ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Philippine Human Rights reporting Project / Apri. 10, 2009 – Each year the city government buries dozens of unknown and unclaimed men, women and children. Most are buried collectively in the village of Mampang about 9 kilometers from here.
The bodies – unceremoniously labeled “unclaimed cadavers” by the funeral parlors who keep them for up to a year, have been found in abandoned and isolated lots in and around the city and its precincts. Many appear to have died unnatural, violent deaths and some show signs of torture according to local human rights lawyers who allege they were victims of summarily killings.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Western Mindanao documented eight victims of ‘salvaging’ in March 2009 alone - an average of two a week.
“We have not identified them yet. It's kind of a difficult probe," says CHR regional director Jose Manuel Mamauag of the bodies he sought to catalogue last month.
The victims typically go to their graves unknown and unmourned. And so it would have been for ‘Edgar’ -- one of the smallest of them -- had it not been for his mother who spotted the missing 14-year-old among those bodies lumped with others ready for burial in an unmarked and communal grave.
Edgar’s death in October last year sparked a little local interest when the boy's own twin brother, ‘Ben,’ from Barangay (village) Santa Catalina – alleged that the city government's traffic enforcers or traffic ‘police’ were responsible.
But it seems the killing was quietly hushed up and forgotten. Edgar was a street beggar after all.
The family and the twin brother whose real identity the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project is keeping confidential for safety reasons, said they and several other children who admit to being beggars during the day but who go back to their families at night, were rounded up on the Mayor Cesar Climaco Avenue near Jollibee fast food store by two traffic enforcers of the Zamboanga City Hall Office on Monday, October 27 at around 10:00 a.m.
Based on the twin Ben’s recollection, his brother and several other boys were playing around the sidewalk near Jollibee when two traffic ‘policemen’ rounded them up, complaining about a series of cell phone robberies in the area.
The ‘police’ made the boys do some weeding in front of nearby City Hall before they were fed later that afternoon. They were then made to ride a COMPAC vehicle which drove off towards Abong-abong in Barangay Pasonanca.
According to Ben, six youths were ordered into the vehicle after another three younger children were released by the two suspects. Ben estimated the age of those let go to be aged 12 and under. Of the remaining six, he said, three were handcuffed – including his brother.
Later the traffic ‘police’ ordered the children to board a white open van. When the boys realized they were heading towards the quiet mountainous area of Pasonanca they started to panic.
“My twin was confident nothing bad would happen to them,” said Ben, “but in case something did, I was to tell my mother.”
Ben said he jumped off the vehicle as it slowed while heading up a hill. It was the last time he ever saw his twin.
In the days and weeks that followed, Edgar’s parents searched for their missing son. They finally found him in the Villa Funeral Parlor one month later on November 29.
According to ‘Vidad’ an employee of Villa’s, the boy’s body had been found on October 30 in the Abong-abong area of Zamboanga City. His hands had been tied with wire and his body bore multiple stab wounds.
"We don't have clear suspects," Police Sr. Supt. Mario Yanga, officer-in-charge of the Zamboanga City Police Office, told the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project after the authorities were contacted last month.
Yanga added that many of the bodies that turn up in the city’s funeral parlors but are left unclaimed have been ‘liquidated’ for “unpaid debts,” or “because of drug crime.” Other he said were those “whose relatives were too ashamed to come forward to claim them.”
He admitted however that the killing of the 14-year-old boy could not be easily dismissed as a simple murder. "Traffic enforcers have been identified as the suspects," he confirmed.
"The case also opened to us other issues including the need to re-educate our police personnel on different subjects on human rights, including extrajudicial killings," he said. The local CHR office has confirmed it had recently been approached by Yanga to provide human rights training for police personnel here.
Yanga added that the Zamboanga City police are now working closely with the CHR and have established 12 human rights desks in 12 police stations in 98 barangays.
The family of the young boy reportedly contacted local media late last year in a bid to find the killers. But when Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat "requested" local media not to highlight the story it was left largely unreported: Only one local TV affiliate of a national station covered it.
The issue of summary killings in Zamboanga City was the backdrop of a journalists' training workshop by the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project late last month led by its partner the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines.
Anne Montano Soberano, a journalism teacher and a reporter of Bombo Radyo in Zamboanga said the training urged local reporters and editors not to dismiss unusual cases such as that of the 14-year-old boy as a “simple crime.”
And several of her colleagues now perceive the 14-year-old Edgar to be a probable victim of an extrajudicial killing.
“We need to pursue the case and find out what really happened,” says Hader Glang, assistant editor of Zamboanga Today.
Far more used to be tasked by Manila to report on kidnappings and so-called terrorist attacks on the neighboring islands of the Sulu Archipelago, it seems journalists here are waking up to incidents that allegedly victimize local street children in the name of peace and order. (Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project / The author is a correspondent of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.)
Link: http://www.rightsreporting.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5938&Itemid=130
Showing posts with label Human Rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Human Rights. Show all posts
Friday, April 10, 2009
Friday, March 06, 2009
Public Hearings On Summary Killings in Davao: Will They Help Turn The Tide?
DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project / Mar. 6, 2009) – As the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) announces its intention to hold a public hearing on continuing extrajudicial killings here later this month, church and civil rights groups remain skeptical that it will have any lasting effect.
The city’s highly outspoken and colorful mayor, Rodrigo Duterte who has repeatedly gone on record as saying Davao is not a safe place for criminals, has consistently denied the authorities have any link to the killings and has publicly welcomed the CHR’s planned event.
Davao has long struggled with the reputation as the killing capital of the Philippines – ever since the 1980s, when an armed vigilante group known as the Alsa Masa (Rise, People) was set up in response to a campaign of guerilla war and assassinations being waged by the Communist New People’s Army (NPA) here.
During a February dialogue organized by the city council’s Committee on Human Rights and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, the Bar pointed to 813 alleged victims of summary killings by the so-called Davao Death Squads (DDS) from 1998. In January 2009 alone, 33 persons have been reported killed.
Like Duterte, the city’s police chief Senior Superintendent Ramon Apolinario has consistently rejected all claims that death squads operate in the city, and has called those with any evidence to come forward. The police and the mayor blame gang and drug wars as the primary reason for the large number of killings.
Davao City’s own police records report 221 killings in the 10 months from January through to October last year.
CHR chair Leila De Lima, who is organizing the two-day hearings starting March 30, says she is alarmed over the effects all the bloodshed is having on the psyche of the local community.
“The killings in Davao have reached a glaring and alarming proportion,” De Lima told reporters in Cebu City last month.
“Even the judges recognized that it’s time to do something. It has an effect on the consciousness of people in Davao. The culture of impunity is getting too callous already,” De Lima said. “Before, they (the killers) used to be hooded but now, they’re doing it in broad daylight, and they’re using knives and walking calmly away.”
“It’s a mentality, a mindset that is not acceptable, and we need to erase that mentality,” she said.
As part of its ongoing training on covering extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project recently organized a workshop in Davao for 60 local journalists in an effort to help them to better investigate and follow-up cases of unexplained killings.
"The Alston Report"
United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions Philip Alston, who briefly visited Davao in February 2007 to look into the continuing high level of killings, noted in his 66-page final report: “Duterte dominates the city so thoroughly as to stamp out whole genres of crime, yet he remains powerless in the face of hundreds of murders committed by men without masks in view of witnesses.”
Alston also claimed “the police used the ‘Davao Death Squad’ as a ‘polite euphemism’ to refer vaguely to ‘vigilante groups’ when accounting for the shocking predictability with which criminals, gang members, and street children were extrajudicially executed.”
Concern over the continuing spate of unexplained killings has also been expressed by the British chairman of the UK Parliamentary Committee on the Philippines. Mark Pritchard MP told the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project he raised the issue in a meeting with Mayor Duterte during a visit to Davao late last year.
"History of killings"
The CHR is hoping to entice witnesses to come out and speak at its public hearing – something others privately say will not happen.
But de Lima is insistent that the CHR has to try. Something, she says, has to be done. She also questions the response and position of the authorities.
“How can something as systematic and as glaring happen without the consent of powerful people?” she asked.
De Lima has already met with the mayor and says Duterte told her of the need to explore the history of the killings which trace back to the 1980s.
By the end of the Marcos dictatorship in 1986, the city had become an NPA ‘laboratory’ as it attempted to wage urban warfare on the city’s authorities: Davao was plagued by political and military executions committed by so-called liquidation squads known as ‘sparrows’ commanded by the NPA – the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
The city and surrounding Davao del Sur province saw the birth of two anti-communist groups committed to fight the NPA – the Alsa Masa and the Nagkahiusang Katawhan Alang sa Kalinaw (Nakasaka, or the United Peoples for Peace).
Founders of these groups included former local
government officials who maintained members were ordered not to violate human rights in their anti-insurgency campaigns. But both the NPA and the two anti-communist groups were accused of very serious and systematic human rights abuses including summary killings.
"Skeptic"
Father Amado Picardal, a local human rights advocate, says he does not believe the upcoming event will accomplish anything.
“I am glad the CHR is finally concerned about these killings. But I do not believe that a public hearing will accomplish anything. Witnesses are afraid to testify,” Picardal said.
He added it would be better for the CHR to conduct a discrete investigation. But the problem is, he says, the CHR’s mandate is limited.
“A special independent commission to investigate these killings formed by the President in coordination with the CHR and civil society is probably more effective.”
Picardal claims the killings are not random but rather part of a systematic campaign against suspected criminals using unlawful means. He maintains they are tolerated, inspired and sponsored by those in authority - yet admits not to have any proof “that will stand up in court.”
Picardal added: “These killings can never be morally justified -you cannot run after criminals using criminal means. These killings are murder. The due process of law and the presumption of innocence cannot be disregarded.”
And yet Picardal admits that whoever is responsible enjoys the support of many who are glad to see the streets safer as a result. One of these, a taxi driver who refused to be named, said that he feels safe even late at night.
“Yes the killings help keep me safe because petty crimes have been minimized,” he told the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project. “People are scared to commit crime.”
But others insist that not only petty criminals are targeted for attack.
Kelly Delgado, secretary general human rights group Karapatan for southern Mindanao says CHR should not just focus on the killing of criminals in Davao, but also on victims of extrajudicial killings in Davao del Sur and Compostela Valley.
Unabated yet unresolved killings of Bayan Muna (People First) organizers and peasant activists in the two provinces late last year raised questions whether they are part of an ‘undeclared’ war against critics of the Arroyo administration and suspected supporters of the communist movement.
