For immediate release

NEWS RELEASE | April 30, 2012

Reference: Cristina Palabay, Karapatan spokesperson 09175003879

Forced evacuation, militarization raised before EU a month before PH UPR

Bakwit communities demand: We want to return home to our land

A month before the Philippine government undergoes the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Karapatan, with representatives from the evacuees in Caraga and Bukidnon, raised the issue of internally displaced persons or internal refugees before the diplomatic missions of the European Union, Spain, France, and Netherlands to the Philippines.

Cristina Palabay, Karapatan spokesperson said that, “the European Union representatives are aware that the Philippines will go through the second cycle of review in the UPR. They promised the evacuees that they will look into the issues we have raised and will study the possible steps they will take.”

The evacuees raised the issue of intense military combat operations and bombings in peasant and indigenous communities and the consequent forced evacuations; the threat of displacement due to the entry of large-scale mining operations.

Karapatan also brought to the attention of the EU the alarming trend of human rights violations involving minors such as extrajudicial killings (EJKs), rape, illegal arrests and detention, and indiscriminate firing, among others, due to the implementation of Oplan Bayanihan.

With the Karapatan lobby group was Sharon Liguyon, wife of the slain indigenous leader Jimmy Liguyon of Bgy. Dao in San Fernando, Bukidnon. Sharon Liguyon appealed for help for the immediate arrest of Alde Salusad, leader of a paramilitary group closely associated with the military. Salusad remains at large while Liguyon’s clan left the community and evacuated to the provincial capital because of death threats from Salusad’s group. The EU representatives said they had previously expressed their concern on the death of Liguyon.

“The intensifying rights violations, including EJKs, forced evacuation due to intense military operations and transgressions on children’s rights, just goes to show the accountability of Pres. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino in continuing the terror and violence perpetuated by the previous Arroyo administration,” Palabay said. Karapatan gave an individual submission to the UNHRC for the UPR of thePhilippines and it will likewise lead a delegation of people’s and faith-based organizations when the review sessions in Geneva, Switzerland will be conducted in May 29, 2012. Karapatan’s submission may be read through the link:http://www.karapatan.org/Karapatan+Submission+UPR

The evacuees from Caraga and Bukidnon also met with the Sec. Jesse Robredo of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), with Commissioner Mamawag of the Commission on Human Rights and Rep. Teddy Brawner Baguilat Jr., chairperson of the House Committee on National Cultural Communities, to bring to their attention the negligence and the inhumane treatment of officials from their regional counterparts. 

The meetings with the EU, DILG and CHR were among the series of activities the 10-person delegation from Caraga and Bukidnon in Manila to bring the issue of internal displacement to the attention of the national government and also to gather the support of various non-government organizations based in Metro Manila.

This morning, the delegation together with the Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (KAMP) will conduct a picket-dialogue at the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). Tomorrow, they will join workers led by the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) for the Labor Day rallies. ###

Exploitation of miners exposed

Jonathan L. Mayuga / Reporter -
http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/top-news/26533-exploitation-of-miners-exposed

30 April 2012

MEMBERS of an international fact-finding mission on Monday reported
“rampant contractualization, very low wages and violation of workers’
rights” in large-scale mining areas in the Cordillera and Caraga regions.

A copy of the report of the International Solidarity Mission on Mining
(ISMM) was submitted to Party-list Rep. Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis, who
vowed to start a congressional inquiry into the findings of the ISMM.

Large-scale mining companies, according to the ISMM, are earning as much
as P36 million for a two-day work of skilled Filipino miners who receive
as low as P233 daily wage.

Mariano said the report would justify the passage of a proposed measure
seeking a P125 across-the-board wage increase and the People’s Mining
bill, which would replace the Philippine Mining Act of 1995; the law
allows foreign mining companies to operate large-scale mining in the
Philippines.

Members of the ISMM called for a moratorium on large-scale mining “until
a technology is developed to maximize and process the extracted minerals
locally.”

Also, the ISMM said an in-depth research on the working conditions in
large-scale mining companies was needed to “expose mining’s astounding
negative footprint to the country’s environment and to the working class.”

Jonathan Zwart, an Australian representing the Australian Manufacturing
Workers’ Union told BusinessMirror the situation of miners at the
Lepanto Mining Consolidated Corporation was “not good,” considering the
risks that they are being exposed to every day in exchange for their
measly wages.

