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Aquino’s two years in office marked with continuing rights violations and impunity – Karapatan

ICHRP Secretariat
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Aquino’s two years in office marked with continuing rights violations and impunity – Karapatan

Karapatan Public Info Desk, Press Release, 25 June 2012 –   On the eve of the world commemoration of the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Karapatan renewed its call for the “People’s Manhunt” for Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. and other notorious human rights violators who remain fugitives from the bar of justice as the human rights group sees the continuation of the climate of impunity in the first two years of the Aquino administration.

Cristina Palabay, Karapatan spokesperson, called on the public to remain on the look-out for Palparan, as Karapatan and its member organizations and network will commemorate the abduction of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno on June 26, 2012. The date coincides with the UN commemoration of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. Karapatan chapters nationwide will hold protest actions tomorrow as they also asked Facebook users to re-use the online “Wanted Palparan” posters as profile pictures.

“Six years after the abduction of the UP students and six months after the release of the warrant of arrest against Palparan, there has been no meaningful and thoroughgoing effort to arrest one of the notorious poster boys of impunity in the Philippines. This strengthens our belief that the Armed Forces of the Philippines and those in power coddle Palparan, for who would have the resources and political influence to wield his apparent immunity from arrest? Such situation sends out a dangerous message to all human rights violators – that they can abduct, torture, and kill and get away with it,” Palabay commented.

Karapatan said this comes as no surprise as the “pattern of violations in the first two years of the Aquino administration indicate its character and streak of inflicting military terror and violence under its counter-insurgency policy of Oplan Bayanihan.” The rights group has documented more than 76 victims of extrajudicial killings and 96 torture victims, amid the increasing militarization of rural communities.

“Schools, village halls, homes, and other infrastructures for public use are being utilized as military camps, while AFP troops are inflicting fear, harassment, coercion, intimidation, vilification, torture and other forms of human rights violations against whole communities, including that of the Quezon province, in the guise of combat operations against the New People’s Army (NPA). We want them out of our homes, our schools, our communities,” Palabay said.

The groups will also conduct activities leading to the State of the Nation Address of Pres. Aquino on July.

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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 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.

Still no justice while Arroyo receives kid-gloved treatment from Malacañang -Karapatan

ICHRP Secretariat
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Still no justice while Arroyo receives kid-gloved treatment from Malacañang -Karapatan

Karapatan Public Info Desk, Press Statement, June 21, 2012 –   Today, as the defense lawyers of former Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo present their client’s plea for bail at the Pasay Regional Trial Court, human rights group Karapatan joins members of people’s organizations under BAYAN in a rally outside the court premises urging for the immediate junking of Arroyo’s motion for bail and her immediate prosecution for electoral sabotage and human rights cases.

Cristina Palabay, Karapatan spokesperson, said that more than six months have lapsed since the arrest of Arroyo based on electoral fraud charges, but her legal maneuvers and Malacañang’s kid-gloved treatment have kept GMA from being brought to justice.

Malacañang’s real intentions to prosecute Arroyo is betrayed by the fact that it has approved the special treatment of Arroyo in detention, being ‘detained’ in a hospital with extraordinary perks as a detained person, and the inordinately slow process of prosecuting her for the electoral fraud cases. The Aquino administration has likewise done nothing to go after GMA for the rights violations conducted under her term, which she has spurred through her counter-insurgency policy Oplan Bantay Laya,” she commented.

Palabay added that Arroyo’s motion for bail should not be granted by the court lest it be considered another significant indication of the prevailing climate of impunity in the country.

A week ago, the European Parliament adopted a resolution noting the “insufficiency” of the government’s ability to effectively combat the widespread impunity of perpetrators of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. The resolution was adopted after human rights activists led by Karapatan and Philippine UPR Watch conducted lobby activities and meetings with members of the parliament to brief them on the human rights situation in the country. (Full text of resolution may be accessed through this link: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&reference=P7-TA-2012-0264&language=EN)

Palabay welcomed the call of the European Parliament for the Philippine government “to take further measures in order to end impunity for extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture and bring those responsible to justice,” as victims of rights violations and their kin commemorate the International Day to Support Victims of Torture on June 26. It also marks the sixth year of the abduction and enforced disappearance of UP students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño.