Delgado says the killings of both suspected criminals in the city and political activists merits a deeper investigation from authorities. (Keith Bacongco - Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project. The author is a journalist based in Davao City and one of the founders of AKP Images, an independent photo agency.)
The city’s highly outspoken and colorful mayor, Rodrigo Duterte who has repeatedly gone on record as saying Davao is not a safe place for criminals, has consistently denied the authorities have any link to the killings and has publicly welcomed the CHR’s planned event.
Davao has long struggled with the reputation as the killing capital of the Philippines – ever since the 1980s, when an armed vigilante group known as the Alsa Masa (Rise, People) was set up in response to a campaign of guerilla war and assassinations being waged by the Communist New People’s Army (NPA) here.
During a February dialogue organized by the city council’s Committee on Human Rights and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, the Bar pointed to 813 alleged victims of summary killings by the so-called Davao Death Squads (DDS) from 1998. In January 2009 alone, 33 persons have been reported killed.
Like Duterte, the city’s police chief Senior Superintendent Ramon Apolinario has consistently rejected all claims that death squads operate in the city, and has called those with any evidence to come forward. The police and the mayor blame gang and drug wars as the primary reason for the large number of killings.
Davao City’s own police records report 221 killings in the 10 months from January through to October last year.
CHR chair Leila De Lima, who is organizing the two-day hearings starting March 30, says she is alarmed over the effects all the bloodshed is having on the psyche of the local community.
“The killings in Davao have reached a glaring and alarming proportion,” De Lima told reporters in Cebu City last month.
“Even the judges recognized that it’s time to do something. It has an effect on the consciousness of people in Davao. The culture of impunity is getting too callous already,” De Lima said. “Before, they (the killers) used to be hooded but now, they’re doing it in broad daylight, and they’re using knives and walking calmly away.”
“It’s a mentality, a mindset that is not acceptable, and we need to erase that mentality,” she said.
As part of its ongoing training on covering extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project recently organized a workshop in Davao for 60 local journalists in an effort to help them to better investigate and follow-up cases of unexplained killings.
"The Alston Report"
United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions Philip Alston, who briefly visited Davao in February 2007 to look into the continuing high level of killings, noted in his 66-page final report: “Duterte dominates the city so thoroughly as to stamp out whole genres of crime, yet he remains powerless in the face of hundreds of murders committed by men without masks in view of witnesses.”
Alston also claimed “the police used the ‘Davao Death Squad’ as a ‘polite euphemism’ to refer vaguely to ‘vigilante groups’ when accounting for the shocking predictability with which criminals, gang members, and street children were extrajudicially executed.”
Concern over the continuing spate of unexplained killings has also been expressed by the British chairman of the UK Parliamentary Committee on the Philippines. Mark Pritchard MP told the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project he raised the issue in a meeting with Mayor Duterte during a visit to Davao late last year.
"History of killings"
The CHR is hoping to entice witnesses to come out and speak at its public hearing – something others privately say will not happen.
But de Lima is insistent that the CHR has to try. Something, she says, has to be done. She also questions the response and position of the authorities.
“How can something as systematic and as glaring happen without the consent of powerful people?” she asked.
De Lima has already met with the mayor and says Duterte told her of the need to explore the history of the killings which trace back to the 1980s.
By the end of the Marcos dictatorship in 1986, the city had become an NPA ‘laboratory’ as it attempted to wage urban warfare on the city’s authorities: Davao was plagued by political and military executions committed by so-called liquidation squads known as ‘sparrows’ commanded by the NPA – the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
The city and surrounding Davao del Sur province saw the birth of two anti-communist groups committed to fight the NPA – the Alsa Masa and the Nagkahiusang Katawhan Alang sa Kalinaw (Nakasaka, or the United Peoples for Peace).
Founders of these groups included former local
government officials who maintained members were ordered not to violate human rights in their anti-insurgency campaigns. But both the NPA and the two anti-communist groups were accused of very serious and systematic human rights abuses including summary killings.
"Skeptic"
Father Amado Picardal, a local human rights advocate, says he does not believe the upcoming event will accomplish anything.
“I am glad the CHR is finally concerned about these killings. But I do not believe that a public hearing will accomplish anything. Witnesses are afraid to testify,” Picardal said.
He added it would be better for the CHR to conduct a discrete investigation. But the problem is, he says, the CHR’s mandate is limited.
“A special independent commission to investigate these killings formed by the President in coordination with the CHR and civil society is probably more effective.”
Picardal claims the killings are not random but rather part of a systematic campaign against suspected criminals using unlawful means. He maintains they are tolerated, inspired and sponsored by those in authority - yet admits not to have any proof “that will stand up in court.”
Picardal added: “These killings can never be morally justified -you cannot run after criminals using criminal means. These killings are murder. The due process of law and the presumption of innocence cannot be disregarded.”
And yet Picardal admits that whoever is responsible enjoys the support of many who are glad to see the streets safer as a result. One of these, a taxi driver who refused to be named, said that he feels safe even late at night.
“Yes the killings help keep me safe because petty crimes have been minimized,” he told the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project. “People are scared to commit crime.”
But others insist that not only petty criminals are targeted for attack.
Kelly Delgado, secretary general human rights group Karapatan for southern Mindanao says CHR should not just focus on the killing of criminals in Davao, but also on victims of extrajudicial killings in Davao del Sur and Compostela Valley.
Unabated yet unresolved killings of Bayan Muna (People First) organizers and peasant activists in the two provinces late last year raised questions whether they are part of an ‘undeclared’ war against critics of the Arroyo administration and suspected supporters of the communist movement.
Delgado says the killings of both suspected criminals in the city and political activists merits a deeper investigation from authorities. (Keith Bacongco - Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project. The author is a journalist based in Davao City and one of the founders of AKP Images, an independent photo agency.)
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Human Rights Activists Protest Extra-Judicial Killings In The Philippines
Members of human rights and peoples' organizations from Davao City troop to New Bataan town in Compostela Valley province in Mindanao to support local protests against militarization in the area. More than a hundred protesters accuse the military as behind extra-judicial killings in the province. Groups are also calling on the military to respect human rights and the International Humanitarian Law. (Contributed by Davaotoday.com - Photo by Jonald Mahinay)
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Human Rights Fact-Finding Mission Begins In The Philippines
MANILA, Philippines - Two years have passed: Can the Arroyo government claim to have a cleaner human rights record? Alarmed by continuous reports of escalating violence against members of the legal profession in the Philippines, the Dutch Lawyers for Lawyers Foundation upon the initiative of the Dutch Foundation Lawyers without Borders and with the support of the Netherlands Bar Association, the Amsterdam Bar Association and the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) organized the International Fact Finding Mission two years ago, from June 15 to 20, 2006.
They held interviews and conferences in Quezon City, Manila and Tacloban City, Leyte with lawyer-victims, the families of slain lawyers, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, human rights advocates, concerned government agencies, among them the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the judiciary.
From November 4 to the 12th, the Dutch Lawyers for Lawyers Foundation will conduct a follow-up verification and fact finding mission (IVFFM) to be held in Manila and Mindanao.
This time around, the National Host Committee is the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers ( NUPL) in collaboration with the Counsels for the Defense of Liberties (CODAL), which hosted the first Mission which took place two years ago.
"Since 2001, many human rights lawyers and judges have fallen victim to serious harassment, intimidation and even extrajudicial killing for the practice of their profession. These attacks have further exposed the brutal orientation of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration when it comes to human rights. Those who defend human rights and stand up against those who violate them become victims themselves. This is an alarming development that has struck a chord even in the international community of law practitioners, and thus the IFFM was held in 2006," said NUPL secretary–general Atty. Neri Colmenares, said.
"It's been two years since the first IFFM. It's high time that we find out if anything has changed or if the attacks against members of the legal profession continued and even escalated. It's simply impossible, not to mention fool-hardy, to take the Macapagal-Arroyo government's word that the human right situation in the country has improved. We have yet to hear that the cry for justice by the victims and their families has been answered , or that the perpetrators have been made to account for their crimes. What's worse is that the government has remained stiff-necked in its refusal to scrap Oplan Bantay Laya and its campaign of political persecution against its legitimate critics, including progressive human rights lawyers and judges. Systemic impunity remains in place," he said.
Colmenares said that it the attacks against human rights advocates continue and the government remains relentless in its implementation of its campaign of political repression. Case in point, he said, is the abduction and arrest of labor lawyer and human rights advocate Remigio Saladero, Jr., on charges that are undoubtedly politically motivated.
Atty. Saladero was abducted on October 23, 2008, at his law office in Antipolo City, in Rizal province. The arresting officers used a 2006 arrest warrant for trumped up charges of multiple murder and attempted murder in Oriental Mindoro. . They also illegally confiscated Atty. Saladero's personal belongings including his, laptop and mobile phone and refused his request to contact his family and colleagues to inform them of his abduction until very late that evening.
"The Arroyo government and its various agencies speak with forked tongues when it comes to human rights. Atty. Saladero has done nothing but ably perform his duties as a progressive people's lawyer and a legal defender of the poor and exploited, but this government has seen it fit to persecute him, slap him with obviously fake charges, and put him behind bars. In the meantime, the very criminals – members of the government's security and armed forces – who are behind the abduction and killing of innocent civilians and human rights advocates continue to enjoy their freedom," he said.
According to Colmenares, the follow-up IVFFM aims to verify the status of cases of harassed or killed lawyers and judges investigated by the IFFM in June 2006; verify and collect as many findings as possible regarding several new cases of threats, harassment and killings of human rights lawyers and judges and how the Philippine authorities have addressed (or not addressed) the issue; verify and collect as many findings as possible regarding the effectiveness of the measures the Macapagal-Arroyo government claims to have taken to address the problem of extrajudicial killings, and inform the appropriate Philippine authorities and the international community regarding the same. Participants to the Mission will once more visit the same offices and institutions they did in 2006, and determine if there have been significant developments.
"It's been two years. Has the Macapagal-Arroyo government done more than lip service and gone after the killers of human rights lawyers and judges? Can this government now boast of having a cleaner human rights record? Can human rights lawyers now practice their profession without the threat of being abducted or killed looming over their heads? These are some of the questions this IVFFM seeks to answer," he said.
They held interviews and conferences in Quezon City, Manila and Tacloban City, Leyte with lawyer-victims, the families of slain lawyers, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, human rights advocates, concerned government agencies, among them the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the judiciary.
