SIGN THE ONLINE PETITION TO FREE THE 43 HEALTH WORKERS!!!

http://www.bulatlat.com/main/2010/03/13/a-primer-on-the-illegal-arrest-detention-and-torture-of-43-health-workers/

Who are the 43 health workers?

The 43 health workers, also known as “Morong 43”, are health professionals and volunteer community health workers who were arrested in Rizal on February 6, following a raid by the combined forces of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

The 43 were part of a Community First Responders’ Health Training sponsored jointly by the Community Medicine Development Foundation (COMMED) and the Council for Health and Development (CHD). The training was held at the residential compound located at 266 E. Dela Paz St., Brgy. Maybangcal, Morong, Rizal. The compound is owned by Dr. Melecia Velmonte, chairperson of COMMED’s Board of Directors and a renowned and respected infectious disease specialist and a professor emeritus of the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Medicine.

On February 6, 2010 at 6:15 am, joint elements of the 202nd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army (202nd IBPA) headed by its commander, Colonel Aurelio Baladad and the Rizal Provincial Police (PNP) headed by Police Superintendent Marion Balonglong raided the l compound of Dr. Velmonte.

Among those arrested were 2 doctors, 1 registered nurse and 2 midwives and 38 volunteer community health workers.

They are :

1. Merry Clamor y Mia, 33 y/o, medical doctor, CHD staff
2. Alexis Montes y Sulinap, 62 y/o, medical doctor, Commed volunteer
3. Gary Liberal y Apuhin, 43 y/o, registered nurse, AHW
4. Ma. Teresa Quinawayan y Roncales, 26 y/o midwife, CHD staff
5. Lydia “Del” Ayo Obera, 61 y/o, AHW staff & health educator
6. Reynaldo Macabenta y Torres, 30 y/o, CHD staff
7. Angela Doloricon y Manogon, 50 y/o, health educator
8. Delia Ocasla y Medrano, 46 y/o, community health worker
9. Janice Javier y Quiatchon, 22 y/o, community health worker
10. Franco Remoroso y Bilugan, 28 y/o community health worker
11. Linda Racel Otanez community health worker
12. Pearl Irene Martinez y de los Reyes, 25 y/o community health worker
13. Eleonor Carandang y Orgena, 30 y/o community health worker
14. Danny Piñero, community health worker
15. Ray-om Among, community health worker
16. Emily Marquez y Manguba, 23 y/ocommunity health worker
17. Emilia Marquez y Manguba,20 y/o, community health worker
18. Jane Balleta y Beltran 27 y/o, community health worker
19. Glenda Murillo y Cervantes, 26 y/o, community health worker
20. Eulogio “Ely” Castillo, community health worker
21. Jovy Ortiz y Quidor, 23 y/o, community health worker
22. Samson Castillo y Mayuga, 42 y/o, community health worker
23. Miann Oseo y Edjao, 31 y/o, community health worker
24. Sylvia Labrador y Pajanustan, 43 y/o, community health worker
25. Lilibeth Donasco, 24 y/o, community health worker
26. Jenilyn Vatar y Pizarro, 19 y/o, community health worker
27. Ramon de la Cruz y Santos, 21 y/o, community health worker
28. Jaqueline Gonzales, community health worker
29. Maria Elena Serato y Edeo, 35 y/o, community health worker
30. Ma. Mercedes Castro y Icban, 27 y/o, community health worker
31. Leah de Luna y Bautista, 28 y/o, community health worker
32. Judilyn Oliveros Y Abuyan, 26 y/o, community health worker
33. Yolanda Yaun y Bellesa, 51 y/o, registered midwife
34. Edwin Dematera y Bustamante, 37 y/o, community health worker
35. Cherielyn Riocasa Tawagon, 31 y/o, community health worker
36. John Mark Barrientos y Roldan, 20 y/o, community health worker
37. Mark Escartin y Esperida, 20 y/o, community health worker
38. Julius Duano, 30 y/o, community health worker
39. Ronilo Espera, 31 y/o, community health worker
40.Romeo de la Cruz, 53 y/o, community health worker
41. Valentino Paulino y Abale, 35 y/o, community health worker
42. Ace Millena, community health worker
43. Lorelyn Saligumba, community health worker

Why were they arrested?

