Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines

Amnesty International Press Release

11 June 2011

Cagayan de Oro City – International Rights Group says: P-NOY must step
up efforts to free our country from human rights abuse and injustice, on
the eve of Independence Day

On the eve of Philippine Independence Day, Amnesty International
highlighted the continuing human rights abuse and called on President
Aquino to step up efforts to free our country, especially Mindanao, from
impunity and injustice. This call was made by Amnesty International when
it launched its Annual Human Rights report 2011 at Dynasty Hotel in
Cagayan de Oro City on Saturday, June 11.

“Unlawful killings continue in our country under the Aquino government
and justice remains elusive. The families of victims  of the Maguindanao
massacre suffer from delayed justice, “ said Mr. Ritz Lee Santos III,
Chairperson of Amnesty International Philippines.

“We are celebrating our independence from colonization this June 12 but
we cannot celebrate freedom from human rights abuses. We cannot
celebrate freedom from injustice in our country unless President Aquino
and high officials of the Philippine government will step up their
efforts to fight impunity and injustice,”  declared Dr. Aurora Parong,
Director of Amnesty International Philippines.

Amnesty International’s report noted the killing of six journalists in
2010, including radio reporter Desiderio Camangyan in Mati City and
Nestor Bedolido in Digos City.  The report also stated that more than
200 cases of enforced disappearances recorded in the last decade
remained unresolved, as did at least 305 cases of extrajudicial
execution (with some estimates ranging as high as 1,200). Almost no
perpetrators of these crimes have been brought to justice.

The human rights group reported that private armed groups continued to
operate throughout the country, despite government commitments to
disband and disarm them. It noted that President Aquino vowed to disband
and dis-arm private armies but refused to abolish CVOs, the CAFGU and
police auxiliary units.

“President Aquino has to take concrete steps to disband the private
armies in order to curb human rights abuses, especially in Mindanao. The
trial of the alleged perpetrators of the Maguindanao massacre must be
hastened if we do not want the slow justice to be turned in favour of
the perpetrators. ,” asserted Mr. Santos.

Amnesty International’s  report also stated that in the Philippines,
three indigenous peoples were victims of extrajudicial killings in the
past year. It also noted the debates on sexual and reproductive rights
in Congress. Amnesty International has publicly stated that the
Reproductive Health Bill as they are in Congres, at the Senate and the
House of representatives, is a step towards improving the rights to
health especially of women and girls. The organization also said that
the Reproductive health bill will improve access of marginalized sectors
of society and those living in poverty to information and services
necessary for decision making regarding their family.

At the global level, Amnesty International reported that:

* Torture occurred in 98 countries
* Unfair trials occurred in 54 countries
* Prisoners of conscience are held in jails in 48 countries
* Unlawful restrictions of freedom of expression occurred in 89
countries.

“2/3 of the peoples of the world do not have access to justice. We are
launching a Global Call to Action to tip the scales against repression
and injustice. We appeal to leaders of the world, including those in
Asia to adopt a rights- based governance. In the Philippines, we call on
President Aquino and high government officials to help tip the scales
for justice and human rights in our country.  We hope that President
Aquino will not let the legacy of impunity and injustice left by the
Arroyo government to be immortalized.“ appealed Dr. Aurora Parong.

Amnesty International is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. The
anniversary comes against the backdrop of a changing human rights
landscape, as people across the Middle East and North Africa
courageously confront oppression, tyranny and corruption – often in the
face of bloodshed and state violence. These protests dramatically
demonstrate the need for international solidarity on human rights.

Amnesty International called on the peoples of the world to join its
three million members and supporters worldwide to take action for human
rights. Amnesty International monitors human rights in more than 150
countries and territories of the world.  Amnesty International was
awarded the Noble Peace Prize in 1977.

18 May 2011

http://www.unison.org.uk/international/pages_view.asp?did=12934

As part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, Amnesty International made a number of awards for outstanding achievements in defending human rights. UNISON was proud to be included in the roll of honour for its work on the Philippines.

In a light-hearted ceremony some very serious work in defence of human rights around the globe was acknowledged.

UNISON was congratulated for its work in raising awareness of human rights violations in the Philippines. This included working with Amnesty International UK in providing opportunities for human rights defenders in the Philippines to come to Europe to raise awareness of the situation in their country. UNISON was also commended for working with overseas filipino workers (OFWs) in the UK in realising their rights.