From November 4 to the 12th, the Dutch Lawyers for Lawyers Foundation will conduct a follow-up verification and fact finding mission (IVFFM) to be held in Manila and Mindanao.
This time around, the National Host Committee is the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers ( NUPL) in collaboration with the Counsels for the Defense of Liberties (CODAL), which hosted the first Mission which took place two years ago.
"Since 2001, many human rights lawyers and judges have fallen victim to serious harassment, intimidation and even extrajudicial killing for the practice of their profession. These attacks have further exposed the brutal orientation of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration when it comes to human rights. Those who defend human rights and stand up against those who violate them become victims themselves. This is an alarming development that has struck a chord even in the international community of law practitioners, and thus the IFFM was held in 2006," said NUPL secretary–general Atty. Neri Colmenares, said.
"It's been two years since the first IFFM. It's high time that we find out if anything has changed or if the attacks against members of the legal profession continued and even escalated. It's simply impossible, not to mention fool-hardy, to take the Macapagal-Arroyo government's word that the human right situation in the country has improved. We have yet to hear that the cry for justice by the victims and their families has been answered , or that the perpetrators have been made to account for their crimes. What's worse is that the government has remained stiff-necked in its refusal to scrap Oplan Bantay Laya and its campaign of political persecution against its legitimate critics, including progressive human rights lawyers and judges. Systemic impunity remains in place," he said.
Colmenares said that it the attacks against human rights advocates continue and the government remains relentless in its implementation of its campaign of political repression. Case in point, he said, is the abduction and arrest of labor lawyer and human rights advocate Remigio Saladero, Jr., on charges that are undoubtedly politically motivated.
Atty. Saladero was abducted on October 23, 2008, at his law office in Antipolo City, in Rizal province. The arresting officers used a 2006 arrest warrant for trumped up charges of multiple murder and attempted murder in Oriental Mindoro. . They also illegally confiscated Atty. Saladero's personal belongings including his, laptop and mobile phone and refused his request to contact his family and colleagues to inform them of his abduction until very late that evening.
"The Arroyo government and its various agencies speak with forked tongues when it comes to human rights. Atty. Saladero has done nothing but ably perform his duties as a progressive people's lawyer and a legal defender of the poor and exploited, but this government has seen it fit to persecute him, slap him with obviously fake charges, and put him behind bars. In the meantime, the very criminals – members of the government's security and armed forces – who are behind the abduction and killing of innocent civilians and human rights advocates continue to enjoy their freedom," he said.
According to Colmenares, the follow-up IVFFM aims to verify the status of cases of harassed or killed lawyers and judges investigated by the IFFM in June 2006; verify and collect as many findings as possible regarding several new cases of threats, harassment and killings of human rights lawyers and judges and how the Philippine authorities have addressed (or not addressed) the issue; verify and collect as many findings as possible regarding the effectiveness of the measures the Macapagal-Arroyo government claims to have taken to address the problem of extrajudicial killings, and inform the appropriate Philippine authorities and the international community regarding the same. Participants to the Mission will once more visit the same offices and institutions they did in 2006, and determine if there have been significant developments.
"It's been two years. Has the Macapagal-Arroyo government done more than lip service and gone after the killers of human rights lawyers and judges? Can this government now boast of having a cleaner human rights record? Can human rights lawyers now practice their profession without the threat of being abducted or killed looming over their heads? These are some of the questions this IVFFM seeks to answer," he said.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Give Voice To The Voiceless; Denounce Poverty, Spanish Priest Urges Zamboanga Media
A boy digs for scraps in the village of Tetuan in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines. Influential Spanish priest Angel Calvo gestures as he speaks about poverty during a training and seminar on poverty and human rights reporting by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines in Zamboanga City on Sunday, October 12, 2008. The training was attended by journalists in Zamboanga City. (Photos of Father Angel Calvo and participants to the NUJP training are courtesy of FotoReportage / http://fotoreportage.wordpress.com/)ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – “Journalists should denounce poverty and give voice to the voiceless,” this was the message of Spanish Father Angel Calvo in his lecture during a training on human rights and poverty reporting in Zamboanga City in Mindanao.
The training, held at the Solidarity Center in Roseller Lim Blvd., was sponsored by the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP), the Institute of War and Peace Reporting, Center for Community Journalism and Development and the Davao City-based media cooperative MindaNews.
At least 18 local journalists, who are working for newspapers, radio and television outfits, participated in the training.
Father Calvo, who heads the independent Zamboanga-Basilan Integrated Development Alliance (ZABIDA), spoke on the poverty condition in Zamboanga City.
“Poverty is a very complicated issue and journalists should take extra care when reporting it,” he told participants.
He also presented photographic slides and a documentary-MTV about poverty in Zamboanga City.
The influential priest, who also heads the Peace Advocates Zamboanga, cited the massive influx of people from neighboring provinces as one factor that contributed heavily to the poverty situation here.
The Spanish-funded ZABIDA program, which started in 2007, aims to fight poverty and at the same time strengthens peace and security in the communities.
The Manos Unidas together with the Agency for International Cooperation, the development assistance arm of the Spanish government, are funding the ZABIDA program.
The Peace and Equity Foundation also has listed 33 out of 98 villages in Zamboanga City as priority areas, which mean that many of its residents cannot even meet their basic needs and have no access to basic social services.
In a study, it said that more than 50% of the entire city populations are living below the poverty threshold.
“Poverty is not only economic issue but more of moral issue today,” Father Calvo said.
The Peace and Equity Foundation was formed as an independent non-profit foundation on October 2001 by the Caucus of Development NGOs to support the work of civil society in eradicating poverty and marginalization.
The Foundation administers an endowment fund from the net proceeds of the Poverty Eradication and Alleviation Certificate (PEACe) Bonds developed and sold on the capital market by CODE-NGO. As a funding institution, it will not go into direct implementation of projects nor undertake direct training and capacity building programs.
Darwin Wally Wee, chairman of the local NUJP chapter, the seminar is part of a series of training being carried out by the local NUJP chapter since it was organized in August.
He said the seminar is aimed at educating journalists on poverty and human rights reporting and the responsibilities of the media as the vanguard of democracy.
“Such training would further enhance the knowledge and widen the understanding of journalists on reporting these sensitive issues of human rights and poverty,” he said.
“Human rights and poverty are sensitive issues and therefore critical analysis of the situation is necessary,” said Maricel Pascual, a participant in the seminar. “The training and seminar is very helpful because it presented a very clear picture of poverty as well as other factors involved in it,” said Pascual, a local radio reporter.
NUJP Secretary General Rowena Paraan was the main speaker during the training and she lectured on the basics of human rights and the role of media in covering and writing stories on poverty, among others. (Nung Aljani)
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Groups Issue Joint Statement On Reports Of Rape, Sexual Abuse Of Penan Women
Joint Press Statement
NGOs' response to reports of rape, sexual abuse and exploitation of Penan girls and women by loggers.
With reference to the growing reports of rape, sexual abuse and exploitation of Penan girls and women in Sarawak, the latest of which was highlighted in the Star dated 6 October 2008, we the undersigned NGOs wish to state the following:
Despite the obvious serious nature of these allegations, the Sarawak police have not taken the issues seriously. Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mohammed Salleh's insistence that a police report must be lodged first reflects poorly on the police as they can certainly take the initiative to investigate these reports without a formal police report.
The situation is worsened by Marudi district police chief Deputy Superintendent Jonathan Jalin who was reported to have said that the police have not found evidence to support the allegations but only a number of "marriages" between the workers and Penan women.
The "marriages", he claimed, were between willing parties, were accepted by the Penan elders, are of a temporary nature and will end once the workers leave for other logging areas. The police in these instances seemed to have summarily dismissed these serious allegations and have failed to take into account the vulnerability of the Penans, especially the women and girls, where the logging company and workers are concerned.
We also wish to add that in November 1994, the Penans lodged a police report listing 10 instances of abuses committed against their persons, property and lands, including the rape of a 12-year-old girl by Police Field Force personnel (PFF, now known as General Operation Force).
These were quickly dismissed by the police even before any investigation has begun, causing a serious loss of confidence in the ability of the Sarawak police to act professionally.
In 2000, a report was also made to Suhakam but similarly there was no action.
Due to the vulnerability of these girls, women and the communities as a whole, we strongly and urgently call upon the Government, in particular the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development and also Suhakam, to follow through their concerns and take these allegations seriously to set up a fact finding mission comprising respected and qualified members who will be able to conduct the fact finding independently, fairly and competently.
We further urge that proper police investigation commences as soon as possible with the Bukit Aman Police heading the investigation, as the communities affected have expressed a serious loss of confidence against the Sarawak police due to their long-standing dealings with them including in disputes with logging companies and the inaction and perpetuation of impunity in the aforesaid abuse cases.
Endorsed by:
All Women's Action Society (AWAM)
Bar Council Borneo Child Aid Society Building Workers International (BWI)
Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC)
Center for Policy Initiatives (CPI)
Civil Rights Committee of The Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (CRC-KLSCAH)
Council of Churches of Malaysia (CCM)
Group of Concerned Citizens Health Equity Initiatives (HEI)
Jaringan Orang Asli Semenanjung Malaysia (JOAS)
Kuala Lumpur Legal Aid Center Kumpulan ACTS Labor Resource Center (LRC)
Malaysia Social Research Institute (MSRI)
Malaysia Youth and Student Democratic Movement (DEMA)
National Human Rights Society (HAKAM)
Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM)
Penang Watch Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor Persatuan Masyarakat Selangor dan Wilayah Persekutuan (PERMAS)
Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor Pusat Kebajikan Good Shepherd Pusat Komas Research for Social Advancement (REFSA)
Rumah Nursalam Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM)
Save Ourselves (SOS!) Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
Tenaganita Voice of the Children Workers Organization Malaysia Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) Writers Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI)
Youth for Change (Y4C)
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Philippine Military Prepares For Offensive, Vows To Uphold Human Rights In Mindanao
DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 22, 2008) – The Philippine military on Tuesday said it will always uphold human rights as troops prepare to mount fresh offensive against communist rebels in Mindanao.
“The 10th Infantry Division assures the public that the military troops is committed in bringing peace and will always uphold the basic rights of the populace as they perform their mandated task,” Army Lt. Col. Kurt Decapia said.
He said more troops and armored vehicles, including Howitzer cannons, arrived in the southern Philippines to boost the government’s fighting power against the New People’s Army (NPA), which is being blamed for the spate of attacks in the provinces, especially in Compostela Valley.
