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Climate of impunity worsens with recent killings – Karapatan

ICHRP Secretariat
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Climate of impunity worsens with recent killings – Karapatan

Press Statement, October 4, 2012 – While the nation watched the festive frolic as traditional politicians and their families filed their certificates of candidacy at the Commission on Elections and, netizens rage over the passing of the Cybercrime Law, extrajudicial killings continue, worsening the climate of impunity in the country.” thus said Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan, as the human rights group received reports on two cases of extrajudicial killings in the past two days.

In Tarlac, on the month of the observance of the rights and welfare of children, a fourteen-year-old child was felled by a bullet from the arbitrary firing of policemen who reinforced the team out to demolish the houses at   Block 7, San Roque, Tarlac on October 2, 2012. John Khali Lagrimas was hit by a stray bullet that fell on the rooftop of their furniture shop.  He was declared dead on arrival at the Ramos General Hospital in Tarlac City.

The 100-member demolition team arrived at the site with some 100 policemen, headed by Tarlac City Police Chief Col. Arnel Ramos. They were armed with M16 and 45 caliber pistols. Aside from the police, there were also 8 Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) men in full battle gear and two fire trucks.  Around 70 residents, who are members of the San Roque Neighborhood Association, barricaded the place.  The policemen fired their guns while the demolition was on going to intimidate the protesters.

The Block 7 San Roque site is the subject of a land dispute being heard at the Regional Trial Court Branch 63 of Tarlac City.  No court order on the demolition was shown the residents.

On the following day, October 3, another killing took place in San Nicolas, Puntod, Cagayan de Oro City.  Gilbert  Paborada, Chairperson of Pangalasag (indigenous shield), was shot dead  by motorcycle-riding-in- tandem assassins as he alighted from a motorela (public tricycle).  He sustained five gunshot wounds allegedly coming from a 45-caliber pistol.

Pangalasag is an indigenous peoples’ organization in Opol, Misamis Oriental and a member of Kalumbay, a sub-regional IP alliance in Northern Mindanao. Pangalasag members, the Higaonon tribe of Mindanao Lumads, have been farming coconut, bananas and other crops in their community.  They are opposing the palm oil plantation project of A. Brown Company, a US corporation, which they claim, is grabbing their land.  They have been constantly harassed and threatened by the company guards.  There was also an instance when they were arrested and detained by NBI members on trumped up charges.

Paborada relocated himself in Puntod due to threats to his life although he still went to Bagocboc to lead the community’s campaigns against the palm oil company.

Palabay said that under the Aquino administration, from July 2010 to September 30, 2012, Karapatan has documented 112 victims of extrajudicial killings.

“Many of the victims are rights defenders who uphold their rights to land, ancestral domain, decent housing and livelihood. Instead of going after the perpetrators in the AFP and paramilitary groups, the Aquino administration props up this climate of non-accountability and promotion of impunity,” Palabay concluded. ###

Reference: Cristina “Tinay” Palabay, Secretary General, 0917-5003879
Angge Santos, Media Liaison, 0918-9790580
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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.

Cybercrime law violates Intl rights obligations of Aquino Govt

ICHRP Secretariat
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Cybercrime law violates Intl rights obligations of Aquino Govt

Press Statement, October 2, 2012 – Karapatan today joined activists, netizens, journalists, bloggers, organizations and individuals in a protest action in front of the Supreme Court, to call on the high court to declare the Cybercrime Law unconstitutional; as the measure, which is due to take effect on Oct.3, “poses serious threats to the right to privacy, freedom of speech and expression, among other civil and political rights.”

Members of the organization flashed tablets with electronic posters tagging the Cybercrime Law as a form of “e-martial law,” likening the law to the forms of suppression on civil and political rights by the military dictatorship imposed by former Pres. Ferdinand Marcos.

Cristina Palabay, Karapatan secretary general and one of those who filed a petition in the Supreme Court questioning the constitutionality of the Cybercrime Act, said that aside from the law’s provisions on libel, the said measure gives free rein on authorities to monitor internet traffic data of internet users and to take down sites which they deem “libelous.”

Karapatan, Bayan and other people’s organizations filed their petition yesterday.

“This has far-reaching implications on the work of human rights defenders, as this further impedes on our right to articulate the facts on the human rights situation that we gather on the ground and our analyses on the situation. This constitutes several violations of international human rights conventions and declarations, including the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Declaration on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders of which the Philippines, as a signatory, has the obligation to implement,” Palabay said.

