Let the Stones Cry Out!

Last February 16, the NCCP had a book launching of "Let the Stones Cry Out: The Continuing Search for Justice". Below is a news article of the said activity from Bulatlat.com (http://bulatlat.com/main/2009/02/21/journey-for-justice/)Copies of the book are available at the NCCP. Orders can be placed at library@nccphilippines.org
Journey for Justice
PUBLISHED ON February 21, 2009 AT 6:30 PM
"It has helped me make a resolution that the peddlers of lies cannot go on and be left unchecked. Yes, they may be Goliath but the presence of Goliath also gives birth to little Davids." Edith Burgos, mother of missing activist Jonas Burgos, said this at the launching of the Let the Stones Cry Out!, a book published by the National Council of Churches of the Philippines (NCCP).
BY RONALYN V. OLEAHUMAN RIGHTS WATCHBulatlat
During the height of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in the country, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), along with other human rights advocates, took an active role in making interventions to address the wanton violation of human rights.
On Feb. 16, the NCCP launched Let the Stones Cry Out!, a book that chronicles the journey taken by church workers in the Philippines, their partners and the victims and families of rights abuses to seek justice.
The NCCP took the lead role in the Ecumenical Voice for Peace and Human Rights in the Philippines (Ecumenical Voice) and the Philippine Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Watch, formations that waged the campaign to highlight extrajudicial killings and other rampant human rights violations in the Philippines before the international community.
In his speech, Rev. Fr. Rex Reyes, NCCP general secretary, said, "Their formation was largely the result of the failure of the three branches of the Philippine government to stop the killings in this country, which took the lives of labor and peasant leaders, lawyers, media people, indigenous people, church people, other activists, and even local government leaders."
The Ecumenical Voice was organized to bring "Let the Stones Cry Out: An Ecumenical Report on Human Rights in the Philippines and a Call to Action", which was released in March 2007, to North America and Switzerland.
Members of the Ecumenical Voice and Philippine UPR Watch unveil the cover of the book "Let the Stones Cry Out!". (Photo by Ronalyn Olea)
Before the said report was launched, a Human Rights and Peace Summit was held at the St. Scholastica's College. This was in July 2006. The National Christian Council of Japan, the United Methodist Church Connectional Table and the United Church of Canada, the Hong Kong Mission for Human Rights and Peace (comprised of representatives from the Asian Human Rights Commission, Asian Students Association, Hong Kong Bar Association, Hong Kong Christian Institute, Hong Kong Journalists Association, Justice and Peace Commission of the HK Catholic Diocese, St. John's Cathedral, English-language South China Morning Post newspaper, United Filipinos in Hong Kong, and Chinese-language Yazhou Zhoukan magazine) and the California-Nevada Conference of the United Methodist Church sent delegations to look into the human rights situation in the Philippines.
The North American delegation took the report to the U.S. Congress where Marie Hilao-Enriquez, Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights) secretary-general and Bp. Eliezer Pascua, United Church of Christ of the Philippines (UCCP) general secretary, testified before the US Congressional Committee on Defense hearing conducted by Sen. Barbara Boxer.
"The report and the testimony at the US Committee on Defense hearing made their mark," said Reyes.
They also brought the report to Canada and submitted it to the Parliament.
Reyes said that around the same time, the Switzerland delegation was in Geneva presenting the report to the World Council of Churches, the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) and various country-missions in the UN.
When the UNHRC announced that it will undertake the UPR and the Philippines was among the first countries to be subjected to it, the Philippine UPR Watch was formed.
The UPR is a process which involves a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN Member States once every four years. The UPR is a State-driven process, under the auspices of the Human Rights Council, which provides the opportunity for each State to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to fulfill their human rights obligations.
The Philippine UPR Watch delegation went to the First Session of UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva on April 7-18, 2008. The delegation was composed of Reyes; Karapatan's Enriquez; Jonathan Sta. Rosa, younger brother of slain Ptr. Isias Sta. Rosa; lawyer Edre Olalia, Bayan Muna (People First) Rep. Teddy Casiño and Joan Carling of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA).
Reyes recalled, "Time and effort were made to give copies of the statements of the UPR Watch and updates on the human rights situation in the Philippines to various missions in the UN. Some of these were followed by personal conversations and reaching-out initiatives. Interventions were made in the UNHRC session to dispute the Philippine Government report."
He continued, "These efforts, I believe thwarted the Philippine government's brazen attempt to conceal the truth through its deceptive report at the UPR."
Two months later, on June 2-18, 2008, the Philippine UPR Watch delegation went to the 8th Session of the Human Rights Council. The 8th session was the occasion for UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary and Arbitrary Executions Prof. Philip Alston to present his report on the Philippines, among others.
Alston went on a mission to the Philippines in 2007 to investigate the spate of extrajudicial killings and came up with a report specifically pointing to the military's involvement in these violations.
It was also a time for the Council to act on the Philippine Government report. This time, the Philippine UPR Watch delegation included Edith Burgos, mother of missing activist Jonas.
Journey of a mother
In her speech during the launch of the NCCP book, Burgos said her participation in the Philippine UPR Watch helped her observe up close the dynamics of the UN.
"To tell you the truth, from a lay person like me, I found the dynamics unbelievable and incomprehensible," Burgos said.
"It has helped me make a resolution that the peddlers of lies cannot go on and be left unchecked. Yes, they may be Goliath but the presence of Goliath also gives birth to little Davids. The widow's might has more value than all the rhetorics by people who participate in these dynamics," she said.
Edith Burgos, mother of missing activist Jonas, shares her own journey for justice at the launching of the book "Let the Stones Cty Out!" . (Photo by Ronalyn Olea)
Burgos said, "I am grateful to be given a chance to participate though in a small way because it has also strengthened the family who now is totally involved in the Desaperacidos. Whereas before, there were only two activists: my husband the late Jose Burgos, Jr. was himself an activist, and my son Jonas. There were only two before Jonas was abducted, now there is a whole family and a clan who are activists."