Militant groups Karapatan and Bayan have accused the military of violating the rights of indigenous tribesmen and civilians in Mindanao. It said soldiers arrested and tortured many civilians and political activists, including human rights advocates who were accused of supporting the NPA.
The groups also accused two Philippine Air Force servicemen of torturing a six-year old boy in Davao City last week. The boy was playing near a military base when the two soldiers, who were both drunk, seized the child and burned his body with cigarettes.
The rebels vowed to launch more attacks in Mindanao.
Lt. Col. Rolando Bautista, spokesman for the 10th Infantry Division, said the Army’s 1st Mechanized Infantry Battalion land the 3rd Field Artillery Battalion have arrived in Mindanao to augment thousands of troops already deployed in the troubled region to fight the rebels.
He said two dozen armored vehicles and about a dozen Howitzer cannons have been added to the military’s arsenal in the south. “Their arrival is in response to the clamor of the local government executives in the Region to stop the criminal and terrorist acts of the Communist party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army.”
“It has now become a pattern of the communist rebels to target business industries which provide jobs to our people and this has seriously threatened their livelihood. Thus, the augmentation of these troops to our line units, especially in the province of Compostela Valley, will pre-empt the continuous threat posed by these NPA criminals,” he said.
Compostela Valley is one of several provinces in Mindanao where the NPA rebels are actively operating. The NPA, which broke off peace talks with the Philippine government in 2004, is fighting the past four decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)
Friday, July 04, 2008
NPA Rebels Accuse Soldiers As Behind Blast In Mindanao
DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 4, 2008) – Philippine communist rebels on Friday accused government soldiers as behind a recent grenade attack that killed three people in Compostela Valley province in Mindanao.
Rigoberto Sanchez, a spokesman for the New People’s Army, said government intelligence agents were behind the attack Thursday that also wounded at least a dozen civilians.
The Philippine Army said rebels were behind the attack that targeted motorcycle taxi drivers who were suspected by the NPA as government spies.
"It was the handiwork of the New People's Army rebels,” said Captain Michael Aquino, of the 10th Infantry Division. “We have reports saying that the attack targeted the 'habal-habal' drivers in the area because the NPA suspected them as government spies."
Sanchez denied the allegations. “There is no tinge of truth to this. The enemy is just manufacturing stories to divert attention from the successive and successful tactical offensives by the NPA. The revolutionary forces condemn this criminal attack against civilians,” he said.
The NPA also tagged military agents as behind the murder of a Bagobo tribal chieftain Dominador Diarog, in Davao City, in April this year. Sanchez said the NPA has stepped up attacks on police and military targets in retaliation to widespread human rights violations among other crimes and repression of civilians in Mindanao.
"The series of tactical offensives are meant to punish the Arroyo regime for its despicable crimes of large-scale corruption, imperialist plunder and fascist atrocities on the people," he said.
On Thursday, dozens of insurgents on raided a police base in Banaybanay town in Davao Oriental province and carted away over a dozen weapons, mostly automatic rifles and ammunition. Last week, insurgents also raided a police station in Surigao del Norte's Dapa town.
The NPA is fighting the past four decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. Rebel leaders broke off peace talk with the Arroyo government in 2004 after accusing Manila of reneging on its commitment to free all political prisoners and to put a stop to political killings, among others. (Mindanao Examiner)
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Abadilla Five Marks 12 Years In Jail: AHRC
HONG KONG - Twelve years ago tomorrow, Colonel Rolando Abadilla, an influential police colonel during the regime of late President Ferdinand Marcos, was murdered.
His murder resulted in the arrest of five men now known as the Abadilla Five, who through the years have persisted in challenging their conviction for his murder in court.
Moon Jeong Ho, AHRC urgent appeals programme coordinator, has reminded the Supreme Court (SC) , where the Abadilla Five's appeals for Petition for Review on Certiorari remains pending since May 5, to take notice of the number of years the appellants have spent in jail.
He said the SC has yet to make a ruling on the appellants’ petitions challenging the April 1 decision by the Court of Appeals (CA) which affirms the decision by the lower court convicting them for murder. The five appellants were sentenced to life imprisonment as the CA amended its original sentence of death.
"Once again we urge the SC to act promptly to effectively resolve the petition of the appellants", Moon said as he renews his appeal.
Meanwhile, as Moon welcomes the Commission on Human Rights’ (CHR) decision to resume their long overdue investigation into the case of another five men, collectively known as Tagaytay Five, he also urges the CHR to act on the pending complaint of torture and violations of rights filed by the Abadilla Five.
The Tagaytay Five, namely Riel Custodio, Axel Pinpin, Enrico Ybanez, Michael Mesias and Aristides Sarmiento, have filed complaints against the policemen who arrested and detained them with the CHR on June 2006; however, they have not been able either to conclude or recommend the filing of cases in court since.
The AHRC also issued an appeal on their case following their arrest and incommunicado detention for several days on 28 April 2006. See: UA-143-2006.
However, while the Tagaytay Five's complaint is yet to be concluded, the CHR’s recommendation to prosecute the police officers and those responsible for arresting, detaining and torturing the Abadilla Five has not been filed in court for the last 12 years. See: AHRC-STM-037-2008.
The CHR concluded on July 1996 that the Abadilla Five's rights have been violated and subsequently recommended the filing of charges in court. However, the case remains pending with the Office of the Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices (MOLEO).
The last information received from the MOLEO's office was on 16 July 2007, wherein the Abadilla Five's legal counsel lawyer Soliman Santos was notified that the case is "still pending (for) preliminary investigation."
Moon instead urges the CHR into taking effective measures to monitor cases to ensure the effective prosecution of perpetrators and to afford victims adequate remedies.
His murder resulted in the arrest of five men now known as the Abadilla Five, who through the years have persisted in challenging their conviction for his murder in court.
Moon Jeong Ho, AHRC urgent appeals programme coordinator, has reminded the Supreme Court (SC) , where the Abadilla Five's appeals for Petition for Review on Certiorari remains pending since May 5, to take notice of the number of years the appellants have spent in jail.
He said the SC has yet to make a ruling on the appellants’ petitions challenging the April 1 decision by the Court of Appeals (CA) which affirms the decision by the lower court convicting them for murder. The five appellants were sentenced to life imprisonment as the CA amended its original sentence of death.
"Once again we urge the SC to act promptly to effectively resolve the petition of the appellants", Moon said as he renews his appeal.
Meanwhile, as Moon welcomes the Commission on Human Rights’ (CHR) decision to resume their long overdue investigation into the case of another five men, collectively known as Tagaytay Five, he also urges the CHR to act on the pending complaint of torture and violations of rights filed by the Abadilla Five.
The Tagaytay Five, namely Riel Custodio, Axel Pinpin, Enrico Ybanez, Michael Mesias and Aristides Sarmiento, have filed complaints against the policemen who arrested and detained them with the CHR on June 2006; however, they have not been able either to conclude or recommend the filing of cases in court since.
The AHRC also issued an appeal on their case following their arrest and incommunicado detention for several days on 28 April 2006. See: UA-143-2006.
However, while the Tagaytay Five's complaint is yet to be concluded, the CHR’s recommendation to prosecute the police officers and those responsible for arresting, detaining and torturing the Abadilla Five has not been filed in court for the last 12 years. See: AHRC-STM-037-2008.
The CHR concluded on July 1996 that the Abadilla Five's rights have been violated and subsequently recommended the filing of charges in court. However, the case remains pending with the Office of the Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices (MOLEO).
The last information received from the MOLEO's office was on 16 July 2007, wherein the Abadilla Five's legal counsel lawyer Soliman Santos was notified that the case is "still pending (for) preliminary investigation."
Moon instead urges the CHR into taking effective measures to monitor cases to ensure the effective prosecution of perpetrators and to afford victims adequate remedies.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Pastor Apollo Quiboloy Umani Ng Batikos
DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / May 18, 2008) – Mariing binatikos kahapon ng New People’s Army (NPA) ang milyonaryong televangelist na si Apollo Quiboloy dahil sa diumano’y tirada nito sa rebeldeng grupo dahil sa pagtatanggol sa karapatan ng mga katutubong Lumad sa Mindanao.
Inakusahan ng NPA si Quiboloy ng paggamit ng kanyang malawak na impluwensya at pagiging malapit sa militar upang proteksyunan ang kanyang interest.
Unang ibinintang ng NPA sa mga tagasunod ni Quiboloy ang pagkakapatay sa isang Lumad leader dahil sa ayaw umano nitong ibenta ang kanyang lupain sa Davao na malapit lamang sa malawak na ari-arian ng self-proclaimed preacher.
“As he tries to divert public attention from real issues that has put him in a very bad light, he further invites attention to the injustice that prevails and incites people to let out sentiments that range from ridicule to denunciation,” ani Rigoberto Sanchez, tagapagsalita ng NPA’s Merardo Arce Command.
Mabilis na ibinintang ng militar sa NPA ang pagpatay sa Lumad leader at itinanggi rin ni Quiboloy ang lahat ng akusasyon laban sa kanya. Sinabi pa ng NPA na nagbanta diumano si Quiboloy na gagamitin ang kapangyarihan nito upang banggain ang mga rebelde sa Davao.
“If he desires to be a warlord, aside from being a tree plantation owner, real estate developer, eco-tourism advocate, media mogul and padrino-traditional politicians while moonlighting as a luxury car collector, practical shooting enthusiast and aspiring helicopter pilot, then let him be.”
“If he dreams of fortifying his vast mountainous estate in Calinan by organizing a Quiboloy Brigade, shuttling from the pulpit to the machinegun post, then let him be. But to utilize his religious, economic, political and military influence to establish and expand his estate, cause the evacuation of lumads from their ancestral lands and add misery to poor peasants constitute sinister acts that justly deserve condemnation,” ani pa ni Sanchez.
Inakusahan ng NPA si Quiboloy ng paggamit ng kanyang malawak na impluwensya at pagiging malapit sa militar upang proteksyunan ang kanyang interest.
Unang ibinintang ng NPA sa mga tagasunod ni Quiboloy ang pagkakapatay sa isang Lumad leader dahil sa ayaw umano nitong ibenta ang kanyang lupain sa Davao na malapit lamang sa malawak na ari-arian ng self-proclaimed preacher.