More importantly, Palabay said, this law infringes on the rights of the general public to access the facts and the information on several human rights issues and to express and act on their opinions.

“Online users go offline today to march on the streets against this Marcosian law. On the 40th year of the declaration of Martial Law, Pres. Noynoy Aquino should be reminded that the Filipino people have not forgotten the suppression of rights under the dictatorship and, what ‘Never Again’ means, and that is, we will relentlessly fight for the rights and freedoms taken away from us,” she concluded. ###

Reference: Cristina “Tinay” Palabay, Secretary General, 0917-5003879
Angge Santos, Media Liaison, 0918-9790580

———————————————————————
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.

New Zealand group joins call for Supreme Court to declare Cybercrime law “unconstitutional”;PH Freedom of Information Bill long overdue, Cybercrime Law must be junked

ICHRP Secretariat
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New Zealand group joins call for Supreme Court to declare Cybercrime law “unconstitutional”;PH Freedom of Information Bill long overdue, Cybercrime Law must be junked

Press Statement, 2 October 2012 – Twenty-six years since democracy was supposedly restored and media censorship ended, it is alarming to hear that Philippine President Benigno Simeon Aquino signed into law the Republic Act (RA) No. 10175 Cybercrime Prevention Act.

The Philippines Solidarity Network of Aotearoa (PSNA) joins the Filipino people in urging the Philippine Supreme Court to declare the Cybercrime law as unconstitutional.

Instead of signing a law that threatens anew not only the freedom of the press but the freedom of millions of ordinary citizens who utilize the internet, we call on Pres. Aquino to immediately pass the long overdue Freedom of Information Bill.

We hope that when Pres. Aquino comes to New Zealand on the 22nd October, he would have good news that the Cybercrime law has been junked and the Freedom of Information Bill finally passed.

The Freedom of Information Bill must be passed if the Aquino government is serious about taking the righteous path. Allowing citizens to access information about their elected public officials is crucial in ensuring accountability and promoting good governance.

In New Zealand the Official Information Act has been in place for 30 years now.

With the Cybercrime law that includes online libel, we are concerned that the Filipino people’s freedom to express their views and criticize erring public officials is seriously threatened. Journalists, anti-corruption crusaders and ordinary citizens who express strong views against corrupt politicians would be sanctioned for being cyber criminals.

With Aquino’s version of E-Martial Law, those in power may unjustly claim information exchanged in the Internet by to be libelous. Media censorship will be widespread again and ordinary citizens are now more vulnerable of being charged with libel. #

Reference:
Murray Horton
Secretary, PSNA
Philippines Solidarity Network of Aotearoa
Box 2450 Christchurch, New Zealand
cafca@chch.planet.org.nz

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=855169&publicationSubCategoryId=63

No TRO on Cyber Crime Law
By Camille Diola and Dennis Carcamo (The Philippine Star) Updated
October 02, 2012 12:35 PM

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court on Tuesday did not issue a temporary restraining order against the newly-passed Cyber Crime Law,
paving the way for its full implementation on Wednesday.

Instead,the SC will decide Tuesday next week whether or not to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the controversial measure.
The petitions against the law were included in the en banc agenda of the SC.

A member of the court, who requested anonymity, said the magistrates of the High Court have yet to thoroughly study all the petitions
opposing the implementation of the measure.

During the en banc session, the SC justices said they will rule on the seven petitions now consolidated against the Cybercrime Act next week,
the source said.

The petitions are all calling for the High Court to declare certain provisions of the measure as unconstitutional.

“Black Tuesday”

Eighteen student and media organizations meanwhile lead demonstrations outside Supreme Court building along Padre Faura Street in Manila and dubbed October 2 as “Black Tuesday”.

The groups encouraged Internet users to change their profile photos on their social media accounts into a plain black image in protest against the new law, believed to curb the freedom of expression, signed by President Benigno Aquino III in early September.

Media groups such as the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility and the Philippine Press Institute will also file a petition of collected electronic signatures against the act on Wednesday before the high court.

“Unlawful”

Meanwhile, a New Zealand-based rights group has called on the SC to declare the anti-cyber crime law unlawful.

The Philippines Solidarity Network of Aotearoa (PSNA) also expressed alarm over the passage of a bill that would curtail people’s freedom of expression.