The arresting authorities claim that the 43 health workers were caught in the act of undergoing training on bomb-making and that they are members of the New People’s Army (NPA). The arresting authorities claim to have found firearms and explosives in the premises where the 43 were staying.

The military allege that they found C4 explosives, a pistol with seven bullets, three grenades (one allegedly found under a pillow) and some improvised landmines beside the grenade. However the search was conducted without being witnessed by Dr. Velmonte, any other house occupant, or independent witnesses such as baranggay officials. According to witnesses, the military conducted the search in the compound premises only after all the victims as well as the house owners and their house help were already outside the buildings.

Were the arrests legal?

No, the arrests were illegal. These were based on a patently defective February 5, 2010 search warrant issued by Judge Cesar Mangrobang of Branch 22 of the Imus, Cavite Regional Trial Court. The warrant was issued against a certain Mario Condes of Barangay Maybangcal, Morong, Rizal on allegations of illegal possession of firearms. It did not specify any address except for the name of the barangay. The house raided was not that of Mario Condes but that of Dr. Velmonte. There is no Mario Condes among the 43 arrested.

Were there violations of the rights of the 43 health workers?

Yes, there were gross violations of the right to due process, the right against illegal searches and seizures and the right against torture.

1. Violations in securing the search warrant

As stated earlier, the search warrant was patently defective and issued with grave abuse of discretion. The warrant did not indicate any exact address and in effect covered the entire baranggay, thus violating the rights of the accused against unreasonable searches and seizures. The house that was searched was not indicated in the warrant and did not belong to “Mario Condes”.

2. Violations during arrest

The 43 were arrested without any warrants of arrest; they were not informed of the reasons for their arrest nor where they were being taken. All throughout they were denied the right to call a lawyer.

All the training participants were frisked and ordered to line up outside the house. They were immediately handcuffed, interrogated and photographed by the military. Their personal belongings were confiscated. The military used old shirts and packaging tape which they brought with them to blindfold all the participants before loading them onto several trucks.

3. Violations during detention

For five days, the 43 were denied their right to counsel During the first 36 hours of their detention, the 43 were not informed of the reasons why they were being held. They were subjected to continuous interrogation and were being forced to admit that they were members of the NPA. Their fingerprints were taken while they were blindfolded.

Only during the inquest proceedings on the second day were they finally informed of the charges being levelled against them. The prosecutor from the Department of Justice (DOJ), State Prosecutor II Romeo Senson, simply called out their names, then read the charges against them. The 43 were denied their right to counsel even during the inquest proceedings.

There were several accounts of torture and ill-treatment as attested to by the detainees and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). The AFP violated several provisions of Republic Act No. 9745 or the Anti-Torture Law: both physical and psychological torture were inflicted on the 43. These include: being blindfolded and handcuffed for 36 hours; being subjected to multiple and prolonged tactical interrogation with death threats, harassment and intimidation; being deprived of sleep and urgent medication; being manhandled and beaten; being denied legal counsel for days; being denied medical treatment; being coerced to wrongly make admissions and implicate others; and being subjected to various indignities during their captivity. Some were held incommunicado and some remain in solitary confinement up to now.

Some detainees who were blindfolded and handcuffed were also subjected to the indignity of having their captors lower their pants and underwear just so they could relieve themselves.

The 43 remain detained in a military camp when they should have been transferred to a civilian detention facility especially after charges were filed against them in court.

Have the 43 health workers been charged in court?

Despite all the violations of due process committed by the AFP, PNP and the DOJ, charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives and violations of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) gun ban were filed against the 43 at Branch 78 of the Rizal Regional Trial Court in Morong. The charges were only filed on February 11, five days after they were arrested. Forty of the accused face non-bailable offenses (illegal possession of explosives). Clearly, the purpose of the hasty filing of said charges is to attempt to cure violations of due process and justify the continued illegal detention of the 43.

Were the health workers really members of the NPA? Were they really making bombs at the time of their arrest?