“As he tries to divert public attention from real issues that has put him in a very bad light, he further invites attention to the injustice that prevails and incites people to let out sentiments that range from ridicule to denunciation,” ani Rigoberto Sanchez, tagapagsalita ng NPA’s Merardo Arce Command.
Mabilis na ibinintang ng militar sa NPA ang pagpatay sa Lumad leader at itinanggi rin ni Quiboloy ang lahat ng akusasyon laban sa kanya. Sinabi pa ng NPA na nagbanta diumano si Quiboloy na gagamitin ang kapangyarihan nito upang banggain ang mga rebelde sa Davao.
“If he desires to be a warlord, aside from being a tree plantation owner, real estate developer, eco-tourism advocate, media mogul and padrino-traditional politicians while moonlighting as a luxury car collector, practical shooting enthusiast and aspiring helicopter pilot, then let him be.”
“If he dreams of fortifying his vast mountainous estate in Calinan by organizing a Quiboloy Brigade, shuttling from the pulpit to the machinegun post, then let him be. But to utilize his religious, economic, political and military influence to establish and expand his estate, cause the evacuation of lumads from their ancestral lands and add misery to poor peasants constitute sinister acts that justly deserve condemnation,” ani pa ni Sanchez.
Maging si Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte ay ipinagtanggol rin si Quiboloy, na kanyang matalik na kaibigan, at sinabing isa itong marangal na tao.
”The NPA has no quarrel with Apollo Quiboloy's prayerful flock. But this multi-millionaire pastor's elitist arrogance and deep-seated contempt for lumads and peasants who resist his land grabbing practices rightly deserves the public ridicule and mounting isolation that he is earning,” ani Sanchez.
Si Quiboloy ang pinuno ng “The Kingdom Of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name,” at ng ACQ Kingdom Broadcasting Network sa Davao City at president rin ng Jose Maria College. (Mindanao Examiner)
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Surveillance Continues Against An Activist Allegedly By Military - AHRC
Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information from the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) that an activist has continuously been under surveillance allegedly by the military. After having his case reported police authorities have conducted an inquiry about his current situation but they failed to provide him any protection.
UPDATE INFORMATION: (based on information received from Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR))
As earlier reported in our previous appeal, Dante F. Senillo has since been receiving serious threats from the military in Ormoc City, Leyte since April 2004. He, however, was afraid to report to the police as he believes the military may come to know of his whereabouts instead. (See further AHRC-UAC-044-2008).
According to the information newly obtained, two police officers, one of whom identified as Sergeant Bereso, had visited his house at around 1pm on 4 April 2008. The officers told him that they have received a letter regarding his situation. They also asked him some questions about his current situation. They asked him whether he is still experiencing harassments from the 19th Infantry Battalion (IB) presently and that he had witnesses to prove the incidents regarding the threats mentioned in the copy of letter they had.
They also questioned him about his current job; when he started affiliating with the National Federation of Labour Union -Kilusang Mayo Uno (NAFLU-KMU) and whether he is still actively communicating with the said federation, amongst others. However, there has not been any actual assistance or adequate protection provided to him so far.
Meanwhile, at around 9:45am on April 9, Dante took a ride on a van going to Isabel, Leyte to attend the monthly board meeting of NAFLU-KMU. He arrived in Barangay Libertad, Isabel around 11am. As he entered the Gate 2 of Philphos Company, he noticed someone had been following him. Upon reaching the canteen inside the premises of the company, the man whom Dante suspected following him, had approached.
The man then asked Dante some dubious questions like where he is going, what his job is and what he is doing in that company. According to Dante, the man was wearing a short and fatigue shirt with the abbreviation PA printed on it, which means Philippine Army.
At exactly 12:30, the company bus service came to pick up the company employees who were waiting in the bus stop. He rode on the bus and went to the union office. However, he was not sure if the man who approached him also followed him on the bus up to his destination.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The high number of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines is a result from far higher level of threats and intimidation on the human rights defenders in the Philippines. Killings and threats to the human rights defenders in fact reflect that fear is manifested in the society and the government rules people by fear. Many times, the victims who receive serious threats from the military or police do not report their cases to any government authorities fearing that their location would be exposed. The circle of serious threats often ends only after a victim is arrested or killed. (See further: AHRC-UAU-011-2008, AHRC-UAC-010-2008)
In the Philippines, policemen are seen as adversaries by the activists for having been involved in carrying attempts on their lives and for their inaction in affording them any form of protection. Often, when an activist faces and receives threats to his or herself, going to police station and concerned authorities is not an option. They rather take upon themselves any arrangement for protection.
The AHRC has in recent times has expressed serious concerns over the continuing violence and the lack of protection to activists facing threats in the Philippines. Please refer to AHRC-STM-016-2008, AHRC-STM-014-2008, AHRC-STM-009-2008, AHRC-STM-007-2008.
Regarding hindrances and difficulties for a victim to get justice are described in the chapter on the Philippines in 2007 country report of the AHRC.
SUGGESTED ACTION:Please write letters to the government authorities urging them to investigate this continuing surveillance allegedly by military against Dante.
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information from the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) that an activist has continuously been under surveillance allegedly by the military. After having his case reported police authorities have conducted an inquiry about his current situation but they failed to provide him any protection.
UPDATE INFORMATION: (based on information received from Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR))
As earlier reported in our previous appeal, Dante F. Senillo has since been receiving serious threats from the military in Ormoc City, Leyte since April 2004. He, however, was afraid to report to the police as he believes the military may come to know of his whereabouts instead. (See further AHRC-UAC-044-2008).
According to the information newly obtained, two police officers, one of whom identified as Sergeant Bereso, had visited his house at around 1pm on 4 April 2008. The officers told him that they have received a letter regarding his situation. They also asked him some questions about his current situation. They asked him whether he is still experiencing harassments from the 19th Infantry Battalion (IB) presently and that he had witnesses to prove the incidents regarding the threats mentioned in the copy of letter they had.
They also questioned him about his current job; when he started affiliating with the National Federation of Labour Union -Kilusang Mayo Uno (NAFLU-KMU) and whether he is still actively communicating with the said federation, amongst others. However, there has not been any actual assistance or adequate protection provided to him so far.
Meanwhile, at around 9:45am on April 9, Dante took a ride on a van going to Isabel, Leyte to attend the monthly board meeting of NAFLU-KMU. He arrived in Barangay Libertad, Isabel around 11am. As he entered the Gate 2 of Philphos Company, he noticed someone had been following him. Upon reaching the canteen inside the premises of the company, the man whom Dante suspected following him, had approached.
The man then asked Dante some dubious questions like where he is going, what his job is and what he is doing in that company. According to Dante, the man was wearing a short and fatigue shirt with the abbreviation PA printed on it, which means Philippine Army.
At exactly 12:30, the company bus service came to pick up the company employees who were waiting in the bus stop. He rode on the bus and went to the union office. However, he was not sure if the man who approached him also followed him on the bus up to his destination.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The high number of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines is a result from far higher level of threats and intimidation on the human rights defenders in the Philippines. Killings and threats to the human rights defenders in fact reflect that fear is manifested in the society and the government rules people by fear. Many times, the victims who receive serious threats from the military or police do not report their cases to any government authorities fearing that their location would be exposed. The circle of serious threats often ends only after a victim is arrested or killed. (See further: AHRC-UAU-011-2008, AHRC-UAC-010-2008)
In the Philippines, policemen are seen as adversaries by the activists for having been involved in carrying attempts on their lives and for their inaction in affording them any form of protection. Often, when an activist faces and receives threats to his or herself, going to police station and concerned authorities is not an option. They rather take upon themselves any arrangement for protection.
The AHRC has in recent times has expressed serious concerns over the continuing violence and the lack of protection to activists facing threats in the Philippines. Please refer to AHRC-STM-016-2008, AHRC-STM-014-2008, AHRC-STM-009-2008, AHRC-STM-007-2008.
Regarding hindrances and difficulties for a victim to get justice are described in the chapter on the Philippines in 2007 country report of the AHRC.
SUGGESTED ACTION:Please write letters to the government authorities urging them to investigate this continuing surveillance allegedly by military against Dante.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Cuba Demands Release Of Political Prisoners
The five Cuban men held in US prison.
MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 11, 2008) – Cuba has renewed demands for the release of five of its agents being held in the United States for nearly ten years now.
Cuban Ambassador to the Philippines, Jorge Rey Jiménez, said the five -- Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González and René González -- were sentenced for fighting the terrorism that has been launched against Cuba from the US for the last 48 years.
He said the five men came to the US in the early 1990s in response to the wave of violence directed at Cuba by mercenary groups from the Cuban exile community in southern Florida.
They were sent to infiltrate the network of terrorist groups that had been attacking Cuba. Washington became aware of their presence in the US and were arrested in 1998 and prosecuted on a variety of charges, including failure to register as foreign agents. Three were charged with conspiracy to commit espionage; one was charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
“Having infiltrated Cuban extremist groups in Miami, the Cuban Mafia, which the US authorities organize and protect, their intelligence was impeding terrorist operations that have cost our country over 3,000 dead and hundreds of injured and maimed,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.
Jiménez said Cuba is demanding the immediate release from US prisons of the five anti-terrorist fighters, now known as the “Cuban Five,” who have been held as political prisoners.
A Miami jury convicted them on all counts after a seven-month trial. It was the longest trial in the history of the US at the time. During the trial, the attorneys for the five Cuban men requested a change of venue from Miami to another city five times. The judge denied each request.
In December 2001, two of the five men -- Gerardo Hernández and Rene Gonzalez --were sentenced to life in prison -- one to 19 years, and the other to 15 years.
But the Cuban Ambassador said: “These five compatriots were unjustly sentenced at a trial which was declared illegal and void, by a panel of the Atlanta appeal court judges. Also the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions declared the Cuban Five innocent and their trial, which was held in Miami, illegal.”
He said a worldwide campaign seeking justice for the five political prisoners is gathering strength. “They must be freed,” he said.
In January, a strong demand for the release of the five men was also made at the World Social Forum in Madrid.
Filipino human rights advocates in Manila are also demanding the release of the five Cuban political prisoners, Jiménez said. (Mindanao Examiner)
Monday, March 10, 2008
Labor Leader Killed In Philippines
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is shocked to learn that a labour leader who survived an earlier attempt on his life in April 2006 was shot dead this morning, March 10.
Gerardo Cristobal (a.k.a. Gerry) was driving his vehicle when armed men riding in another vehicle open fired at him soon after chasing him. He suffered several fatal gunshot wounds which killed him instantly. Gerardo, an organizer of labour unions in Cavite, South of Manila, had been facing continuing threats since surviving the 2006 incident.