Zwart, one of the members of the ISMM team that visited the Lepanto
mines in Mankayan Benguet, said miners receive very low wages and most
of them are contractual workers who do not receive any benefit at all
from the company.

“Miners have died because of accidents such as falling rocks, and toxic
fumes. This is not good,” he said. At Lepanto Mines, Zwat observed the
miners suffered from poor ventilation, “although surprisingly, are
allowed to smoke cigarettes,” he said.

Also, Zwart said the on-going extraction of ores at Lepanto Mines was
“very dangerous,” as the company is now starting to extract soils from
what is supposed to be the pillars that hold the roof of the tunnels.

The ISSM reported that out of the 1,400 employees of the Lepanto Mining
Consolidated Corp., 800 are contractual workers. The minimum wage in the
region is pegged at P255, which is barely half of the estimated P570
daily cost of living in the region.

In the Caraga region, Philsaga and Medusa Mining Corporations in Agusan
del Sur employ only 700 regular workers out of its 4,000 workforce.

The ISMM also observed that mining companies in the Caraga region
account for only 3 percent of Caraga’s total employment.

In the three mines visited by ISMM, the members noted poor working
condition of the miners. Mining companies, they noted, provide
inadequate safety gears for their workers.

“They only provide boots and hard hats. Miners should be provided with a
complete set of protective gear, including gloves and masks,” Zwart said.

Chris Grayland, another member of the team, said mining companies in
Australia are very strict when it comes to implementing safety measures.
Apparently, mining companies lack the initiative to ensure the safety of
its workers, he said, obviously referring to the Lepanto Mines.

Justine Bergerem from Belgium said mining companies employ various
tactics—from bribing to harassing members of the communities—to force
them to accept the mining operation.

The presence of soldiers acting as security guards for mining companies,
she said, also failed to prevent human-rights violations committed
against people in the communities in the mining areas, particularly
women who are either raped, sexually molested, or are forced to engage
in sex. These happened when mining operations started in the area, she said.

Kyeongmin Rim from South Korea noted the adverse impact of mining
operations on the people and the environment, saying that since mining
began in their area, hazardous chemicals from the mines have
contaminated their water resources.

In its report, the ISMM said that by “simple ocular inspection,” it
could be deduced that large-scale mining evidently has caused
environmental destruction in mangrove areas, fishing grounds and these
places’ natural landscape.

Keep Aid Conditional on Holding Rights Abusers Accountable

http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/04/30/philippines-us-should-press-justice

30 April 2012

The Philippine government’s pronouncements on improving human rights
have been mostly talk, and not much action. Progress will be measured by
results, in particular the prosecution of soldiers and officers
implicated in abuses. – Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director

(New York) – The United States should press senior Philippine officials
visiting Washington this week to fulfill the Aquino government’s
commitment to bring abusive military personnel to justice, Human Rights
Watch said today. The US government should also resist attempts to
remove a congressional hold on a portion of foreign aid to the
Philippines until significant progress has been made in that regard,
Human Rights Watch said.

On April 30 and May 1, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense
Secretary Leon Panetta are scheduled to meet with their Philippine
counterparts in Washington for a “2+2 dialogue” of joint meetings with
the foreign and defense ministers to discuss defense and strategic
security issues.

“The Philippine government’s pronouncements on improving human rights
have been mostly talk, and not much action,” said Elaine Pearson, deputy
Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Progress will be measured by
results, in particular the prosecution of soldiers and officers
implicated in abuses.”

The US government has not taken advantage of its strong relations with
the Philippine government to raise human rights concerns, Human Rights
Watch said. Clinton visited Manila in November 2011. On April 16, the
Philippines and the US began their largest Balikatan (“shoulder to
shoulder”) joint military exercises in several areas across the
Philippines, which both sides declared a success. But US officials,
including the US ambassador, failed to take advantage of Balikatan’s
opening ceremonies to speak of human rights concerns.

“The US missed a key opportunity to engage publicly with the Philippine
military about the need to end impunity for serious human rights
abuses,” Pearson said. “The US shouldn’t let such opportunities slide
and 2+2 is an important chance to rectify that oversight.”

