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    The extrajudicial killing of Benjamin E. Bayles and the developments in the case

    By
    ICHRP Secretariat
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    0

    Case information sheet

    Who was Benjie?

    Benjamin Estrope Bayles, or Benjie, was 43 years old, single and a resident of Sitio Pamandayan, Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, Philippines.

    A rural poor himself, Benjie dedicated all his work and energy towards social justice and peace.  He defended human rights amidst socio-economic conflicts and an on-going heavy militarization campaign.  He was a genuine peasant leader who vocally advocated the interest of the marginalized population in Barangay Buenavista and neighboring communities.  Particularly, he fought against forced eviction, militarization and human rights violations.

    He denounced abuses committed by the officers and men of Philippine Army against upland farmers and agricultural workers.  Being a member of the September 21 Movement- Southern Negros, a local human rights alliance which is an active member organization of the nation-wide human rights alliance KARAPATAN, he facilitated the families of the victims to meet with the para-legals of September 21 Movement and KARAPATAN.  He actively joined fact- finding missions and quick reaction teams sent to investigate human rights violations in the hinterland barangays of Himamaylan City.

    His advocacy for human rights and people’s concerns was developed and nurtured by his involvement in church activities in the Parish of San Ramon Nonato of Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI or Philippine Independent Church) at Barangay Su-ay, Himamaylan City.  From being a sacristan, he rose to become a lay worker and a lay leader, and a district coordinator of the Aglipayan Forum, the organization of members of IFI active in human rights and other social issues.  As a lay leader, he was active in anti-mining campaigns and in peasant advocacies.  He was also a member-organizer of the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW) and a local leader of the Bayan Muna Party.

    A truly compassionate man, he selflessly gave his entire work and energy to the poor.  Eventually he gave his life.  He was aware of the risks.  Characteristic of an eventual killing, the military put him under surveillance and started vilifying him weeks before the incident.  He knew he was marked.  Despite all this, he remained a soft-spoken and peaceful person.  Full of hope of a just society, he never gave up his faith and belief in fellow men.  Violence by no means was a remote experience to Benjie and his family.  In 1989, his brother was shot to death by the CAFGU – a notorious paramilitary group established by Corazon Aquino under operational command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).  His father rushed to help his son and was killed in the same incident too.

    The Killing and Arrest

    On June 14, 2010, at around 4:30 p.m., Benjie was waiting for a ride at the crossing Sitio Antolo, Barangay Su-ay, Himamaylan City when two men wearing helmets on board a black Honda TMX 155cc motorcycle with no license plate stopped nearby.  The back rider disembarked and walked towards Benjie.  At about 3 meters away from him, the gunman shot him at different parts of his body.  When he fell down, the driver of the motorcycle also came near him and shot him to ensure his death.  Then the perpetrators left the area on board the motorcycle.  Bystanders took him to the Valeriano Gatuslao District Hospital at Himamaylan City but he was pronounced dead-on-arrival.

    Among the bystanders who witnessed the incident was a government official who immediately called someone he knows from the Himamaylan City Philippine National Police (PNP) to report the incident.  The Himamaylan City PNP alerted the nearby Kabankalan City PNP.

    Meanwhile, at around 5:20 in the afternoon of the same day, Police Officers Joey Santiago, Alvin L. Alvior and Arnold C. Tadiaque, all members of the PNP assigned at Kabankalan City, were on board their patrol car roving around Kabankalan City when they received a radio message that Himamaylan City Police Station (Himamaylan City is adjacent to, and to the north of, Kabankalan City) requested assistance to intercept two suspects responsible for a shooting incident at Barangay Su-ay, Himamaylan City who were sighted heading to Kabankalan City area, prompting them to proceed to Barangay Hilamonan road (Kabankalan) which was the possible exit point of the suspects who were described riding in tandem on a black Honda TMX 155cc motorcycle and wearing helmets and sweatshirts.

    While they were in position, the police officers saw an approaching motorcycle resembling the description which turned to the circumferential road (around 5 meters before their position) heading south.  After few minutes of chasing the motorcycle which was moving fast, they were able to stop it, ordered its two riders to drop to the ground and frisked them.  They recovered from one of the suspects who identified himself as RONNIE LIZADA CAURINO, one STI Custom Shop caliber .45 pistol bearing serial number 129528 with one empty magazine, and from the other suspect who identified himself as ROGER MAREZA BAJON, one lightweight Colt Defender Series 90 caliber .45 pistol bearing serial number 195879 with one magazine containing two live ammunitions.

