BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 11, April 20-26, 2008 The 44-man team led by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, who also chairs the Presidential Human Rights Committee (PHRC), to present the Philippine National Report (PNR) on the country’s human rights record before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in…
Tags: torture
Search Team for Two Missing Youths Denied Access to ‘Sacred Place,’ Padlocked Camps
On the second day of the five-day search for two missing youths Romulo Robiños and Ryan Supan in military camps, soldiers denied the families and rights groups entry to what the military calls a “sacred place,” a forested area beside the office of the Commanding General in Fort Magsaysay, headquarters of the 7th Infantry Division…
Torture Victim Identifies Military Officer as Captor During CA Hearing
Torture victim Raymond Manalo identified one of his captors, a military officer, in court during the continuation of the Cadapan-Empeño hearings at the Court of Appeals in Manila, Jan 18. BY DABET CASTAÑEDA Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 49, January 20-26, 2008 Torture victim Raymond Manalo identified one of his captors during the continuation of the…
2 Missing UP Students Tortured, Raped Inside Military Camp
By Dabet Castañeda HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH BULATLAT VOL. VII, No. 42, November 25- December 1, 2007 One year and five months after their abduction, a witness testified that he had actually seen and talked to Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño, the two scholars of the University of the Philippines (UP) who were abducted allegedly by…
Blood Trail: Tracing the Terror Behind the Torture
The clock struck twelve. The brothers snuck out of a safehouse in Pangasinan where they were allegedly detained by elements from the 24th Infantry Battalion and hurried towards the highway. Unlike their previous attempt to flee, this time they succeeded. Raymond and Reynaldo Manalo, two farmers from Bulacan, are among the few victims of enforced…
Escaped Desaparecidos Are Vital Witnesses vs Palparan
Brothers Raymund and Reynaldo Manalo who were given protection by the Supreme Court are not only victims of enforced disappearances who were lucky enough to survive, they are also vital witnesses against retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan. BY DABET CASTAÑEDA Bulatlat HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Vol. VII, No.29, August 26-September 1, 2007 As it turned out,…
Fecal Politics
The translation of feces from an abject source of embarrassment into a potential weapon of vengeance is perhaps the most telling instance of a kind of rebellion: the refashioning of the body from an object of captivity into an agent of its own liberation. Drawing upon its resources, the body fights back in ways difficult…
Ang Pag-unlad ng Sining ng mga Makata ay Salamin ng Karanasan ng Kanilang Audience
Ang pagiging written at spoken art ng tula ay makitid na dimension lamang ng pag-iral nito. Mas malawak ang hamon sa tula na makalampas pa sa mabusising pagkakasulat, mahusay na pagkakabigkas o kaiga-igayang pagkakatanghal, papunta sa pagtanggap ng mambabasa, na makakarinig at makakatunghay dito bilang sarili rin niyang karanasan. NI AXEL PINPIN* Inilathala ng Bulatlat…
2 Days of Torture Force Couple to Take Own Lives
For couple Librado and Martina Gallardo of Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija, the torture and the threats inflicted on them by soldiers of the 48th Infantry Battalion were so brutal they chose to commit suicide. Even the dead couple’s son, Jason, was beaten so bad for failing to produce the money and gun the soldiers insist that…
Two Treasure Hunters Tortured, Killed
The victims were almost unrecognizable as they lay at the funeral parlor. Some of their fingers were cut off and those that were not had chipped-off nails. They also sustained broken bones in different parts of the body and stab wounds in the stomach. Their bodies were literally black and blue all over. By DABET…
Pictures of Terror in Mindoro
Nineteen families fleeing their homes, a farmer missing, a number of residents picked up and reportedly tortured and human rights activists investigating the reports of violations robbed and harassed. These disturbing pictures came from Occidental Mindoro, showing – human rights volunteers say – an even clearer picture of government forces out to sow terror. By…