civilians are the first to be killed and be displaced rather than be the first to be put to safety,” ani Maria Esmeralda Macaspac, executive director ng Children’s Rehabilitation Center, isang non-government organization na tumutulong sa mga batang naiipit sa kaguluhan.

Maging ang Suara Bangsamoro at Kawagib human rights groups ay kinindena rin ang naganap.

“We condemn the inhumane actsand indiscriminate aerial bombing by the Armed Forces that killed the innocent civilians. The military should be held accountable for violating human rights and disrespecting the holy month of Ramadan,” wika ni Bai Ali Indayla, ang tagapagsalita ng Kawagib.

“There is no justification for the military to attack innocent civilians. The Philippine military must be held responsible for the killings of the civilians,” sabi naman ni Amirah Lidasan, ng Suara Bangsamoro.

Tinutugis pa rin ng militar sina MILF commanders Ameril Kato at Abdurahman Macapaar na sabit sa mga serye ng atake sa Mindanao na ikinamatay ng maraming sibilyan. (Mindanao Examiner)

Human Rights Commission Begins Probe Of Military Raid That Killed 7 Civilians In Midnanao

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 9, 2008) – Philippine human rights investigators on Tuesday began a probe into the killings of seven civilians during a military air strike in the restive southern region of Mindanao.

Mosib Tan, municipal administrator of Datu Piang town, said members of the Commission on Human Rights are currently investigating the killings of a farming couple and their five children.

“The CHR people are here and have begun their investigations into military air strike that killed innocent civilians. We want justice here and nothing else,” Tan told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said villagers reported that government planes attacked a small civilian boat at the Pawas River in the village of Tee in Datu Piang town on Monday, killing passengers, including a baby and pregnant woman.

The attack on the boat coincided with fresh government offensive against Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels that military claimed fired on a helicopter in the village.

The Philippine military gave conflicting statements about the deaths of civilians and attempted to cover up the killings. Security spokesmen in Mindanao and Manila also issued conflicting statements, saying, those killed were either rebels or civilians killed in the cross-fire.

The military launched offensive during Ramadan, Islam’s holiest month and blamed the MILF for the fighting. It said rebel forces attacked government aircrafts conducting reconnaissance missions in the town.

But Tan said military planes targeted the wooden boat. “They (planes) hit the boat and seven innocent people are dead and that's the report we received,” he said.

A survivor said a Philippine Air Force OV-10 bomber attacked them. “I saw the plane, an OV-10, dropped the bomb,” he said.

Television pictures also showed OV-10 planes targeting supposed MILF positions in the town and ran blurred images of mangled bodies of children hit by the aircraft.

Tan identified those who were killed as Daya Manunggal Mandi and his children Aida, 17; Faiza, 1; Bai Lyn, 10; King, 8; and Dayang, 6 and their mother Vilma, whose body has not been found. He said Jamaludil Mandi, 17, was wounded in the air strike.

Datu Piang Mayor Samir Uy also ordered a separate investigation into the killings of the civilians, he said.

“The Mayor also ordered a separate investigation into this military attack and relatives of those killed are also filing criminal charges against those involved in the attack,” Tan said.

The attack on civilians also drew widespread condemnation from different human rights groups.

The Children’s Rehabilitation Center, a non-government organization helping children in armed conflict cope with trauma, on Tuesday also deplored the military’s aerial attack on civilians.

“Many civilians have already been killed and hundreds of thousands more have been forcibly displaced by the military operations. Every time the government declares war, the civilians are the first to be killed and be displaced rather than be the first to be put to safety,” Maria Esmeralda Macaspac, CRC executive director, said.

The Suarabangsamoro and the Kawagib human rights groups in Mindanao also issued separate statement condemning the killings of civilians.

“We condemn the inhumane actsand indiscriminate aerial bombing by the Armed Forces that killed the innocent civilians. The military should be held accountable for violating human rights and disrespecting the holy month of Ramadan,” said Bai Ali Indayla, Kawagib’s spokesperson.

Amirah Lidasan, of the Suarabangsamoro, said: “There is no justification for the military to attack innocent civilians. The Philippine military must be held responsible for the killings of the civilians.”

Security forces have been pursuing two MILF commanders, Ameril Kato and Abdurahman Macapaar, blamed by the police and military for the series of deadly attacks on civilian villages last month in Mindanao.