CASE DETAILS: (according to information received from Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR))
As described in our previous appeal (UA-142-2006; UP-098-2006), labour activist Gerardo Cristobal (a.k.a. Gerry) survived an earlier attempt on his life on 28 April 2006 by gunmen later identified as a member of the police force and another man who was said to be a member of the civil security unit.
At around 8 am this morning, Gerardo was driving his car from his house in Barangay (village) Malagasang II, Imus, Cavite when armed men riding in another vehicle chased him and subsequently open fired at him as they chased him towards a crowded place in the said municipality.
It is reported that the Scene of the Crime Operatives (Soco), who are supposed to conduct an onsite investigation, allegedly asked a local funeral home in Dasmarinas to collect Gerardo's body instead of conducting an investigation at the crime scene. Gerardo's body was later transferred to another funeral home. As of yet, the complete details regarding Gerardo's have not been made available.
In April 2006, Gerardo survived an attempt on his life after having exchanged fire with his attackers who were later identified as Senior Police Office 1 (SP01) Romeo Lara, a member of police' intelligence unit in Imus, Cavite and his companion, Larry Reyes, a member of the Civil Security Unit (CSU) of the same municipality. Gerardo at the time had to carry his own licensed firearm for protection due to continuing threats against him.
At the time, Gerardo suffered multiple gunshots wound but later recovered after receiving medical treatment. After the ambush, the local police claimed instead that it was Gerardo who had ambushed the police and security forces, and subsequently filed charges of frustrated murder against him. This, however, was contrary to Gerardo's version of story.
Eight months later, December 2006, Gerardo's colleague, Jesus Servida (a.k.a. Buth) was also shot dead in front of the factory where they help organizing unions. Two other workers, Joel Sale and Kenny Mari Severo, were also wounded during the shooting. For further information please read: UA-399-2006. None of the perpetrators in this case have so far been identified, arrested and prosecuted for the murder.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
The murder of Gerardo Cristobal demonstrates the severity of the security problem and the lack of safety of activists. In Gerardo's case, apart from having no choice but to carry his own firearms for protection, there has not been any known action or arrangement afforded to him that he be afforded with security for his safety by the authorities.
In the Philippines, policemen are seen as adversaries by the activists for having been involved in carrying attempts on their lives and for their inaction into affording them any form of protection.
Gerardo's death is a case in point. Often, when an activist faces and receives threats to his or herself, going to police station and concerned authorities is not an option. They rather take upon themselves any arrangement for protection. There are also cases where a person facing threats refuses to divulge his plight to his anyone.
This, however, has been proven fatal in most cases involving killings of activists. In May 2006, activist Elena Mendiola (a.k.a. Baby) was also shot dead after having been survived an earlier attempt on her life. For details please read: UP-106-2006.
The AHRC has in recent times has expressed serious concerns over the continuing violence and the lack of protection to activists facing threats in the Philippines.
AHRC-STM-016-2008: PHILIPPINES: KILLINGS - Two more killings: a priest and a judge - a symptom of lawlessness
AHRC-STM-014-2008: PHILIPPINES: KILLINGS – Why can't security forces act without being asked?
AHRC-STM-009-2008: PHILIPPINES: KILLINGS – Claims of police efficiency at odds with reality
AHRC-STM-007-2008: PHILIPPINES: Killings leave deeply entrenched fear and distrust
SUGGESTED ACTION:Please write letters to the concerned authorities demanding their immediate attention into the killing of Gerardo Cristobal. An inquiry must be conducted as to who is responsible for his death and why the authorities have failed to afford him adequate protection. Those involved in the previous attempt on his life, in particular the police, must also be investigated to establish whether or not they have any involvement in his murder.
The AHRC writes letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions and Special Representative of the Secretary General for human rights defenders calling for interventions in this matter.
To support this appeal, please click here:
SAMPLE LETTER:
Dear ___________,
PHILIPPINES: Labour leader who survives an earlier attempt on his life is killed
Name of victim: Gerardo Cristobal (35), a resident of Barangay (village) Malagasang II, Imus, CaviteAlleged perpetrators: unidentified armed menPlace of incident: Barangay (village) Malagasang, Imus, CaviteDate of incident: At around 8am, 10 March 2008.
I am shocked to learn that Gerardo Cristobal (a.k.a. Gerry), a labour activist who survived an attempt on his life in April 2006 had been shot dead on March 10, 2008. He was riding in his service vehicle coming from his place when armed men riding in another vehicle open fired at him and the vehicle he was driving. Gerardo died instantly due to multiple gunshot wounds he suffered during the attack.
I am aware that prior to his killing, Gerardo had earlier survived an attempt on his life by perpetrators later identified as a member of a police intelligence unit and security forces. However, none of those involved in previous attack on him have been held to account.
In fact, I have learned that Gerardo was instead been charged for supposedly attempting to murder the policeman and members of security forces who actually were responsible in attacking him.
I am also aware that Gerardo's colleague, Jesus Servida (a.k.a. Buth), was shot dead in December 2006, eight months after the first attack on Gerardo. Two other workers were also wounded during the said attack. However, I am not aware of any progress regarding these two separate incidents; nor the perpetrators responsible been held to account. None of those involved in shooting Jesus to death, wounding the two workers, and the first attempt on Gerardo's life have been held to account.
Also, I am deeply concerned by the reported action taken by the Scene of the Crime Operatives (Soco) in Gerardo's case for allegedly not properly conducting investigation at the crime scene. I have been informed that instead of conducting proper onsite investigation, the police have instead reportedly instructed a funeral parlor to take the victim's body out with them.
In so doing, I am seriously concerned that even at the early stage of investigation it has already been undermined as a result of the police' negligence and inaction. I urge you to look into these allegations seriously and have the policemen involved investigated.
It is disappointing that human rights and labour activists has since been continuously becomes target of these killings and atrocities. I am aware that this is not the first time wherein an activist is killed after surviving an earlier attempt on their lives. I am extremely shocked by this deteriorating condition and the continued lack of protection for human rights and labour activists in the country.
I therefore urge you that any action taken in Gerardo's case must be effective and adequate, in particular of ensuring that those responsible are held to account.
Yours sincerely,
-------------------
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President
Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace
JP Laurel Street, San Miguel
Manila 1005
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 736 1010 Tel: +63 2 735 6201 / 564 1451 to 80
E-mail: corres@op.gov.ph
2. Mrs. Purificacion Quisumbing
Commissioner
Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., Commonwealth Avenue
U.P. Complex, DilimanQuezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 929 0102 Tel: +63 2 928 5655 / 926 6188
E-mail: drpvq@yahoo.com
3. Deputy Director General Avelino Razon
Chief, Philippine National Police (PNP)
Camp General Rafael Crame
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2724 8763 Tel: +63 2 726 4361/4366/8763
E-mail: bluetree73@gmail.com
4. Mr. Raul Gonzalez
Secretary
Department of Justice (DoJ)
DOJ Bldg., Padre Faura1004
Manila
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 521 1614
E-mail: agnesdeva@yahoo.com
5. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon
Chief of Staff
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)
AFP-GHQ Offices, Camp Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 911 6436 Tel: +63 2 911 6001 to 50
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals ProgrammeAsian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)
Gerardo Cristobal (a.k.a. Gerry) was driving his vehicle when armed men riding in another vehicle open fired at him soon after chasing him. He suffered several fatal gunshot wounds which killed him instantly. Gerardo, an organizer of labour unions in Cavite, South of Manila, had been facing continuing threats since surviving the 2006 incident.
CASE DETAILS: (according to information received from Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR))
As described in our previous appeal (UA-142-2006; UP-098-2006), labour activist Gerardo Cristobal (a.k.a. Gerry) survived an earlier attempt on his life on 28 April 2006 by gunmen later identified as a member of the police force and another man who was said to be a member of the civil security unit.
At around 8 am this morning, Gerardo was driving his car from his house in Barangay (village) Malagasang II, Imus, Cavite when armed men riding in another vehicle chased him and subsequently open fired at him as they chased him towards a crowded place in the said municipality.
It is reported that the Scene of the Crime Operatives (Soco), who are supposed to conduct an onsite investigation, allegedly asked a local funeral home in Dasmarinas to collect Gerardo's body instead of conducting an investigation at the crime scene. Gerardo's body was later transferred to another funeral home. As of yet, the complete details regarding Gerardo's have not been made available.
In April 2006, Gerardo survived an attempt on his life after having exchanged fire with his attackers who were later identified as Senior Police Office 1 (SP01) Romeo Lara, a member of police' intelligence unit in Imus, Cavite and his companion, Larry Reyes, a member of the Civil Security Unit (CSU) of the same municipality. Gerardo at the time had to carry his own licensed firearm for protection due to continuing threats against him.
At the time, Gerardo suffered multiple gunshots wound but later recovered after receiving medical treatment. After the ambush, the local police claimed instead that it was Gerardo who had ambushed the police and security forces, and subsequently filed charges of frustrated murder against him. This, however, was contrary to Gerardo's version of story.
Eight months later, December 2006, Gerardo's colleague, Jesus Servida (a.k.a. Buth) was also shot dead in front of the factory where they help organizing unions. Two other workers, Joel Sale and Kenny Mari Severo, were also wounded during the shooting. For further information please read: UA-399-2006. None of the perpetrators in this case have so far been identified, arrested and prosecuted for the murder.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
The murder of Gerardo Cristobal demonstrates the severity of the security problem and the lack of safety of activists. In Gerardo's case, apart from having no choice but to carry his own firearms for protection, there has not been any known action or arrangement afforded to him that he be afforded with security for his safety by the authorities.
In the Philippines, policemen are seen as adversaries by the activists for having been involved in carrying attempts on their lives and for their inaction into affording them any form of protection.
Gerardo's death is a case in point. Often, when an activist faces and receives threats to his or herself, going to police station and concerned authorities is not an option. They rather take upon themselves any arrangement for protection. There are also cases where a person facing threats refuses to divulge his plight to his anyone.
This, however, has been proven fatal in most cases involving killings of activists. In May 2006, activist Elena Mendiola (a.k.a. Baby) was also shot dead after having been survived an earlier attempt on her life. For details please read: UP-106-2006.
The AHRC has in recent times has expressed serious concerns over the continuing violence and the lack of protection to activists facing threats in the Philippines.