She said further, "I remember taking the witness stand and I was being questioned by the representative of the Office Solicitor General. And I remember saying something like, 'Why can't the soldiers understand that the only way to win people is to help them obtain justice. Now look what you have done to us. If you had two enemies before, then all of us are your enemies because of what you did.' And the representative of the OSG decided to stop questioning."
"So today, after that experience, I have adopted the admonition from the Sacred Scripture to be gentle as a dove but to be cunning as a serpent," she continued.
Burgos said, "How do I describe the victims, the families, the mothers? I see anger, I see hatred, I see anguish. Most of the time, I see dismay. We are given the run around."
"The sin of the others who were abducted and killed is the same as my son's sin and that is to care for others more than they care for themselves and to give their lives and what they can do for the country," she said.
Burgos said she sees forgiveness and purification. "One of the biggest blessings that a victim of an injustice can receive is support of non-victims. It has been more than a year, actually, one year, nine months and 19 days and a few hours since I last heard from my son Jonas."
"Yes we know that at the end of the day, I still don't have Jonas. Our dead will remain dead. Well, at least for the missing, we hope to be able to embrace them again," she said.
"And yet, we find a bright side there by the knowledge that you will stand side by side with us in our search and we'll continue for as long as we are here. We are emboldened to look forward to the next dawn. I remember a quotation that says it is darkest just before dawn and I hope that it is to be the dawn of our society. I know that you will be with us and the dawn will be beautiful," Burgos added.
She praised the Philippine UPR Watch team. "I saw how dedicated the team was. I saw how efficient the support method in the Philippines was. To say it accurately, I was edified by these people who could do so much under limited conditions and under threats and risks to life and limb," she said.
Burgos said, "I congratulate all those who have made this book Let the Stones Cry Out! Without you knowing of it, I keep on praying that you will be kept safe by the Creator of the stones so you can publish some more publications to bring the truth to a bigger audience and to be able to catalyze more people. On our part, we at the Desaperacidos will be as firm as a big boulder. We may be small pebbles crying out but together we will cry out with you and seek justice."
Much work to be done
In her solidarity message, Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Chairperson Leila de Lima said, "Much has been said about the efforts of the government to curb crimes of impunity. There remains so much dissatisfaction in the outcome of investigations. Many people remain missing, remain unvindicated. Many fathers and mothers still do not know where their children are held, or their fate. Husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, many colleagues remain without having attained justice."
She continued, "But to understand the breadth of the violation against victims is to call all of us to action. If we have called out the government on these crimes, it is only because we have called on ourselves to address the same. The efforts of the religious communities and civil society, of every upstanding citizen, must continue – not because we cannot rely on the government – but because we have no choice but to uphold the values that comprise our faith and our society."
De Lima congratulated the NCCP for the launch of Let the Stones Cry Out! She said, "Justice, as lofty and abstract as it may be, is for everyone and we all play a part in upholding it. It is not attained by some grandiose gesture, by government or otherwise. It is attained through the small efforts of everyone, crossing boundaries of secularism and sectarianism, rich and poor, educated and uneducated. The quest for justice, the quest to quell extralegal killings, the quest to find the missing, the quest to attain vindication for those who have died, continues… and our unfailing contributions must continue."
De Lima said, "On the part of the CHR…we continue to struggle, as there is much, much more to be done in the fulfillment of our protection mandate."
"On a personal level, and as I undertake my own struggles as CHR chairperson, I have validated, what I've always believed- It's more difficult to fight your own battles from within," she added.
Co-journeyer
Rev. Chris Fergusson, World Council of Churches (WCC) representative to the UN of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, said, "I am standing in a room filled with people who refused to allow God to be appalled, who refused to allow God's own creation to be sullen by silence or inaction."
The WCC provided huge support to the NCCP's advocacy for human rights and justice, Reyes said.
Fergusson recited some verses of Isaiah, Chapter 59. "Justice has turned back. Righteousness stands at a distance. Truth stumbles …and whoever turns from evil is themselves despoiled. The Lord God is displeased that there was no justice and God was so appalled that there was no one to intervene."
He said, "To imagine with Isaiah the sole call to do justice is the center of our faith but more than that there's a second point that in the face of injustice what truly appalled God, the greatest call for the revulsion of the Divine is when no one stand up to say no to the injustice."
Fergussson continued, "…[W]e also came to understand through your witness an analysis and understanding that you are on the quagmire of the second front of the war on terror, that you carry the burden for the expansion of a project, a system for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the very many."
He said that those who are called to defend the people can see the impact of the said war on terror on peasants, workers, fisherfolk and indigenous people. He said that those who could stand up for these sectors of the Philippine society were the very ones that were targeted. Those were the people under list of battle, they were under watch list, he said.
"We therefore realize in the WCC that we have double responsibility because we are faced with a situation that wasn't only calling on local government to account but having to put this accountability in terms of the discredited but growing war on terror led by a rogue empire," Fergusson said.
"We thank you for the opportunity you gave us – to walk with you in our prophetic witness where we understood not just the accountability of the government killing its own people but that was part of our need to struggle against the empire hosting a project in the name of war on terror for economic and political benefits," he said.
"We give thanks to the … all of those who gave their lives for justice and for all those who continue to give their lives so that the world will know that another world is possible with freedom and justice for all," Fergusson said.(Bulatlat.com)

