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 →]

Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines (CHRP) Press Release

Thursday 17 September 2009 (Embargoed until Friday 18 September 2009)

Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines (CHRP), an independent British-based human rights group, will protest alongside concerned members of the Filipino community on Friday, 18 September 2009, as the Philippine President, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, delivers a keynote conference speech in London. President Arroyo is speaking at a conference sponsored by the Economist, whose central theme is emerging markets. She is expected to highlight economic growth in the Philippine economy.

However, the Reverend Canon Barry Naylor, Urban Canon of the Abbey and Holy Spirit Team Ministries in Leicester and President of CHRP, in an open letter to the president, noted “we do not believe that there can be any meaningful economic progress if the human rights of Filipino citizens are violated.” Canon Naylor lambasted Arroyo for being a head of state which stands accused of perpetrating and rewarding political killings, disappearances, torture and the violation of basic human rights. [Read more →]

For full pdf text of photo campaign, click here

Amnesty International: INDIVIDUAL AT RISK
James Balao, an activist working on Indigenous Peoples rights, was forcibly disappeared on 17 September 2008 in
Baguio City, Philippines. He was last seen near his home being roughly bundled by armed men into a white van.

One of the men who took him shouted at onlookers, and told them not to interfere becuase they were police officers
arresting James. A court has ordered the authorities to reveal where he is, and do no further harm to him, but has
not authorised his family to look for him in places of detention. He is one of hundreds of Filipinos who involuntarily
disappear and have not been found.

James, a member of the Indigenous Benguet Ibaloi tribe in the Cordillera region in Northern Philippines, dedicated
himself to research and fighting for Indigenous Peoples rights, particularly ancestral land rights. He helped write
articles in the Philippine Constitution pertaining to Indigenous Peoples. He is one of the founding members of the
Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA), which today is an alliance of local organizations from the different Indigenous
tribes in the Cordillera region.

Take action!
Join the call to Surface James Balao and Stop EnforcedDisappearances in the Philippines.
Take photos of yourself or with friends, ideally in front of a local landmark to show international solidarity, holding
up a message such as: “End Enforced Disappearances — the world is watching” or “Where is James Balao?” The photos will be used as part of an international solidarity campaign on the one-year anniversary of James’ disappearance, as well as other campaigns against enforced or involuntary disappearances. Email photos tophilmasteam@gmail.com by 31 October 2009.