    They immediately brought the suspects, the confiscated firearms and the motorcycle (with motor number KB509E034382 and chassis number KB509034379) to the Kabankalan City Police Station.  A few minutes later, members of the Himamaylan City PNP arrived and, after proper turn-over, brought the suspects, the firearms and the motorcycle.

    The two suspects were subsequently positively identified by witnesses as the assailants of Benjie.

    In a Spot Report dated June 14, 2010 signed and submitted by the Chief of Police of Himamaylan to the Negros Occidental Provincial Police Director, it was stated that at about 5:25 p.m. of the same date, the Kabankalan City Police Station informed the Himamaylan City Police Station that they had intercepted two persons (the suspects)…claiming themselves as members of the Philippine Army.

    On the same date, the Kabankalan police, in their statement to radio station DYEZ “Aksyon Radyo” Bacolod, said that the suspects confessed to be “organic” members of the 61st Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army (IBPA), and that the two were turned over to the Himamaylan PNP and detained at the Himamaylan City Jail.

    In the morning of June 15, 2010, the Himamaylan PNP retracted from the Kabankalan police’s initial statement to the same radio station, claiming that the suspects are not connected with the military.

    The Criminal Case and Its Developments

    Police Reluctance.  Aside from visiting the crime scene and gathering basic information, the Himamaylan PNP was for unknown reason initially reluctant in further investigating, gathering evidence and pursuing the filing of a criminal case against the suspects.  The police did not attempt to find willing witnesses.  In the evening of June 14, 2010, members of the September 21 Movement investigated the case, looked for and secured witnesses, and brought them to the police station to identify the suspects.  The family of Mr. Bayles had to meet the Mayor of Himamaylan who had to intercede so that the police would do their job properly.  The media castigated the police publicly on air for obviously neglecting their duties.  There was no thorough crime scene investigation.

    Case Status.  Finally, on June 18, 2010, a complaint for murder was filed by the Chief of Police of Himamaylan City against the suspects at the Office of the City Prosecutor of Himamaylan.  An inquest 1 on the case was scheduled on the same date.  The September 21 Movement and KARAPATAN mobilized about a hundred of their members to the Office of the City Prosecutor to publicly show their demand for justice for the killing of Mr. Bayles.  However, the two suspects signed a waiver of the provisions of Article 125 2 of the Revised Penal Code and requested instead for a regular preliminary investigation.

    A hearing for preliminary investigation was to be conducted on June 29, 2010.  However, on June 21, 2010, the two suspects filed a waiver of their right to preliminary investigation and to appear on the June 29 hearing.  They did not also file any counter-affidavit to answer the complaint and refute the evidence filed against them.  They instead asked the prosecutor to immediately resolve the case based on the sufficiency or insufficiency of the evidence submitted by the complainant against them.

    On June 15, the Himamaylan police subjected the two suspects to a paraffin test at the Negros Occidental Provincial Police (NOPP) Crime Laboratory at Bacolod City.

    An autopsy was conducted on the cadaver of Bayles on June 16. The city medico-legal officer found 25 wounds (entry and exit) and recovered three (3) slugs from the cadaver.  On June 22, the Himamaylan police indorsed to the NOPP Office for ballistic examination the 3 slugs, the confiscated firearms and the 2 empty shells of caliber .45 recovered by the police from the crime scene.

    On July 2, the City Prosecutor of Himamaylan issued a Resolution finding probable cause for murder against the two suspects.  Thereafter, on July 5, an Information (or charge sheet) for Murder (a non-bailable offense) entitled “People of the Philippines, Complainant, vs. Roger Bajon and Ronnie Caurino, Accused” was filed by the City Prosecutor at the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Himamaylan where the case is docketed as Criminal Case No. 2474.  The RTC is yet to schedule the arraignment of the accused.

    Ballistic Examination and Paraffin Tests.  The result of the ballistics examination is particularly crucial in this case.  It could directly link the arrested suspects to the murder of Benjie as it could be established whether the slugs taken from his cadaver (which caused his death) were fired from the firearms taken from the suspects during their arrest less than an hour from the shooting incident.  Said proofs (slugs and firearms) were turned over to the custody and control of the police who conducted the ballistic examination.  There was no way of independently ensuring, for example, that the barrels of the firearms are not changed prior to the examination, or that the result would not be “doctored”.  On July 14, 2010, the Himamaylan PNP and City Prosecutor’s Office orally informed us that the ballistic examination and the paraffin tests in this case returned negative results.  We are yet to receive an official copy of the results.  The accused, through their counsel, already filed a Motion to Quash the Information based, among others, on the said results.

