On the military’s motion questioning the court’s ruling releasing security guard portrayed as top rebel leader and asking for his rearrest: Heartless

By National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers

The military and police officers’ “Urgent Motion for Reconsideration and for Order of Re-Arrest” of our client Rolly Panesa is not only a desperate act but is simply heartless.

Private security guard Panesa was portrayed by the military and police as a supposed ranking leader of the New People’s Army in order to fetch a multimillion bounty of P5.8M despite overwhelming evidence that he is not Benjamin Mendoza. After almost a year of unjust incarceration, the Court of Appeals eventually saw the lies and inconsistencies of the military’s professional witnesses and finally ordered his immediate release last August.

This latest Motion is simply untenable. In our Comment filed yesterday, we asserted that there is no legal or factual basis to reconsider the August 27, 2013 Decision since the same is fully in accordance with law, jurisprudence and the evidence. It is plain recycled hogwash aimed at saving face for a high-profile bungled money-making racket.

To start with, why would the military and police now question the jurisdiction and authority of the court to determine the identity of Panesa – an issue intrinsically decisive of the legality of his arrest and detention for which the remedy of habeas corpus was intended as an extraordinary remedy to afford a speedy and effectual relief to persons who are illegally detained – when they have actively and assiduously participated the proceedings through their lawyers who fought tooth and nail to keep him? They are simply estopped and cannot have their cake and eat it too.

The subject Decision cannot be more clear, categorical and unequivocal, both legally and grammatically, when it said that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is hereby issued immediately and that the Jail Warden is commanded to forthwith execute the writ for our client’s discharge from confinement and to release him.

It would not be amiss to point out certain crucial points in this tragedy to put all these in the proper perspective. This is actually and in reality not a case of “mistaken identity.” The respondents-movants, shamelessly aided by their unscrupulous lawyers who wittingly or unwittingly have tinkered with the life of an innocent ordinary security guard who did not know what hit him, have actually simulated the arrest to justify a wrongful and unjust detention.

The only motivation of such callous injustice is the handsome bounty (Php5.8 Million pesos) over the head of one Benjamin Mendoza who is allegedly a ranking rebel leader and the unworthy brownie points that come along with it in the process. Panesa is not the first victim of such money-making scheme. That it is covered by a dangerous “secret bounty list” issued by the Department of Defense and Department of Interior and Local Government in a Memorandum dated November 2012 simply institutionalizes this injustice.

Finally, is it not plainly stretching credulity or credence that a supposedly wanted high-ranking rebel leader like Panesa – who so naturally comported, deported and proven himself in and out of court as nowhere remotely close to being such – would personally and publicly file and pursue immediately after his release criminal countercharges for torture and other crimes against his captors and their handlers and errand boys?

Would it not have been inordinately convenient and easier for him to have just run posthaste back to the “mountains” on the one hand if he were indeed a rebel leader as he is being portrayed by respondents-movants or that he could just have “moved on” and lived a quiet life and charge all these to (sad) experience on the other hand if his rights, liberty and dignity were not trampled upon with impunity?

References:

Edre U. Olalia
National Secretary General
+639175113373

Ephraim Cortez
Assistant secretary general for Legal Services
+639175465798

By KARAPATAN

The arrest and illegal detention of a University of the Philippines professor in Cateel, Davao Oriental by the 67th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army is yet another blow on the typhoon Pablo victims’ self-help rehabilitation efforts.

“To throw Prof. Kim Gargar in jail on trumped up charges because he wanted to help the Pablo victims in rehabilitating and developing their communities is not only violating his rights but is also injustice to the communities he is assisting. Prof. Gargar should be immediately released,” said Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay.

“It is disgusting enough that the BS Aquino government failed to provide support for the typhoon victims. But it is more detestable that the government and its armed forces’ militarist efforts to prevent the people, those who were devastated by the typhoon and those who support them, from taking up the initiative to help themselves and better their situation,” she said.

Prof. Gargar, according to his organization Agham, opted to be temporarily seconded to Panalipdan-Southern Mindanao to directly help in the efforts to restore the communities. When he joined a humanitarian mission to the Pablo-devastated areas in April this year, Prof. Gargar saw government’s inaction and neglect amid massive destruction, and the need to support the people in the rehabilitation work.

Prior to Prof. Gargar’s arrest and detention, Cristina Jose, a barangay councilor in Bagangga, Davao Oriental, and leader of Barug Katawhan (People Stand Up) was killed on 4 March. Jose was one of the leaders of the typhoon Pablo victims who demanded the release of relief goods from the warehouse of the Department of Social Work and Development (DSWD), saying they were discriminated against by the government agency because of the military’s red tagging.

Jose was shot, by three men aboard a motorcycle, on the left side of her back, with the bullet exiting through her right breast.

Elements of the 67th Infantry Battalion — the same military unit responsible for Prof. Gargar’s arrest — had branded Jose as “kagawad ng mga NPA” (the New People’s Army’s councilor). Jose received threats prior to her death. Jose was among those who assisted Karapatan to investigate cases of human rights violations after the 67th IBPA conducted military operations in Jose’s community in January 2013.

In July, members of an international solidarity mission mostly from the United States, who visited the communities hit by typhoon Pablo were “appalled that they saw more soldiers than rehabilitated homes.” They also experienced first-hand military harassment when in less than five minutes upon their arrival, military assets were already taking their photos.

“The illegal arrest and detention of Prof. Kim Gargar, justified by red tagging, is yet another desperate move by the BS Aquino government to suppress the people’s collective action towards meaningful change,” Palabay said.

Karapatan calls for the immediate release of Prof. Kim Gargar and the immediate pull-out of military and paramilitary units in civilian communities as it warned of “more indiscriminate attacks against the people with less than three months left before Oplan Bayanihan’s deadline, and with the people becoming dissatisfied with government due to massive corruption.”

