by Ina Alleco Silverio, Bulatlat.com

Mrs. Liwayway Acosta is graceful in keeping her pain hidden; but sometimes it becomes too much and tears fall and she struggles to regain her composure.

For over two months now, Mrs. Liwayway and her husband Isaias Acosta and have been worried because their only son, their only child writer and poet Ericson, 37, had been detained and falsely and maliciously charged with illegal possession of firearms in Catbalogan, Samar. Both mother and father are now at the lead of a campaign pressing for their poet-son’s immediate release.

“At least we know that he’s alright and that he’s not being hurt. That was our greatest worry in the beginning. Our son is made of stronger stuff and we know that he’s holding up in prison. This is not the kind of thing that will break Eric,” said Mrs. Acosta.

Mr. Acosta in the meantime is the unashamedly proud father. He even has a list of his only child’s achievements since grade school, and at the drop of a hat can enumerate the various literary, theatrical and scientific awards Ericson has received since he was in shorts and attending grade school in St. Mary’s College,and eventually when he went to the University of Sto. Tomas for his secondary education.

“He has never been anything but a good son, an intelligent student, and a loving parent to his own son Emmanuel,” said Mr. Acosta.

Artists Rally Behind Campaign for Poet’s Release

Two weeks ago, the family and Ericson’s friends and former colleagues officially launched the Free Ericson Acosta campaign in Quezon City. It was a reunion of sorts for Ericson’s friends from his university days, and an event that saw some of the most respected names in the Philippines’ literary circles placing their support behind an artist who chose a path of human rights activism.

At the time when Ericson was arrested earlier last February 13, he was a freelance journalist documenting the human rights situation in Western Samar. He was arrested in the company of various community leaders from farmers’ organization who staunchly defended him and affirmed his work as a writer.

During the campaign launch press conference, Ericson’s former editor-in-chief in the Philippine Collegian Michael John Ac-ac said that the former had true artist sensibilities and that he, Ericson, honed it through the years by voracious reading, prolific writing and by constantly discovering developments in the cultural scene.

Ac-ac remembered how Ericson was able to put together the Philippine Collegian’s 1994 literary folio F1 decades after it was last published. He said that Ericson also liked to write about previously-undiscovered musicians and helped make them popular. Among his “discoveries” were the now defunct but legendary groups Yano and the Eraserheads.

“Ericson always had a lively mind, but he has an even bigger heart It was not surprising that he eventually chose to become a full-time journalist writing about human rights,” said Ac-ac.

In a testimony sent by Palanca-award winning director and actor Rody Vera, he said that Ericson has been acting as early as 1984 and in a Shakepearean play no less. Vera said that he worked with the young Acosta in a production of the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA), rendering of the “dreaded Scottish play” Macbeth.

“I’m not sure if Ericson was then aware that he was part of a production that was against the Marcos dictatorship. Ericson was part of a play that exposed Marcos’ selfish greed for power. Now, it’s most saddening to think that that the same machinery of torture, violence and repression that continues to operate against cultural workers like Ericson and the rest of the Filipino people, even if there is no dictator at the helm of government. Now they are wielding violence in the name of democracy. What is even more infuriating is how the violations being committed against Ericson can very well be perpetrated against any and all of us. The restriction of Ericson’s freedom is an attack against our own respective, individual freedoms,” he said.

Members of the UP academe comprised of artists and writers also released a statement calling for Ericson’s immediate and unconditional release from his current “illegal detention.” Panelists and participants in the 50th UP National Writer’s Workshop sent the statement straight from Baguio where the workshop was then being conducted.

“His works as a writer, poet, thespian, singer and songwriter have remained relevant especially to the succeeding generations of UP activists in and out of the university. His bias for the poor and oppressed dates back to his campus days,” they said. The statement was signed by the likes of National Artist Bienvenido Lumbera and writers and poets Jose Dalisay, Jr., Jun Cruz Reyes, Gemino Abad, Gelacio Guillermo, J. Neil Garcia, Charlson Ong, Rolando Tolentino, Romulo Baquiran Jr. and Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo.

Other supporters of the Free Ericson Acosta Campaign also include veteran actors Fernando “Nanding” Josef, Pen Medina, and Bonifacio Ilagan; poet Richard Gappi of the Neo-Angono Artists’ Collective and former political detainee Axel Pinpin of the Tagaytay 5; visual artists Egai Talusan Fernandez, Boy Dominguez, Mideo Cruz, and Julie Lluch; filmmakers Sigfried Barros Sanchez, Kiri Dalena, Carlitos Siguion-Reyna and Bibeth Orteza; poet and musician Jess Santiago, rock musicians Chickoy Pura of The Jerks and Eric Cabrera of Datu’s Tribe, and journalists Elizabeth Lolarga, Kenneth Guda, Norman Bordadora, Kristine Alave and Iris Pagsanjan.