NCCP Statement on the abduction of Ptr. Edwin Egar

On the Abduction of Pastor Edwin Egar

Last night, at around 7:00, we received a barrage of text messages informing us that Pastor Edwin Egar of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) has been abducted by armed men in Macalamcam, Rosario, Batangas. We immediately asked our sisters and brothers in the UCCP how we can help. They informed us that there are already efforts to locate him. A little later, we were relieved to find out that he was released and is safe.

Pastor Egar is part of the NCCP family. He used to be the Regional Coordinator of our Human Rights Program in South Luzon from 2003-2004. After that he was a volunteer staff of the Relief and Rehabilitation Program and was our constant companion in the rehabilitation efforts of disaster stricken communities in Luzon. He was still actively involved in our Relief and Rehabilitation Program when he was tagged as part of the 72 people in Southern Tagalog who were included in the fabricated charges for crimes of murder, arson and conspiracy to commit rebellion. The ST 72 is the collective name for these church people, lawyers, human rights workers and leaders of people?s organizations. Included in the list with Pastor Egar is Pastor Mel Abesamis of the United Methodist Church (UMC). Some persons in the list who were arrested like labor lawyer Remigio Saladero Jr., a member of the Pro-Labor Legal Assistance Center, and his companions, were released and the case against them were quashed.

It is rather unfortunate that an incident like this had to happen. It is clearly an act of harassment. This shows that the impunity of human rights violations under the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo continues without let-up. Worse, it has used the legal system for counterinsurgency purposes. The NCCP believes that the government must scrap its counter insurgency program that has targeted not only armed rebels but also unarmed civilians. It must return to the negotiating table to talk peace instead.

Pastor Edwin Egar is with us today because of the vigilance of his family, friends and co-workers. We thank God for this even as we continue the advocacy for human rights and the protection of civil liberties.

February 12, 2009

A STATEMENT ON THE HUMAN SECURITY ACT

The Human Security Act (HSA) is based on the notion that "the State must be held above all else. The State must wield absolute power, using everything to control the territory and population of a country." It must protect itself at all costs even at the cost of its own citizens. Thus, anything and anyone, that threatens national interests in the eyes of the present dispensation is deemed as a foe, a terrorist, "an enemy of the state".

With the HSA, the State has set itself up as the absolute power that determines what course people's lives will take by putting forward a very vague definition of terrorism. By so doing, the State has usurped the functions that rightfully belong to God. By playing God, the State commits the highest form of sacrilege.

