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Malacañang’s declaration of ‘significant decrease in EJKs’ will be put to test in the UNHRC-UPR—Karapatan

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Press Statement,May 25, 2012 – “It remains to be seen whether Malacanang’s spin that there is a ‘significant decrease in the cases of extrajudicial killings’ will work before the international community when the government delegation faces the  2nd cycle of the Universal Periodic Review on May 29,” said Marie Hilao-Enriquez, chairperson of Karapatan. Hilao-Enriquez heads the delegation of the Phillippine UPR Watch, which is currently in Geneva, Switzerland in time for the GPH’s 2nd UPR.

Hilao-Enriquez added that Malacanang’s statement is doubly offensive to the rights victims, both under the Aquino government and that of Arroyo’s. “It has essentially exonerated former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo by saying that the decrease in the killings started in 2008, a period still covered by Arroyo’s  bloody counter-insurgency program, Oplan Bantay Laya. As per Karapatan’s documentation, there were 212 victims of extrajudicial killings. At the same time, it is shows utter disregard to the aspirations for justice of the families of the 76 victims killed under President Aquino.”

The first EJK victim under the present Aquino dispensation was Fernando Baldomero, who was killed five days after Pres. Noynoy Aquino’s presidential inauguration. Baldomero was an elected municipal councilor and coordinator of Bayan Muna in Aklan, Panay Island.  Ernan Baldomero, son of Fernando Baldomero, is among the members of the Philippine UPR Watch delegation. Ernan is expected to raise the issue of his father’s killing and the continuing rights violations under the Aquino government.

Meanwhile, Karapatan spokesperson Cristina Palabay said that, “the UPR Watch delegation has met with and is continuing its meetings with country missions in Geneva to discuss with them the submissions of the various organizations that constitute the Phil. UPR Watch. Issues that are highlighted in these submissions are extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, forced evacuation and eviction and other rights violations that are mostly related to large-scale mining operations, landgrabbing and the current government’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP).”  The UPR Watch submitted to the UNHRC a parallel and alternative report on the human rights situation in the Philippines. The delegation is set to meet several other diplomatic missions in Geneva as they gear up for the review next week.

“The GPH claims on the supposed decrease of killings and human rights violations in the past four years are one of the biggest understatements by the Aquino administration. With 76 victims of EJKs under Noynoy and zero justice for victims of human rights violations, the GPH has zero credibility when it speaks of its compliance to its political and civil rights treaty obligations,” Palabay commented.

Palabay said that some of the mission representatives “were surprised when they learned that rights violations continue unabated in the country as the Aquino government spew their deceptive rhetorics on human rights”  The UPR Watch delegation is “serious about getting our message across: that the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Aquino government in general, has zero credibility to claim that there are no rights violations in the country today,”  added Palabay.

Karapatan today held a rally at the Department of National Defense (DND) to underscore the fact that there are more than 26,000 victims of forced evacuation in the countryside due to military operations that include bombings, indiscriminate firing, strafing and harassment of people in the communities. Earlier, Karapatan expressed its intent to submit complaints to the UN Special Rapporteur on Internally Displaced Persons, specifically the recent evacuation in Mindanao, in areas where there is large-scale mining operations. ###
Reference:Marie Hilao Enrique,Chairperson, 0917-5616800
Cristina Palabay, Spokesperson, 0917-5003879
Angge Santos, Media Liaison, 0918-9790580
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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.

UN foreign missions receptive of reports and accounts of human rights victims and defenders

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May 25, 2012 – Geneva – The delegation of the human rights civil society group Philippine UPR Watch has received a receptive audience among various foreign missions on their visit to the United Nations Human Rights Council 13th session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Switzerland.

The lobbying effort of the Philippine UPR Watch composed of 15 human rights and peace groups as well as church and mass organizations from the Philippines and abroad has been received positively by a diverse list of foreign dignitaries who have commonly expressed their keen interest to know more about the real state of human rights in the Philippines.

A significant number of foreign missions that have candidly discussed issues and questions with the various teams of the Philippine UPR Watch delegation have signified their concern about the compliance of the Philippine government with its commitment and pledges to the recommendations on the first cycle of UPR in 2008 as well as other undertakings it should fulfill. Seventy one countries have listed up to make statements, ask questions and make recommendations to the Philippine government on a wide array of outstanding human rights issues when the latter comes under scrutiny on Tuesday, May 29.