    Concerns.  The serial numbers of the firearms taken from both accused and the motor and chassis numbers of the motorcycle they used could lead not only to the real identities of both accused (who have been very silent up to now) and to the motive behind the killing, but also to the possible mastermind(s) of the killing or to other people possibly involved in the killing.  Information along this line could also possibly help in curbing impunity existing in the country.  However, up to the present, there has been no indication that the PNP or any other agency of the government is pursuing this.

    Other Case-related Developments.  Mr. Larry Trinidad of Radio Mindanao Network and Jaime Lim, 41, a Bacolod-based journalist, are reported of receiving death threats for having indicated the involvement of the military in the killings of Benjie Bayles.
    Prepared by:

    Atty. Benjamin T. Ramos, Jr.
    PDG Compound, Mohon, Barangay Binicuil,
    Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental

    1  An inquest is a summary inquiry conducted by a prosecutor to determine whether the warrantless arrest of a person was based on probable cause.  Probable cause is the existence of such facts and circumstances as would excite the belief in a reasonable mind (or a reasonable ground to believe) that a crime has been committed and that the respondent/person charged is probably guilty thereof.

    2  Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code reads:  “Art. 125. Delay in the delivery of detained persons to the proper judicial authorities. – The penalties provided in the next preceding articles shall be imposed upon the public officer or employee who shall detain any person for some legal ground and shall fail to deliver such person to the proper judicial authorities within the period of twelve (12) hours, for crimes or offenses punishable by light penalties, or their equivalent; eighteen (18) hours, for crimes or offenses punishable by correccional penalties, or their equivalent; and thirty- six (36) hours, for crimes or offenses punishable by afflictive or capital penalties, or their equivalent.

    In every case, the person detained shall be informed of the cause of his detention and shall be allowed, upon his request, to communicate and confer at any time with his attorney or counsel.”#

    Rights groups blame GMA for Ampatuans’ reign of terror

    By
    ICHRP Secretariat
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    0

    http://www.tribuneonline.org
    by Michaela P. del Callar

    A prominent human rights watchdog yesterday blamed what it called a two-decade reign of terror of the Ampatuan warlord clan on former President Arroyo’s political patronage of the Ampatuans, saying this allowed them to amass great wealth and unchecked power, strengthen various militia forces, increase the sale of military weaponry and ensure impunity for rights abuses in Maguindanao.

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    No real peace in Army’s community ‘peace’ teams – Karapatan

    By
    ICHRP Secretariat
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    0

    PRESS RELEASE
    November 17, 2010

    For reference:
    Hanimay Suazo
    Karapatan Acting Deputy Secretary-General

    DAVAO CITY – Human rights group Karapatan says today that the peace and development teams of the Armed Forces of the Philippines now going around some parts of the city are meant to harass civilians and sow fear among the residents.

    “The concept pf Peace and development teams in the barangay is a candy-wrapped presentation of militarizing communities or a sugar-coated-bullet kind of operation,” says Hanimay Suazo, acting deputy secretary-general of Karapatan.

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    Tragic loss amid climate of impunity

    By
    ICHRP Secretariat
    -
    0

    Streetwise
    By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo
    Published in Business World

    Leonard Co, unarguably one of the country’s foremost botanists and biodiversity experts, as well as an indefatigable conservationist, was killed in a forested area in Kananga, Leyte last Monday, together with two of his companions, while undertaking scientific explorations under the auspices of the Energy Development Corporation.  Two others survived.

    The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) immediately claimed that the three killed were “collateral damage” in a legitimate military operation against rebel New People’s Army (NPA) who had been sighted in the area.

    More than seven years ago, also in Kananga town, nine civilians were reported by Tacloban human rights groups and people’s organizations to have been tortured and massacred by soldiers of the 19th Infantry Battalion under the command of Lt. Col. Oscar Lactao, dubbed the “Palparan of Leyte”. The AFP reported the incident as an “encounter with the NPA”.

