Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Vol. IV, No. 30 August 29 - September 4, 2004 Quezon City, Philippines |
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH14
HR workers killed under the Macapagal-Arroyo government
|
Eden Marcellana (left) and Benjaline Hernandez
(right): |
“Never
in the history of human rights advocacy in the Philippines had this
happened, only during (Pres. Gloria) Macapagal-Arroyo’s term,” said
Girlie Padilla, acting secretary general of the Ecumenical Movement for
Justice and Peace (EMJP), a nationwide organization of advocates of peace
based on justice. Padilla
was referring to the 14 human rights workers killed under the
three-and-a-half year Macapagal-Arroyo administration, which she described
as “unprecedented.” EMJP is a member organization of Karapatan
(Rights), an alliance of organizations, groups, and individuals committed
to the advancement of people’s rights. |
She
also said that even during the martial law, the death toll of HR workers
did not reach this high.
The
killings, Padilla added, show the administration’s propensity to violate
human rights, its intolerance to criticism and opposition, and its
undeclared policy of targeting the legal democratic movement, including
human rights workers. She said that most of the victims were killed near their
houses, except for Eden Marcellana and Benjaline Hernandez who,
ironically, were murdered while conducting investigations of reported
violations of human rights.
Karapatan
paid tribute to volunteers who were killed in the course of human rights
advocacy during its 2nd National Congress and 9th
Anniversary held at Tagaytay City from Aug. 17-20. (Please see table
below) The families, relatives, and friends of slain HR workers were
present to show their continuing support to the cause of human rights
advocacy.
Marcellana,
together with four others, was abducted in Maibon, Naujan on April 21,
2003. She was part of an
11-member quick reaction team (QRT) tasked to investigate the cases of
abduction and killings in Gloria and Pinamalayan towns in Oriental Mindoro.
On their way back to Calapan City, a group of some 20 bonnet-clad armed men riding a private jeep and motorcycles blocked their path. The armed men asked who among them is Marcellana. When one of their companions, Christine de la Cruz, denied that Marcellana was among them, she was slapped. Marcellana presented herself and she, Eddie Gumanoy, Virgilio Catoy “King” II, Melvin Jocson and Francisco Saez were forced into the jeep.
Gumanoy
was the chairperson of the regional peasant alliance Katipunan ng Samahang
Magbubukid sa Timog Katagalugan or Kasama-TK (Federation of Peasant
Associations in Southern Tagalog), Jocson and Saez are provincial
coordinators of the party-list Anakpawis (Toiling Masses), and Catoy is a
videographer of ST Exposure, an audio-visual group and Cultural Center of
the Philippines-awardee.
According
to Catoy’s affidavit, the suspects took them along a rough and uphill
dirt road. One by one, the three were dropped off leaving only Marcellana
and Gumanoy.
The
bodies of Marcellana and Gumanoy were found mid-morning April 22 in Bansud,
less than 24 hours after they were abducted. Marcellana’s head was
smashed beyond recognition and her nape bore two adjacent holes the size
of an icepick. She was hogtied and showed signs of torture.
Marcellana
was the 28th victim of summary execution in the province of
Oriental Mindoro under the Macapagal-Arroyo government. Witnesses point to
the “Bonnet Gang,” a paramilitary group linked with the Philippine
Army’s 204th Infantry Battalion of which then Col. Jovito Palparan Jr.
was the commanding officer. Palparan named in August 2002 organizations
like Karapatan, Gabriela, and Bayan Muna party-list as New People’s Army
(NPA) “recruiters and communist fronts.”
Palparan
was also implicated in the abduction and torture of peasant organizers and
other activists in Laguna,
Rizal and provinces in Central Luzon. He is included in the
Karapatan’s initial list of notorious human rights violations
perpetrators. The initial list contained 43 soldiers allegedly involved in
the human rights violations. Their names were submitted by human rights
organizations based in the provinces.
Among the most prominent cases in the Mindoro killings were those of Expedito and Manuela Albarillo; Ruben, Rodriga, and Niña Angela Apolinar; and Edilberto Napoles. Photos used for broadcast journalist Maki Pulido’s “I-Witness” documentary on the Mindoro killings, showed the victims’ faces mutilated. For example, one of the eyes of Manuela Albarillo was missing.
Karapatan,
along with other victims’ family members and relatives have filed cases
against the alleged perpetrators before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR),
Department of Justice (DoJ) and other government agencies in the provinces
and regions where these violations were committed. However, none of the
suspects was penalized.
Padilla
said that alleged military perpetrators were only reassigned to other
positions and in other places but not punished. Worse, the AFP’s main
man in Oriental Mindoro, Col. Jovito Palparan, was even promoted, she
said.
