http://www.karapatan.org/Nat%E2%80%99l+Solidarity+Mission+to+investigate+rights+abuses+in+Abra

A National Solidarity Mission (NSM) to Lacub, Abra commenced yesterday, as representatives of various people’s organizations, human rights groups and progressive partylist organizations joined human rights workers and peace advocates in Northern Luzon. The mission is set to investigate human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law in Lacub, Abra, in the light of the continuing military operations of the 41st Infantry Battalion and the 5th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army in the area since August this year.

The Manila contingent is composed of Kabataan Partylist Rep. Terry Ridon, leaders and representatives of Karapatan, United Church of Christ in the Philippines, National Council of Churches in the Philippines, Center for Trade Union and Human Rights, Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas, Gabriela Women’s Partylist, Children’s Rehabilitation Center, Salinlahi, Task Force for Indigenous People’s Rights, Health Alliance for Democracy, Student Christian Movement of the Philippines, National Union of Students in the Philippines, League of Filipino Students, and Anakbayan.

According to the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance, a chapter of Karapatan in the region, the extrajudicial killing of Engineer Fidela Salvador –a consultant of the Cordillera Disaster Response and Development Services Inc. (CorDisRDS) and the Center for Development Programs in the Cordillera (CDPC) and Lacub resident Noel Viste, the AFP use of 24 civilians as human shields in the conduct of their operation, the AFP use of civilian guides and the endangerment of civilians are among the grave human rights and international humanitarian law violations in the said municipality, which resulted from the military operations of the AFP.

CHRA-Karapatan also reported that seven members of the New People’s Army (NPA) were killed in the AFP operations and their bodies, as observed during the retrieval, bore signs and strong indications of probable torture and desecration of remains.

Cristina Palabay, Karapatan Secretary General, said that the official autopsy and narrative reports of the National Bureau of Investigation in the Cordillera Administrative Region (NBI-CAR) on the bodies of Arnold “AJ” Jaramillo and Recca Noelle Monte indicate that they were brutally and inhumanely killed by the military.

Palabay added that the same military unit was also responsible for the military operations on October 10, 2011, which resulted to the death of eight members of the NPA in Tineg, Abra. The bodies of the eight individuals were desecrated, and there were strong indications of inhumane treatment and that most who died were not given quarter or were not spared, when they were already in no position to defend themselves.

The 41st IBPA is also responsible for the massacre of members of the Ligiw family in Baay-Licuan, Abra. On March 7, 2014, the bodies of local residents Eddie Ligiw, his sons Freddie and Licuben were found pile up in a shallow grave near the victims’ pacalso (“hut”), all were bound, gagged and were in fetal positions. The Ligiws were farmers and small-scale miners in the area.

On September 13, Army Chief Lt. Gen. Hernando Iriberri gave awards and citations to soldiers of the 41st IBPA, citing the unit’s contribution for the success of the AFP’s Oplan Bayanihan.

“BS Aquino and the AFP certainly have this distorted sense of justice and respect for human rights by rewarding this massacre battalion with awards, instead of holding them accountable for human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law. How swift they are in pouring praises for this notorious battalion, when they have not moved an inch in looking into the complaints of relatives of the victims and have not heeded the call of the people of Abra to pull out these soldiers from their communities,” Palabay said.

As of this writing, the AFP operations continue in Lacub and nearby municipalities, seriously affecting agricultural production and small-scale mining activities, resulting to effects on the people’s livelihood and food source, CHRA reported.

“AFP operations in Abra under Oplan Bayanihan should stop immediately and the 41st IBPA and all military units involved in the said operations should be pulled out and prosecuted,” Palabay said.

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

Angge Santos
Media Liaison
+63918-9790580

Other references:
http://www.karapatan.org/updated-UA-Abra-Immediate-Cessation-of-AFP-Military-Operations-in-Abra

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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. 