The Human Security Act will surely result in many human rights violations as its provisions curtail basic freedoms that run counter to our Constitution; it basically presumes guilt unless proven innocent; it purportedly protects the interests of the state, and hence the people, from terrorists but it actually legitimizes terrorism – state terrorism. It demands full obedience and subservience from its constituents. We must recall why Jesus was crucified, why heroes and heroines died and why many human rights defenders today are being silenced. That is because they would not toe the political line of the powers and principalities. And because they refuse to be subservient, they are labeled as "subversives". The State must rid its territory of subversives or terrorists.

The Human Security Act is a travesty against the sacred tenet of freedom that God bestowed on people. Thus, to accept the Human Security Act is to defy the will of God. The Human Security Act must be reviewed by our lawmakers in order for the law to really safeguard the security of human beings. But because HSA is contextually infirm and is prone to abuse by repressive government authorities, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) calls for the repeal of RA 9372.

MS. SHARON ROSE JOY RUIZ-DUREMDES
General Secretary - NCCP

THE MOST REV. IGNACIO C. SOLIBA
Prime Bishop – Episcopal Church in the Philippines
Chairperson – NCCP

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On The Human Security Act

We are all for the pursuit of peace and we condemn terrorism as a glaring obstacle to peace.

Republic Act No. 9372, dubbed as Human Security Act of 2007, signed into a law by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on March 6, 2007, is to take effect two months after the elections of May 14.

Many voices are apprehensive about this law on the basis of constitutionality and provisions that may legalize objectionable methods of fighting and quelling opposition to the obtaining government. Hence there are calls for bringing the Human Security Act to the Supreme Court for review and for studying and discussing further this law in its contents and repercussions. Some sections have caused lawyers and others to question the effectiveness of this law such as:

• The definition of terrorism in Section 3 is broad and dangerous. It may serve and create a condition of widespread panic.

• Section 26 allows house arrest despite the posting of bail, prohibits the right to travel and to communicate with others.

• Provision for seizure of assets in Section 39 and surveillance or wiretapping of suspects in Section 7, investigation of bank deposits and other assets in Section 28 – raise up many eyebrows of lawyers and others.

Since we as pastors have to look more into the morality of this law and make a pronouncement in that level, we feel that the atmosphere created by this law and its impending implementations calls on us to appeal to those concerned to review this law so that in consultation and dialogue we may have a law that is truly relevant in promoting the security of the nation and in the pursuit of authentic peace.

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines:
+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, D.D.
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President
July 8, 2007
http://www.cbcponline.net/statements/humansecurity.html

Failure to Prosecute, Lack of Witness Protection Leads to Official Impunity

Click here for the full HRW report

(New York, June 28, 2007) – The Philippine government should aggressively prosecute members of the security forces responsible for hundreds of extrajudicial executions in recent years, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.

The 84-page report, “Scared Silent: Impunity for Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines,” based on more than 100 interviews, details the involvement of government security forces in the murder or “disappearance” of members of leftist political parties and nongovernmental organizations, journalists, outspoken clergy, anti-mining activists, and agricultural reform activists. To date there have been no successful prosecutions of any member of the armed forces implicated in recent extrajudicial killings.

“There is strong evidence of a ‘dirty war’ by the armed forces against left-leaning activists and journalists,” said Sophie Richardson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The failure to prosecute soldiers or police suspected in these killings shifts the spotlight of responsibility to the highest levels of the government.”

While abuses have been common in the decades-long armed conflict between the government and the communist New People’s Army (NPA), unlawful killings appeared to shift into a higher gear in February 2006, after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo accused leftist political parties of allying themselves with military coup plotters. In June 2006, Arroyo declared a new strategy of an “all-out war” to eliminate the NPA, which may have sent a signal to the military that abuses would be tolerated. The NPA also continues to commit human rights abuses, including kidnapping and unlawful killings, which Human Rights Watch also condemned. But such abuses by insurgents do not justify the military or the government committing further human rights violations through extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of any person, including members of political groups and civil society organizations that are sympathetic to the insurgents’ cause.

Most of the victims of the political killings documented by Human Rights Watch were members of legal political parties or organizations that the military claims are allied with the communist movement. None of the incidents investigated by Human Rights Watch involved anyone who was participating in an armed encounter with the military or was otherwise involved in NPA military operations. Each victim appears to have been individually targeted for killing.