Since 2008, the US government has withheld $2 million per year in
assistance to the Philippines. This assistance is supposed to be
released only if the State Department certifies that the Philippine
government “is taking effective steps to prosecute those responsible for
extra-judicial executions [EJEs], sustain the decline in the number of
EJEs, and strengthen government institutions working to eliminate EJEs.”
The conditions are based in part on recommendations to the Philippines
by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or
Arbitrary Executions. The Philippines has not met the conditions, Human
Rights Watch said, noting that the State Department since 2008 has never
made such a certification.

Philippine military claims that it has been bringing perpetrators to
justice are not supported by the available evidence, Human Rights Watch
said. In the past decade, state security forces in the Philippines have
been implicated in hundreds of extrajudicial killings and enforced
disappearances, particularly of leftist activists and sympathizers,
journalists and clergy. Although the number of cases has gone down since
President Benigno Aquino III took office in 2010, there has not been
significant progress in prosecutions.

In the last decade only seven cases of extrajudicial killings, involving
11 defendants, have been successfully prosecuted, none since Aquino took
power and none involving active duty military personnel.

In a July 2011 report titled “No Justice Just Adds to the Pain,”Human
Rights Watch documented 10 cases of extrajudicial killings and
disappearances during the current Aquino administration for which there
is strong evidence of military involvement. Police investigations remain
inadequate, as they were in the previous administration, with
investigators frequently not visiting crime scenes or collecting only
the most obvious evidence. Evidence of military involvement is routinely
not pursued, investigations cease after the identification of one
suspect, and arrest warrants are frequently left unexecuted. Witnesses
are not adequately protected. Not one of these cases has been
successfully prosecuted.

In December, the Philippine Justice Department did issue an arrest
warrant for retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, charged with the
kidnapping and illegal detention of two students in 2006. However,
Palparan has been in hiding and able to evade arrest, allegedly with the
help of former colleagues in the armed forces.

Serious abuses by the communist New People’s Army and Islamist armed
groups are no justification for abuses by the Armed Forces of the
Philippines, Human Rights Watch said. The US government should make
clear that a disciplined and professional military is crucial for
ensuring the security of the civilian population.

US officials should also raise concerns about abuses by paramilitary
forces under the supervision of the armed forces, Human Rights Watch
said. Paramilitary members have been implicated in the killings of civil
society activists and in harassing communities deemed to be supporting
New People’s Army rebels. When he ran for president, Aquino promised to
rescind an executive order allowing for the creation of “private
armies,” but he has backtracked since, and also spoken positively about
allowing paramilitary forces to provide security for private
corporations, including mining companies.

“Clinton and Panetta should press for a commitment from their Philippine
counterparts for full military cooperation in the investigation of
abuses and disciplinary measures against those who fail to do so,”
Pearson said. “Too many Filipinos have endured abuses for the US to keep
looking the other way.”

IMPUNITY NO LET-UP: Another indigenous leader killed in San Fernando, Bukidnon, Philippines

8 March 2012

Jimmy Liguyon, the vice chairperson of Kasilo, an organization of the Matigsalug-Manobo of Bukidnon, was shot dead in front of his home on Monday, March 5 by Aldy “Butsoy” Salusad, a leader of a paramilitary group in the province.

Liguyon is also the Barangay Captain of Dao, San Fernando, Bukidnon. In October last year, he already received death threats from the group of Salusad. Salusad is the son of Ben ‘Nonong’ Salusad, appointed head of the tribal arms of the San Fernando Matigsalug Tribal Datus (SANMATRIDA) which has a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title over 52,000 hectares in San Fernando, Bukidnon. The SANMATRIDA Multi-purpose Cooperative, chaired by Herman P. Estrella, has been enticing mining investors into their domain since it was instituted in 2009. The tribal datu of Barangay Dao under the SANMATRIDA is Aldy’s uncle, Datu ‘Manayab’ Carillo Salusad.

Aldy Salusad, after killing Liguyon, shouted to the people who witnessed the act that Liguyon was killed because he would not recognize the SANMATRIDA claim and refused to sign any agreements that support it. He also threatened the people that those who would oppose their group would similarly be killed.

On October 28 last year, Liguyon and his wife were coming home from a human rights rally in Cagayan de Oro City, Dal-anay, were stopped by armed men and were marched them to a vacant house. There, Liguyon was ordered by Angge Dal-anay, another leader of the group, to stop joining rallies. Additionally, Dal-anay told him he should allow mining in Barangay Dao. Liguyon was steadfast in his anti-mining position, arguing that the people in Barangay Dao did not want it and he, as barangay captain, would not force them to it.