Manila demanded the MILF to surrender the two rogue commanders and has suspended the peace talks with the rebel group because of the attacks that left dozens of people dead in North Cotabato, Lanao de Norte, Maguindanao and Sarangani provinces.

The MILF, the country's largest Muslim rebel group, said it would not surrender Kato and Macapaar. The rebels warned that hostilities could erupt in Mindanao if the peace talks fail.

President Gloria Arroyo, which opened peace negotiations with the MILF in 2001, already scrapped the Muslim territorial deal with the rebels and abolished the government team talking peace with the MILF because of the attacks.

Arroyo insisted the rebels to lay down their arms before peace talks could resume, but the MILF flatly rejected this, saying, it should settle first the issue on the ancestral domain deal.

The rebels said it would not return to the negotiating table unless Manila honors it commitment to the accord that would grant about four million Muslims their own homeland in more than 700 villages across the troubled, but mineral-rich region on Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)

Army Reminds Troops Anew To Respect Human Rights

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 28, 2008) – The Philippine Army leadership reminded again all field commanders, specifically those who are deployed to pursue military actions against lawless Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members about their responsibility to see to it that all soldiers will strictly observe and respect human rights.

This move was prompted by the alarm raised by Human Rights head Leila de Lima that a growing number of civilian casualties were monitored as a result of military offensive against lawless MILF elements.

Col. Daniel Lucero, chief of the Army’s Civil-Military Operation, said army commanders were further reminded to inculcate in the minds of their soldiers to be impartial and unprejudiced in their observance of human rights - that every individual’s rights, regardless of his or her professed religion, ethnic attachment, gender, political beliefs, among other should be guaranteed and respected.

“Likewise, all army soldiers were reminded that the reason for existence of the Philippine Army was primarily to guarantee that every Filipino’s rights to life, speech and property are protected.”

“As such, soldiers were further reminded that they should see to it that no act should be pursued if this will mean an infringement of the rights of any individual which they as soldiers have sworn to protect,” he told reporters.

Lucero said they are aware that militant groups would use the issue of human rights to malign and damage the reputation of the Philippine Army.

“However, soldiers are reminded that they should take these negative criticisms as a challenge to do better. Soldiers were told that their deeds in pursuit of their observance of human rights will be greater than the words we use to refute these false allegations,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)

Human Rights Probers Attacked In South RP

Lawyer Jose Manuel Mamauag, Commission on Human Rights Director for Western Mindanao, gestures during an interview with the Mindanao Examiner. Mamauag says government militias opened fire on a team of human rights investigators on a remote Zamboanga City village. No one was killed or injured in the attack on Friday, June 20, 2008. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / J. Magtanggol)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 23, 2008) – Government militias attacked a group of human rights investigators on an island off Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines.

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said militias attacked three of its investigators on the island of Limaong over the weekend. There were no reports of casualties or injuries, but the attack sent a chilling warning that even human rights investigators are no longer safe in the southern Philippines.

Lawyer Jose Manuel Mamauag, CHR regional chief, said his team, accompanied by a forensic expert from the National Bureau of Investigation were returning to Zamboanga City on board a motorized boat when army-led militias opened fire on them.

“Our team was lucky that no one was killed or wounded in the strafing by government militias, but we will file criminal charges against them,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Mamauag said the CHR team was on the island to exhume the remains of a possible human rights victim. “We still don’t know if the attack on our team was connected to our investigation on the island,” he said.

Early this month, a navy patrol also attacked a group of Muslim fishermen off Taluksangay in Zamboanga City and killing one person. Security officials denied it was behind the attack, but navy soldiers also arrested more than a dozen fishermen on suspicion they were terrorists, village leaders said.

In February, navy commandos and army soldiers also killed seven Muslim civilians and an off-duty soldier in a raid on an alleged Abu Sayyaf hideout in the town of Maimbung in Sulu province.

The military insisted the raid was an operation to rescue kidnapped businesswoman Rosalie Lao from her Abu Sayyaf abductors. The raid resulted to the deaths of seven civilians, including two children, two teenagers, and a pregnant woman.

Two soldiers were also killed while four others were wounded when armed villagers allegedly retaliated.

Human rights investigators denied that there were Abu Sayyaf militants in the village during the raid and accused the troops involved in the operation of plundering the houses of the villagers. (Mindanao Examiner)