LACUB, Abra — More than a hundred delegates from Church, human rights, lawyers groups and people’s organizations from Metro Manila, Baguio City, and Ilocos, Cagayan Valley joined the families of the victims of human rights violations in going back to the communities in Lacub, Abra affected by the AFP Northern Luzon Command-directed military operation launched by the 41st Infantry Battalion in 4 and 5 September 2014. Said military operation resulted in the killing of two civilians and seven members of the New People’s Army.

The families and relatives of Robert Beyyao and Recca Noelle Monte of Kalinga, and Brandon Magrana of Mountain Province, also joined the mission to visit the site where their loved ones were killed, to talk to the people in the community, and to know first-hand the circumstances of the death of the killed members of the New People’s Army. The bodies of the slain members of the NPA bore signs of violations of the International Human Rights Law.

The solidarity mission was conducted upon the request of the residents of Lacub after a series of human rights violations were committed by the military against the civilian population during the Sept. 4-5 operations. Esteban Ferreran, Secretary General of Tulbek, welcomed the National Solidarity Mission delegates, “I hope this mission would be fruitful for all of us,” he said in Ilocano. Tulbek (Timpuyog dagiti ti Umili iti Lacub), an affiliate of the Cordillera People’s Alliance hosts the mission.

The delegation was divided into three teams and immediately sent off to the villages of Guinguinabang, Talampak and Lacub town proper where several activities are lined up: psycho social therapy and medical services, focused-group discussions and documentation and tributes to slain community members.

As of this writing, the Lacub Mayor and Vice Mayor have not yet accepted the team’s request for an audience. Some members of the Lacub municipal council said both officials are out of Lacub.

The delegation assigned to meet the town officials would have wanted to specifically ask for the actions taken by the local government on the petition letter of the residents of villages of Lacub for the military to pull-out of their communities as early as 2011. The military detachment in between a high school and elementary school is another cause of concern among the residents.

An ecumenical service and a community forum in Lacub town are among the activities expected to cap the mission.

http://www.karapatan.org/BS+Aquino%2C+AFP+treating+Palparan+and+Purisima+like+sacred+cows

“Human rights violators and plunderers in the military and police are being treated like sacred cows by the Aquino administration,” Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan said as their group supports the motion filed by private prosecutors on the criminal charges against retired M/Gen. Jovito S. Palparan.

Filed by National Union of Peoples Lawyers (NUPL), representing complainants Mrs. Concepcion Empeno and Mrs. Linda Cadapan, the motion to transfer custody requests the Malolos Regional Trial Court Branch 14 to transfer Gen. Palparan from Philippine Army Custodial Center (PACC) to a civilian detention in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig, City.

“An army general accountable for heinous crimes and jailed in a military camp is no less than a special treatment,” Palabay said. “BS Aquino’s defense of PNP chief Alan Purisima on questions regarding his lifestyle is the same special treatment. These uniformed men are being treated like sacred cows, shielding them from justice,” Palabay added.

Currently facing two counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention for the disappearance of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno, Ret. M/Gen. Palparan’s motion to transfer detention from Bulacan Provincial Jail was granted by the court under the sala of Judge Teodora Gozales. The court invoked Palparan’s “existing threat to life and security”, “expenses” and “safety of other inmates” in its decision to transfer him to Philippine Army Custodial Center – a place where Palparan is most comfortable, second to his home, according to Karapatan.

Karapatan asserts that Palparan should be in a civilian jail for the PACC has no jurisdiction over the Palparan.

“This case has not even commenced substantially since Palparan was arrested, but already are showing signs of injustice, what more can we expect in the duration of the trial?” Palabay said.

“BS Aquino’s defense of criminals is disgusting. First is the treatment for pork scammers Janet Lim Napoles and three senators. Now, the protection and defense for uniformed criminals, Palparan and Purisima. This is clearly impunity,” Palabay concluded.

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. 

http://www.karapatan.org/International+organizations+score+PH+rights+situation

“The things that BS Aquino failed to mention about the Philippines to European Union heads of states are those which need much attention, like the human rights situation in the country,” Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan said on the eve of BS Aquino’s return from his state visits in European countries. “The human rights situation is in a sorry state that even organizations outside the Philippines are reacting,” Palabay said.

