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Support House Bill 3046, An Act Defining and Penalizing the Crime of Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance

ICHRP Secretariat
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Please support and send your support emails to: [email protected] and cc: [email protected]

The United Nations Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance states that an involuntary or enforced disappearance happens when “ persons are arrested, detained or abducted against their will or otherwise deprived of their liberty by officials of different branches or levels of Government, or by organized groups, or by private individuals acting on behalf of, or with the support, direct or indirect, consent or acquiescence of the Government, followed by a refusal to disclose the fate or whereabouts of the persons concerned or a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of their liberty, which places such persons outside the protection of the law.”

Victims of enforced disappearance can be abducted right in front of their families, from their homes, inside a mall, while crossing the street, in the middle of the night or during daytime. They can be activists, farmers, workers, drivers, lawyers, journalists, students, women, priests, nuns, fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, wives, husbands, sisters or brothers. They are called desaparecidos or the disappeared.

In the Philippines, thousands have become victims of involuntary or enforced disappearance since the rule of the Dictator Ferdinand Marcos up to the current administration of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.  Information on their whereabouts or what has happened to them remains unknown. Their families have not stopped looking for their missing loved ones.

Involuntary or enforced disappearance is a grave human rights violation. However, not a single perpetrator has been punished. In the Philippines, a law criminalizing the act of involuntary or enforced disappearance has yet to be enacted.

That is why we, the families, friends and supporters of victims of enforced disappearances, are calling on the Philippine Legislature to immediately pass into law House Bill 3046, An Act Defining and Penalizing the Crime of Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance. It will criminalize the acts of involuntary or enforced disappearance. It will help bring justice to the victims and their families and penalize the perpetrators.

We also urge the Noynoy Aquino government to sign, ratify and adhere to the provisions of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 20, 2006 and entered into force on December 23, 2010. #

Palparan’s bodyguard linked to abduction of UP students

ICHRP Secretariat
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by Ronalyn V. Olea, Bulatlat.com

MANILA – A close-in security of retired Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. has been identified by one of the witnesses as one of those who abducted University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño and farmer Manuel Merino.

In a supplemental affidavit submitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ) panel, August 3, Wilfredo Ramos said the man who was wearing a blue shirt and shades and seated immediately at the back of Palparan during the last hearing on July 19 was part of the team that took Cadapan, Empeño and Merino from their house in San Miguel, Hagonoy, Bulacan on June 26, 2006.

During the third hearing of the preliminary investigation on the criminal charges filed against Palparan and other military officials, Provost Marshal General Col. Herbert Yambing admitted to the DOJ panel that the man being referred to by Ramos is a member of the Philippine Army and is assigned to provide security for Palparan during court hearings. Yambing, however, said he does not know the name of the soldier. A photograph of the soldier is attached to the supplemental affidavit.

Asked what unit is providing security for Palparan, Yambing responded it is the AFP’s Headquarters Service Group.

Palparan was not present in the recent hearing and so was his aide.

DOJ panel head Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera ordered Yambing to produce the personal circumstances of Palparan’s aide and to coordinate with the lawyers of the complainants.

Lawyer Edre Olalia, secretary general of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), said the still unnamed soldier is among the “John Does” in the complaint filed by the mothers of the two missing UP students.

In May, Erlinda Cadapan and Concepcion Empeño, mothers of the two UP students, filed the criminal complaint against Palparan and other retired and active military officials for arbitrary detention, maltreatment of prisoners, grave threats, and grave coercion, rape, and serious physical injuries.

In his affidavit, Ramos who was only 14 years old at the time of the incident, said the said soldier was the one who hogtied him and his father William Ramos on June 26, 2006. During the July 19 hearing, Ramos said the man gave him a dagger look.

In the July 19 hearing, Olalia asked the DOJ panel to allow Ramos to point at and ask the identity of one of the abductors. Navera denied the motion, saying it is not an evidence-gathering party.