Former Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Vice President and Artistic Director Josef pointed out that the government under the Benigno Aquino III administration is challenged to be different from its predecessors. He said that it must free those whose only crime is serving the least serve, and that it must “Jail without delay those who have greedily taken away food on the table of the poor.”

“I know Ericson Acosta personally as a cultural worker. I am humbled by his sacrifices and his commitment to the poor. My accomplishments as an artist and cultural worker are nothing compared to his,” Josef said.

Secretary-general of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) Renato Reyes shared what happened during his recent visit to Ericson at the Calabayog provincial jail. According to him, Ericson was in “high spirits” and that the poet was grateful for all the support he was getting.

During the short visit, Reyes and Ericson recorded a few songs on a digital camera and the recordings have since been uploaded on Facebook and in the Free Ericson Acosta blog, http://freeacosta.blogspot.com.

Reyes said that there were plans to visit Ericson on or before his birthday this May 27 and that friends and supporters were very welcome to join. He also reminded supporters to contribute to the legal fund for Ericson.

The Father-In-Law Speaks

Ericson’s father-in-law art critic Pablo Tariman has come out with a series of articles pressing for Ericson’s release, and in some of them he shared how he managed to explain to his grandson eight-year old Emmanuel the circumstances of his father’s detention. The boy had begun to ask questions about who was in jail and why did he keep on hearing lawyers and court hearings in his grandfather’s phone conversations.

“I told him gently his father is closely guarded by soldiers and he couldn’t move around. I tried to avoid the words ‘arrest’ and ‘jail’. At age 8 and entering grade 3 only this coming school year, there are many things I couldn’t explain well to my grandson,” he said.

Mr. Tariman has also told Emmanuel that he can visit his father in that Samar jail before his father’s birthday.

” In my mind, this cultural worker (who happens to be my son-in-law) doesn’t deserve the hot summer nights in a Calbayog provincial jail,” he said.

The respected art critic has put together a fundraising concert for his son in law. Violinist Gina Medina and pianist Mary Anne Espina will perform on Saturday, May 28, 2011, 6 p.m. at the Balay Kalinaw in UP Diliman, Quezon City. Tickets are being sold at P1000 (US$23.35 with buffet dinner) and P500 (US$11.62 concert only).

The Government’s Iron-Fist Policy on Perceived Enemies

In its support statement, the Free Ericson Acosta Campaign has said that the poet’s rights continue to be violated each day he remains incarcerated.

“The fabricated charges are intended to keep him under government’s control and scrutiny. His frail appearance in the photo released to media by the AFP heightens concerns for his health given the conditions in jail. The road to genuine and lasting peace cannot be paved with government’s continued iron-fist policy of arresting its perceived enemies on mere suspicion. It behooves the Aquino government to forge favorable conditions in the conduct of its peace efforts by releasing political prisoners,” it said.

After its ascent to power, the Aquino government has begun peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), but it has not taken action on calls for the release of political prisoners.

According to human rights grouos Karapatan and Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (Selda), there are 344 political prisoners [4] in the country. Most of them have been slapped with common crimes, a violation of the Hernandez political doctrine.

Ericson himself has written a personal message addressed to his supporters. He admitted that he has, understandably, some difficulty writing whenever the enormity of his current circumstance strike him anew, but on the whole he remains optimistic.

“I have already received and read most of what have been written about me since my arrest. These have given me a clear picture of how promptly friends and comrades have actively taken my cause, and how in a short period of time the Free Ericson Acosta Campaign has reached quite an extensive base of support. I am of course sincerely touched by all this. I have long been wanting to communicate with them through letters or general statements, not only to thank them but also to personally shed light on my experience with state fascism,” he said.

Ericson said that he has succeeded in writing a piece on the human rights situation in Samar as well as a full account of his arrest and continuing detention. He said that he is now even more encouraged to continue writing despite the sorry conditions he currently faces in prison.