“We hope that when President Aquino comes for his State visit to New Zealand on the 22nd October, he would come bearing good news that the cybercrime law has been junked and the Freedom of Information Bill finally passed,” the PSNA said in a statement.

“With the Cybercrime law that includes online libel, we are concerned that the Filipino people’s freedom to express their views and criticize erring public officials is seriously threatened,” the group added.#

Aquino Govt writes off HR violations for $13M US aid —Karapatan

ICHRP Secretariat
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Aquino Govt writes off HR violations for $13M US aid —Karapatan

Press Statement, September 28, 2012 – Karapatan today criticized the Aquino government as “it continues to peddle lies on the human rights situation in the international community, through the Universal Periodic Review process at the United Nations and, the recent visit of Dept. of Justice Sec. Leila de Lima at the United States, in exchange for US military assistance.”

“Human rights defenders, victims and their relatives, and communities under military attack can attest to the prevailing, if not more emboldened, climate of impunity under Aquino. While the GPH officials claimed at the UN and, among US parliamentarians, that the Aquino government is taking concrete steps to address extrajudicial killings and; that they do not promote the culture of impunity, indigenous peoples’ leader Genesis Ambason was shot and tortured to death by paramilitary groups in Agusan del Sur last week,” said Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan.

According to Karapatan, Ambason is the 112th victim of extrajudicial killings under the Aquino administration. Among these are nine children who were victims of EJK, three of them killed during the AFP operations in Maguindanao this August 2012. Also, rampant military operations are conducted in mineral and resource-rich areas to suppress the opposition mounted by farmers and indigenous peoples against the entry of big foreign mining and business operations.

Palabay said “this parody of lies by the Aquino government is meant to justify the release of the more than $13 million in US military assistance to the GPH, which was blocked since 2008, when international solidarity groups brought to fore the issues of extrajudicial killings and other rights violations in the Philippines.”

She also said that many of the 112 cases of extrajudicial killings under Aquino remain pending either at the prosecutorial or court levels, while state security forces and masterminds in the AFP who are accountable for these crimes have yet to be put behind bars nor convicted.

Former Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr., former Gov. Joel Reyes and almost all military and government officials who were responsible for the killings and disappearances remain free from arrest for these violations, while some were even promoted, such as the case of the Morong 43 torturers, Palabay explained.

“Instead of enacting the Anti-enforced disappearance bill and the Marcos Victims Compensation bill, Aquino has expedited and signed into law the Cybercrime Prevention Law which infringes on the right to freedom of expression. All of these illustrate the state of impunity under Aquino,” she concluded. ###

Reference: Cristina “Tinay” Palabay, Secretary General, +63917-5003879
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.

International solidarity protest demands surfacing of James Balao and other disappeared

ICHRP Secretariat
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Stop Enforced Disappearances! Surface the victims now!

17th of September 2012

(To president Benigno Aquino III,to the former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of Philippines, mass media, trade unions and to the international democratic public, to the human rights organizations-  please forward this message wherever and whenever you can, to strengthen the international protest and solidarity movement for human rights in the Philippines, which people need for their life in standing up to fight for a liberated world!)

On the Monday demonstration against the unsocial law Hartz 4, we continue our vigil for James Balao in Stuttgart on the 17th of September 2012. We counted – as it was decided  in October 2008 in the partnership agreement between the Monday-Demonstration Movement Stuttgart and the family Balao and Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) –  the days of the disappearance of James Balao.

Today is the 4th year of the disappearance of James Balao, 4 years of waiting, 4 years of tears and remembrances and 4 years of international protests, 4 years of demanding justice and of demanding to stop impunity. The killers and murders are still living among us and they think, that they could go on with their counterinsurgency US made plan “Oplan Bayanihan”.

We want to know, what happened to James and we demand today again that the responsible persons and authorities should be jailed into prison like the former dictators in Argentina Videla and Co. More than 30 years the Mothers of the Placo de Mayo demanded for the truth and for stopping impunity. They have been successful and so we will be successfull, there is no doubt!

4 years of partnership between the Monday Demonstration movement are as well 8 years of fighting against the unsocial law Hartz 4 in Stuttgart and in more than 100 other towns in Germany every Monday.

James was as well with the participants of the 10th International Women Council in Ludwigsburg near Stuttgart on the 15th and 16th of September. The German Filippines Friends GFF joined this meeting and demands with their guest from the Philippines and elsewhere:

Surface James Balao now!

International solidarity will be stronger than the power of dictatorship!

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