Olalia said the presence of one of the abductors during the last hearing was “the height of brazenness and arrogance.” “One of the alleged but still unnamed perpetrators had the gall and temerity to go to the hearing and display himself, intimidating and eyeing Ramos all throughout the hearing. He was openly thumbing his nose, as it were, at the whole justice system,” Olalia said.

‘Palparan responsible’

In their joint reply affidavit, Mrs. Cadapan and Mrs. Empeño said Palparan’s counter-affidavit contains merely bare and general denials.

“Palparan’s self-righteous indignation and refutation of the charges cannot exempt him from criminal liability for the cruel treatment of Karen and Sherlyn while in custody,” they said.

They added that the fact that Karen and Sherlyn were being transferred from one military camp to another under the command of different military units but all under the 7th Infantry Division establishes conspiracy among the respondent and connivance of the whole military establishment under the 7th ID.

The mothers of the two missing UP students also said mere suspicion of being New People’s Army (NPA) members does not justify extra legal abduction, forced disappearance and violation of the rights of Sherlyn and Karen.

The two mothers also belied claims by other respondents Lt. Col. Rogelio Boac, Col. Felipe Anotado, M/Sgt. Rizal Hilario and 2nd Lt. Francis Mirabelle Samson.

In a statement, key witness Raymond Manalo said, “For a number of times, our statements have been proven true by the Courts. They could no longer hide the truth so they just deny it, and try to destroy our credibility.”

Wrong person

Lawyers of the complainants also manifested that the respondent Arnel E. Enriquez who appeared in court hearings was not among those who abducted the students.

Another witness Alberto Ramirez said Enriquez was not the same “Arnel Enriquez” who took part in the abduction.Lawyers asked for the removal of Enriquez in the complaint but insisted that a certain alias Arnel Enriquez be retained as one of the respondents. (http://bulatlat.com)

Basilan baker tortured while in military custody

ICHRP Secretariat
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By Carolyn O. Arguillas

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/01 August) — “What is wrong remains wrong, regardless of how long it has been allowed to persist. We cannot simply let it pass. If we ignore the crimes of the past, they will continue to haunt us. And if we do not hold people accountable, then they will do it again and again,” President Benigno Simeon Aquino III said in his State of the Nation Address on July 25.

Aquino was referring to corruption. But he could have said the same of torture: “what is wrong remains wrong.”

Two days before his SONA, in faraway Sumisip, Basilan, a 39-year old baker named Abdul-Khan Balinting Ajid whom the military claimed was a member of the Abu Sayyaf, was forcibly taken by Scout Rangers at 5:30 in the morning and while under their custody suffered “the most degrading physical and mental torture” in the hands of his captors, the Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC) said in its August 1 press statement.

“He was stripped naked and gasoline was poured over his head, inside his ears, and on his face. His interrogators also rubbed red chillies, and a bottle containing gasoline was forcibly entered, into his anus. Covered in gasoline his captors then set him on fire burning the skin and flesh on his face and lower torso.”

In Zamboanga City, Ajid’s sister told a press conference her brother, a baker for the past eight years, is innocent and is not a member of the Abu Sayyaf.

The sister, whose name was withheld, had the lower part of her face covered for security reasons, when she met the press. In tears, she recounted what happened to her brother and vowed to file charges against the soldiers.

Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, told MindaNews the command is investigating the report in coordination with the Commission on Human Rights in the region.

Earlier, Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang, Western Mindanao Command spokesperson said, “this is a sad incident for us, especially if soldiers were found to be involved.” He said Ferrer “wants the incident investigated and the perpetrators punished.”
Cabangbang said the investigating team is led by Col. Ukol Paglala, the Command’s Judge Advocate General Officer.

Torture is prohibited by the Philippine Constitution, Republic Act 9745 or the Anti-Torture Law passed in 2009 and by International Conventions which the government is a state party to.

Human rights groups, however, continue to receive reports on torture.