The military has made the sweeping accusation that the 43 are members of the NPA. Their proof consists of the firearms and explosives allegedly found in the premises of Dr. Velmonte. But the accounts of Dr. Velmonte and her household give sufficient ground to believe that the firearms and explosives were planted by the military/police.

Mere membership in the NPA cannot be used as basis for a warrantless arrest. Jurisprudence tells us that an overt act or an actual crime (in this case, taking up arms against the government) must first be committed to justify an arrest. There was no shoot-out at the time of the arrest; the 43 and Dr. Velmonte’s household were either doing their morning ablutions or getting ready for breakfast. It is a stretch of the imagination to claim that the 43 health workers were caught in the act of making bombs as early as 6:00 am when they were arrested.

What the military did was to fabricate and plant evidence and then accuse the health workers as NPA members, to justify their warrantless arrest and illegal detention.

The military has since concocted many versions of who the 43 really are. At first, the military alleged that the 43 were not health workers but bomb-makers. Later, the military would allege that the 43 were indeed health workers but were also undergoing training in making explosives. The military now calls them “medics” of the NPA.

The military also goes on to make the preposterous claim that Dr. Alexis Montes, a 62-year old surgeon, is a member of the NPA Special Operations Group tasked to assassinate Gen. Jovito Palparan.

According to CHR Chair Leila de Lima, even assuming for the sake of argument that the 43 health workers are NPA members, they still have the right to due process, including the presumption of innocence and the right to be free from torture and other degrading treatment.

Have the 43 health workers taken legal action? What has been done to secure their release?

The health workers through their relatives and their organizations have filed before the Supreme Court a petition for the writ of habeas corpus last February 9. The Supreme Court ordered the AFP to produce the 43 at the hearing at the Court of Appeals on February 12, 2010. The military defied the SC by not bringing the 43 to the scheduled hearing citing alleged security reasons and lack of time to prepare. The AFP received a strong rebuke from the CA and was ordered to produce the 43 at another hearing on February 15. As of this writing, the CA has yet to issue its decision on the petition.

A complaint has also been filed before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), asking it to investigate the allegations of rights abuses committed against the 43. The CHR has issued the order for the AFP to present the Morong 43 before the Commission in a scheduled hearing on March 18.

Who are supporting campaign to free the 43?

The campaign “Free the 43” is supported by a broad range of sectors of society, from colleagues in the health professions, lawyers, lawmakers, political leaders across party lines, religious formations, human rights advocates, artists, and advocates and beneficiaries of community-based health programs where the community health workers render their services. It is a national and international campaign calling on the Arroyo government to immediately release the Morong 43 and drop all charges against them. It is a campaign that supports the legal defense of the 43 and undertakes advocacy work and mobilizations. The campaign also supports the immediate needs of the families of the 43 in terms of visits, psycho-social counseling and other forms of concrete assistance.

Why are there volunteer community health workers?

In the Philippines, where seven out of 10 Filipinos die without ever seeing a doctor and where public health services are sorely lacking or inaccessible, non-government organizations (NGOs) like CHD and COMMED play an important role by bringing health services to the people. This means that these non-government organizations try to reach poor and underserved communities, set up community-based health programs, organize health committees, and train community health workers (CHWs). This way, the poor people living in urban and rural areas can attend to their health needs in the absence or dearth of government services.

For 37 years, community-based health program practitioners have been training volunteers who would like to become CHWs regardless of their educational attainment. CHD, for example, has trained tens of thousands of community health workers nationwide. Training participants are selected by the people themselves with little regard to their educational and socio-economic background nor their religious or political beliefs, so as long as they commit themselves to serving the people in their communities.

The Community First Responders’ Health Training is one of the courses CHD offers to community health workers. The training is in response to the assessed needs of the communities after the disastrous effects of the lack of disaster preparedness in the wake of tropical storms “Ondoy” and “Pepeng”. The community health workers are also the frontliners in providing health services during disasters, so additional health skills are needed for them to be able to respond adequately, especially since many communities have no access to government health services.

Is this the first time doctors, health workers and volunteers have become victims of human rights abuse?

No, there have been similar attacks against health workers in the past. These can be better understood in the context of the government’s counterinsurgency programs, most especially the Arroyo regime’s US-supported Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL) or Operation Freedom Watch.

