Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

PUBLIC STATEMENT

http://amnesty.org.ph/news.php?item=news&id=132

9 February 2010

The worst pre-election violence in Philippine history – the Maguindanao massacre – has focused global attention on the human rights situation in the country. Now more than ever,candidates in the 10 May presidential elections need to clarify how they will address key human rights issues facing the country.

Today as the presidential campaign period officially begins, Amnesty International calls on all of the presidential candidates to make clear, public commitments on the actions they will take in the first 100 days of office to address serious human rights violations. In a public letter to the candidates, Amnesty International called on them to affirm their commitment to:

1) Revoke Executive Order 546, and ensure full accountability over all state-sponsored militias and paramilitary groups.

Despite the mass killing of 63 civilians on 23 November in Maguindanao, members of state-armed local groups and private armies are still free to operate in other parts of the country The Philippine government’s continued failure to establish accountability for members of these armed groups undermines the rule of law and denies human rights protection for civilians.

Within 100 days, the new Philippine president should revoke Executive Order 546, which allows for militia and paramilitary groups to provide active support in counterinsurgency operations. In practice, these groups have been ill-trained, unaccountable, poorly integrated into the military chain of command, and responsible for serious human rights violations. In some provinces, Civilian Volunteer Organizations(CVOs) effectively as private armies for local politicians, heightening the risk of pre-election violence.

2) Establish a presidential commission aimed at preventing and prosecuting enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions.

In the last decade, at least 200 Filipinos have been subjected to enforced disappearance, and as many as 1,100 have been executed in political killings. The incoming president needs to establish an impartial and independent commission to review these cases, with the aim of enabling timely and effective investigations and, where warranted, prosecutions.

The new president should initiate legislation that specifically criminalizes enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions. He or she should sign the UN Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances.

3) Order the administrationto fully implement the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement in order to ensure the safety and well-being of the displaced.

Despite the ceasefire in Mindanao,more than 125,000 people remain displaced by the 2008 armed conflict alone.To address this grave humanitarian situation, the incoming president should publicly instruct the administration to ensure that policies comply with the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.

Under the Guiding Principles,the government must ensure that the displaced are provided with adequate food, water, shelter, and clothing, as well as essential healthcare and sanitation. It must also guarantee unimpeded humanitarian access to are as under its control. In addition, the government must implement a sustainable plan of action so that the displaced can return to their villages, safely and voluntarily.

As commander-in-chief, the new president will be directly responsible for ensuring that the armed forces comply with international humanitarian law. As a core principle,this law explicitly prohibits direct or indiscriminate attacks against civilians, and this includes displaced persons and all other non-combatants.

H.E. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President of the Republic
Malacanang Palace,
JP Laurel St., San Miguel
Manila Philippines

10 February 2010

Dear Madame President,

We are gravely concerned that despite a succession of investigations and reports from the UN bodies concerned with extrajudicial killings and the use of torture; despite the horrendous massacre last November in Maguindanao, perpetrated by a private army approved by your government, the climate of impunity in the Philippines continues.

On 6 February 42 health workers and doctors involved in a training seminar in Morong, Rizal were arrested by the Rizal PNP. We are informed that these arrests were made using bogus warrants, that the arrested health workers and doctors were blindfolded and taken to a military camp, Camp Pinpin, headquarters of the 202 Infantry Brigade of the AFP.

The military has claimed that these health workers and doctors are part of the communist New People’s Army.  This follows a pattern familiar to anyone who observes the current wave of human rights abuses by the security forces in the Philippines, in which people are labeled as being communist rebels before being imprisoned, tortured or even killed.

The security forces appear to be expanding their targets of professional groups, perhaps because many of these groups have been critical of corruption and abuse of power by your government. Journalists, lawyers, human rights workers and now health professionals have all been targeted.

We call for:

• the immediate release of all those who have been unlawfully detained
• their safety to be ensured by the Government
• their confiscated property to be restored to them
• an investigation by the Commission on Human Rights Group and independent human rights groups into the conduct of this police raid
• a cessation of this pattern of “red labeling” leading to abuses by the military

Yours sincerely

Rev Canon Barry Naylor

Urban Canon and Parish Priest of the Abbey and Holy Spirit Team Ministries, Leicester
President – CHRP Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines

By Ronalyn V. Olea, http://www.bulatlat.com/main/2010/02/09/morong-43-cry-torture-satur-denounces-grandslam-day-for-impunity/2/

9 February 2010

MANILA — The 43 health workers who were arrested Saturday morning in Morong, Rizal province have been subjected to physical and psychological torture, colleagues said.