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 Bldg., #1 Maaralin corner Matatag Sts., 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.

9 – 27 September 2013
Geneva, Switzerland

Agenda Item 4 – General Debate

Delivered by Budi Tjahjono of Franciscans International
Jointly prepared by Franciscans International
and Rural Missionaries of the Philippines – Northern Mindanao Sub-region

Mr. President,

Franciscans International (FI) and Rural Missionaries of the Philippines – Northern Mindanao Sub-Region (RMP-NMR) would like to draw attention of the Council on the human rights violation in the Philippines related to mining. We would like to draw the attention of the Council and the Government of the Philippines on the three cases. The first is the magnetite mining operations in the coastal area of Cagayan province, by foreign and local investors. Allegedly, the mining permission was granted with inadequate consultation and consent of the affected communities. The mining operation has negative impact on the right to lively hood, right to water and right to freedom of expression of the local population. The anti-mining groups have received intimidation from the local authority and mining operators due to their opposition. Consequently, there has been a climate of fear among the population.

Secondly is the nickel mining operations in Eastern Samar province, especially in Homonhon Island and in Manicani Island. There has been allegation of human rights violations of the local communities, especially on the right to freedom of expression, access to water, and right to livelihood. In Homonhon, the anti mining groups have been intimidated by the mining operators. No action was taken by the government to protect them. The latest case was on August 5, 2013 where 17 protesters including two underage children were intimidated by the mining company and the security force. Instead of having a dialogue, the mining company filed a case against the protesters. In Manicani Island, despite the government’s decision to suspend the mining operation in 2001, the mining company has been trying to continue their activities. There is no law enforcement for the implementation. The local community is obliged to make human barricade to prevent the company to operate illegally.

Thirdly, is the situation in Matigsalug and Tigwahanon indigenous communities in San Fernando, Bukidnon in Southern Philippines. On 5 March 2012, Mr. Jimmy Liguyon was shot and killed at his home. He strongly resisted the entry of large scale mining companies in his village, where the main source of income is small-scale mining. The police investigated the killing and charged Mr. Alde Salusad and 14 unidentified paramilitary members for the murder. The Court issued a warrant of arrest against him on 30 April 2012, but to date has not been served. The regional office of the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines also promised to investigate the case but no official investigation report has been released. The failure to arrest the perpetrators and the continuing militarization of San Fernando led to two mass evacuations of Matigsalugs and Tigwahanons in March 2012 and August 2012.

Therefore, we would like to recommend the government of the Philippines the following:

Stop mining operation in Cagayan Valley and Eastern Samar and conduct an independent evaluation on the impact of mining to the full enjoyment of human right of the affected communities;

Implement the principles of Free, Prior and Inform Consent, not only during the implementation, but throughout decision making process.

Repeal Mining Act of 1995 and take consideration on the Alternative Mining Bill and Peoples Mining Bill

Enforce the warrant of arrest of the perpetrators of the killing of indigenous leader Mr. Jimmy Liguyon and conduct an investigation on the other reported killings and mass displacements of indigenous peoples in San Fernando, Bukidnon.

Karapatan (http://www.karapatan.org)

Karapatan scored “self-confessed” peace advocate Chito Gascon’s pronouncement saying Zamboanga crisis was due to a ‘miscommunication and misunderstanding between the government and Misuari’s group’.

“If BS Aquino’s alter-egos in the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) has only this to say, they better shut their mouths up. Or, best they just fold-up and go. The OPAPP is not actually working for peace. It is there to justify and deodorize BS Aquino’s war against the people.”

Marie Hilao-Enriquez, Karapatan chairperson added, “the complexity of the Moro situation in Mindanao is more than just a matter of communication. Thousands of civilians were rendered homeless, their sources of livelihood destroyed, some even killed. BS Aquino’s purely militarist solution to the Zamboanga crisis surpassed the damage caused by Misuari’s armed attack. ”

Hilao-Enriquez, cited “Gascon’s statement echoes BS Aquino’s response to the Lahad Datu (Sabah) stand-off. That time, BS Aquino claimed that he did not receive the letter from the Sultan of Sulu seeking for an audience because ‘it was lost in the bureaucratic maze’.

“The government’s disregard for those who seek audience and settle matters on the negotiating table has already cost thousands of lives,” added Hilao-Enriquez, also an independent observer in the GPH-NDF peace talks.

Earlier, Karapatan warned of human rights violations against civilians in the course of the AFP’s operation against the MNLF. In a statement issued on September 19, Hilao-Enriquez said, “We fear a repeat of the Basilan siege in 2001 where close to more than a hundred Moro citizens and youth were arbitrarily arrested on mere suspicion of being Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members.”

“The Moro victims were heavily tortured by Philippine security forces to force them to admit they were ASG members,” Hilao-Enriquez said. “After 12 long years of detention, many of these victims who were members of the so-called Basilan 73, are still imprisoned in Camp Bagong Diwa, Bicutan waiting for court resolution. Most of them are cases of mistaken identity.”

Enriquez was part of the fact finding team that investigated human rights violations during the 2001 AFP siege in Basilan.
As of today, human rights workers in Zamboanga City cited widespread fear among  civilians. “People knew that many of those arrested were not MNLF members but residents in affected barangays. Yet, no one wants to talk for fear of military reprisal. It’s the same story all over again,” said Hilao-Enriquez.

While Misuari must equally answer for the violations he and his men committed, BS Aquino can’t just go to war and crush the dissenters through a purely military solution,” said Hilao-Enriquez, adding “this is not a PSP game where you can simply declare game over or mission accomplished. Lives of real people are involved here, especially the poor who are most vulnerable in this kind of situation.”

Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.