The foreign missions have assured the delegation that they will take into serious consideration all the concerns raised by the Philippine UPR Watch and counterpose these with the official national report of the Philippine government. The recurrent points that surfaced through the face-to-face interactions with the foreign missions include the continuing extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances and torture, impunity, the rights of women and children, militarization of indigenous communities and other pressing issues.

In between bilateral meetings with the foreign missions, the delegation has also been meeting with various representatives of the UN special procedures, rapporteurs and treaty monitoring bodies as well as a diverse array of international NGOs.

The UPR is a process where all United Nations members are subjected to a review every four years of their compliance with international human rights instruments and their commitments and pledges.

Marie Hilao-Enriquez, co-head of the Philippine UPR Watch said that after four years since the UPR was instituted by the Human Rights Council in 2008, the Philippine government has largely failed to fulfill its promises in the 1st UPR cycle since various forms of human rights violations continue and impunity still remains, noting that practically no one has been held to account and that the Pnoy administration has remained passive if not indifferent to the demands for justice for the victims.

Today, May 25, the group will be conducting a forum at the Palais des Nations at the UN as a side event dubbed “Telling It As It Is”: Articulating the Philippine Human Rights Situation in the UPR Process, where human rights victims and defenders will speak about their experiences, analysis and recommendations.

The Philippine UPR Watch delegation in Geneva is made up of leaders and representatives of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, Karapatan, Tanggol Bayi, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, Promotion of Church People’s Response, Migrante International, Cordillera Peoples’ Alliance, Iglesia Filipina Independiente, Kalipunan ng mga Katutubo ng Pilipinas, Kawagib/Moro Christian People’s Alliance, Children’s Rehabilitation Center, Defend Job Philippines, and Hustisya. They are joined by representatives from the International Committee on the Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines, Bayan-USA, Migrante-Switzerland, and ICCHRP-United Kingdom.

Reference:
Marie Hilao-Enriquez
Fr. Jonash Joyohoy
Co-Heads, Philippine UPR Watch
Contact Number: +41 76 792 4973; +63917 561 6800

Email: peoples.upr@gmail.com

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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.

Groups go to UN to dispute Aquino government claims on rights situation

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Thursday, 24 May 2012, CEST GENEVA – Philippine human rights activists have arrived in Geneva, Switzerland in time for the second cycle of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

Philippine UPR Watch delegation meets with representative from the Norwegian mission

The Philippines is scheduled to be reviewed on May 29. The UPR will review the national report of the Philippine government and measure it against its pledges and commitments during the 1st cycle of the UPR and when it applied for membership in the UN Human Rights Council.

Philippine UPR Watch co-head, Marie Hilao-Enriquez, presents continuing violations under the Aquino government

Fifteen civil society groups belonging to the Philippine UPR Watch are represented by leaders and members of mass organizations in the Philippines while Filipino expatriates came from the United Kingdom, United States and The Netherlands from the International Coordinating Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICCHRP).

Simultaneous meetings with mission representatives from Sweden and Portugal

The Philippine UPR Watch continued to vigorously lobby with the 71 countries that have signed up to question the Philippine government with its compliance to implement the recommendations put forward by 14 countries during the first cycle of the UPR held in 2008. The group has also been raising the government’s other unfulfilled commitments and ignored recommendations particularly put forward by the former UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston.

Azerbaijan mission representative takes notes from UPR Watch presentations

The various Missions that the Philippine UPR Watch spoke with so far have expressed keen interest and serious concern on the continuous human rights violations committed by the state security forces and its paramilitary groups including extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances, torture, intense militarization in the farmers’ and indigenous people communities to pave way for mining operations, migrant and children’s rights and the curtailment of other civil and political rights that are perpetrated alongside violations of economic, social and cultural rights.

Chilean representative meets with UPR Watch delegates

Karapatan chairperson Marie Hilao-Enriquez, co-head of Philippine UPR Watch, said that under the administration of President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III, the human rights situation in the country has not essentially improved. The human rights violations committed by the previous government of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo have not been addressed and worse, they continue to occur under Aquino’s administration as institutionalized by the government’s counter-insurgency program Oplan Bayanihan.