    Human rights groups decried that eight of the victims were shot in the head, at close range, and that there was evidence of torture as shown by scald burns found on the victims’ bodies. Among the dead were Eugenio Tazan, 54-year-old peasant leader of the San Isidro Small Farmers Association, and 24-year-old Rowena Superior of the Bagalungon Small Farmers Association, who was three months pregnant.  Four others killed were minors with ages ranging from 13 to 17.

    In another infamous case in Palo, Leyte on Nov 21, 2005, a group of farmers resting by a make-shift warehouse before they start work on their plots were viciously attacked by elements of the 19th IB. Hurling five grenades and firing continuously for 30 minutes, the soldiers killed seven farmers, including a pregnant woman, and wounded several others.  Not satisfied, the soldiers hit the survivors with rifle butts, forcing them to confess they were armed and members of the NPA. Failing to extract confessions, the soldiers brought in a sack of old rifles and claimed these belonged to the farmers, in the same fashion that the 16th IB PA planted firearms and explosives as evidence against the Morong 43 early this year.

    As in most cases of human rights violations in the rural areas, the planners and perpetrators of the Kananga and Palo massacres remain unpunished despite numerous evidence and testimonies.  The victims being ordinary folk have been consigned to oblivion, just another statistic in the government’s counter-insurgency drive, as “rebels” who had been properly “neutralized” or as “collateral damage”.

    Apparently, this is what the AFP wants to happen in the case of Co and the two other victims, forest guard Sofronio Cortez, and farmer Julius Borromeo, who were acting as Co’s assistants.  But since the military cannot impugn the character of Co nor raise questions about the legitimacy of his group’s presence in the virgin forest surrounding the EDC geothermal facility, their claim is that the victims were killed in the supposed crossfire between clashing soldiers and rebels.

    Unfortunately for the AFP, such claims are being belied by the two survivors of the massacre.  “I only heard a continued burst of gunfire. There was no answering gunfire. None. That was what I heard…,” said Policarpio Balute, a member of the Tongonan Farmers Association who served as Co’s guide.

    According to Niño Gibe as recounted by Co’s wife, “(Gibe) said that when my husband tried to get up from the ground, another burst of gunfire hit him in the back.” “After the second volley of gunfire, Niño said he held up his hand as sign of surrender and shouted, ‘Tama na, tama na’ (Stop it), and the gunfire suddenly stopped,” the wife said.

    Compare these eyewitness accounts to that of Lt. Col. Federico Tutaan, commanding officer of the 19th IB who, in a press conference held in Tacloban, claimed that before the shooting started, his soldiers saw a person wearing black and holding an M-16 rifle, prompting them to assume a combat formation.  Denying earlier reports that he said a soldier fired the first shot, Tutaan now says, “There was a volume of fire. The bullets ricocheted to different directions.”

    Tutaan added that since early November, the 19th IB was on “heightened alert and always on a combat mode” because of intelligence reports that NPA members were planning to attack the EDC complex. He claimed that it was the EDC that had tipped them off on the presence of the NPA yet he also claimed they were uninformed that there were EDC employees in the area.

    CENCOM Commanding General Ralph Villanueva betrayed the AFP’s mindset and default mode of shifting the blame to the NPAs, if not to the victims themselves, when he said that investigations are being conducted to determine whether the bullets that killed Co and his companions came from the soldiers’ rifles or from the NPAs.  Assuming without granting that the bullets did not come from 19th IB firearms, how could he tell that these came from the NPA minus ballistic tests on such rifles?

    Meanwhile the family of Co has raised pointed questions about the AFP’s version of what took place. They want to know why Co was allowed to enter the area if rebel presence had been reported there.  And if the military was in such close coordination with the EDC with regard to their ongoing operations, why was Co not forewarned about imminent danger to his group of being “caught in a cross fire”?

    Most poignantly, Co’s wife, Glenda asks in disbelief, “Nangyayari pa rin ang ganito kahit na sa ilalim ni Pnoy, bakit?” (“This is still happening under Pnoy’s administration, why?”)

    The climate of impunity that pervades the entire AFP and other state security forces evidently emboldens them to continue perpetrating atrocities against perceived or even imagined “enemies”.  Surely, the impunity with which the 19th IB had perpetrated several massacres and gotten away with them is behind this most recent tragedy.

    The AFP has of late been attempting to refurbish its tarnished image with grand claims of upholding human rights.