A fact sheet prepared by Carlo Cleofe, MPC’s Peace Talks Advocacy Officer, based on the interviews conducted by him and Rita Melecio of Task Force Detainees of the Philippines narrated that members of Task Force Basilan from the brigade of the Army Scout Rangers under Colonel Alexander Macario allegedly abducted Ajid from his house in Barangay Libug, Sumisip, Basilan.

The fact sheet quoted Ajid’s wife, Nurhaiya, as saying that at around 5:30 a.m. on July 23, while her husband was preparing the dough for the bread they would sell that day, soldiers kicked open the door of their house and upon seeing Ajid, grabbed him, brought him down on the floor and tied his hands behind his back.

Nurhaiya said their 15-year old son and 10-year old daughter fainted upon seeing what the soldiers were doing. Nurhaiya said she was asked where they kept the guns in the house and when she said no, the soldiers searched every part of the house, destroying their things and all the ingredients and materials they use in their bakery.

After searching the house, the soldiers dragged Ajid out and forced him to board a six-by-six truck. Nurhaiya tried to follow but was stopped.

No one told her why they were taking her husband away and where they were bringing him. No search or arrest warrants were presented.

Nurhaiya and Ajid’s sister sought the assistance of Sumisip Mayor Gulam Hataman who reportedly called up somebody from the Scout Rangers brigade to inquire about Ajid’s whereabouts and to ask why he was arrested. The mayor was told Ajid was a member of the Abu Sayyaf.

Three days after the soldiers took Ajid, his family sought the help of lawyers to find out where he was.

“Ajid’s sister tried to approach every lawyer both in private and public practice in Basilan but everyone refused due to fear of reprisals from the military. She then tried to ask the help of the Commission on Human Rights based in Zamboanga but she was advised to get a lawyer for the case first; at this point she met Atty. Rey Bongabong who took the case and filed a Writ of Habeas Corpus  Regional Trial Court of Isabela on July 27, 2011,” the fact sheet said.

Ajid was finally resurfaced by the military at around 3 p.m. that day and committed to the provincial jail, having been charged with kidnapping committed by the Abu Sayyaf.

At the jail, Ajid’s family saw his torture marks. “He was suffering from severe burns on his face, chest, lower torso, and genitalia. He also showed severe bruises or hematoma on his chest and lower ribs. He could not stand without assistance and he was withdrawn and did not talk too much. He also suffered from a partial loss of hearing, and whenever he would try to sit down, he would suffer from pain and discomfort,” the fact sheet said.

Ajid told his wife and sister that while under interrogation, somebody poured gasoline over his head, inside his ears, and on his face. ”He could not sit without feeling pain because his interrogators also rubbed red chilli into his anus and they also forcibly placed a bottle of gasoline inside his anus. Gasoline was also poured over his lower abdomen and genital region. After pouring gasoline Ajid’s interrogators set him on fire,” the fact sheet said.

Judge Leo Prinsipe granted the family’s request that Ajid be given medical treatment. He was brought to the Basilan Community Hospital a day after he was surfaced but “the attending physician failed to record all the physical manifestations of his torture,” the fact sheet said.

“In the medical report the attending physician only stated that the patient … was suffering from flame burns – no mention was made of the burns on his genitals, his internal injuries, and the bruises he suffered,” the fact sheet said.

Section 6 of  Republic Act  9745 provides under Section 6  that Freedom from Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment is an absolute right.
“Torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment as criminal acts shall apply to all circumstances. A state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability, or any other public emergency, or a document or any determination comprising an ‘order of battle’ shall not and can never be invoked as a justification for torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.. (Carolyn O. Arguillas/MindaNews)

http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2011/08/02/basilan-baker-tortured-while-in-military-custody/

Former Peasant women organizer illegally arrested in La Union, Northern Philippines

ICHRP Secretariat
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UA No: 2011-08-01
August 1, 2011
UA Case                                 :
Illegal/Arbitrary Arrest and Detention, Violation of the Rights of the Arrested or Detained Persons; Violation of the Rights of Children