Slovenian representative listens intently to UPR Watch

Hilao-Enriquez assailed the Aquino government downplaying of the human rights cases and misleading claims of compliance to the recommendations of the countries since the UPR meeting in 2008.

She also scored Malacanang in its reported plan to create another task force purportedly to address the continuing violations, saying that the victims do not need another task force on top of the multiple others already existing. These task forces have not concretely resolved the abuses but turned out to be passive yet inaccurate collators of information, formal deodorizers and elegant smokescreens for the government’s utter failure to stem impunity after all these years, she added.

The Philippine UPR Watch delegation in Geneva is made up of Marie Hilao-Enriquez (Karapatan), Cristina Palabay (Tanggol Bayi), Renato Reyes (Bagong Alyansang Makabayan),  Atty. Edre Olalia (National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers), Nardy Sabino (Promotion of Church People’s Response), Garry Martinez (Migrante),  Beverly Longid (Cordillera Peoples’ Alliance), Argee Malayao (Kalipunan ng mga Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas), Bai Ali Indayla (Kawagib/Moro Christian People’s Alliance), Jaquiline Ruiz (Children’s Rehabilitation Center), Melona Daclan (Defend Job Philippines), Ernan Baldomero (Hustisya), and Rev. Fr. Jonash Joyohoy (Ramento Project for Rights Defenders).
They are joined by Dr. Angelica Gonzales (International Coordinating Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines), Melissa Roxas (Bayan-USA), Maribel Mapanao (Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines-Switzerland), and two other delegates from the Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines – UK.

Reference:
Marie Hilao-Enriquez
Co-Head, Philippine UPR Watch
Contact Number: +41 76 792 4973
Email: peoples.upr@gmail.com

 

Desaparecidos to Baliaga: Tell it all, where is Jonas?

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Karapatan Public Info Desk – As Army officer Maj. Harry Baliaga, identified as one of the abductors of missing activist Jonas Burgos, is grilled for the second time at the Court of Appeals today, families of Desaparecidos joins the Burgos family in urging him to “tell it all, where is Jonas?”

“The family of Jonas, and all other families of disappearances, feels a bit of hope that an abduction case such as Jonas’ had gone this far in terms of identifying the perpetrators. It belies the claims of the military that it had nothing to do with the abduction of Jonas.” Mary Guy Portajada, Secretary General of Families of Desaparecidos for Justice (Desaparecidos), said in the protest action simultaneous with the hearing on the habeas corpus case.

Baliaga was identified by witness Jeffrey Cabintoy as one among the seven persons who dragged Burgos on April 28, 2007 into a van at Ever Gotesco Mall, Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City.

“We hope the true testimony of Baliaga will finally conclude this hearing. Having a habeas corpus case stand for five years is unforgivably slow. We want justice now,” Portajada said.

The group also urged Baliaga to “get rid of the stain that tainted his name.”

“Your name will forever be stained with the disappearance of Jonas, but the only way to get rid of that stain is for you to tell who else abducted Jonas and who ordered it,” she said.

Coming from the Kankaney tribe in the Cordilleras that puts honor as a great importance to their tribe, Portajada said that Baliaga can still salvage his honor and name in telling who ordered the abduction of Jonas “no matter how big these persons are.”

Baliaga, together with Lt. Col. Melquiades Feliciano, Col. Eduardo Ano and several John and Jane Does are also facing criminal charges of Arbitrary Detention while Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Gen. Romeo Tolentino, Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano and Gen. Avelino Razon were charged with Obstruction of Apprehension and Prosecution of Criminal Offenders both filed at the Department of Justice by Jonas’ mother, Edita Burgos.

Jonas Burgos, son of press freedom fighter Joe Burgos, was a farmer activist who taught peasants of Bulacan organic farming. Jonas has been missing for five years now. ###

Free Jonas Burgos!
Stop Enforced Disappearances!
Surface the Disappeared!

Reference: Mary Guy Portajada, Secretary General, +639175230396
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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.