Palparan
was promoted by Macapagal-Arroyo to brigadier general despite complaints
of military abuses leveled against him. He was assigned as the commanding
officer of the Philippine peacekeeping force in Iraq in spite of protests
from human rights groups and legislators questioning his appointment.
Palparan, together with peacekeeping team, returned to the country on July
19 after Iraqi militants threatened to behead OFW Angelo dela Cruz.
Returning
from Iraq, Palparan was even appointed as the new chief of staff of the
Philippine Army.
Cases
were filed at the DoJ and CHR to investigate the Mindoro killings and stop
Palparan’s promotion. Several hearings to investigate the killing have
transpired at the House of Representatives. A fact-finding mission was
held in May 2003 and was joined by then Justice Undersecretary Jose Calida.
None of these, however, resulted in the arrest of the perpetrators.
Then
Department of Justice Undersecretary Merceditas Gutierrez presented the
government’s Human Rights report to the 79th session
of the United Nations Committee on Human Rights (UNCHR) held Oct.
21-Nov. 7, 2003 at the Palais de Wilson in Geneva, Switzerland.
Observers
noted the 226-page long Philippine report was long on rhetoric and short
on actual performance. The continuing impunity of perpetrators of human
rights violations, the accounts of torture, the government list of
terrorist acts which it said may infringe on human rights, and the
violations of the rights and welfare of women and children, and workers
were some of the concerns raised by some UNCHR members.
Filipino
human rights activists present during the Geneva conference said that the
hall reverberated with the crowd’s applause when the committee members
chided the Philippine representatives. They were also scolded for
submitting its report late, which was due way back in 1998.
Marie
Hilao-Enriquez, Karapatan secretary general, belied Gutierrez’s
statements regarding the HR situation in the country during the
conference. According to her, Gutierrez lied when she claimed that the
Marcellana-Gumanoy case was already with the Regional Trial Court in
Calapan, Oriental Mindoro.
Karapatan
also presented a comprehensive report on the government's violations of
its commitment to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, and submitted recommendations for the promotion and protection of
the Filipino people's rights.
Karapatan-
Southern Tagalog is holding a series of protest actions condemning
Palparan’s recent promotion. The human rights watchdog also called on
the DoJ to revive the case filed against Palparan on the twin killings of
Marcellana and Gumanoy.
Dorris
Cuario, acting secretary general of Karapatan-Southern Tagalog, stressed
that at least 33 leaders and members of progressive organizations were
killed under Palparan’s term as commanding officer of the 204th
Battalion of the Philippine Army in Oriental Mindoro.
“The
killings prove that Macapagal-Arroyo’s butcher does not deserve any
promotion,” Cuario said.
The group said Palparan’s Army Chief position “will only give him more guts and power to continue committing human rights violations. His stint as chief of the Philippine Army will result in a mass grave of people struggling for their legitimate rights and freedom.”
Meanwhile,
such “disappointing” matters do not bother HR workers. “Despite the
increasing number of deaths, the worsening HR situation, and the
continuing impunity of (alleged) perpetrators, HR workers stand firm in
their commitment to fight for the people’s rights, “ Padilla said. Bulatlat
Human
Rights Workers Killed |
|||
HR
Worker |
Date
Killed |
Area
of Incident |
Alleged
Perpetrator/s |
Cenon
Magtipon |
13
July 2001 |
Zamboanga
del Norte |
elements
of the 5th IB PA Charlie Coy |
Milagros
Belga |
22
July 2001 |
Laguna |
2
CAFGU elements under the 5th SF Coy |
Felipe
Lapa |
25
Oct 2001 |
Laguna |
elements
of the Task Force Banahaw |
Crisanto
Amora |
5
Apr 2002 |
Cotabato |
elements
of the 12th SF Coy
of the 7th Airborne Battalion, PA |
Vivian
Andrade |
5
Apr 2002 |
Cotabato |
|
Benjaline
Hernandez |
5
Apr 2002 |
Cotabato |
|
Labaon
Sinunday |
5
Apr 2002 |
Cotabato |
|
Tirso
Ebuenga |
4
Dec 2002 |
Sorsogon |
elements
of the 2nd IB PA |
Mario
Estocado |
27
Dec 2002 |
Sorsogon |
elements
of the PA |
Rodolfo
Lamo |
29
Dec 2002 |
Sorsogon |
elements
of the PA |
Eden
Marcellana |
22
Apr 2003 |
Oriental
Mindoro |
elements
of the 204th IB |
Romeo
Malabanan |
23
Dec 2003 |
Laguna |
elements
of the PA |
Atty.
Juvy Magsino |
13
Feb 2004 |
Oriental
Mindoro |
elements
of the 204th IB |
Leima
Fortu |
13
Feb 2004 |
Oriental
Mindoro |
elements
of the 204th IB |
Source:
Karapatan
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