“As long as perpetrators of such grave and heinous crimes such as Arroyo and Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. remain free from arrest and prosecution, Aquino and his state security forces bequeath their legacies by not establishing accountability and by their perpetuation of the same pattern of rights abuses through Oplan Bayanihan,” she concluded. ###

End Impunity now!
Reference:Cristina Palabay, Spokesperson, +63917-5003879
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 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.

Invitation to “Run for your Life 2 (This is not a fun run)” June 22, 4:00PM, UP Acad Oval, UP Diliman

ICHRP Secretariat
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Invitation to “Run for your Life 2 (This is not a fun run)” June 22, 4:00PM, UP Acad Oval, UP Diliman

Dear friends and colleagues,

This June , as the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture will be commemorated on the 26th, UP Kilos Na!, Karapatan, All-UP Workers Alliance  and Tanggulan Youth Network are inviting you to join us in speaking against the unspeakable, to stand against torture and all forms of human rights violations.

Torture continues to be employed by the state, to break the spirit, dignity and will of those it had deemed “enemies of the state.” This can be attested to by many political detainees and survivors of abduction who were subjected to cruel and inhumane acts by state security forces. Many had the determination and will to get over the physical and mental pain of their experience; still many need support for their continued healing.

Thousands who were disappeared were also probably tortured, while their families continue to be tormented with the uncertainty of their fate. To date, under the Aquino administration, there are already 96 victims of torture and 76 victims of extrajudicial killings, while 363 political prisoners continue to languish in detention centers. Nine have been forcibly disappeared.

Although the Philippines is a signatory to international human rights instruments such as the Convention against Torture, state security forces continue the use of torture and at the very least tolerates it, as none have been punished for violating the Anti-Torture Law.

This June, the human rights community will also commemorate the abduction of UP students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño six years ago. While their mothers have continued their search for justice when they filed criminal charges against Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. and his band of torturers, Palparan continues to evade the warrant of arrest issued against him amid the Aquino government’s lackluster efforts to arrest him. Palparan personifies the prevalent state of impunity in the country.

We would like to enjoin you to give tribute to the victims of torture and all rights abuses, and give voice to the call for justice and to end torture. We invite you to join us in “Run for your Life 2 (This is not a fun run),” an activity that aims to raise public awareness about torture, extrajudicial killings, the plight of political prisoners, human rights violations and the climate of impunity.

This will be the second time that we will lead this kind of activity, in coordination with other concerned organizations; the first was in 2011, dubbed “Run for your Life (This is not a fun run)”, and was participated in by Sunday joggers, runners and non-runners, bloggers, human rights activists, mainstream and alternative media and other concerned citizens. It was part of the campaign against torture and was held on the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

This time, it will be a 4.4 kilometer run/walk/jog, to be held on June 22, 2012, Friday, from 4:00 to 6:30pm, around the tree-lined Academic Oval in UP Diliman.

Justice to all victims of Torture!
Stop Enforced disappearances! Surface the victims now!
Justice to all victims of human rights violations!
End impunity in the Philippines!
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“Run for your Life 2 (This is not a fun run)” is also a part of the series of activities to commemorate the abduction of Empeño and Cadapan, who was also a sprinter/triathlete. To put a “twist” to the usual, there will be a “prison cell,” and participants will be encouraged to keep their eyes open for “Jovito Palparan”, whom they must capture by virtue of citizen’s arrest. The real Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. is a fugitive who remains scot-free after he was served a warrant of arrest for kidnapping and illegal detention of Karen and Sherlyn. The run will also serve as a fundraising event to generate financial support for the ongoing legal cases against Palparan and all human rights violators, so donations for the run are very welcome. A short program will be held at the end of the 4.4K run, at the foot of the AS steps. We hope that you can join us on the 22nd. Please contact us through (00632) 4354146 (Karapatan Office). Thank you very much.