Three motorcycle-riding gunmen shot and killed Sotero Llamas, the former Bicol region commander of the NPA, while he was riding in his car on the morning of May 29, 2006, through his home town of Tabaco City, in Albay province. Llamas, who had been imprisoned in 1995 for his membership in the NPA, was released in 1996, became a consultant to the peace process, and then became a founding member of the political party Bayan Muna. In February 2006, Llamas was one of the 51 people whom the police accused of rebellion and insurrection and being involved in the conspiracy to overthrow the Arroyo administration. A judge dismissed the charges, but state prosecutors subsequently re-filed the case, which was still pending at the time of his death.

Three eyewitnesses currently in hiding told Human Rights Watch of the involvement of soldiers in the death of Pastor Andy Pawikan, a member of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, on May 21, 2006. Pawikan, his wife, his 7-month-old daughter and three other women were walking home from church when they were stopped by a group of about 20 soldiers. The women, including Pawikan’s wife, were allowed to proceed but the soldiers detained Pawikan, who was carrying the baby. After about 30 minutes, those who had just been with Pawikan heard “many” shots. They were too afraid to investigate. After some time a group of soldiers came and returned the child to Pawikan’s mother-in-law. The baby was covered in blood but otherwise uninjured. The next day soldiers from the locally based 48th Infantry Battalion told the villagers Pawikan had fought the soldiers and they had no choice but to shoot him.

Human Rights Watch also found that the Philippines government is consistently failing in its obligations under international human rights law to hold accountable perpetrators of politically motivated killings, and thus denying victims’ families justice. One apparent roadblock to prosecutions is the seeming unwillingness of senior military officials to even recognize that superior commanders may be legally responsible for acts of their subordinates as a matter of command responsibility. Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. told the media, “Criminal acts only involve the individual.”

The Philippine national police also frequently labels cases “solved” when a suspect has been identified and charges have been filed before the prosecutor or the court, even if the evidence and allegations are so uncertain as to raise significant doubts that a viable case could ever be pursued. The alleged perpetrator is very rarely in custody and in many cases is not even capable of being apprehended. Families told Human Rights Watch that they received little or no information from the police about the state of investigations, and that the police showed almost no concern as to whether the victim’s family still has unanswered questions or concerns. One widow said: “We’ve had no contact [with the police] since the killing …. That’s why we don’t trust them. Because it’s been almost two months, and the investigation doesn’t seem resolved.”

“The armed forces serve the civilian authority, but the government isn’t exercising that authority when it matters most – in protecting civilians,” said Richardson. “The victims and their families deserve better from their government.”

In response to growing international pressure, in August 2006 President Arroyo created a special police body, Task Force Usig, which she charged with solving 10 cases in 10 weeks. At the end of its mandate the Task Force claimed that 21 cases were “solved” by filing cases in court against identified suspects, all of them members of the Communist Party of the Philippines or the NPA. Only 12 suspects involved in these incidents were actually in police custody.

In August 2006, President Arroyo also created the Melo Commission to further probe the killings of media workers and left-wing activists since 2001. The commission’s report, which was only made public under pressure from United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions Philip Alston, failed to provide any new information or analysis on the cases. At the commission’s hearings, army and police officials were not challenged when they advanced distorted understandings of command responsibility, and were instead indulged in lengthy digressions on the importance of neutralizing the NPA threat. The Melo Commission’s mandate expires on June 30, 2007.

Human Rights Watch said that while the government claims that it is doing all it can to address abuses, it has taken few concrete steps to end the killings or prosecute perpetrators. On paper, the Philippines has a witness protection scheme, special courts to investigate political killings, and a variety of government taskforces and commissions investigating extrajudicial executions, but the government is failing to implement these measures in a credible or convincing manner. This generates widespread fear, particularly in affected rural communities, of further military abuses. Witnesses and family members of victims are afraid to cooperate with police for fear of becoming targets of reprisal.

Human Rights Watch called on the Philippine government to immediately issue an executive order to the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippines National Police reiterating the prohibition on the extrajudicial killing of any person. In addition, Human Rights Watch has urged the United States to consider suspending military aid to the Philippines until members of the military suspected of involvement in murders have been prosecuted.

“Actions speak louder than words, and the only real proof of the government’s commitment to end these killings will be when the perpetrators are finally held to account in a court of law,” said Richardson. “Until the Arroyo administration, the army and police act on their obligations to investigate crimes and prosecute the perpetrators, even when they are members of the security forces, people will continue to get away with murder in the Philippines.”

Selected statements from “Scared Silent: Impunity for Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines”:

“At the moment I’m receiving texts saying someone will follow members of the family. I don’t know if it’s a threat or a warning. He says in some of the texts that he knows who killed my father and that I should go talk to him. I don’t know who he is. I just have his number… [I’ve received around] twenty. Saying things like ‘Don’t investigate or we’ll get your family.’”