Aerial bombardments in a Trento village, Agusan del Sur force civilians to evacuate; wounded 16-year-old boy branded as NPA child rebel

UA No: 2012-05-02
UA Case                                 :
Forcible evacuation; arbitrary arrest and detention; threat, harassment or intimidation; fake surrender; Indiscriminate firing, bombing or shelling; violation of children’s rights to protection

Victim/s                                  :
Of forcible evacuation; threat, harassment or intimidation

·         83 families (397 individuals), all are residents of Barangay (village) New Visayas, Trento municipality, Agusan del Sur province

Arbitrary arrest and detention; violation of children’s rights; fake surrender and branding as New People’s Army child warrior:
·         “JESSIE,” 16 years old, male; member of Young People Sector, First Christian Ministry

Arbitrary arrest and detention; with violation of children’s rights:

·         “Mimi,” 16 years old, female, younger sister of Jessie; member of Young People Sector, First Christian Ministry

·         Caridad Malimbasao, 55 years old, female, married, farmer, member of First Christian Ministry

Threat, harassment or intimidation

·         Melchor Malimbasao, 54 years old, male, married to Caridad, farmer;   member of Upper New Visayas Organic Farmers Association (UNVOFA), a member organization of Trento Farmers’ Association (TFA) and affiliated with Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP or Peasant Movement of the Philippines)

Place of Incident                 :
New Visayas village, Trento town, Agusan del Sur province

Date of Incident                   :
May 7, 2012 to present

Alleged Perpetrator(s)       :
Some 60 combined elements of the 25th Infantry Battalion (10th Infantry Division) under the command of Lt. Col. Cesar Molina, and 75th Infantry Battalion (4th Infantry Division) under the command of Lt. Col. Reuben Agarcio.

The 4th and 10th IDPA is headed by Eastern Mindanao Command lead by Lt. Gen. Jorge Segovia.

Branding of child/minor as NPA: Maj. Eugenio Osias IV and Maj. Gen. Victor Felix, spokesperson and commanding officer, respectively, of the 4th ID

Account of the Incident:

On the morning of May 7, 2012, residents of Purok 5, Sitio (zone) Upper New Visayas, village of New Visayas were preparing for their annual community festival on May 13 despite the presence of about 60 army troops of the 25th Infantry Battalion (under the command of the 10th Infantry Division), Philippine Army which, arrived on May 4.  The soldiers were geared for heavy combat operations. The village of New Visayas, Municipality of Trento, Agusan del Sur province, is among the communities that has mineral exploration activities by the Monkayo Consolidated Mining Corporation headed by Monkayo municipal mayor Junjun Brillantes’ wife, and funded by Taiwanese-owned Yinyi Phil Investment Holding Group, Inc, and Philsaga Mining Corporation.

Farmer Melchor Malimbasao, 54, together with his fellow zone residents, was tasked to construct a makeshift hut for the festival. At around 7:00am, Melchor instructed his 16 year old son, Jessie, to gather wood materials for the hut from the forested area about 300 meters away from their home. An hour later, a volley of gunfire was heard coming from the direction of the forested area, close to where Jessie went. It was reported that some 60 combined elements of the 25th IB and 75th IB (under the command of the 4th Infantry Division) were in a fire fight with suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA).

Fearing for their lives, the residents of Sitio Upper New Visayas evacuated their homes and sought refuge at the New Visayas village hall. Melchor wanted to go to the forest to fetch his son, but could not due to the shooting which, lasted for two hours. Together with the rest of his family, Melchor evacuated and hoped that his son will safely run to the evacuation center.

At past 1:00pm, a military helicopter and fighterplane arrived and dropped at least seven bombs near the community.

A total of 83 families or 397 individuals including children, evacuated in the baranggay halls of New Visayas and Pulang Lupa villages. Jessie’s family kept looking for him at the evacuation center but he did not arrive until the following day.

Some members of the 75th IB also arrived at the evacuation centers. Reports indicate that a number of community leaders were harassed by soldiers. Soldiers were also present as employees of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) distributed relief packs to the evacuees. A woman who gave birth a month before reported to have suffered bleeding in the course of the evacuation.

On May 8, Melchor continued his search for his son. Together a team from Exodus for Justice and Peace (EJP) and some community leaders, he went to the Municipal office to the seek assistance of Trento mayor Johnmark Billanes.