The illegal arrest and detention of 43 doctors and health workers is directly linked to OBL. The latter has given rise to a rash of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, illegal arrests and detention and mass displacement of poor communities. Under OBL the military has been given a carte blanche by the Arroyo regime to disregard the most basic tenets of due process and human rights. For the AFP, once a person is accused of being an “insurgent” or “terrorist”, he or she is guilty until proven innocent. This is the kind of militarist mindset that the Arroyo regime has in pursuing its counter-insurgency program.

The military has a track record of targeting several other doctors and health personnel.

Just recently, on February 23, 2010, Ronald Capitania, a community health worker of Sipalay, Negros Occidental was shot by two unidentified bonnet-clad men on a motorcycle. Luckily, he survived the attack.

On February 11, 2010, Benjei Faldas, a community health worker in Davao del Sur was reportedly charged with frustrated murder following the wounding of a CAFGU member in an encounter with the New People’s Army. He is prevented from performing his duties as a community health worker.

In July last year, Dr. Reynaldo Lesaca Jr., a respected psychiatrist at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute and chairperson emeritus of the Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD), filed a complaint before the CHR regarding his inclusion, together with four Davao-based doctors, in the military’s “Order of Battle” thus making him vulnerable to being targeted for “neutralization” by military and paramilitary “death squads”.

This was a month after another Davao-based physician, Dr. Rogelio Peñera, was shot and killed by motorcycle-riding assailants near his house in Davao City.

In 2008, Dr. Oliver Gimenes, a community-based doctor serving farmers’ communities in Cebu and Bohol, was placed under surveillance by the military and was vilified as a “rebel sympathizer”. He was later charged with murder in a questionable criminal case stemming from an NPA raid of a military detachment.

In 2007, sisters Emilia and Maricris Quirante, both community health workers of Guihulngan Mountain Clinic in Negros Oriental were arrested for trumped-up charges of child abuse and rebellion.

In July 2006, unidentified armed men ambushed Dr. Chandu Claver and his family in Kalinga province. The attack killed Dr. Claver’s wife, Alyce, seriously injured Dr. Claver himself, and traumatized their young daughter.

These attacks share several characteristics: they are politically-motivated; they are directed against those who serve poor communities or underserved sectors; the government attempts to justify these attacks by red-baiting the victims; and they have all been all perpetrated with impunity.

As the government’s self-imposed deadline to defeat or “render inconsequential” the communist-led armed revolutionary movement draws near, the military will even be more hard-pressed to show results. Thus, human rights violations are bound to continue and even escalate.

What are the implications of the arrest of the 43 health workers?

The illegal arrest, illegal detention and torture committed against the 43 health workers by the AFP are clear violations of human rights. The methods resorted to by the military are clearly unconstitutional, show a blatant disregard for the rule of law and pose a grave threat to ordinary Filipinos everywhere.

This incident is disturbing for health professionals and health science students as it imperils the people’s initiatives and efforts to build their own capacity and capability to manage their health needs in the absence of adequate public service.

For health professionals who may be considering the option of public service, this incident has a chilling effect. For the community-oriented academe, this single act of the military could undo decades of encouraging graduates to stay in the Philippines and create the necessary exposure and experience in community-based health trainings

This will deprive the people of much needed health services which will worsen the already deplorable state of health.

What are our demands and calls?

The campaign “FREE THE 43” demands the immediate and unconditional release of the 43 health workers who were illegally arrested in Morong, Rizal and are currently illegally detained in Camp Capinpin, Tanay, Rizal. We also demand that all the false charges against them be dropped.

We hold to account all the government officials involved in the illegal arrest, detention and torture of the 43 including those who have command responsibility over the military and police forces directly involved in the incident.

The complaint filed before the CHR states those responsible as:

“The President of the Republic of the Philippines herself, Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is primarily responsible as Commander-in-Chief under the principle of command responsibility because she knew or, owing to the circumstances at the time, should have known that the state forces were committing or about to commit the crimes stated in this complaint.

The public officials and cabinet secretaries also responsible for gross violations of Constitutional rights following the doctrine of command responsibility include National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, the Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno.