Before that, on October 16, Dal-anay’s group also went to Liguyon’s house looking for him. Liguyon wasn’t there however. His family moved out of Dao after the incident. Also on October 13, Ben Salusad called Liguyon, who was then attending a seminar in Cagayan de Oro, and threatened him that should he go back to Dao, they would kill him.

The body of Brgy. Capt. Jimmy Liguyon will be carried in a funeral procession to the municipal center of San Fernando, Bukidnon after which a vigil will be held by Kasilo and other organizations supporting the community’s fight against mining and the paramilitary group of the SANMATRIDA.

–
KALUMBAY Regional Lumad Organization
Ilocos St., Aluba Phase II, Macasandig
9000 Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines
E-mail Address: kalumbay@gmail.com
Tel. Nos.: +63 (88) 851 5213

Urgent Action Alert – KARAPATAN

7 March 2012

Farmer and his two children killed, another wounded in massacre by 49th IB soldiers in Labo, Camarines Norte, Bicol, Southern Luzon, Philippines

UA No: 2012-03-01
UA Date : March 7, 2012

UA Case :
Massacre, Frustrated Killing, Violation of the International Humanitarian Law, Violation of the Rights of the child, Violation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect of Human Rights and the International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL)

Victims :

Massacre, Violation of IHL, CARHRIHL
BENJAMIN MANCERA
54 years old, farmer

Violation of the Rights of the Child
MICHAEL MANCERA
10 years old

RICHARD MANCERA
Seven years old

* *

RAFAEL LLANTINO aka “Ka Pedro”
29 years old, New People’s Army member

* *

Frustrated Killing, Violation of the Rights of the Child, Threat/Harrassment/Intimidation
LEONISA MANCERA
14 years old

Threat/harassment/intimidation
LOURDES MANCERA
Wife of Benjamin, mother of Michael, Richard, Leonisa
Employed as household help in Manila

The Manceras are residents of Sitio (sub-village) Mapatong, Malaya village, Labo, Camarines Norte

Place of Incident : Sitio Mapatong, Malaya village, Labo, Camarines Norte
Date of Incident : February 25, 2012

Alleged Perpetrator(s) :
Soldiers of the 49th Infantry Battalion led by Lt. Salvador Pabor and based in Tulay na Lupa, Labo, Camarines Norte, under the command of Lt. Col. Epimaco Macalisang

Account of the Incident:

Four people –three civilians, including two children and an NPA rebel – were killed in a massacre by soldiers of the 49th Infantry Battalion in Labo, Camarines Norte on Feb. 25. Those killed were Benjamin Mancera, 54 y.o., farmer, Michael Mancera, 10 y.o. Richard Mancera, seven y.o. and Rafael Llantino aka “Ka Pedro”, 29 years old, New People’s Army member.

Despite claims by the military that they were slain in a crossfire between the government troops and the New People’s Army, results of the fact-finding mission (FFM) conducted by the regional and provincial chapters of Karapatan in Bicol and Camarines Norte, respectively, show that it’s another case of the military’s wanton disregard of civilian lives, as it pursued and tried to destroy its enemies. It is a violation of the international humanitarian law, which provides protection for civilians and their properties, and should be distinguished from combatants.

Aware of their own crime, the military tried to cover up the killings by labelling Benjamin as an “NPA militia” – a claim disproved by the Malaya residents and village officials, with the latter issuing a certificate that Benjamin was a civilian. The military attempted to hide and take into their custody the wounded survivor Leonisa, 14 yo after keeping her under tight guard as she recovered at the hospital.

>From the FFM’s interview with Leonisa Mancera, it was learned that in the afternoon of February 25, she was sitting in the living room near the door while her father was asleep, and her brother Richard was playing; Michael was in the bedroom doing homework. An NPA member, whom Leonisa knew as “KaPedro” was also resting in the kitchen, near the back door. Leonisa saw a soldier with a rifle approach their house, so she roused Benjamin, who peeked at the door. As soon as he went back in, they heard a gunshot, followed by a volley of gun fire. Benjamin told Richard to lie down beside him, while Leonisa was already lying nearby.

“Ka Pedro” was immediately shot dead before he could even fire a shot. Benjamin and Richard were both hit and immediately killed; so was Michael who was inside the bedroom. Leonisa had wounds grazed by bullets on both arms, right thigh and left buttock.