After three days, relatives and colleagues were finally able to visit the 43 detainees in Camp Capinpin, in Tanay, Rizal, through the intervention of Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chairperson Leila de Lima, who earlier denounced the military for refusing access to those detained.

[Read more →]

Violation of Domicile; Destruction of property; Divestment of Property; Illegal Search and Seizure; Illegal Arrest; Illegal Detention; Threat, Harassment and Intimidation, Fear for Safety

Victim(s):
Illegally Arrested and illegally detained (partial list)

[Read more →]

On November 23, 2009 the bloodiest ever slaughter of journalists in a single incident occurred in Maguindanao province, southern Philippines. An entire election convoy of  63 people including 33 accompanying reporters and media personnel was ambushed, and everyone killed. Enforced disappearances and political killings of trade union leaders, human rights activists and journalists have spiralled in the Philippines in the last decade, mainly in the name of counterinsurgency. The Philippine government has armed and employed poorly trained and unaccountable paramilitary groups to combat insurgent groups, handing powers to local politicians who have acted with impunity. With 2010 being the self-imposed deadline of the Arroyo administration to end insurgency and with national elections set for 10 May, there are increased fears of further unlawful killings and disappearances.

The International Federation of Journalists (represented in the UK by the NUJ), Amnesty International and The Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines are holding a

Joint Forum on The Maguindanao Massacre: Impunity and Political Killings in the Philippines at 6.00 pm on Wednesday 3 March 2010 at the Human Rights Action Centre 17-25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA. Invited speakers include Aiden White, General Secretary IFJ, as well as speakers from Amnesty International and other expert analysts.

To book your free place please go to www.amnesty.org.uk/events. For further information contact Shane Enright, AIUK Trade Union Campaigns Manager, Email: shane.enright@amnesty.org.uk, Tel: +44 (0) 20 7033 1569

Download and distribute invitation.

abscbnNews.com, http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/entertainment/02/05/10/free-jonas-burgos-artists-restage-mrs-b

5 February 2010

MANILA, Philippines – The  Free Jonas Burgos Movement, together with Desaparecidos and the Concerned Artists of the Philippines, will re-stage the monologue “Mrs. B,” February 5, 6, 12 and 13, 2010 at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Auditorium at EDSA cor. Quezon Avenue.

“Mrs. B,” is the story of Mrs. Edith Burgos, mother of missing activist Jonas Burgos and wife of press freedom icon Joe Burgos Jr..

The play deals with a gamut of emotions a mother has to go through in looking for her missing son.

Seasoned actress-director Gina Alajar and Bibeth Orteza will alternately play the role of Mrs. B or Mrs. Edith Burgos.

Written by award-winning playwright Joi Barrios together with Grundy Constantino and Rowena Festin of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP), the monologue is directed by Soc Jose.

Edith’s son, Jonas, was tagged by the military as a member of the NPA.

He was allegedly abducted April 28, 2007 by four armed men and a woman while having lunch at the Hapag Kainan in Ever Gotesco.

Witnesses said that Jonas was dragged into a maroon Toyota Revo van with Plate number TAB 194. Earlier investigation of the PNP-CIDG traced the plate number to an impounded vehicle at the 56th IB headquarters Philippine Army Camp in Norzagaray, Bulacan.

Edith said Jonas is a member of Alyansang Magbubukid ng Bulacan and teaches organic farming to farmers.

Jonas will turned 40 years old this coming March 30.

London, November 23rd, 2009

Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines (CHRP) condemns the kidnapping and killing of at least 21 people yesterday in Maguindanao, Mindanao, southern Philippines, in an attack believed to be rooted in clan violence erupting in the run-up to the 2010 Philippines elections.

A group of up to 50, including 34 journalists, were travelling in convoy to the local Commission on Elections office to file a candidacy for the post of Governor of Maguindanao when they were stopped by up to100 armed men. Leading the group was the wife of the hopeful candidate, Ismael, ‘Toto’, Mangudadatu, Vice Mayor of Buluan, along with more of Mangudadatu’s relatives.