Meanwhile, the public officers who are also exercising command responsibility over the 202nd IB, 2nd ID PA and the Rizal Provincial Police, PNP and directly responsible for the illegal search, illegal arrests, physical and mental torture and other blatant violations of the Constitutional rights of the 43 doctors and health workers are Gen. Victor Ibrado, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit, the Commanding General of the Philippine Army; Lt. Gen. Roland Detabali, Commanding General, SOLCOM, Philippine Army; Brig. Gen. Jorge Segovia, Chief of the 2nd Infantry Division, Philippine Army; Col. Aurelio Baladad, Commander of the 202nd Infantry Brigade, Philippine Army; Lt. Col. Jaime Abawag, Commander of the 16th Infantry Battalion; Philippine National Police Director General Jesus Verzosa; and P/Supt. Marion Balonglong of the Rizal Provincial Police.

In the same vein, the Honorable Judge Cesar Mangrobang is also responsible for the issuance of the bogus and constitutionally defective Search Warrant that the military and police officers used to justify the raid of the farmhouse located at 266 Dela Paz St., Brgy. Maybangcal, Morong, Rizal.

State Prosecutor II Romeo Senson, the Department of Justice Prosecutor who conducted the defective inquest of the 43 doctors, nurses and medical workers and issued the Resolution indicting them with trumped-up charges, and Senior Assistant Chief State Prosecutor Severino Gaña, the reviewing prosecutor who signed the findings of Prosecutor Romeo Senson, and Department of Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera are accountable for their complicity in the efforts to legitimize the military and police’s commission of human rights violations.”

We demand an end to the counter-insurgency program OBL, which has targeted unarmed civilians accused of supporting the NPA, in the name of fighting insurgency.

We call on freedom-loving people to make a stand for human rights and condemn in the strongest terms the human rights violations perpetrated with impunity by the Arroyo government.

(This primer was prepared by Free the 43 Health Workers)

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.

In November 2007 the report of Philip Alston the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Summary or Arbitrary Executions concluded that in the Philippines: “the Armed Forces have followed a deliberate strategy of hunting down the leaders of leftist organisations” and have  “eliminated civil society leaders, including human rights defenders, trade unionists and land reform advocates”. In May 2009 the United Nations Committee on Torture (UNCAT) reported the “routine and widespread use of torture” in the Philippines and a “climate of impunity”. In September 2009 a high level ILO Mission will visit the Philippines in response to “serious allegations of the murder of trade unionists, death threats, arrests of trade union leaders …and the militarization of workplaces in export processing zones and special economic zones.”

For the first half of 2009, the Philippines human rights organization Karapatan has documented 34 victims of extrajudicial killings, bringing the total recorded for the period from 21 January 2001 to 30 June 2009, to 1,032. In the same period the number of enforced disappearances came to 202. Only this week Amnesty International released a further public statement raising concerns about the safety of human rights defenders and calling on the Government to stand by its publicly stated commitment to the UN in 2008 not just to decrease political killings and enforced disappearances, but also to effectively implement reform in its witness protection program.

Madame President, we call on you to stop the political killings and to end the impunity of the armed forces in perpetrating murder, abduction and torture against the people of the Philippines.

 
Yours sincerely,
Canon Barry Naylor
President, Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines

For full text of Shattered Lives AI report, click here

“We inherited an age-old conflict in Mindanao, exacerbated by a politically popular but near-sighted
policy of massive retaliation. This only provoked the other side to continue the war.”
- President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo during her State of the Nation Address, 27 July 2009

REPORT SUMMARY
Yet another round of fighting between the Philippine government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF) has ended on 29 July 2009. The 2008-2009 hostilities, which displaced more than 750,000 persons
in total and led to numerous human rights abuses, officially ended with an agreement to resume peace
negotiations. One year after renewed violence between government security forces and armed groups,
Mindanao is finally beginning to see a possible end to the unrest and uncertainty— and perhaps even an end to
the 40-year armed conflict.

Their lives shattered by the armed conflict, hundreds of thousands of people in the Central Mindanao region of
southern Philippines faced the risk of unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, torture, arbitrary arrests,
displacement and burning and destruction of their homes at the hands of the Philippine armed forces, MILF
fighters, and local militias. With no means of making a living, the people have become dependent on aid.