After what she estimated as about 30 minutes of gun fire, Leonisa saw a soldier enter their house. Upon seeing the casualties, the soldier
shouted: “May mga batang patay! May mga batang patay! (There are dead children here!)” Then he rushed out.

Another soldier came in and made Leonisa stand and walk towards the door where another soldier waited. They then made her walk towards the kitchen where she saw “Ka Pedro” dead on the floor. Leonisa recalled that at least 20 soldiers had gathered at their house. They asked her if she knew the dead NPA rebel in their kitchen. They gave her a biscuit, and two anti-tetanus tablets.

It was only after three to four hours that the soldiers put Leonisa in a hammock and carried her down to the barangay proper. The soldiers covered the hammock, and told Leonisa to hide herself when they get to the barangay proper so that people will not see her.

It was already dark when they got to the barangay hall, where there were other soldiers and policemen.

Despite the soldiers’ efforts to conceal her, barangay officials and health workers saw the wounded Leonisa and helped her change clothes. Several women barangay officials and health workers accompanied her on board the military truck which brought her to the Daet Provincial Hospital where her wounds were treated.

In news reports on February 26, Maj. Gen. Josue Gaverza, 9th Infantry Division commander blamed the NPA for the deaths of Benjamin and his two children, and the wounding of Leonisa. Gaverza claimed that Benjamin Mancera was an NPA member, who was killed along with another NPA, identified as Rafael Llanto. Gaverza even said he was saddened by the deaths, but it was the “NPA rebels” who fired the first shot.

On February 26, 2Lt. Robert Lee and a certain T/Sgt. Babor gathered the barangay officials and several residents of Malaya to retrieve the victims’ bodies, along with the soldiers and investigators of the police Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO). The Mancera residence in Sitio Mapatong is a two-hour trek from the village proper. At around 8 am, they approached the house, but the soldiers did not allow the barangay officials to enter until 30 minutes later. The barangay officials overheard the SOCO agents and soldiers arguing because the soldiers handed over the firearms, supposedly of the rebel’s, which was retrieved from the site instead of letting the SOCO gather the evidence.

The barangay officials and residents eventually retrieved the bodies: Benjamin still embracing Richard in the living room, and Michael who was still holding a ballpen in the bedroom; Llantino was in the kitchen. The bodies were carried in a makeshift stretcher of sacks and poles made by the residents, and brought to the barangay proper at around 1 pm.

On the same day, soldiers guarding Leonisa at the provincial hospital prevented her mother Lourdes from seeing her. Lourdes had just travelled from Manila where she works as a household help. Lourdes did not get to see Leonisa until the next day, February 27. A soldier discreetly handed her an envelope containing Php 10,000.

Also on February 27, two members of the fact-finding mission team were able to talk to Leonisa, but only after arguing and strongly insisting with the soldiers that they should be allowed to see her.

On February 28, the military attempted to take custody of Leonisa, who was to be released from the hospital that day. While 2Lt. Robert Lee tried to convince Lourdes to allow the military to take Leonisa, a woman, suspected to be working for the military, pretended to be the child’s mother and had obtained her discharge papers. Lourdes rejected the military’s offer. She also asserted that she is the child’s real mother and insisted that the hospital issue another discharge sheet. Outside the hospital, soldiers on a 6×6 army truck awaited.

The FFM team report said that the Mancera house measured only about a total of 24 square meters, and was made of bamboo and palm fronds. Plants and other thick vegetation surrounded the house. The team recovered a total of 231spent shells from armalite rifles, in different spots outside the Mancera house. Some of the shells were found behind a big tree, some seven meters from the front door where Leonisa said she first saw a soldier. Other bullet shells were found in concealed positions 20 meters away from the house, from which point one could have a clear shot of the kitchen door where the NPA rebel Llantino was killed.

The FFM was conducted from Feb. 27 to 29 by Karapatan, along with the Bicol regional chapters of the Children’s Rehabilitation Center,
Condor/Piston-Bikol, Makabayan, and the Camarines Norte chapters of GABRIELA, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, the Camarines Norte People’s Organization. The progressive groups were joined by local government officials, particularly the Committee on Peace and Order of the Labo Municipal Council, led by Councilor Renato Tenorio and the barangay officials and 134 residents of Malaya and Malibago villages.