AHRC-STM-016-2008: PHILIPPINES: KILLINGS - Two more killings: a priest and a judge - a symptom of lawlessness
AHRC-STM-014-2008: PHILIPPINES: KILLINGS – Why can't security forces act without being asked?
AHRC-STM-009-2008: PHILIPPINES: KILLINGS – Claims of police efficiency at odds with reality
AHRC-STM-007-2008: PHILIPPINES: Killings leave deeply entrenched fear and distrust
SUGGESTED ACTION:Please write letters to the concerned authorities demanding their immediate attention into the killing of Gerardo Cristobal. An inquiry must be conducted as to who is responsible for his death and why the authorities have failed to afford him adequate protection. Those involved in the previous attempt on his life, in particular the police, must also be investigated to establish whether or not they have any involvement in his murder.
The AHRC writes letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions and Special Representative of the Secretary General for human rights defenders calling for interventions in this matter.
To support this appeal, please click here:
SAMPLE LETTER:
Dear ___________,
PHILIPPINES: Labour leader who survives an earlier attempt on his life is killed
Name of victim: Gerardo Cristobal (35), a resident of Barangay (village) Malagasang II, Imus, CaviteAlleged perpetrators: unidentified armed menPlace of incident: Barangay (village) Malagasang, Imus, CaviteDate of incident: At around 8am, 10 March 2008.
I am shocked to learn that Gerardo Cristobal (a.k.a. Gerry), a labour activist who survived an attempt on his life in April 2006 had been shot dead on March 10, 2008. He was riding in his service vehicle coming from his place when armed men riding in another vehicle open fired at him and the vehicle he was driving. Gerardo died instantly due to multiple gunshot wounds he suffered during the attack.
I am aware that prior to his killing, Gerardo had earlier survived an attempt on his life by perpetrators later identified as a member of a police intelligence unit and security forces. However, none of those involved in previous attack on him have been held to account.
In fact, I have learned that Gerardo was instead been charged for supposedly attempting to murder the policeman and members of security forces who actually were responsible in attacking him.
I am also aware that Gerardo's colleague, Jesus Servida (a.k.a. Buth), was shot dead in December 2006, eight months after the first attack on Gerardo. Two other workers were also wounded during the said attack. However, I am not aware of any progress regarding these two separate incidents; nor the perpetrators responsible been held to account. None of those involved in shooting Jesus to death, wounding the two workers, and the first attempt on Gerardo's life have been held to account.
Also, I am deeply concerned by the reported action taken by the Scene of the Crime Operatives (Soco) in Gerardo's case for allegedly not properly conducting investigation at the crime scene. I have been informed that instead of conducting proper onsite investigation, the police have instead reportedly instructed a funeral parlor to take the victim's body out with them.
In so doing, I am seriously concerned that even at the early stage of investigation it has already been undermined as a result of the police' negligence and inaction. I urge you to look into these allegations seriously and have the policemen involved investigated.
It is disappointing that human rights and labour activists has since been continuously becomes target of these killings and atrocities. I am aware that this is not the first time wherein an activist is killed after surviving an earlier attempt on their lives. I am extremely shocked by this deteriorating condition and the continued lack of protection for human rights and labour activists in the country.
I therefore urge you that any action taken in Gerardo's case must be effective and adequate, in particular of ensuring that those responsible are held to account.
Yours sincerely,
-------------------
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President
Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace
JP Laurel Street, San Miguel
Manila 1005
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 736 1010 Tel: +63 2 735 6201 / 564 1451 to 80
E-mail: corres@op.gov.ph
2. Mrs. Purificacion Quisumbing
Commissioner
Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., Commonwealth Avenue
U.P. Complex, DilimanQuezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 929 0102 Tel: +63 2 928 5655 / 926 6188
E-mail: drpvq@yahoo.com
3. Deputy Director General Avelino Razon
Chief, Philippine National Police (PNP)
Camp General Rafael Crame
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2724 8763 Tel: +63 2 726 4361/4366/8763
E-mail: bluetree73@gmail.com
4. Mr. Raul Gonzalez
Secretary
Department of Justice (DoJ)
DOJ Bldg., Padre Faura1004
Manila
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 521 1614
E-mail: agnesdeva@yahoo.com
5. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon
Chief of Staff
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)
AFP-GHQ Offices, Camp Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 911 6436 Tel: +63 2 911 6001 to 50
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals ProgrammeAsian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Militanteng Grupo, Progresibong Magsasaka Pinagbantaan Ng Army Sa Negros
DUMAGUETE CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 26, 2008) – Muling nagsiga-sigaan na naman ang Philippine Army sa Negros Oriental at tila martial law ang paningin nito sa estado ng lalawigan matapos nitong balaan ang mga militanteng grupo at progresibong organisasyon ng mga magsasaka na umano’y tutol sa kaunlaran.
Mismong si Col. John Bonafos, ang deputy commander ng kilabot na 302nd Infantry Brigade, ang nagsabi sa mga mamamahayag na dudurugin nito ang mga grupong tutol sa kaunlaran.
Naunang inireklamo ng mga militanteng grupo ang Philippine Army, partikular ang 61st Infantry Battalion, na siya umanong nasa likod ng panghaharas sa mga magsasaka na ayaw magtanim ng jathropa o “tuba-tuba”, isang halamang malaki umano ang potensyal sa langis na posibleng magamit bilang bio-fuel ng pamahalaan.
Katwiran ng mga magsasaka ay maraming mawawalan ng taniman at palayan kung itutuloy ng militar ang pamimilit sa pagtatanim ng jathropa sa libo-libong ektarya sa Negros na pakikinabangan lamang ng mga malalaking haciendero.
Binansagan pa umano ni Bonafos ang mga militanteng grupo tulad ng Anakpawis, Gabriela, Bayan, Anakbayan at ilang mga church-based charity at progresibiong grupo na umano’y front lamang ng Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). Itong mga grupo rin ang tinawag ni Bonafos na mga tutol sa kaunlaran.
Umani naman ng malaking batikos si Bonafos sa kanyang mga binitiwang pahayag sa media at nanawagan tuloy ang mga human rights advocates sa pamunuan ng militar at pamahalaang na tanggalin agad sa Negros si Bonafos at ipadala sa Sulu na kung saan ay naghahari-harian doon ang Abu Sayyaf at Jemaah Islmiaya.
Natatakot ang mga human rights grupo na mas tataas pa ang bilang ngh mga kaso ng human rights sa lalawigan sa pamamalagi ni Bonafos at ng mga iba pang unit ng Philippine Army tulad ng 61st Infantry Batallion. (Mindanao Examiner)
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Child Rights Advocates Join Anti-Arroyo Protest
MANILA, Philippines - “Learning by doing.” This is how child rights advocates teach children the different concepts related to their rights. And this is exactly how they taught children the right to freely express opinions and the value of collective action.
In a gathering of child rights advocates, various child-focused NGOs formed the Child Rights Advocates Act against Corruption and Tyranny Now! (Children ACT Now!) and came up with a unity statement that condemned the practice of corruption by government officials at the expense of the budget for basic services for children and their families.
“We are appalled that millions of pesos in cash for bribes changed hands among those in power while our children and their families struggle to work for a whole day’s subsistence,” their unity statement read.
The group also expressed their disgust at President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her family, as well as her cronies for living off “on people’s money while our children work on the streets, in quarries, in sweatshops and even in dirty canals and rivers to earn a decent living.”
Representatives of the group led by Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns, Association for the Rights of Children in Southeast Asia (ARCSEA), Konkokyo Peace Activity Center (KPAC),Children’s Network Against Corruption and Deceit and Magulang at Paslit Laban sa Digmaan at Karahasan (MAPALAD-KA) carried an oversized styro slipper representing the collective action of child rights workers.
They used the slipper to hit an over-sized can representing corruption in government, as in the children’s game, Tumbang Preso. “Our children do not deserve her disgraceful and dishonorable government. We demand that GMA account and face the consequences of this unbelievable degree of corruption. We must continue to teach our children that for every wrong done, there is accountability.”
While child rights advocates’ greatest virtue is patience, they said that their “patience with the Arroyo government has grown thin and time has run out”. They added that “our children deserve a better government, better leaders and a better future, without Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in Malacanang.”
In order to realize this, they are calling on child rights advocates from all over the country, as well as the children -- the future generation, to exercise vigilance against future leaders who may do just the same or even worse than what Arroyo is doing now.
The group planned a series of activities that involved discussions among parents and children in their communities on the issue of corruption vis-à-vis the situation of children through various creative forms. They are also slated to do a forum-interaction on corruption to be participated in by about 500 children and child rights advocates on February 25.
Joining the national organizations in the alliance are child rights organizations Kabiba Alliance from Southern Mindanao based in Davao City and the Children’s Rehabilitation Center- Panay Regional Office based in Iloilo City. More organizations are expected to join the alliance in the next few days.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Mindanao Tribesmen Assail Military Offensive
SURIGAO DEL SUR, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 04, 2007) – An umbrella organization of indigenous tribes assailed Tuesday ongoing military operations in the southern Philippines, saying, it has effected more than 1,500 natives in Mindanao.
The militant group PASAKA Lumad Confederation said more than 1,500 Manobo tribesmen have been affected by the military offensive in several hinterland villages in Surigao del Sur province, where soldiers were pursuing communist insurgents since last week.
Datu Monico Cayog, one of the group's leaders, also accused soldiers of violating human rights of many natives on mere suspicion they were rebel supporters.
The military offensive was triggered by a rebel ambush Saturday of government soldiers that injured more than dozen infantrymen in the town of Lianga.
But Cayog, a Bagobo tribal leader, said: "The death of a military man due to an NPA landmine explosion was not the fault of the civilian communities, but every time there is a military casualty, civilians always suffer from the military's vengeful attacks."
He also appealed for aid to help feed natives in evacuation areas.
"The Lumad in Surigao need all the help from concerned institutions, churches and individuals," he said.
PASAKA is composed of 25 different Lumad organizations in southern Mindanao and North Cotabato. (Mindanao Examiner)
Monday, October 01, 2007
Writ Of Amparo Gives New Hope To Human Rights Groups In RP
DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 1, 2007) — A Filipino human rights group on Monday praised the Supreme Court for upholding the Writ of Amparo that would protect citizens from human rights abuses and extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances in the Philippines.
Kelley Delgado, Karapatan Secretary General, said the Writ of Amparo is a remedy made available for the victims of human rights abuses and to the worsening human rights situation in the country.