In May 2009 the Mindanao conflict was identified as having the highest number of new internally displaced
persons worldwide1 and having “the most neglected displacement situation” in 2008.

Many displaced people, as of the end of July 2009, have still been unable to go back to their villages. They
live in fear and uncertainty in overcrowded camps, with their relatives, or in makeshift shelters on roadsides.
Unable to tend to their farms, they have become dependent on food rations and other aid. For many large
families the food rations are not enough, and family members have been forced to go back to their villages to
forage for food or something to sell, risking their lives in the process. In June 2009, the Philippine government
discouraged aid agencies from giving large quantities of food to displaced persons, in an effort to prevent food
from being diverted to the hands of the MILF or sold to traders.

With a ceasefire now in place, both parties to the conflict must, as a matter of urgency, ensure the safe return
to their homes of the more than 240,000 internally displaced persons.4 They should also cooperate in
facilitating a comprehensive, impartial and thorough investigation into all allegations of grave human rights
abuses and violations of international humanitarian law during the recently concluded hostilities. It is vital that
those whose lives have been shattered by the abuses achieve justice promptly as armed conflicts, often borne
out of perceived injustices, feed on unresolved grievances that arose from a history of conflict and many years
of failure to hold to account perpetrators of grave human rights abuses.

Fighting escalated in August 2008, after the Philippine Supreme Court delayed formally signing the
“Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain”, a document which would later increase the autonomous
territory of Muslim Mindanao. In response, MILF fighters launched attacks against civilians, and fighting
between the security forces and the MILF intensified. In October 2008, the Supreme Court ruled the
Memorandum unconstitutional. Fighting continued as the government forces conducted military operations in
an effort to pursue MILF commanders who have led the attacks.

The armed conflict in Central Mindanao, which was officially between the Philippine government and the MILF,
was further aggravated by violent acts by other armed groups, privately-armed militias and powerful feuding clans.

The Philippine government declared a Suspension of Military Operations and the MILF declared a Suspension
of Military Activities as of 23 and 24 July 2009, respectively. At the same time the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) stated that the pursuit of MILF commanders Ameril Umbra Kato, Abdullah Macapaar and Ali
Pangalian and their fighters continues, and the military will remain involved in the operations, in support of the
Philippine National Police (PNP), who will, in case of their capture, serve them their warrants of arrest for
criminal acts such as murder, arson and robbery. Amnesty International calls on the Philippine government to
ensure that such joint police-military pursuit operations do no result in further human rights violations in
Central Mindanao5 and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

In the context of the armed conflict, Amnesty International and other human rights monitors and humanitarian
workers have reported on cases of arbitrary arrests, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment, enforced disappearances, political killings, house destruction as well as diversion and prevention
of access to aid.

In March 2009 Amnesty International visited Mindanao, including the cities of Davao, Cotabato and Iligan, and
the provinces of North Cotabato and Maguindanao, to obtain updated first-hand information about the human
rights situation there. The organization gathered reports from local human rights monitors, humanitarian
workers, the military, the MILF, the Philippine Catholic Church, local and international non-governmental
organizations and the media. This report is a follow-up to “Shattered Peace in Mindanao: The Human Cost of
Conflict in the Philippines” (AI Index: ASA 35/008/2008) published by Amnesty International in October
2008.

This report focuses on the situation of internally displaced persons and human rights abuses and violations of
international humanitarian law in the context of the armed conflict in Maguindanao province, which was the
stronghold of the MILF and one of the centres of the armed conflict for most of its duration. Amnesty
International interviewed victims, their families and witnesses as well as members of civil society in the
province. Some of the cases raised in this report were taken from interviews and documentation by
independent humanitarian workers and community human rights monitors.

Amnesty International does not take sides in armed conflicts generally, including conflict between the
Philippine government and the MILF. In the context of armed conflict, the organization concentrates on
documenting and campaigning against human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law,
no matter who commits them.

Amnesty International’s concerns
Where armed conflict is prolonged, increased suffering and hardship invariably follow. Armed conflicts have,
more often than not, been the breeding ground for mass violations of human rights.