– Marilyn Llamas, September 21, 2006

“[One witness] has already disappeared. The other witnesses are afraid of the situation here. They are afraid that the perpetrators will begin to kill them also, because they were [warned] by the perpetrators that they will come back and kill them if they talk about the incident … I am afraid that their families will also be killed if they stand up regarding the incident …. If I push the case I’m afraid of what might happen to [me and my family]. So I’m not quite sure if I’ll pursue the case or not.”

– Maria Balani (not her real name), date withheld, 2006

“After the internment of my sister, the police investigators invited me to come talk to them … Okay, I went. They asked me for my statement, so I gave them the same statement I’m giving you now. But I noticed that the investigator did not write down my statement … They did nothing.”

– Human Rights Watch interview with Maria Fabicon (not her real name), date withheld, 2006.


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URL to article: http://pinoypress.net/2007/06/28/philippines-prosecute-political-killings/

Gov't hit for 'wasting' EU aid

By Michaela P. del Callar
06/15/2007, Tribune Online With AFP

A German diplomat yesterday criticized the Philippine government for apparently wasting the financial aid being given it by the European Union (EU) to help lick its human rights problem with its alleged failure to implement measures aimed at addressing the spate of killings of local journalists and murders and disappearances of local activists.

In a press conference, Germany Deputy Chief of Mission to the Philippines Rolf Saligmann said the EU's continued provision of assistance to the Philippines is of no use if its government does not show will in addressing its human rights problem.

As he recognized some of the steps the Philippine government has adopted to tackle the issue, Saligmann said there still seems to be an "implementation deficit" of those measures.

He added it appears that in the first place a "recognition of the problem is not there."

"What are the real reasons why the programs on the killings have not been fully implemented?...The main problem seems to be the implementation of the measures against these recognized negative facts," he told reporters.

"There are 99 (special) courts (on the killings in the Philippines), okay. But the question is, how can it be effective? We have to think about that...There are many initiatives but the implementation is the main point," he further said.

The EU's top diplomat to the Philippines, Ambassador Alistair MacDonald, also scored the Philippine government's failure to stem the spate of killings of local journalists and activists.

"The fact remains that the killings have continued and that prosecutions and convictions are relatively small," MacDonald, head of the Delegation of the European Commission (EC), told the same press conference.

The EU, through the EC, the union's executive body, has been very vocal in denouncing the unresolved and unabated political killings in the Philippines.

The two European officials announced that on June 18, a team of six experts from the EU will start a 10-day mission to the Philippines to evaluate needs and identify technical assistance that the EU might provide to help Manila prosecute those behind the killings.

MacDonald said the EU Needs Assessment Mission comes in response to an official request by the Philippine government for technical assistance in areas such as the establishment of special court and training of judges and special prosecutors.

He said Manila also requested assistance on how to strengthen its witness protection program, building the government's technical and forensic capacity to investigate cases, and raising human rights awareness within the military and police.

He, however, stressed that the mission is "not an investigating nor a fact-finding team," but in the course of their mission they would meet with local human rights groups, church leaders and non-government organizations.

"That is the sole responsibility of the Philippine government. Instead, the experts will be working with the Philippine authorities and civil society to identify areas where EU technical assistance, training and advice on such matters could be most useful," MacDonald said.

He added the sending of the mission reflects the concern of the EU with respect to human rights, as well as the Union's willingness to assist Manila in its efforts to protect the lives of its citizens "by expeditiously and effectively investigating these incidents and bringing the perpetrators to justice."

According to Macdonald, the team of EU experts has a mixed profile covering a broad range of areas, including investigative techniques, forensic science, human rights and humanitarian law.

He said the experts will come from Finland, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom as well as from the EC.

They will be holding technical meetings with officials from a wide range of concerned institutions and agencies such as the Office of the President, the Supreme Court, the Commission on Human Rights, the Presidential Human Rights Committee, Department of Foreign Affairs, Justice, National Defense, Interior and Local Government, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency.

They will also hold meetings with civil society representatives and with interested international partners.

MacDonald said the EU experts will be traveling to Central Luzon and hold discussions with government and law enforcement officials and human rights representatives. The mission will end on June 28.

"Building on these discussions and the careful analysis of ideas gathered during its stay, the mission will make recommendationsto the EU and its member states regarding possible future technical assistance which the EU could provide in this field," he said.

Meanwhile, President Arroyo met with media groups yesterday and gave an understanding that she will end the spate of journalist killings in the country.