Sincerely yours,

(sgd)Prof. Sarah Raymundo (UP Kilos Na!)
(sgd) Cristina Palabay (Spokesperson, Karapatan)
(sgd) Felix Pariñas (All UP Workers Alliance)
(sgd) Gidget Estrella  (Convenor, Tanggulan Youth Network)

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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 Bldg., #1 Maaralin corner Matatag Sts., Central District
Diliman, Quezon City, PHILIPPINES 1101
Telefax: (+63 2) 4354146
Web: http://www.karapatan.org

Expedite resumption of talks, release political prisoners – Karapatan

ICHRP Secretariat
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Expedite resumption of talks, release political prisoners – Karapatan

Karapatan Public Info Desk, Media Release, June 19, 2012 – “We welcome the June 16 joint statement of the NDF and the GPH peace panels saying that both agreed to ‘continue meaningful discussions prior to formal talks’. It is a ray of optimism for the NDFP consultants, staff and all the political prisoners that they will soon be free, “ enthuses Marie Hilao Enriquez, chairperson of Karapatan.

In the said joint statement, the NDF raised the issue of the “respect for and compliance with the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG)” and the release of NDFP consultants and other JASIG-protected persons such as Allan Jazmines, Tirso Alcantara, Eduardo Serrano, Ramon Patriarca, and 10 others.

The statement is timely as deteriorating prison conditions, restrictive policies on visits to political prisoners are imposed by the military and prison official as in the case of Tirso “Ka Bart” Alcantara. On June 16, Atty. Popanes of the Judge Advocate General’s Office (JAGO) denied Alcantara’s visitors, including Karapatan staff, citing a need for a permit on the basis of RA 7438. RA 7438 specifically outlines the rights of a detained person awaiting trial. Only Alcantara’s legal counsels were allowed to see Alcantara.

After almost one year and a half in prison, Alcantara remains in solitary confinement in Fort Bonifacio, with deteriorating health condition, deprived of sunning, served with filthy food ration (with dirt, trash, broken pieces of glass and fecal matter); and is given very limited access to relatives, lawyers, friends and supporters. Alcantara is consultant to the National Democratic Front (NDF) peace negotiating panel.

Alcantara’s prison condition is contained in a sworn statement before his legal counsels from the Public Interest Law Center (PILC) during their visit on June 16. Alcantara recounted that he was given water that tasted like ‘menthol’ and smelled like chemical that made him vomit and suffer from loose bowel movement. There was also a woman who, according to Alcantara, pretended to be a doctor; took his blood samples while he was blindfolded and gave him medicine as supposedly a prescription after his ECG. The medicine, he said, caused him nausea, palpitations, terrible pain on his neck. It was later learned that the ECG results were not yet processed and that the woman ‘doctor’ was a nurse.

The political prisoners, said Hilao-Enriquez, experience ill-treatment inside prison. Karapatan cited the situation of Ramon Patriarca, another detained NDFP consultant who was forcibly transferred from the Danao Provincial Jail, a regular detention facility, to the AFP Central Command in Cebu. Patriarca had twice went on hunger strike but was still refused transfer to the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center by Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.

Hilao-Enriquez said, “Alcantara and Patriarca are both inside military camps when they should be, at the very least, in a civilian facility. All of them are subjected to unreasonable prison rules on visitation, sunning, access to medical practitioners of their choice that deny their rights as prisoners.”

Karapatan expressed its concern on the growing pattern of repression of the political prisoners’ rights as the Aquino administration continues its deceptive mantra of being a pro-human rights president while giving full leeway to the military and state security forces to continue violating the rights of the people.

Hilao-Enriquez concluded that, “as the GPH and the NDF prepares for the resumption of talks, we reiterate our call to release all political prisoners, including the 14 NDF consultants. In fact, the NDF consultants should not be inside prison because they are JASIG-protected and should therefore be taking part in the talks. But after more than a year, the GPH has not acted on its own commitment to work for their release but has in fact treated the issue of the release of political prisoners as an obstacle, rather than as a building block, to a meaningful resumption of the peace talks.” ###

Reference: Marie Hilao Enrique, Chairperson, +63917-5616800
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 Bldg., #1 Maaralin corner Matatag Sts., Central District
Diliman, Quezon City, PHILIPPINES 1101
Telefax: (+63 2) 4354146
Web: http://www.karapatan.org

Denial of bids to junk damages suits against Arroyo for rights violations paves the way for confirming truth and accountability in court

ICHRP Secretariat
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Denial of bids to junk damages suits against Arroyo for rights violations paves the way for confirming truth and accountability in court

Press Release: 18 June 2012 – The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), counsel of several human rights victims today noted  a significant initial victory in the efforts to stop impunity – a trial judge has kept former President Gloria Arroyo and her top military and police officials as defendants in a damages case filed by the Morong 43 health workers.