All parties to an armed conflict are obliged to comply with international humanitarian law, and in particular
Common Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which prohibits any attacks on persons “taking no active
part in the hostilities,” and the Second Optional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions which contains similar
provisions. Moreover, international human rights law applies in war just as in peace time. Amnesty
International calls upon the parties, most notably the Philippine government and the MILF, to explicitly show
commitment to putting an immediate and unconditional end to all violations of international human rights and
humanitarian law, including but not limited to, attacks targeting civilians, indiscriminate attacks, burning and
destruction of civilian properties, arbitrary arrests, torture, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment, enforced disappearances and unlawful killings, including but not limited to political killings.

The Philippine government must ensure the protection of civilians affected by the conflict, particularly
displaced persons. It must also ensure that displaced families are provided with sufficient food, access to
potable water and free medical treatment.

The Philippine government and the MILF must fully cooperate to facilitate prompt, impartial and thorough
investigations into allegations of human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law.
Reports of the investigations should be made public. Perpetrators, irrespective of rank, must be brought to
justice in proceedings which meet international standards of fairness, and victims must be ensured reparations.
Conclusions and Recommendations

The failure of both the Philippine military and the MILF to ensure that their forces comply with international
law during the 2008 – 2009 conflict has resulted in human rights violations and abuses and violations of
international humanitarian law. The lack of a neutral human rights monitor respected by both parties to the
conflict has meant that effective investigations and bringing the perpetrators to justice has not occurred.

The presence of armed groups and privately armed militias, and localised attacks between feuding clans, has
aggravated the already volatile and complex situation. At the centre of the armed conflict are the lives of the
hundreds and thousands of civilians who have been displaced. Dependent on aid, with no sure prospects of
livelihood, no safe communities or sometimes even standing homes to go back to, theirs is an uncertain future.
The recent suspension of hostilities provides a much-awaited respite for the conflict-affected population. The
re-opening of the peace talks provides the Philippine government and the MILF with an important opportunity
to put human rights at the heart of their new round of negotiations. Just like other armed conflicts in the
world, the Mindanao armed conflict has fed on unresolved grievances that arose from a history of conflict.

These grievances are often about grave human rights abuses, and historically, perpetrators of these abuses have
not been held to account.

Amnesty International makes the following recommendations to the Philippine government, the MILF and the
international community.