At the meeting, Mrs. Arroyo said she would take up the recommendation of the journalists to have "a special prosecution team" to handle media killings, and called for a regular meeting every three months between journalist groups and government security agencies.

The heads of the military, police and the Justice Department were at the meeting along with the representatives of various associations of local journalists and foreign correspondents.

"We must improve the coordination and cooperation between media organizations, the military, police and the Department of Justice with a meeting every three months," Mrs. Arroyo said, adding the next meeting would be in September.

She conceded that "we have a sorry history in our nation for political violence. We aim to break this cycle of violence once and for all."

The meeting was called amid a spate of unsolved killings of journalists since Mrs. Arroyo came to power.

International media watchdog organizations such as Reporters Without Borders and the International Press Institute have labeled the Philippines as the most dangerous place for news professionals next to Iraq.

At least two journalists were killed this year and 12 murdered in the course of their work last year, the local National Union of Journalists said.

Critics alleged security forces were behind some of the killings.

Mrs. Arroyo said she believed "99 percent of military and policemen and women are good, outstanding and loyal patriots fighting to protect our country everyday."

Bishop Calang on abductions: 'We cannot allow the tragedy of silence to continue to befall us'

June 8, 2007 | 11:41 am

Three Peoples, One Against Repression Coalition
Press Statement
June 7, 2007

Surface Gilbert Rey Cardiño now!

It is ironic that the abduction of Gilbert Rey Cardiño, Bayan Muna coordinator of Socsksargen, happened after the observance of the International Week of the Disappeared (May 26 to June 1).

Jing, as friends would call him, was abducted around 10 in the morning of June 6 in Koronadal City, South Cotabato. Reports from the group Karapatan said that witnesses saw five men dragged Cardiño into a white L-300 van with no license plate. Witnesses said the men were well-built and trimmed-hair; and one was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt with "police" printed in the back.

Jing is 27 years old, and still at the prime of his life committed to service for the people. He is in fact, the youngest council member of the Bayan Muna national council.

More than the irony of Cardiño's fate is the tragedy that befell not only on him and his family, but for the nation as well. For this tells of the horrible state of human rights and the repression of political rights in the country.

A total of 198 persons have disappeared since 2001, the year Gloria Arroyo assumed power. The disappeared are not only activists, but they include peasants, Moro people, and the poor who have been victims of the state's counter-insurgency and anti-terror campaigns.

This includes the couple Nelly and Federico Intise who were last seen on October 23, 2006 in General Santos City, which is an hour's ride away from Koronadal where Cardiño was abducted.

This also includes Rahman Camile and Sabdurah Ala, Moro people who were abducted right from their homes by armed men in the height of the state's anti-terror drives.

The main culprit here is the government's campaign that is Operation Bantay Laya, an operation that "neutralizes" party lists and activists in the cities and provinces in their claim that these are communist fronts. The operations consist of surveillance, interrogations, psychological operations, propaganda, enforced disappearances and summary executions.

It clearly includes silencing the people. And that is the most telling part, where the state forces decide to take matters upon themselves and play judge, jury and executioner. It is doing so with impunity, without fear of accountability, and in full view of the international community that has repeatedly condemned the country's darkening human rights record.

We cannot allow the tragedy of silence to continue to befall us. Accountability must be made by the government for the spate of disappearances. Ultimate accountability rests on President Arroyo who, until now, has not shown any decisiveness in curbing the spate of killings and enforced disappearances. The continued refusal of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to appear before the Commission on Human Rights hearings on the disappearance of Jonas Burgos bodes ill for the principle of civilian supremacy over the military. That Gilbert Rey Cardiño has now disappeared in the midst of the still-unsolved Burgos abduction is sheer impunity.

The right to life must be upheld. We condemn the abduction of Gilbert Rey Cardiño. We demand government to surface him and return him to his waiting family, relatives, and colleagues, NOW!

Bishop Felixberto Calang
Convenor
Cell #09189294244

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Last updated 06:47am (Mla time) 06/08/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- Militant party-list groups Bayan Muna, Kabataan, Anakpawis, Gabriela and Suara Bangsamoro filed on Wednesday two more cases of electoral sabotage against the provincial canvassers of Kalinga and Zamboanga del Sur, who were allegedly involved in vote-padding and -shaving.

Electoral sabotage is a new election offense defined by Section 42 of Republic Act No. 9369 and Section 58 of Resolution No. 7859 of the Commission on Elections.
Under RA No. 9369, electoral sabotage includes acts committed by canvassers who tamper, increase or decrease the votes received by a candidate in any election. The penalty is life imprisonment.