Branch international officers, Louise Giblin and Kaila McCulloch from Scotland, received the award on behalf of UNISON at Amnesty’s annual conference in Belfast.

Here are some of the photos of CHRP giving a short lecture about the Human Rights situation in the Philippines and the work of the Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines - UK at the Human Rights Festival at Kingston University last March.

Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

17 February 2011 at 6-8pm

Eva-Lotta Hedman* will be at the AGM as a resource person in the informal discussion on the current development in the Philippines and a view of the Philippine government under President B. Aquino Jr.

Venue:

Room B104

Brunell bldg., SOAS

Thornhaugh street

London WC1H

Near Russell Square station

*Eva Lotta Hedman is a research fellow at London School of Economics – IDEAS and Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford University, Refugee Studies Centre.

FREE Refreshments/drinks!!! Contact: info@chrp.org.uk

Please note that there are still 3 male healthworkers who remain in
Bicutan jail.
Let’s continue to support them until they are freed.
ILPS Philippines

January 28, 2011

Dear Friends,

Greetings of peace and justice!

It is with immense joy that we write to you today to express our
heartfelt thanks for being with the Filipino people’s struggle to free
the Morong 43.  What began as a call for freedom and justice in the
Philippines spread like wild fire to become an international campaign
that history shall never forget  a force strong enough that even the
Philippine governments new administration found very hard to ignore.

Indeed, the release of most of the Morong 43 health workers on the
evening of December 17, 2010, is a fruit of the peoples struggle — a
shining example that can be replicated a hundred-fold to free other
political prisoners victimized by repressive regimes all over the world.

The Morong 43s freedom could never have tasted as sweet if not for
friends, who believed that health and human rights must be fought for in
order to be achieved, who continuously inspired us with the burning torch
of solidarity and braving obstacles just so they can show their support
in more ways than one.

If there is one thing that they learned from ten months of incarceration,
torture, and various forms of injustices, it is to become ever more
resolute in their commitment to serve the poor and lay down the
foundations of a people-managed health care system at the community level
and ensure a mechanism of access for all levels and type of health care.

More than a month after their release, the Morong 43 are back doing what
they do best  serving the marginalized sectors of society through the
provision of basic health services.  Recently, they were among those who
led teams of doctors, nurses, and community health workers in Payatas,
Quezon City in a medical and dental mission that served more than 600
patients.

Onward with the struggle for peoples health, onward with the struggle
for social change!

Free the 43 Health Workers! Alliance

Morong 43

By Mark Dearn, http://www.opendemocracy.net/opensecurity/mark-dearn/new-philippine-counter-insurgency-strategy-fails-to-address-causes-of-confli

24 January 2011

2011 marks the dawn of a new strategic approach to combating insurgencies that have long bedevilled the Philippines. An internecine conflict, bred by a political system that entrenches the segmental concentration of power in the archipelago, has resulted in a catalogue of state-led extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. The new tactic – ‘Oplan Bayanihan’ (‘Operation Community Volunteerism’) – purportedly promotes the protection of human rights within a framework of community-centred development, drawing on the American Counter-Insurgency (COIN) Guide of 2009 [pdf] composed under General David Petraeus. [Read more →]

Photos by RJ Fernandez

18 December 2010

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/entertainment/12/08/10/pinoy-human-rights-film-ends-europe-tour-london

LONDON – Filipino human rights film “Dukot” ends its European tour here following a string of public screenings and talks around the continent.

Launched in The Netherlands in October, the film toured Europe for over a month with stops in Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, and Italy, before concluding in England around Human Rights Day on December 10.

The London screening was attended by a multicultural crowd of concerned citizens, from seasoned activists to young professionals without prior knowledge of human rights issues. Consul General Maria Theresa Dizon-de Vega from the Philippine Embassy in London was also in attendance to support the event.

Directed by Joel Lamangan with an all-star cast, “Dukot” follows the story of a young couple from the Philippines who were abducted, tortured, abused and slaughtered by armed government crooks, seemingly because of their involvement with political activism.

“We want to highlight human rights abuses and violations in the Philippines, and “Dukot” chronicles this in dramatic form. It’s a powerful way for people to appreciate it, rather than just reading news stories or opinion pieces,” said Mark Dearn from Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines (CHRP), who co-organized the event.