    A day after the killings, General Ricardo David Jr, AFP chief, proudly announced that the AFP was setting up human rights offices in all three major services – the army, navy and air force – and would designate HR officers down to the battalion level.  The aim was purportedly “to demonstrate the AFP’s resolve and enhance its campaign in ensuring observance of human rights, international humanitarian law and the rule of law.”

    However, an objective appraisal of these welcome words of institutional commitment to human rights in light of the AFP’s most recent actuations and track record leads to the inevitable conclusion that this latest pronouncement is nothing more than a public relations move.

    It is in line with the so-called security sector reform being flaunted by Malacañang, whose aim is not really to reform the military, police and other state security forces but to clean up and improve their public image and make them more acceptable and credible.

    How President Aquino, AFP Commander-in-Chief, will deal with this indiscriminate and wanton slaughter of a brilliant scientist and his assistants will again test his willingness and capacity to uphold human rights over and above the military’s protestations of innocence. (19-20 November 2010)

    Free the 43 health workers (Morong 43)

    By
    ICHRP Secretariat
    -
    0

    On February 6, 2010, 43 health workers taking part in the First Responders Training were illegally arrested by combined elements from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police in Morong, Rizal.

    The health workers, who became known as the “Morong 43”, included two doctors, a nurse, two midwives, and volunteer community health workers. At the time of their arrest, they were training for medical interventions in far flung areas during times of disasters. The training was sponsored by Community Medicine Foundation (COMMED) and Council for Health and Development (CHD), two organizations known for community health work.

    Using a defective search warrant, the illegal raid was conducted in gross violations of standard procedures and basic human rights. The health workers were not informed of the reasons for their arrest and for fi ve days, were denied their right to counsel even during the inquest proceedings.

    The military falsely accused the health workers of being members of the New Peoples Army of the Communist Party of the Philippines, allegedly of conducting a bomb making training. During their detention in Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal, the military committed various atrocities, including prolonged psychological, physical, torture and sexual harassment. As such, the military was able to coerce fi ve health workers to become “state witnesses” and turn against their colleagues.

    The 43 health workers did not get justice under the Arroyo government. At present, the 38 are still detained at Camp Bagong Diwa while waiting for the Supreme Court of the Philippines to act on their appeal. The legal battle and mass actions will continue until justice is fi nally served to the 43 health workers.

    As an act of goodwill we appeal to president-elect Benigno Aquino III to uphold and respect human rights and free the 43 health workers and all political prisoners.

    We call on all sectors of society, colleagues in the health professions, lawyers, lawmakers, political leaders across party lines, religious formations, human rights advocates, artists, and advocates and benefi ciaries of community-based health programs to join the campaign to free the 43.

    We call on various national and international organizations to support the campaign, undertake advocacy work, mobilizations and call on the new administration to free the 43 health workers.

    Calls and Demands

    • We demand the immediate release of the Morong 43 and the dismissal of all charges against them!
    • We demand an end to the systematic violation of human rights and suppression of civil liberties, the utter disregard to due process, and the extrajudicial killings. we demand that all perpetrators to be brought to justice!
    • We call on all freedom-loving people to make a stand for human rights and condemn in the strongest terms the human rights violations perpetrated with impunity by the Philippine government!

    What you can do:

    1. Join and support the campaign activities
    2. Send letters, statements calling for their release to Philippine government  institutions
    3. Attend, organize for a, discussion groups and other educational activities
    4. Provide support services for the detainees and their families
    5. Sign up for the on-line petition
    6. Do lobby work
    7. Raise funds for the defense of Morong 43

    Financial donations can be placed in:

    Account name:
    COUNCIL FOR HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT
    Philippine National Bank
    Peso Savings Account # 219-8303219
    Timog Branch
    Timog Avenue,
    Quezon City, Philippines

    Bank of Philippine Islands
    US$ Account # 3144 00 5391
    swift code BOPIPHMM
    Kamuning Branch
    Tomas Morato Avenue,
    Quezon City, Philippines

    FREE THE 43 HEALTH WORKERS
    #35 Examiner St., West Triangle Homes, Quezon City
    Telefax: (+632) 929-8109
    Cellphone #: 0922-499-6237
    EMail: [email protected]
    Blog: http://freethehealthworkers.blogspot.com
    Online Petition: http://petitiononline.com/FreeD43/petition.html

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