In Madrid, Spain, Spanish organizations sent a letter to BS Aquino on his visit to said country. “…we feel the moral obligation to take advantage of your short stay in Madrid to share with you our deep concern caused by reports, through various channels and outside ideologies, that, for a long time we have been receiving on the situation of human rights in Philippines, ” the letter stated citing the recent Karapatan-documented human rights violations.

Meanwhile in North America, Canada-based human rights organization stated, “The Canada-Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights (CPSHR), joins the Filipino human rights defenders, environmental advocates, people’s organizations, and international rights groups in strongly denouncing the killing of Engr. Fidella “Delle” Salvador, a people’s engineer, a community development worker and a woman of courage.”

Killed on September 5, 2014 by the 41st Infantry Battalion in Lacub, Abra, Engr. Salvador was in a Abra to monitor projects as a consultant of Cordillera Disaster Response and Development Services.

“We note, that the killing Engr. Salvador is the latest extra-judicial killing perpetrated against an environmental advocate, specially a disaster responder. A total of seventy-seven (77) environmental advocates have been killed since 2001, of which thirty-nine (39) killings occurred under your Administration,” the CPSHR letter said.

“BS Aquino could not anymore hide the ills of the Philippine society with plain words such as ‘good governance’. Even international organizations are aware of the Mr. Aquino’s ‘bad governance’ and he won’t be able to escape issues such as poverty, corruption and human rights in foreign land,” Palabay said.

The Spanish organization asked the Philippines to sign and ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. It also urged the government to “ensure to take necessary steps to end all violations of human rights of the impoverished majority of your country, and that the Right to the Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non Repetition becomes a reality for victims during your term and during previous terms.”

The Spain-based organizations who signed the letter to BS Aquino were: APDHE (Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos de España) COMADEHCO (Comité por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos en Colombia) ICID (Iniciativas de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo) IEPALA (Instituto de Estudios Políticos para América Latina y África) IU (Izquierda Unida) Justicia por Colombia OSPAAAL (Organización de Solidaridad con los Pueblos de África, Asia y América Latina) GM-Los Verdes Confederación CDHHG (Comisión de Derechos Humanos Hispano-Guatemalteca).

“We urge your government to resume the Peace Talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDF) to earnestly address the root causes of armed conflict in issues affecting the majority of the Filipino people: landlessness, poverty and hunger, environmental destruction, human rights violations to name a few. It is only through addressing the basic issues that are affecting the majority of the population, you call your “bosses,” could a nation achieve a just and lasting peace,” CPSHR letter pointed out.

“During the time of Mrs. Arroyo, the international organizations similarly called the government’s attention to the endless cases of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances,” Palabay said. “Look where she is now: imprisoned,” Palabay concluded.

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

Angge Santos
Media Liaison
+63918-9790580

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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. 

Rights groups SELDA (Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto) and Hustisya condemned the death of Benny Barid, political prisoner at the New Bilibid Prisons Maximum Security Compound, Muntinlupa City, who died at 11:00 AM yesterday, September 18, at the NBP Hospital.

“We hold the Aquino government accountable for the death of Benny Barid. His death is the face of martial law in our country today. He suffered and died because of the cruelty and injustice of this government that speaks of “democracy” but denies the right of political prisoners to be free,” said Cristina Guevarra, Hustisya secretary general.

For three years, Barid had stayed as a patient at the NBP Hospital. He suffered from chronic asthmatic bronchitis with emphysema. He cannot stand up alone, and needs to be put in a wheelchair to move from one place to another. Fellow political prisoners are the ones who look for means to acquire his needed medicines. His further stay at the NBP Hospital has made him more vulnerable to various diseases.

Fellow political prisoners at the NBP mourned at the death of their kosa and kasama, but likewise demanded justice.