He added: “It’s a problem that’s endemic to Philippine politics. The victims are anybody who decides to challenge the state, and that can be anybody from armed rebels, all the way to the average student. I don’t think you can get anything more pressing than when a government oppresses its own citizens in that way.”

The screenings were part of an ongoing international awareness campaign for human rights issues in the Philippines, particularly from the last 10 years. Prior to its European tour, the film has been shown in various countries in East Asia and North America, and was an official selection in the 2009 Montreal Film Festival.

“[The film] functions very well in the level of raising awareness for those who aren’t aware of these issues,” explained Dearn. “Awareness and global attention seems to have an effect on the incidences of enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings. When Global Awareness focused on this issue, there was a drop-off in the number of enforced disappearances and killings. Unfortunately, this has risen up again towards the end of Arroyo’s regime.”

According to a report by Philippine-based independent organization Karapatan, thousands of innocent activists have fallen victim to human rights violations under the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, a trend that seems to have continued through to the new Aquino administration (see table below).

“[Dukot] is a good educational tool. It gives me knowledge of the reality of being an activist. I think there is nothing wrong in trying to voice out our opinions, and that is what we call freedom of speech,” observed Josefa Aaliyah Cassandra, a UK-based Filipino health professional and equal rights activist, who was moved by the film’s message.

She added: “We have to help those activists in the Philippines, and try to educate them that our voices can still be heard by expressing them in a more civilized manner. But also for the government to understand that there is nothing wrong in trying to voice your opinion or campaigning for what should be right, especially for the oppressed.”

Though definitive solutions to these problems remain elusive even to campaigners, there is an overwhelming sense of urgency to their message of acknowledging and addressing human rights issues, a call for action directed towards fellow Filipinos, the international community, and the Philippine government itself.

“If we’re truly going to be a democracy, these sort of things shouldn’t really happen, and the army shouldn’t really have the sort of power that it seems to have,” explained Fernando Santiago from nonprofit organization Kanlungan, co-organizers of the London event.

He concluded: “Having the authorities in the Philippines be called to answer for the fact that the world is watching, and wants change, and wants the Philippines to join the rest of the democratic world, these things have to be addressed and not just be swept under the carpet.”

The activists are urging the newly elected President Benigno Aquino III, who himself comes from a family with firsthand experience of human rights abuse, to address these concerns in the hope of making positive changes in socio-political affairs in the Philippines.

Recorded Human Rights Violations in the Philippines, 2001-2010

Source: KARAPATAN, 2010 Year-End Report on Human Rights in the Philippines (Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights)

“Nothing has changed under Aquino” — Karapatan

KARAPATAN Press Release

1 December 2010

THE NATIONAL human rights alliance, KARAPATAN, presented to the public
its 2010 Human Rights Report saying that the violation of civil and
political rights is “getting worse” and that “nothing has changed” in
the rights situation under President Benigno Simeon Aquino III.

(Click here to download the 2010 Human Rights Report by Karapatan)

[Read more →]

President Benigno Simeon Aquino III
Malacanang Palace
Manila
Republic of the Philippines

23 November 2010

Dear President Aquino,

It is now one year since 57 people were massacred in Magindanao in the Philippines by a local private army. Among the victims were 32 journalists, making this the worst massacre of journalists on record.

Disappearances, torture and murder remain a constant threat to community activists, church workers, lawyers, journalists and trade unionists in the Philippines.  Since 1991 there have been over 1200 political killings in the Philippines and the level of killings and abuses shows no sign of abating following your election. The complicity of the Philippines armed forces in these abuses of human rights has been placed on record by among others Philip Alston, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

There is hope and expectation from all those around the world concerned with human rights that a new government in the Philippines will usher in a new concern for human rights. However, the first 100 days following your coming into office witnessed 16 further political killings. This surpasses the rate of killings of the last months of the previous president Mrs Arroyo. On 12 November the president of the Calamba Water District Union was gunned down by masked men on motorcycles.  We have similarly seen disappearances continue with the recent cases of Agusto Ladera and Reanato Deliguer, two farmers who were abducted by soldiers in Surigao del Sur in August.

We call upon your government to bring the suspected perpetrators of the Maguindanao massacre to justice speedily; to bring to justice all those responsible for torture, murder and disappearances in the Philippines; to end the climate of impunity which allows political killings and disappearances to take place; and to ensure a safe environment for journalists and all those who work to defend a free society.

Yours sincerely

Reverend Canon Barry Naylor
Chairman
Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines (UK)