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Killing of farmers in Compostela Valley part of Oplan Bayanihan — Karapatan

ICHRP Secretariat
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Killing of farmers in Compostela Valley part of Oplan Bayanihan — Karapatan

 

http://www.karapatan.org/Killing+of+farmers+in+Campostela+Valley+part+of+Oplan+Bayanihan

“The killing of farmer Rolando Dagansan and his son Juda by the 66th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (IBPA) is not a simple accident. The killing is meant to send a chilling message to the residents that they are among the Armed Forces’ targets,” Cristina Palabay, Karapatan secretary general said.

Dagansan, 43, and his son,15-year old Juda, came from their farm in Kabityan, New Bataan, Compostela Valley when they were attacked by soldiers of the 66th IBPA Alpha company last October 12 at around 3:00 a.m. According to news reports, their bodies were badly disfigured with so many gunshot wounds, their heads were defaced while Rolando’s arm was cut off.

“It is hard to believe that the soldiers did not intend to kill the victims, considering the grave injuries inflicted on them which resulted to their deaths. This is not the first time either that the 66th IB has killed civilians,” Palabay said. She cited initial report by Karapatan-Southern Mindanao that Gregorio Galacio Sr. was also killed by the 66th IBPA in his house last July 19 in New Bataan town. “If it was an accident, the bodies of the Dagansans would not have been peppered by bullets,” Palabay said.

Karapatan condemned the killing of the Dagansans. “The extrajudicial killing is reduced to a mere common crime of homicide taking away the political motive of the incident,” Palabay said.

“We believe that the killing of the Dagansans is part of the Oplan Bayanihan, in the same way that the 215 incidents of extrajudicial killings and 213 cases of frustrated extrajudicial killings under Aquino are not accidents but planned operations to kill perceived supporters of the New People’s Army. Army General Eduardo Año and BS Aquino should also be held accountable to this killing and other human rights violations done in this region,” Palabay said.

Karapatan demanded “Justice for the Dagansans, justice for all victims of human rights violators.”

Reference:
Cristina “Tinay” Palabay
Secretary General
+63917-3162831

Angge Santos
Media Liaison
+63918-9790580

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PUBLIC INFORMATION DESK
publicinfo@karapatan.org
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Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights
2nd Flr. Erythrina Building
#1 Maaralin corner Matatag Streets
Central District, Diliman
Quezon City, PHILIPPINES 1101
Telefax: (+63 2) 4354146
Web: http://www.karapatan.org

KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties.  It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign. 

Justice for Jennifer Laude! US troops out of the Philippines and Asia Pacific!

ICHRP Secretariat
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Justice for Jennifer Laude! US troops out of the Philippines and Asia Pacific!
We, the concerned group of migrants in Italy and the Arcobaleno Metropolitani calls for the Philippine government to take concrete move, by ensuring justice, assert sovereignty and demand custody of Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton of the United States Marine Corps, the main suspect in the October 12 murder of Jennifer Laude, a 26-year old transgender woman.
Pvt. Pemberton is in the country, together with 3,500 more US marines and navy, for a two-week military exercise under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the US and Philippines.
Like Nicole and many more before her, Jennifer is another victim of the United States’ unending quest for military power in the country and the entire Asia Pacific and the Philippine government’s puppetry to imperialist power.

Arcobaleno Metropolitani is composed of concerned group of Italians, Umangat -Migrante Rome, Srilankans Liberation Front Rome and International Coalition for Human Rights and the Philippines ICHRP Rome Chapter.

For reference:
Buboy Salle                                 
Spokesperson, ICHRP Rome
+39 389 1352243

Murder most foul, pathetic mendicancy like no other

ICHRP Secretariat
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Murder most foul, pathetic mendicancy like no other

Jennifer Laude hate crime

We cannot perhaps add anything more to the universal condemnation and loud calls for justice for the grisly murder of Jennifer Laude. There is no legal nor moral justification for an apparent hate crime.

Yet the BS Aquino government is failing us again. It is not standing up for its own people despite the horrible beastly murder.  It is simply pathetic to grovel for custody of a suspect just to routinely bring him to justice.

You bellow grandiosely that you have legal jurisdiction over a suspect yet you peep with a whimper over a simple exercise of custody?

And the US is flouting all laws of decency and humanity for its own military interests. Shielding US Marine Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton is unmitigated callousness.