“Halos tatlong taon siyang nakaratay sa NBP Hospital sa labis na panghihina dahil sa kanyang karamdaman na kanyang ikinamatay. Nagpapaabot po kaming mga bilanggong pulitikal sa pamilya at kaanak ni Barid ng aming lubos na pakikiramay. Salik ang malaking kakulangan sa sapat at maayos na serbisyong pang-piitan sa mahirap na pinagdaanan ni Barid. Gayundin, nawalan na ng pag-asa si Barid dahil sa kawalan ng kongkretong hakbang ng gobyerno ng Pilipinas upang tugunan ang makatarungang pagpapalaya sa lahat ng bilanggong pulitikal. Tuloy ang laban para sa kalayaan!” said the NBP political prisoners in a statement.

Exactly a year ago, Alison Alcantara, 55 years old and also a political prisoner at NBP, died of pneumonia, sepsis and fatal arrhythmia.  He was only brought to the Philippine General Hospital after he fell into a coma at the NBP Hospital.

“How many more ailing political prisoners will suffer from the dire and subhuman conditions inside different detention centers in the country? How many more after Alison Alcantara and Benny Barid?” said Guevarra.Arrested in July 2006, Barid was accused of involvement in a massacre which happened in 2004. His child was allegedly hostaged by the military to force him to surrender. He was a victim of trumped-up charges four times, the last of which he was sentenced to three counts of lifetime imprisonment in the NBP Maximum Security Compound.

He was a political detainee of the Marcos dictatorship, but was granted amnesty under the Cory Aquino government. He was again arrested sometime in 2004 for subversion and illegal possession of firearms. The case was dismissed, but his lawyer was killed after handling his case. In 2005, the military detained him for almost two months, when they searched his house and allegedly found firearms in his possession. In all incidents, the military and police consistenly pinned him down as a member of the New People’s Army.

SELDA to BS Aquino: Free ailing political prisoners now!

SELDA, meanwhile, dared the Aquino government to immediately release ailing political prisoners on September 21, the 42nd year commemoration of martial law.

The group said decades after the martial law years, the Philippines continues to face the bleak reality of the existence of political prisoners. Rights of political prisoners are repeatedly violated as they are slapped with trumped-up criminal charges , arbitrarily arrested and illegally detained. Many of them are tortured and denied their right to counsel and due process. They suffer inhumane prison conditions and prolonged imprisonment, and snail-paced judicial process.

Of the 504 political prisoners in the country under the Aquino government, 53 are ailing political prisoners.

“We dare Pres. Aquino to immediately release ailing political prisoners on humanitarian grounds,” SELDA spokesperson Roneo Clamor said, “The poor and inadequate health services that the government provides endanger the lives of the relatively more vulnerable sick and elderly political prisoners. The meager budget allotted to prison inmates makes jails and detention facilities barely habitable, unsafe and hazardous to the health and general well-being of prisoners.  Keeping the sick and elderly political prisoners longer in prison leads to serious health complications that could be life-threatening.”

“Pres. Aquino’s hands are bloodied with the death of ailing political prisoners. His government’s callousness and injustice against them are no different from Marcos. The Aquino government perpetuates the culture of impunity. We call on the people to unite and demand justice and freedom for all political prisoners!” ended Clamor.

References:
Cristina Guevarra
Hustisya secretary general
+63949-1772928

Roneo “Jigs” Clamor
SELDA spokesperson
+63999-7721233

SELDA National Office:
2/F, Erythrina Building
#1 Maaralin corner Matatag Streets,
Brgy. Central District, Diliman,
Quezon City 1101, Philippines
Tel: 632-4347486
Fax: 632-4354146
Email: selda.phils@gmail.com, selda_phil@yahoo.com.ph
Web: www.seldapilipinas.wordpress.com
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Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA) is an organization of former political prisoners in the Philippines. Founded on December 4, 1984, SELDA was initiated by newly-released political prisoners of the martial law period.  SELDA’s primary task is to work for the release of all political prisoners and to see to it that humane treatment of those who are still in detention are complied with by the Philippine authorities.  SELDA advocates justice for current and former political prisoners.  It calls for the mobilisation of resources in support of political prisoners, former detainees and their families.  It carries out legislative advocacy for the indemnification and rehabilitation of political prisoners. SELDA goes into partnership and builds solidarity with concerned individuals and groups for the freedom and welfare of political prisoners and all victims of tyranny.