Victim/s
GLORIA QUINONES FLORESCA
57 years old, resident of Ortiz village, Naguilian, La Union
Former organizer of Solidarity of Ilocos Associations of Women (SILAW)-AMIHAN, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, and also former coordinator of Gabriela-Ilocos

“BAN-BAN” (not his real name), four years old, grandson of Gloria Floresca, to whom she serves as legal guardian

Place of Incident                    :

Floresca residence, Ortiz village, municipality of Naguilian, La Union province

Date of Incident                     :
July 21, 2011

Alleged Perpetrator(s)          :

Joint elements of Provincial Intelligence Branch, Naguilian Police, Baguio City Police, and Naval Forces-Northern Luzon, as identified in the PNP press release, including those who were identified by witnesses as Sabado, Calica, Cambe and one in plainclothes

Account of the Incident:
On July 21, at about 12:30 PM, Gloria Floresca was with Ruby Rose Quinones, 21 years old, Felicitas Quinones, 80 years old, and “Ban-ban”, 4 years old, cooking lunch at their residence at Ortiz, Naguilian, La Union when police officers, who were identified only by their nameplates as Sabado, Calica, Cambe and another in civilian clothes entered and asked Mrs. Floresca if her name was Gloria Floresca. Mrs. Floresca answered yes. They said they were arresting her based on a warrant of arrest for the crime of rebellion, but did not show her the warrant. The arresting officers also did not read her the Miranda Rights.

Mrs. Floresca was shocked and told them that was impossible. Still holding a bowl of egg yolks, she asked if she could just finish cooking and feeding her grandson. She also asserted her right to a lawyer before they take her into custody. The police told her that they could not allow her because they had to arrest and detain her and that they will give her a lawyer when they reach the camp.

The police officers first took Mrs. Floresca aboard a police vehicle to the Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center (ITRMC) for a medical check-up.  The doctor, however, cannot issue a medical examination result, so they proceed to the PNP Regional Headquarters for the medical examination. Then they took Mrs. Floresca to the PNP Provincial Office in Camp Diego Silang at Carlatan, San Fernando City for fingerprinting and mug shots. Mrs. Floresca still had no lawyer, but was interrogated by various police officers to whom she denied all their allegations.

A Quick Reaction Team (QRT) of the Ilocos Human Rights Alliance (IHRA) went to the PNP Provincial Office and requested a copy of the Warrant of Arrest but four unidentified police officers refused and instead told the QRT that a rebellion case was filed against her at the Tagudin RTC.

At around 6:00 PM, the team obtained a copy of a press release issued by the PNP Regional Command stating that Floresca is the “number 3 most wanted criminal” in Region 1 as per report of Police Region 1 Director PSupt. Franklin Bucayu and La Union Provincial Director PSupt Ramos Purugganan. The PNP claimed Floresca is “the head of the Finance Bureau of the Ilocos Cordillera Regional Committee Execom” and that she was arrested at her “hiding place” in Ortiz village by the “joint elements of Provincial Intelligence Branch, Naguilian Police, Baguio City Police, and Naval Forces-Northern Luzon.” The PNP distributed the press release to the media shortly after the arrest.

The police planned to take Floresca to Branch 25 of the Regional Trial Court in Tagudin, Ilocos Sur, but since it was already 5:00 PM, they decided to put her under the custody of the Women and Children Crisis Desk (WCCD), where she was brought at around 5:30 PM and stayed together with her daughter and a PNP officer named “Cas”.

At around 11:00 PM, an unidentified PNP officer again interrogated Floresca for about 30 minutes before she was allowed to sleep.

The next day, at about 11:00 AM, Floresca, escorted by some 20 elements of the PNP Regional Public Safety Team, was transported and presented to the Branch 25 RTC at Tagudin, Ilocos Sur.  She was later brought to Vigan City and detained at the Ilocos Sur Provincial Jail.