Karapatan cites other similar cases where civilians killed due to indiscriminate attacks by units of the Phil. Army:

- The Kananga Massacre in Leyte where the renowned biologist Dr. Leonard Co, and his assistants, Sofronio Cortes and Julius Borromeo, were fired at and killed by soldiers of the 19th IB, who claimed that they were killed by “NPAs in a crossfire;”

- The death of Roderick Ballebar and the destruction of the house of the Bergado Family, when the 42nd IB tried to wipe out an NPA unit in sitio Culpa, brgy. Lubgan, Bula, Camarines Sur on Sept. 12, 2010. The military initially labelled Ballebar as an “NPA rebel;”

- The killing of nine-year-old Grecil Buya-Gelacio on March 31, 2007 by 69th IB in New Bataan, Compostela Valley, with officials initially
claiming that she was an “NPA child soldier.”

Recommended Action:

Send letters, emails or fax messages calling for:

1. The immediate formation of an independent fact-finding and investigation team composed of representatives from human rights groups, the Church, local government, and the Commission on Human Rights that will look into the massacre of Benjamin Mancera and his two children, Michael and Richard, and Rafael Llantino; and the wounding of Benjamin’s daughter Leonisa;

2. The military to stop the labeling and targeting of human rights defenders as “members of front organizations of the communists” and
“enemies of the state.”

3. The Philippine Government to withdraw its counterinsurgency program Oplan Bayanihan, which victimizes innocent and unarmed civilians.

4. The Philippine Government to be reminded that it is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and that it is also a party to all the major Human Rights instruments, thus it is bound to observe all of these instruments’ provisions.

You may send your communications to:

H. E. Benigno S. Aquino III
President of the Philippines
2/F Bonifacio Hall, Malacañang, Manila
Tel: 733-3010 loc 882/ 887
Website: president.gov.ph

Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles
Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP)
7/F Agustin I Building, F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City
Tel: 6360701 to 06 / 637-6083
Fax: 638-2216
Email: stqd@opapp.net
Website: opapp.gov.ph

Secretary Leila M. de Lima
Department of Justice (DOJ)
DOJ Main Building, Padre Faura Street, Manila
Tel: 521-1908
Fax: 523-5548
Email: doj.delima@gmail.com
Website: doj.gov.ph

Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin
Department of National Defense (DND)
DND Building, Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City
Tel: 911-6193 / 911-1746
Fax 911-6213
Website: dnd.gov.ph

Hon. Loretta Ann P. Rosales
Chairperson, Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., UP Complex
Commonwealth Avenue
Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
Voice: (+632) 928-5655, 926-6188
Fax: (+632) 929 0102
Email: chair.rosales.chr@gmail.com,
lorettann@gmail.com*

Please send us a copy of your email/mail/fax to the above-named government officials, to our address below.

URGENT ACTION Prepared by:

KARAPATAN Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights

http://opinion.inquirer.net/23399/aquinos-disturbing-indifference

We at the Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines in United Kingdom are deeply concerned with the Philippine government’s seeming lack of interest on reported irregularities and rights abuses in the conduct of the arrest and continued illegal detention of Filipino artist Ericson Acosta.

Acosta was arrested without warrant on 13 February 2011 in San Jorge, Samar. Government soldiers nabbed him in an upland militarized village where Acosta was conducting research on the local human rights and environmental situation in the region. According to Acosta’s counter-affidavit, he stayed in a military camp for three days where he was interrogated and tortured for 44 hours straight. Illegal possession of explosives was charged against him to justify his illegal arrest. He is currently detained at the Calbayog sub-provincial jail where troopers from the 8th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army has camped-out within the jail premises, causing sustained harassment and intimidation to Acosta, his family and visitors.

Acosta has made direct complaints and appeals to visiting local officers of the Philippines’ Commission on Human Rights (PCHR) in the Eastern Visayas. These PCHR officers bore direct witness to the highly-irregular military deployment within the civilian detention facility. However, the PCHR has failed to make any report public, more so to publicly condemn these rights abuses.

A Petition for Review which cites serious irregularities and rights abuses was filed by Acosta’s counsel, the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) before the Philippines’ Department of Justice (PDOJ) in September 2011. Acosta’s complainants have failed to file any comment on this petition. Without such opposition, the review petition should have been resolved within 60 days. However, upon inquiry at the PDOJ, resolution to the said petition is still currently pending. The NUPL has recently filed a motion for the immediate resolution of the review.