The Army has reportedly recovered 21 bodies, 13 female and eight male, some mutilated. It believes the remainder may have been buried. An army spokesman said militiamen deputized as government guards by the Ampatuan family were the ones who staged the kidnapping of the Mangudadatu clan members.

CHRP expresses its solidarity with the victims of this atrocity, and their families.

Alvin Carpio, CHRP chairperson said: “This massacre of innocent people trying to take part in the political process must be thoroughly investigated by the government, and those responsible brought to justice.
“With elections looming, it is critical that steps are taken now to prevent any further atrocities and to ensure that the Filipino people, political parties and politicians can partake in free elections without the threat of violence.
“We urge the international community to pay heed to the situation.”

The Ampatuan clan, traditionally dominant in Maguindanao, is led by Datu Andal Snr, Governor of Maginadanao since 2001. Andal – who was accused of murder by another rival clan in 2003 – is close to incumbent president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo: 90% of the votes in his district went to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in the 2004 elections, where in three towns Arroyo’s closest rival recorded no votes at all.

The rival Mangudadatu clan announced last year that it would challenge for the position of governor in Maguindanao.

Background:
Ismael Mangudatu’s bid to run for Governor of Maguindanao represents an attempt by the Mangudadatu clan to move in to an area traditionally dominated by the Ampatuan clan, where more than a dozen sons of Datu Andal Snr hold local executive positions such as town mayorships.

Andal is coming to the end of his third term in office, greatly increasing competition for the vacant post which it is believed he wants one of his sons to fill.

Magandatu power is more prominent in Sultan Kudarat province, where the clan has both a governor and a congressman (the former governor) who is a member of President Gloria Arroyo’s Lakas-Kampi-CMD party. Originally from Magindanao, the Magandadatu clan has up until recently had good relations with the Ampatuans.

Philippine news outlet ABS-CBN has reported a source claming that Andal presides over an army of at least 500 armed civilians. A memorandum was issued by Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno in 2006 authorizing the civilian volunteer organizations (CVOs) in Mindanao to bear arms, greatly strengthening the Ampatuan’s privatised army.

In the 2004 elections, Arroyo won 193,938 votes from Maguindanao’s 27 towns while closest rival Fernando Poe Jr., got only 59,892 votes. Poe did not get a single vote in 3 Maguindanao towns.

Notes to Editors:

The Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines was set up in July 2006 in response to the increasing number of political killings and human rights abuses taking place in the Philippines. Our objectives are: To put pressure on the Philippines Government to stop the political killings and defend human rights in the Philippines; to raise awareness in the UK about political repression in the Philippines with the aim of putting pressure on the Philippines Government to respect human rights; to spotlight British investment and trade links which benefit from human rights violations in the Philippines; to make links between the issues of poverty and political oppression in the Philippines and the situation of Filipino migrants in the UK.

Contact details:

To arrange an interview, or for more information or pictures, contact Andy Whitmore or Mark Dearn.
Telephone (available out of hours ): (+44) 0775 439 5597
Email: comms@chrp.org.uk

The Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines
c/o PIPLinks
Finspace
225-229 Seven Sisters Road
London
N4 2DA
www.chrp.org.uk

Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines invites you to a public event. Click on the image to enlarge and download.

Business Mirror, By Stella Gonzales, http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/opinion/16438-desaparecidos-a-familys-search-continues.html

23 September 2009

MANILA—In September 2007 the United Nations Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearance sent a letter to the Philippine government urging it to investigate the case of Jonas Burgos, a 37-year-old agriculturist who was abducted five months earlier in a crowded mall in Quezon City, one of the major cities comprising the metropolitan area in the national capital region.

Two years have passed but Jonas’s family and friends are still looking for him. [Read more →]

18 September 2009

Dear President Arroyo,

Your visit to London aims to discuss economic development in the Philippines. We do not believe that there can be any meaningful economic progress if the human rights of Filipino citizens are violated.

Madame President, you are the head of a state which stands accused of perpetrating and rewarding political killings, disappearances, torture, and the violation of basic human rights. This situation has been investigated and documented by numerous United Nations bodies as well as human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and the World Council of Churches. [Read more →]