“This gives somehow a flicker of hope to all rights victims who have been waiting for justice for the longest time. This ruling should encourage other victims to come forth, present their valid claims and can be a precedent in future cases against state violators,” said NUPL secretary-general Atty. Edre U. Olalia.

Judge Ma. Luisa Padilla of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 226 has recently denied motions by Arroyo and former Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Victor Ibrado and Gen. Delfin Bangit, who claimed they had no direct participation in the incident, to dismiss the civil action brought by the Morong 43. Earlier, a similar motion to dismiss a damages suit filed by members of the United Church of Christ of the Philippines against Arroyo was denied by QC RTC Branch 224 under Judge Marilyn Villardon.

“All of the defendants have in one way or another, enabled the policy of picking up civilians, sowing terror, threatening dissidents, torturing, abducting  and even killing political activists in the guise of ‘anti-insurgency’. We are relieved that the Court is finally allowing that this well-known fact be established judicially, as this is the core of countercharges against state-backed human rights violations,” said Atty. Olalia.

The Morong 43 civil case filed way back in April 2011 will have to proceed to mediation proceedings on 6 July 2012. Other defendants are former National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, former 2nd Infantry Division chief Maj. Gen. Jorge Segovia, Col. Cristobal Zaragosa, Maj. Manuel Tabion, Gen. Aurelio Baladad, Lt. Col. Jaime Abawag, Supt. Marion Balolong and Supt. Allan Nubleza. Segovia, Zaragoza and Baladad have since been promoted despite a string of rights violations cases against them. The presence of parties is mandatory in mediation proceedings.

Six of the Morong 43, a group of doctors, nurses and health workers wrongly detained for ten months in 2010, are seeking P15 million in total damages from their captors, the AFP leadership, and the former president for illegally arresting them, implementing the faulty search warrant, and inflicting harm and  torture. They have also filed a criminal complaint for torture against the same defendants before the Department of Justice last May.

Mrs. Arroyo told the Court that the complaint was one “against the Philippine Government’s implementation of its national security plan” and not specifically against her. She claimed that there was no act, duty or omission that could be pinned to her, and that her role in the entire affair was “incidental”. The two generals, meanwhile, said that they held no specific control over the joint army and police unit that arrested the Morong 43.

“While the Court believes that Arroyo cannot simply escape accountability by desperately citing incongruous arguments, still we are a long way from justice,” said Atty. Olalia.

The generals accused the plaintiffs of forum-shopping since a similar case before the Commission on Human Rights is pending, but the Court said that the natures of the suits and the tribunals are dissimilar.

The NUPL is also counsel of the mothers of missing university students Sherillyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno in the criminal case against fugitive Gen. Jovito Palparan et. al.,  and torture and disappearance survivors farmer Raymond Manalo and Fil-Am activist Melissa Roxas. It has recently accepted the request to be co-counsel in the criminal case for the disappearance of farmer-activist Jonas Burgos.#

Reference: Atty. Edre U. Olalia, NUPL Secretary General, +639175113373
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National Secretariat
National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers(NUPL)
3F Erythrina Bldg., Maaralin corner Matatag Sts. Central District,Quezon City, Philippines
Tel.No.920-6660,Telefax No. 927- 2812
Email addresses:nupl2007@gmail.com and nuplphilippines@yahoo.com
“Visit the NUPL  at http://www.nupl.net/

By calling yourselves the ‘people’s lawyer,’ you have made a remarkable choice. You decided not to remain in the sidelines. Where human rights are assaulted, you have chosen to sacrifice the comfort of the fence for the dangers of the battlefield. But only those who choose to fight on the battlefield live beyond irrelevance.”  Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno, in his message to the NUPL Founding Congress,Sept. 15, 2007

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