No less than the alternate voice of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, spokesperson Edwin Lacierda has told local reporters that “there are no political prisoners” in the Philippines. When asked about government response to the plight of Acosta and some 350 other detainees incarcerated because of their political beliefs, the President’s spokesperson can only offer empty rhetoric. This indifference has brought very real suffering to detainees like Acosta and their families.

We urge concerned Philippine authorities, especially the PDOJ to act without delay on Ericson Acosta’s review petition and effect his immediate release. His rights continue to be violated each day he remains incarcerated. Consequently, reported rights abuses and irregularities must be thoroughly investigated and acted upon.

Indeed, it has become disturbing to observe how a government led by the son of a revered political prisoner and democracy icon could turn a blind eye to the plight of Ericson Acosta and other political detainees in the Philippines.

Rev Canon Barry Naylor
Honorary President – Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines (CHRP-UK)
Urban Canon and Parish Priest of the Abbey and Holy Spirit Ministries, Leicester

P-Noy not interested in media killings

BLURBAL THRUSTS, By Louie Logarta – http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120205com4.html

5 February 2012

The Press Freedom committee of the National Press Club has come up with a finding that is quite disturbing since it seems to underscore the apathy of government toward the plight of members of the Fourth Estate, meaning the press, who have in recent years been increasingly subjected to indescribable atrocities (hey dickheads, remember the Nov. 23, 2009 Maguindanao Massacre wherein 32 mediamen lost their lives?) by certain parties resentful of their prying news stories, as well as their utter helplessness and inutility in preventing these things from happening any further.

Here is the stark reality: There have been more journalists killed during President Aquino’s first 20 months in office than former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for the same time frame.

[Read more →]

“Jail the Butcher!” “Arrest Palparan!” posters were put up along the streets of Manila, to mark the first day of hearing on 21 January 2012 against the Retired Army General who has since eluded arrest 32 days since the Malolos Regional Trial Court have issued warrants against him.

Ret. Army General Jovito Palparan, along with two other colleagues, have been charged for kidnapping and serious illegal detention of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno, UP students who have been missing more than five years ago.

Erlinda Cadapan, the mother of Sherlyn Cadapan,being interviewed after the hearing. “What I want is the truth. If they know where Sherlyn is, why did they not surface her earlier? I have been searching for more than five years,” reacted Mrs. Cadapan after Palparan’s lawyer claimed that the two missing students are still alive.

By Mark Dearn

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/NA07Ae01.html

7 January 2012

MANILA – The recent filing of kidnapping and illegal detention charges against prominent retired Philippine general Jovito Palparan has restored faith in President Benigno Aquino’s promised reform agenda and given cheer to the country’s many human-rights campaigners.

Palparan, a figure intimately tied to the rash of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances recorded during Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s presidency, has disappeared since the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued charges against him and three other soldiers for kidnapping two University of the Philippines students and a peasant farmer in June 2006.

After being stopped while trying to board a plane leaving the country – as was Arroyo in November – Palparan has gone into hiding with a 500,000 pesos (US$11,420) reward on his head. He has surfaced only through comments criticizing Justice Secretary Leila De Lima and a request that his arrest warrant and hold departure order be recalled while the DOJ reinvestigates the case.
The military’s clear involvement and lack of investigative progress in the abduction of Karen Empeno, Sherlyn Cadapan and Manuel Merino is emblematic of the Philippines poor human-rights situation. Although the manhunt for, and charges against, Palparan is a clear marker of intent for the Aquino administration, it is too early to be considered a watershed reform moment.

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Help the victims of

Typhoon Sendong!

Flash floods caused by the Tropical Storm Sendong (International name Washi) have ravaged the provinces in Northern Mindanao and Visayas in the Philippines on Sunday, 18 December 2011. Since then, the death toll has reached to more than a thousand with hundreds more reported missing. Typhoon Sendong is now considered to be the deadliest storm in 2011. Relief and rescue operations are still ongoing.

Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines, together with Kanlungan, the Alliance of Filipino organisations in the UK, appeals to its partners, friends and the rest of the international community to assist our kababayans in this urgent time of crisis. Kanlungan ang CHRP have partnered with EILER in the Philippines so that all proceeds of our donation drive will go to the relief and rescue operations by the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines, Northern Mindanao Sub-Region.

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