“As human rights defender, the Writ of Amparo is a welcome step particularly to the victims of human rights abuses. This will block the military to invoke in their defense the ‘presumption of regularity’, Delgado said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.
The presumption of regularity, he said, is often used as an excuse by the military that official duty has been regularly performed to evade responsibility or liability and will further bar officers in judicial proceedings to issue denial answers regarding petitions on extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.
He said as the writ of Amparo which will take effect on October 24 will compel state agents to look for the missing person or surface those who are believed to be in their hands.
“The decision will hopefully make the military and its cohorts to rethink their attacks against human rights, if not really stop them from perpetuating these abuses,” Delgado said.
Chief Justice Reynato Puno officially announced the approval of the Writ of Amparo last month.
Amparo, a Spanish word that means protection is a Mexican legal procedure that aimed at protecting human rights. The "recurso de amparo" is an exhaustive remedy which originated from Latin America's Mexican, Chile and Argentina legal systems.
Mexico's Amparo is found in Articles 103 and 107 of the Mexican Constitution -- the judicial review of governmental action, to empower state courts to protect individuals against state abuses.
"The law now allows kin of human rights victims to file and invoke the petition before the Regional Trial Court of the place where the threat, act or omission was omitted. The writ shall be enforceable anywhere," Delgado said.
Karapatan said that since President Gloria Arroyo became president in 2001, there have close to 1,000 extra-judicial executions and hundreds of abductions, mostly political activists.
Amnesty International and the United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston have reported similar findings.
Militant and left-wing groups have blamed the military for the killings and other human rights violations as part of the government’s counterinsurgency program.
The United States also expressed concern that US aid to the Philippine military and police is being used to commit the killings.
Kelley Delgado, Karapatan Secretary General, said the Writ of Amparo is a remedy made available for the victims of human rights abuses and to the worsening human rights situation in the country.
“As human rights defender, the Writ of Amparo is a welcome step particularly to the victims of human rights abuses. This will block the military to invoke in their defense the ‘presumption of regularity’, Delgado said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.
The presumption of regularity, he said, is often used as an excuse by the military that official duty has been regularly performed to evade responsibility or liability and will further bar officers in judicial proceedings to issue denial answers regarding petitions on extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.
He said as the writ of Amparo which will take effect on October 24 will compel state agents to look for the missing person or surface those who are believed to be in their hands.
“The decision will hopefully make the military and its cohorts to rethink their attacks against human rights, if not really stop them from perpetuating these abuses,” Delgado said.
Chief Justice Reynato Puno officially announced the approval of the Writ of Amparo last month.
Amparo, a Spanish word that means protection is a Mexican legal procedure that aimed at protecting human rights. The "recurso de amparo" is an exhaustive remedy which originated from Latin America's Mexican, Chile and Argentina legal systems.
Mexico's Amparo is found in Articles 103 and 107 of the Mexican Constitution -- the judicial review of governmental action, to empower state courts to protect individuals against state abuses.
"The law now allows kin of human rights victims to file and invoke the petition before the Regional Trial Court of the place where the threat, act or omission was omitted. The writ shall be enforceable anywhere," Delgado said.
Karapatan said that since President Gloria Arroyo became president in 2001, there have close to 1,000 extra-judicial executions and hundreds of abductions, mostly political activists.
Amnesty International and the United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston have reported similar findings.
Militant and left-wing groups have blamed the military for the killings and other human rights violations as part of the government’s counterinsurgency program.
The United States also expressed concern that US aid to the Philippine military and police is being used to commit the killings.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Human Rights Film, Inipit Ng Pamahalaan?
MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 21 Sept) - Mariing kinokondena ngayon ng UP SINING AT LIPUNAN (UP SILIP) ang pahayag mula sa Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) na pagkakategorya bilang X-Rated sa RIGHTS - isang koleksyon ng mga public service announcements mula sa iba’t ibang filmmakers.
Ayon sa MTRCB, makaisang panig at pagmamaliit sa pamahalaan ang nilalaman ng naturang maiikiling vidyo kaya't di ito nararapat na maipalabas sa publiko.
Tampok sa mga vidyo na ito ang mga pananaw ng mga artista't filmmaker sa iba't ibang isyu ukol sa karapatang pantao—mga sapilitang pagkawala, pulitikal na pamamaslang, pagsupil sa kalayaan sa pamamahayag at iba pang paglabag sa karapatang pantao.
Ngunit ang bawat artista ay may kalayaang pumili ng nais niyang panigan. Sa pagkakataong ito, sa mga biktima - ang mamamayan, ani ng UP SILIP. Ang ganitong uri ng paniniil, ayon sa UP SILIP, ay isang paghadlang sa karapatan at kalayaan ng mga alagad ng midya at ng sining na magpahayag.
"Marahil ay takot lamang ang mga institusyong ito na makita ang tunay na mga kaganapang sila mismo ay ayaw nilang harapin at tugunan," ayon sa UP SILIP.
Naniniwala ang UP SILIP na ang pelikula ay isang makapangyarihang porma ng sining at nararapat lamang na magsilbi ito sa panlipunang pagbabago.
Kaya naman bagkus na censorship, pagkilala at pagpupugay ang dapat ihandog sa grupo ng mga filmmakers na ito na ginamit ang kanilang sining para ipamalas ang katotohanan.
"At sa ganitong mga insidente ng represyon, higit lamang nilang pinupukaw ang pagnanais ng mga artista't filmmaker na patuloy na lumikha, magsiwalat at magmulat," dagdag pa ng grupo.
Ayon sa MTRCB, makaisang panig at pagmamaliit sa pamahalaan ang nilalaman ng naturang maiikiling vidyo kaya't di ito nararapat na maipalabas sa publiko.
Tampok sa mga vidyo na ito ang mga pananaw ng mga artista't filmmaker sa iba't ibang isyu ukol sa karapatang pantao—mga sapilitang pagkawala, pulitikal na pamamaslang, pagsupil sa kalayaan sa pamamahayag at iba pang paglabag sa karapatang pantao.
Ngunit ang bawat artista ay may kalayaang pumili ng nais niyang panigan. Sa pagkakataong ito, sa mga biktima - ang mamamayan, ani ng UP SILIP. Ang ganitong uri ng paniniil, ayon sa UP SILIP, ay isang paghadlang sa karapatan at kalayaan ng mga alagad ng midya at ng sining na magpahayag.
"Marahil ay takot lamang ang mga institusyong ito na makita ang tunay na mga kaganapang sila mismo ay ayaw nilang harapin at tugunan," ayon sa UP SILIP.
Naniniwala ang UP SILIP na ang pelikula ay isang makapangyarihang porma ng sining at nararapat lamang na magsilbi ito sa panlipunang pagbabago.
Kaya naman bagkus na censorship, pagkilala at pagpupugay ang dapat ihandog sa grupo ng mga filmmakers na ito na ginamit ang kanilang sining para ipamalas ang katotohanan.
"At sa ganitong mga insidente ng represyon, higit lamang nilang pinupukaw ang pagnanais ng mga artista't filmmaker na patuloy na lumikha, magsiwalat at magmulat," dagdag pa ng grupo.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Death Stalks Criminals In Davao City
DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 13 Jul) – Death is coming and it came too fast for a father who was mercilessly killed in front of his son in the southern Filipino port city of Davao.
The victim, Rosito Campus, 43, was stabbed dead late Friday afternoon by unidentified men on motorcycle.
Just like the others, the latest victim had a shadowy past – he was implicated in a series of robbery and had posted bail after being arrested by the police.
Campus was with his four-year old son when three men attacked him on a busy area near downtown Davao. The boy was not harmed.
Police was quick to blame the vigilante group Davao Death Squad as behind the attack. From guns, the vigilante group now uses knives to kill their prey – it is silent and swift.
Campus was one of many suspected criminals and thieves murdered in Davao City the past months. Hundreds have been executed over the years and relatives blamed authorities for the attacks. (Romy Bwaga)
The victim, Rosito Campus, 43, was stabbed dead late Friday afternoon by unidentified men on motorcycle.
Just like the others, the latest victim had a shadowy past – he was implicated in a series of robbery and had posted bail after being arrested by the police.
Campus was with his four-year old son when three men attacked him on a busy area near downtown Davao. The boy was not harmed.
Police was quick to blame the vigilante group Davao Death Squad as behind the attack. From guns, the vigilante group now uses knives to kill their prey – it is silent and swift.
Campus was one of many suspected criminals and thieves murdered in Davao City the past months. Hundreds have been executed over the years and relatives blamed authorities for the attacks. (Romy Bwaga)
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Human Rights, Peasant Groups Accuse Philippine Soldiers As Behind Killing Of Old Man
COMPOSTELA VALLEY (Mindanao Examiner / 10 Jul) – Militant groups accused the Philippine military as behind the killing of a septuagenarian accused by soldiers as a member of the Maoist New People’s Army in Mindanao.
The human rights group, Karapatan, said two suspected soldiers barged in the house of peasant leader Alfonso Capiales, 72, in Nabunturan town’s Magsaysay village in Compostela Valley province and shot him several times.
Before he was killed, the military summoned Capiales, chairman of the Magsaysay Farmers Association and treasurer of the Nagkahiusang Maguuma sa Nabunturan, after accusing him as a rebel. The two groups also condemned the attack.
Capiales was also the provincial coordinator of the militant group Anakpawis, previously tagged by the military as an NPA front.
Karapatan has condemned the weekend killing.
“We hold the Arroyo government and the Armed Forces of the Philippines responsible for the killing of Capiales,” Kelly Delgado, the group’s spokesperson, said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.
A U.S.-based human rights group recently accused the Philippine military of engaging in a “dirty war” in a campaign to silent political activists in the country.
In an 84-page report released late last month, the Human Rights Watch said Manila should aggressively prosecute members of the security forces responsible for hundreds of extrajudicial executions in recent years.
Filipino militant groups said more than 800 people had been kidnapped and murdered since President Gloria Arroyo rose to power in 2001. Most of the killings, they said, pointed to the military as the culprit.
The extra-judicial killings in the Philippines continue unabated despite the investigations of the United Nations and the independent Melo Commission. Both investigations point to soldiers as allegedly responsible to most of the murders, an accusation strongly denied by the Philippine military.
The United States Senate is also investigating the extra-judicial killings in the Philippines. Summary executions are also rampant in the southern cities of Zamboanga, Davao, Digos and Cebu in the central Philippines. (With a report from Juan Magtanggol)
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