Meanwhile, Jessie arrived at the evacuation center in his village with a wound in his left thigh. His mother Caridad and 16-year-old sister “Mimi” was going to bring Jessie to the hospital when members of the 75th IB arrested him. The soldiers said that they will take Jessie to the hospital. Caridad and “Mimi” did not leave Jessie and accompanied him onboard a military truck with the soldiers.

A soldier told Caridad that Jessie will be brought to Patin-ay in San Francisco town, but was instead brought to the district hospital in Bunawan town, some 17 km from Trento. At around 8:00pm, Jessie was brought to Patin-ay village, Prospero town.

At dawn of May 9, Jessie was transferred to Butuan Emergency Hospital. At around 8:00 a.m., Jessie was brought to the headquarters of the 4th ID at Camp Evangelista, Cagayan de Oro City in the province of  Misamis Oriental. He was brought in Cagayan de Oro purportedly to be provided with free medical treatment by the military. His mother and sister were also brought to the Camp. They were not allowed to go out and were forbidden by soldiers to seek assistance from Karapatan. Caridad and “Mimi”’s cellphones were also closely monitored by the soldiers.

Meanwhile, the evacuees had returned to their homes. Some residents however reported that their homes were ransacked and their properties stolen.

On May 10, military spokesperson Maj. Eugenio Osias IV and commanding officer Maj. Gen. Victor Felix, both of the 4th ID, declared Jessie as an NPA child warrior wounded in a combat operation carried out by the 4th and 10th IDs at the boundaries of Compostela Valley and Agusan del Sur provinces. The military, in a statement said that Jessie surrendered to the military camp in Bislig City.

As of this writing, Jessie is still in the custody of the 4th ID. His father, Melchor, denies that Jessie is an NPA child warrior and has filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus for his son.

Other related incidents:

Karapatan has documented similar cases of human rights violations under Pres. Benigno Aquino III’s administration, such as the following:

·               Soldiers of the 57th IBPA forcibly entered farmer Ramon Batoy’s house in Arakan, North Cotabato; and accused him of being an NPA on October 22, 2011. Batoy denied the allegations and resisted the military’s attempts to arrest him by fighting back with the use of a bolo.  One of the soldiers shot Batoy while his wife and children escaped for their lives.  One of the soldiers strapped a rifle on Batoy and then took pictures of him with the rifle. Batoy’s brother Roger Batoy, and neighbor Noli Badol were also mauled and arbitrarily arrested by soldiers.

·               On February 16, 2012, four individuals, two of them minors, were hunting for wild animals in the forests of Magdalena, Laguna when they were fired at by members of the Special Action Unit of the AFP and 1st IBPA. Jaycee Perez, 31 and Christian Roy Noceto, 15, were immediately killed. The other two, Francis Abanilla, 18 and Gino Banez, 15, survived but were injured. The military labelled the victims as NPAs.

·               Almost a thousand residents, many of them Mamanwa indigenous peoples, were forced to evacuate from their homes in early March 2012. Two military fighter planes dropped bombs near Ansili and Zapanta sub-villages in Kitcharao municipality, province of Agusan del Norte.

Recommended Action:
Send letters, emails or fax messages calling for:

The immediate formation of an independent fact-finding and investigation team composed of representatives from human rights groups, the Church, local government, and the Commission on Human Rights that will look into the the aerial bombardment near the community of  New Visayas village, Trento, Agusan del Sur, the wounding and arbitrary detention of Jessie, and the arbitrary detention of his mother and sister.
The immediate release of Jessie from military custody.
The military to stop the labeling and targeting of civilians “enemies of the state” and the branding of children as “child warriors”
The Philippine Government to withdraw its counterinsurgency program Oplan Bayanihan, which victimizes innnocent and unarmed civilians.
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: corres@op.gov.ph / opnet@ops.gov.ph

Sec. Teresita Quintos-Deles
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process
Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process
7th Floor Agustin Building I
Emerald Avenue, Pasig City 1605
Voice:+63 (2) 636 0701 to 066; Fax:+63 (2) 638 2216
osec@opapp.gov.ph

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: osnd@philonline.com

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:  soj@doj.gov.ph

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:   chair.rosales.chr@gmail.com, lorettann@gmail.com

URGENT ACTION ALERT Prepared by:
KARAPATAN Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights