By RONALYN V. OLEA
“…the accused were afforded due process and were properly informed of the nature and cause of the accusations against them.” – Judge Teodora Gonzales

By RONALYN V. OLEA
“While the likes of Palparan and Reyes who have clear charges against them continue to roam freely, activists and ordinary people are being arrested and detained arbitrarily on trumped up criminal charges to conceal the political nature of their arrests and detention.” – Marie Hilao-Enriquez, Karapatan

By RONALYN V. OLEA
“We are watching very closely. The present administration must demonstrate that the Philippines has turned the page and a new chapter where freedom and justice prevail has begun.” – Beaconsfield United Church of Canada

By RONALYN V. OLEA
In a resolution released Dec. 15, a Department of Justice (DOJ) panel found probable cause to file charges against retired Major General Jovito Palparan and his men for the abduction of UP students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño, and farmer Manuel Merino.

By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com MANILA – One of the soldiers linked to the abduction of two University of the Philippines (UP) students and his counsel was a no-show at the Department of Justice (DOJ) hearing today. Staff Sgt. Edgardo L. Osorio did not appear at the DOJ hearing on the preliminary investigation on the [...]

By RONALYN V. OLEA
One of the alleged but still unnamed perpetrators had the gall and temerity to go to the hearing and display himself, intimidating and eyeing Ramos all throughout the hearing. He was openly thumbing his nose, as it were, at the whole justice system.” – Edre Olalia, lawyer

By Satur C. Ocampo At Ground Level | The Philippine Star Remember Jovito Palparan Jr., the notorious Philippine Army officer tagged by militant political activists as “The Butcher”? In 2007 the Melo Commission recommended Palparan’s investigation for extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and other human rights violations. Instead, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo personally presented him as a [...]

By RONALYN V. OLEA
A group of human-rights lawyers has vowed to take what it called a “legal offensive” to curb impunity and advance the cause of human rights in the Philippines.

Sidebar: Photo Contest Highlights Fight Vs. Impunity in Philippines

“The Philippine government is boasting that it is a signatory to the nine core conventions of the UN and yet, it violates these conventions,” Marie Hilao-Enriquez, chairwoman of Karapatan, said. By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com MANILA — The case of Benjaline “Beng” Hernandez is the second case where the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) [...]

By RONALYN V. OLEA
After the attempt on his brother-in-law’s life, peasant leader Dario Tomada fled to Luzon and took on different jobs to support his family back in Leyte. Five years later, he was arrested by soldiers for 15 counts of murder that allegedly took place in 1984 — when he was still peacefully tilling a small piece of land and was not involved in any organization.

NEWS RELEASE February 28, 2010 DAVAO CITY – Bayan Muna councilor bet for the 1st district Joel Virador hits the camp of retired Major General Jovito Palparan and ANAD Partylist Representative Jun Alcover for their continued vilification campaign against progressive partylist groups. Virador, Bayan Muna Vice President for Mindanao, said the groups represented by Palparan [...]