What if it were an American transgender and a Filipino soldier? The latter would be instantly renditioned by the US and thrown overboard from the docks.

The nexus with scandalously one-sided “agreements” that institutionalize and legalize what are essentially master-slave arrangements like the so-called Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) on the one hand, and transgressions against our sovereignty, our laws, our environment, our dignity as a people and as human beings is patent as it is overt, on the other hand.

From Subic to Tubbataha, from Smith to Pemberton: it is one straight path to subservience and docility sanctified by legal gobbledygook and discombobulated by legal hermeneutics.

We told you so. These and other outrageous things are bound to happen. And will happen again.

But we will tell you again and again and again and again. Until lowly life forms camouflaged in elegant uniforms are brought to us for reckoning. Until you respect us as a people. Until you treat us as human beings.

Reference:
Edre U. Olalia
NUPL Secretary General
+639175113373

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National Secretariat
National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL)
3F Erythrina Building
Maaralin corner Matatag Streets
Central District,Quezon City, Philippines
Telefax no.920-6660
Email addresses: nupl2007@gmail.com
and nuplphilippines@yahoo.com

Follow us on twitter @nuplphilippines and facebook @https://www.facebook.com/nuplphilippines
Visit the NUPL website at http://www.nupl.net/

Poorest Congressman victim of police abuse, confirms abuses in Hacienda Luisita

ICHRP Secretariat
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Poorest Congressman victim of police abuse, confirms abuses in Hacienda Luisita
The Philippine’s poorest member of the House of Representatives, Anakpawis Rep. Fernando Hicap claimed he himself became an actual victim of abuse inside Hacienda Luisita ironically while attending an investigative mission on September 17 of last year to look into reported cases of harassment against farm workers related to the alleged aggressive land grabbing efforts of the Tarlac Dev’t Corp (Tadeco) and the “raffle-style” land distribution of the Dept. of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

“Mapapaisip ka talaga kung ano ang ibig sabihin ng mga opisyales ng Malacanang na patunayan ang mga pang-aabuso sa Hacienda Luisita na ako na nga na congressman ay hinuli pa ng mga lokal na pulis,” [It is really puzzling what Malacanang officials meant by proving it (abuses in Hacienda Luisita) when I, myself, a member of Congress was even arrested by the local police.] Hicap said.

Hicap was arrested, together with 10 others (including his legislative staff and aide and an Australian land reform advocate nun), when they were gathering data about how DAR officials implemented the cloa distribution and the alleged land grabbing by Tadeco, a firm controlled by the Cojuangco-Aquino family.  The activity was led by the Alyansa ng Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala), Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (Uma) and other farmers organization.

“Kahit nagpakilala na ako ay isang congressman, hindi nila ako iginalang at hinuli pa rin nila ako, kasunod nito, nagpahayag silang inimbitahan daw ako for questioning pero hindi iyon imbitasyon dahil pwersahan nila akong dinala sa presinto, naka-dalawang araw rin ako sa loob, ” [Though I introduced myself as a Congressman, they (police) showed disrespect and still arrested me, then they issued a statement that I was invited for questioning though I was forced to come with them, I stayed inside for two days.]  Hicap added.

Anakpawis Rep. Fernando Hicap inside Tarlac police headquarters, September 2013.
Anakpawis Rep. Fernando Hicap inside Tarlac police headquarters, September 2013.
Last October 10, complaints of attempted murder, arson, child abuse, physical injuries, illegal arrest and arbitrary detention, theft, robbery and malicious mischief were prepared and filed for Hacienda Luisita farmers led by AMBALA, by a group of lawyers from the Sentro para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo (SENTRA), National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), Public Interest Law Center (PILC) and the Pro-Labor Legal Assistance Center (PLACE) at the Dept. of Justice (DOJ).  Among the respondents are the president Aquino’s uncle Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr, sister Maria Elena “Ballsy” Aquino-Cruz, and other board members of the Tadeco, former LTO chief Virginia Torres, Tarlac provincial police director Alex Sintin and former Tarlac city police chief Bayani Razalan.

The Anakpawis representative also hinted that president Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III is actually using the government institution and resources to defend his family’s interest in Hacienda Luisita as established by the speedy reaction by his Communications secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr.