The Court records obtained by IHRA stated that Floresca’s case, under Criminal Case No. 969-T Tagudin RTC Branch 25, was filed by 1LT Romy Andres, Cpl. Paulino Tabug, Jr., Cpl. Felix Casil, Pfc. Joseph Hoyohoy, Pfc. Noel Bilog, Pfc. Michael Saldo, all from 50th Infantry Battalion, 5th Infantry Division Philippine Army. The Warrant of Arrest was issued by retired Judge Melanio Rojas on June 28, 2007 and later on by Judge Sixto Diompoc on February 19, 2010 after the case was archived.

Floresca, also known in the women’s movement as Manang Glo, was formerly organizer of Solidarity of Ilocos Associations of Women (SILAW), an affiliate of AMIHAN and GABRIELA-Ilocos before she retired in 2007 because of her medical condition. She has two daughters and a grandson, to whom she serves as his legal guardian. ###

Recommended Action:

Send letters, emails or fax messages calling for:
The dropping of fabricated charges and immediate release of Gloria Quinones Floresca.
The military to stop the labeling and targeting of human rights defenders as “members of front organizations of the communists” and “enemies of the state.”
The Philippine Government to withdraw its counterinsurgency program Oplan Bayanihan, which victimizes innnocent and unarmed civillians
The Philippine Government to be reminded that it is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and that it is also a party to all the major Human Rights instruments, thus it is bound to observe all of these instruments’ provisions.

You may send your communications to:

H.E. Benigno C. Aquino III
President of the Republic
Malacañang Palace,
JP Laurel St., San Miguel
Manila Philippines
Voice: (+632) 564 1451 to 80
Fax: (+632) 742-1641 / 929-3968
E-mail: [email protected] / [email protected]

Sec. Teresita Quintos-Deles
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process
Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP)
7th Floor Agustin Building I
Emerald Avenue
Pasig City 1605
Voice:+63 (2) 636 0701 to 066
Fax:+63 (2) 638 2216
[email protected]

Ret. Lt. Gen. Voltaire T. Gazmin
Secretary, Department of National Defense
Room 301 DND Building, Camp Emilio Aguinaldo,
E. de los Santos Avenue, Quezon City
Voice:+63(2) 911-9281 / 911-0488
Fax:+63(2) 911 6213
Email: [email protected]

Atty. Leila De Lima
Secretary, Department of Justice
Padre Faura St., Manila
Direct Line 521-8344; 5213721
Trunkline  523-84-81 loc.214
Fax: (+632) 521-1614
Email:  [email protected]

Hon.  Loretta Ann P. Rosales
Chairperson, Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., UP Complex
Commonwealth Avenue
Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
Voice: (+632) 928-5655, 926-6188
Fax: (+632) 929 0102
Email:   [email protected], [email protected]

Please send us a copy of your email/mail/fax to the above-named government officials, to our address below.

URGENT ACTION Prepared by:

KARAPATAN Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights
National Office
2/F Erythrina Bldg., #1 Maaralin cor Matatag Sts.,
Brgy. Central, Diliman, Quezon City 1100 PHILIPPINES
Voice/Fax: (+632) 435 4146
—
KARAPATAN Urgent Action Alert
KARAPATAN Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights
2/F Erythrina Building, #1 Maaralin cor. Matatag Sts.,
Central District, 1101 Quezon City, Philippines
Telefax: (632) 435 4146

Time to act for human rights

ICHRP Secretariat
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By Satur C. Ocampo
At Ground Level | The Philippine Star

“In 2006 and 2007, when the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and several other major donors publicly raised their concerns over the politically motivated killings under then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the number of killings dropped drastically. Under President Aquino, though, it is international pressure that has dropped, while the killings continue.”

Human Rights Watch

Such is the pointed reminder to President Aquino a rebuke, actually from an international human rights monitoring organization as he prepares to deliver his second state-of-the-nation address on Monday.

And there are similar reminders, rebukes, and appeals from various groups within the country. All urge the President to decisively resolve the issues of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and other human rights violations attributed to state security forces in pursuance of internal security policies and programs.

Under P-Noy’s watch, the human-rights alliance Karapatan has documented 48 extrajudicial killings and six enforced disappearances. None of these have been solved, contrary to Mr. Aquino’s claim in his first SONA that three political murder cases had been solved of the six recorded then.

Human Rights Watch’s 98-page report, titled “No Justice Just Adds to the Pain: Killings, Disappearances, and Impunity in the Philippines,” details some of these cases through 80 interviews with victims, their families, and witnesses in 11 provinces and with PNP and AFP officials. A former soldier narrates how military commanders trained and ordered him and other soldiers to kill leftist activists, hide or burn their bodies, intimidate witnesses, and make the killings appear like they were supposedly done by the New People’s Army’s “special partisan units.”

In the past decade only seven cases of extrajudicial killings were successfully prosecuted, with 12 defendants convicted, but HRW notes “none since P-Noy assumed office.” There has been no military member convicted, it adds, and no senior military officer convicted for direct involvement or as a matter of command responsibility.

Elaine Pearson, HRW-Asia deputy director, remarks: “Activists are being gunned down in the street, while implicated soldiers walk free. The Philippines can only bring an end to these horrific abuses if it is clear that anyone who orders or commits them will be jailed and their military careers will be over.”

Wasn’t this essentially what P-Noy said in a meeting with European ambassadors shortly before he was elected President? “Cases of extrajudicial killings need to be solved, not just identify the perpetrators but have them captured and sent to jail,” as quoted in this column last May 14.

Now P-Noy is pressed to make good on what he said then.

One challenge to him comes from Karapatan and Hustisya (an organization of victims and their families) which have initiated the filing of criminal charges against retired Army Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. and other military officers for the abduction and disappearance in 2006 of UP coeds Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno. In a press statement, the two groups were firm:

“Mr. President, you have to back up our initiatives, you have to stand up with us in our pursuit of justice and ensure that Palparan, et al., end up in jail. Equally important, you have to immediately put a stop to human rights violations under your administration and end impunity in this country.”

In Mindanao’s Caraga region, tribal, labor and human rights groups will hold mass rallies coinciding with Monday’s SONA to protest P-Noy’s “inaction” on the continued killings of tribal leaders and members of indigenous peoples “who refuse to cooperate with influential politicians who favor mining and logging interests.”

Monday will also be the final day of a three-day fast undergone by 354 political prisoners all over the country. They are calling attention to their demand to free all political prisoners, preferably through a presidential proclamation of a “general, omnibus and unconditional amnesty.”

Their amnesty demand is supported by several groups church formations, lawyers, progressive party-list representatives in Congress, as well as Karapatan, Hustisya, Selda (ex-political prisoners), and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan.

It’s a just demand, deserving of public support. Why?

These are persons who were arrested, detained and imprisoned basically for acts in furtherance of their political beliefs. Long-established jurisprudence requires them to be treated differently from common criminal offenders. Yet they have been arbitrarily denied liberty and due process of law through “legal” schemes, such as charging them with common crimes (murder, kidnapping, arson, etc.), instead of rebellion or sedition. They are thus denied the right to bail, even as their cases take forever to be heard. They are stigmatized as plain criminals of the heinous kind rather than treated as political offenders.

Of the 354 political prisoners, 47 were arrested under P-Noy, 27 before Arroyo, and 280 under her. Most are victims of Arroyo’s “legal offensive” via the Inter-Agency Legal Action Group created in 2006. The IALAG has been abolished upon recommendation by UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston, yet its malevolent effects continue to penalize its victims.

Justice demands rectification of these anomalies.

As his mother Cory Aquino saw the justness of granting general amnesty for the Marcos dictatorship’s political prisoners in 1986, can’t P-Noy do likewise for Arroyo’s and his own political prisoners?

E-mail to: [email protected]

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