The complainants detailed cases of vote-padding in several towns, which they said were made by adding extra digits to the number of votes, thus increasing the actual voter turnout.

For Kalinga, the members of the Provincial Boards of Canvassers (PBOC) who were charged were Ricardo Lampac, chair; Bartolome Gamonnac, vice chair; and Cesar Adaoag, secretary.

Bayan Muna counsel Neri Colmenares accused Lampac of tampering with the Certificate of Canvass (CoC) that shaved the votes of Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Gabriela and Kabataan in Kalinga.

In the provincial CoC, Bayan Muna got 4,310, Anakpawis 1805, Kabataaan 2,331 and Gabriela 2,571 votes in the entire Kalinga.

But in the CoC for Tabuk, Bayan Muna got 9,272, Anakpawis 1,078, Kabataan 2,824, and Gabriela 4,973 votes, respectively.

Disappearance

The complaint also noted that Lampac disappeared for unexplained reasons and that it took five days for the CoC to be delivered to the Comelec sitting as the National Board of Canvassers.

In the other complaint, Zamboanga PBOC chair Ignacio Baya, vice chair Victoriano Gonzaga and secretary Visminda Serrato, as well as tabulators Cleofela Rapisura and Wilfred Pulido were charged with violating the same laws for vote-padding in practically the whole province.

Anakpawis counsel Jobert Pahilga said that in the municipalities of Molave, Tabina, Midsalip, Josefina, Lapuyan, and Ramon Magsaysay, the votes of party-list groups Aangat Tayo, Ahonbayan, ARC, Amin, Alif, A-Smile, Buhay, Coop-Natco, Kakusa and Uni-Mad were padded.

The provincial CoC and Statement of Votes (SoV), when compared with the municipal CoC of each and every municipality, showed a discrepancy of 180,644 votes.

'Will of the people'

Pahilga said Bayan Muna votes were actually padded by about 4,000 in Zamboanga del Sur but the complainants still pursued the case "to punish those who sabotage the will of the people."

The complainants, in their joint statement, said the respondents had the duty not to alter the SoVs without following the procedure outlined by law or Comelec rules.
"They are responsible for ensuring that these SOVs are not tampered with by others," they said.

They said that only members of the canvass committee and its tabulators or members of the PBOCs could have been responsible for the tampering of votes in the SoV of each municipality because the SoV could have only been tampered with when it was under their custody.

The militant party-list groups filed a similar case against the Zamboanga Sibugay PBOC and the Caloocan City BOC late last month.

Colmenares and Pahilga said the padding of votes increased the threshold 2-percent of the votes for the party-list system, making it difficult for the party-list groups, especially the smaller ones such as Suara and Kabataan, to get a seat in the House of Representatives.

Military is suspected in murder of the innocent

HONG KONG (Agencies) : The almost unrecognisable body of Richard Sarillo was found with a bullet wound in the head near his home in Sitio Coyaoyao on May 5, after 50 members of the 11th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine army had conducted an operation in Isabela and Magallon (Moises Padilla), according to a report issued by the Hong Kong-based human rights watchdog, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC).

It was reported that Sarillo had been instructed to evacuate his livestock. Sarillo's father-in-law, Benjamin Gelongga, and wife's cousin, Bobby Quilo, were also found dead inside a hut where they were staying during a remote land cleanup farming operation. Both bodies had gunshot and stab wounds.

Soldiers took the bodies to Isabela where they presented them to the media as casualties of the encounter, and their commander, a lieutenant colonel, Jess Managquil, claimed they had been killed in the encounter. Over 1,000 people from three upland villages had been forced to evacuate their homes due to the fighting and take refuge in churches, schools and chapels. One of them, 82-year-old Sotero Abordo, died in a refuge centre in Sitio Minuro Flores due to lack of medical treatment. The three victims were all members of the nationwide Barangay Inulingan Farmers Association, which is affiliated with the Peasant Movement of The Philipines (Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas).

AHRC says that according to information received from the Alliance for the hut where they were sheltering and opened fire, killing Quillano's son, Dan-Dan, instantly. Others in the hut ran, but were pursued. Dan-Dan's mother was apprehended and dragged back to the hut, where eye-witnesses say she was beaten while being questioned and then bashed on the head repeatedly until she died. The same witnesses said that Quillano's body had been mutilated and that his and his mother's body were mixed together with a pig's carcass and burned.

The military later issued a report to the media claiming they had overrun a rebel camp in Barangay Caromata, where Dan-Dan and his mother were killed. They said they were victims.

No official investigation into the incidents has been announced.