“Mukhang buking si pangulong Aquino na ginagamit niya ang pwesto para ipagtanggol niya ang pribadong interes ng kanyang pamilya sa Hacienda Luisita.  Ang banggit ni secretary Coloma ay sundin ang due process of law, na kaya nga nag-file sa DOJ ang mga manggagawang bukid, at tandaan natin na ito, katulad ng DAR ay nasa kontrol na naman ni pangulong Aquino,” [President Aquino somehow confirmed that he is utilizing government institutions and resources to defend his family’s private interests in Hacienda Luisita.  As to secretary Coloma’s pronouncement to follow the due process of law, that is exactly why the farm workers filed complaints at the DOJ, but we should note that, similar to DAR, DOJ is under the control of president Aquino]  Hicap explained.

“Kaya hinihikayat naming si justice secretary Leila De Lima na aksyunan na mga kasong ito at sana ay maging independent siya, para kay secretary Coloma, mapapatunayan din ito ng mga manggagawang bukid at kasama akong magpapatunay sa mga ito,” [Hence, we urge justice secretary Leila De Lima to act on these cases and we hope that she would be impartial, and for secretary Coloma , the farm workers would be able to prove them (complaints), and I would stand as witness for them.] Hicap said.

Reference:
Anakpawis Partylist Rep. Fernando Hicap
0920-227-1620
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Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura
(Agricultural Workers Union)
Philippines

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Unequal US-Philippine military agreements license to violate people’s rights — Karapatan

ICHRP Secretariat
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Unequal US-Philippine military agreements license to violate people’s rights — Karapatan

http://www.karapatan.org/Unequal+US-PH+military+agreements+VFA-EDCA+license+to+violate+people%E2%80%99s+rights+Jennifer+Laude

“The killing of transgender woman Jennifer Laude by a US serviceman is the most recent vivid violation of people’s rights, a consequence of lopsided military agreements between the US and the Philippine governments. The US-RP Military Bases Agreement to the Visiting Forces Agreement and the US-GPH Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement have become licenses for numerous gross transgressions, especially on the rights of Filipino women and children,” said Cristina Palabay, Karapatan secretary general.

An online US-based news site, www.marinecorpstimes.com cited an internal US Navy memorandum identified the perpetrator as a US Marine deployed to the Philippines as part of the Balikatan joint military training exercise. The suspect, whose identity is kept from the public, and three other Marines are in the custody of US Navy officials since Sunday.

The Balikatan joint military exercise is a component of the Visiting Forces Agreement which in effect ensures the permanent, albeit rotational, presence of the US troops in the country. “The newly signed EDCA ensures the increased and permanent presence of US military troops, anywhere and everywhere in the Philippines, at the expense of the Filipino people, both monetarily and in relation to our sovereignty and territorial integrity,” she said.

Palabay warned that the “issue of jurisdiction and custody over the case may go the way of all previous cases where criminal accountability of US soldiers in Philippine territory were exonerated under the pretext of the MBA and the VFA.”

She stated that in 1987, a US serviceman stationed in the US base on Olongapo and accused in the rape of 12-year old Rosario Baluyot was “whisked out of the country to avoid prosecution.” The child later died from sepsis because parts of a vibrator that was inserted in her vagina remained stuck for seven months.

The rape of “Nicole” by US Marine Daniel Smith in 2005 was the first case where a member of the US military was tried, convicted and sentenced for a crime on Philippine territory. However, the local court ruling on the landmark case was overturned when Smith was secretly transferred from the Makati City Jail to the US Embassy’s custody in 2006.

“In both cases, the issue of US government custody on the perpetrators from the US military was invoked,” Palabay added.

“We call on the Filipino people to assert the country’s sovereignty and jurisdiction over the case, including custody and investigation of the perpetrator, and his prosecution. We demand justice and accountability. We call for the immediate junking of the VFA and the EDCA, which are threats to the Filipino people’s liberty and security,” she concluded. ###

Reference:
Cristina “Tinay” Palabay
Secretary General
+63917-3162831

Angge Santos
Media Liaison
+63918-9790580

———————————————————————
PUBLIC INFORMATION DESK
publicinfo@karapatan.org
———————————————————————

Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights
2nd Flr. Erythrina Building
#1 Maaralin corner Matatag Streets
Central District, Diliman
Quezon City, PHILIPPINES 1101
Telefax: (+63 2) 4354146
Web: http://www.karapatan.org

KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties.  It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign. 

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