Recommendations
To the Philippine authorities
1. The government security forces, comprising the AFP and government-armed paramilitaries, such as the CAFGU and
CVO, must immediately cease all violations of human rights and take all measures necessary to ensure they are not
repeated in the future.
2. The Philippine government, especially the Department of National Defence with regard to members of the
government security forces, should initiate prompt, impartial and thorough investigations into reports of violations of
international human rights and humanitarian law.
*Witnesses and families of the victims should be protected from violence, threats or any other intimidation and
those under investigation should be suspended from any position where they can exert power or influence over them.
*Individuals identified by the investigation as responsible, including those with command responsibility
irrespective of rank, must be brought to justice in proceedings which meet international standards of fairness. An
order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification for committing serious human
rights violations or violations of international humanitarian law.
*The reports of these investigations should be made public.
*Victims must be ensured reparations in accordance with international standards. Such reparation must include
restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition.
3. The Armed Forces of the Philippines must demonstrate its commitment to human rights, by providing its human
rights office with the resources needed to effectively investigate all cases of violations of international humanitarian
law and human rights violations perpetrated by the government security forces, including but not limited to,
destruction of civilian houses and property, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, unlawful killings including
political killings, and torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
*The AFP human rights office must be given the mandate and sufficient capacity to conduct the detailed and
impartial investigations itself, and not only rely on investigations done by regional commands on their own men.
4. The government should ensure the safety and well being of internally displaced persons, in accordance with
international law and standards, including the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.
*In particular it must ensure that the lives of displaced persons are not at risk of direct or indiscriminate attacks or
other acts of violence.
*It must provide or ensure the provision of, as a minimum, adequate food and potable water; adequate shelter and
housing; appropriate clothing; and essential medical services and sanitation.
*It must grant unimpeded access to all areas under its control to humanitarian actors so that they may reach
internally displaced persons and other civilians at risk without further delay.
*It must, in cooperation with the displaced persons, implement a sustainable and comprehensive plan of action
for their safe and voluntary return to their villages, in conditions that allow returnees to live without threats to their
security and under economic, social and political conditions compatible with human dignity. This includes provisions
for adequate food, housing and livelihood upon resettlement, as recommended by the DOH-UNICEF-UNWFP in their
joint nutrition and food security assessment of the internally displaced persons.
*It should ensure that their property and other rights are fully restored, and in the case of destroyed or
inaccessible property, that they receive adequate compensation, irrespective of their return to their place of permanent
residence.
5. The Philippine government must take responsibility for the security of all civilians residing in areas affected by the
conflict regardless of their religion, political affiliation, or ethnicity. Specifically, it must take concrete steps to
protect Philippine Muslims, otherwise known as Moros, from reprisal attacks and other violations, particularly by
members of the government security forces.
6. The Philippine government should prioritise the establishment of an office of its national human rights institution
in ARMM, starting with the issuance of an executive or administrative order which permits this. The Commission on
Human Rights of the Philippines should then re-establish office/s within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao,
to make the agency accessible to victims of human rights abuses. The ARMM regional government must fully
cooperate to support this effort.
7. The national government, particularly through the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, in
consultation with ARMM regional officials and civil society, should establish a culturally accepted mechanism of
monitoring, investigating and bringing a just end to abuses perpetrated by privately armed militias, feuding clans and
other armed groups in their practice of rido, to facilitate governance that is based on the rule of law in the conflictaffected region and to prevent localised clashes that could escalate into heavy fighting.
8. The Philippine senate, as a matter of priority, must ensure that the Anti-Torture Bill and the Anti-Involuntary
Disappearance Bill fully accord with international human rights law, in particular the International Convention on the
Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the Convention against Torture, and expedite the approval
of the proposed legislations before the end of the next session.
9. As a matter of priority, the Philippine state should ratify the International Convention on the Protection of All
Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and to make the declarations required under Articles 31 and 32 of the
Convention, thus recognizing the competence of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances to consider
communications from individuals and state parties.
10. The Philippine government should implement urgently the recommendations contained in the 2008 UN Special
Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions’ report and 2009 follow-up report on the Philippines
which remain unfulfilled.
11. The Philippine government should extend an open invitation to the UN Special Procedures to visit Central Mindanao, in particular the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering
terrorism and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, who have both requested to visit the
Philippines several times.

Recommendations to the MILF
1. The MILF should publicly declare a commitment to respecting the human rights of all peoples and immediately
order its fighters, followers and supporters to cease all acts that constitute to human rights abuses, particularly in the
context of the armed conflict.
2. The MILF must ensure that its fighters, followers and supporters adhere strictly to their obligations under
international humanitarian law by clarifying to its fighters, followers or supporters, irrespective of rank, that IHL
violations would not be tolerated, particularly attacks on civilians and civilian properties or objects, and indiscriminate attacks. Members suspected of committing violations must be removed from any positions where they may repeat them.
3. The MILF must cooperate with the Philippine government in facilitating joint investigations of allegations of grave
abuses and violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, and bringing to justice perpetrators of such
abuses, in a civilian court, through proceedings that comply with international standards of fairness.
4. The MILF should divulge the results of its investigations of the attacks on civilians perpetrated by three of its
commanders in August 2008 and the punishments which it stated that it has imposed on those it found to be
responsible.

Recommendations to the International Community
Amnesty International calls on the international community to support measures for independent human rights
monitors to document reports of abuses by the parties to the conflict, with the aim of improving compliance with
international human rights law and humanitarian law in particular with regard to protection of civilians. Specifically:
1. Amnesty International calls on multilateral organizations such as the Organization of Islamic Conference and the
European Union, which have both expressed interest in supporting the peace process, to give assistance in
establishing international monitors of human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law committed
in the context of the armed conflict.
2. Amnesty International calls on the international donor community to support the expansion of independent local
human rights monitoring teams, in order to have more systematic and coordinated documentation and reporting of
violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in the conflict-affected areas.