“My active engagement through my writings naturally serves to effectively amplify the campaign, as well as the general call to free all political prisoners. While I am in fact the principal subject of the Free Ericson Acosta campaign, it’s time that I enlisted myself as its principal mass leader and propagandist as well,” he said.#

NEWS RELEASE
Reference: Atty. Edre U. Olalia, NUPL Secretary – General (09175113373)

Human rights lawyers association National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) challenged the resolution of the Commission of Human Rights on the abduction and torture of Melissa Roxas, a Filipino-American activist and Bayan-USA member.

“We are at a loss to interpret such illogical legal reasoning ,” states NUPL  Secretary-General Atty. Edre Olalia. He was referring  to the Resolution’s findings that Roxas was indeed abducted and tortured, but then stops short of holding the military accountable. The resolution further went into unprecedented speculations on who could possibly be behind these human rights violations, pointing at the New People’s Army (NPA).

Roxas was abducted on May 19, 2009 in La Paz, Tarlac. She was repeatedly subjected to physical and psychological torture to force a confession that she was a member of the NPA.

The Resolution states that there was “insufficient evidence” to conclude that military agents were the ones behind Roxas’ abduction and torture. It then, in a leap of inference perhaps betraying a scarcity of objectivity,  went on to say that it has received “information” from unspecified individuals saying that the NPA could have possibly committed the kidnapping and other human rights violations on Roxas.

Atty. Olalia points out that “the CHR is quick to deflect AFP’s hand in Melissa’s torture, while giving credence to flimsy and questionable sources to surmise NPA involvement. However, CHR was not able to produce a shred of evidence to substantiate its incredible claims.”

The CHR itself admits the dubiousness of its findings, adding in its defense, “the failure to identify specific persons to accuse and hold responsible is not fatal to the competence of the CHR to make a finding on the question of the commission of human rights violation.”

The Court of Appeals had earlier granted Roxas’ petition for a writ of amparo, declaring that her testimony was “credible and worthy of belief.” The Supreme Court itself had additionally directed that further investigation be conducted with the use of extraordinary diligence in order to identify the perpetrators behind the abduction and torture. And yet with one stroke of the pen, the CHR aims to remove  the burden of responsibility on the military to prove that it was not guilty of abducting and torturing Roxas. “Where is this extraordinary diligence?” asks Atty. Olalia. “It is downright ironic for the CHR, which is constitutionally tasked to investigate human rights violations, to be the first to mask the AFP’s role in Melissa’s abduction and torture.”

Joining other other human rights victims, their relatives, and human rights advocates, the NUPL tells the CHR, “Stick to the issue: given the facts, pattern, motive, means, opportunity and context of her ordeal, Melissa was clearly abducted and tortured by the State security forces under the Oplan Bantay Laya program of GMA. Ignoring the overwhelming facts will only engender impunity and make perpetrators gloat and swagger like they were her protectors rather than cut them down to size and make them accountable.”#

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

News Release
April 24, 2011

The umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan today slammed the Commission on Human Rights  resolution on the case of the abduction and torture of Fil-Am activist Melissa Roxas. The group said that the report “practically clears the AFP of any wrongdoing”.

“We are very disappointed with the report. This seems to be a departure from the investigation initiated by the former CHR chair. The resolution says that there is insufficient evidence to lay responsibility for Melissa’s abduction and torture on the AFP. This is despite Melissa’s credible and detailed testimony,” said Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr.

“The resolution is an embarrassment for the CHR. It’s also a great injustice after Melissa fully cooperated with the probe of the Commission. This tends to discourage victims seeking the CHR’s help,” he added.

Roxas, a member of BAYAN’s United States chapter, was abducted in La Paz, Tarlac on May 19, 2009 along with John Edward Jandoc and Juanito Carabeo. She was held for several days and subjected to various forms of torture on allegations that she’s a member of the New People’s Army.

In its findings, the CHR said that there is insufficient evidence to support the claim of torture because there was not enough evidence to determine the identities of the abductors. The CHR says torture includes the elements of State  party and agents.

“In the light of the lack of evidence against the persons who inflicted the physical and psychological maltreatment on the complainant, it is not possible for the Commission to reach any findings on torture, the definition of which includes elements of State party or agent and certain intentions, purposes and motivations,” the CHR resolution said.

“There is, however enough evidence to find that complainant has suffered cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment or punishment by persons unknown,” the CHR added.

Insufficient evidence against AFP

“As regards the complainant’s belief and allegations that members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines forcibly took Melissa Roxas and companions from Mr. Paulo’s house in Tarlac on May 19, held her in captivity and subjected her to physical and mental maltreatment: there is insufficient evidence to support this conclusion, and insufficient evidence to pinpoint individual members of the AFP as the possible or probable perpetrators,”

“The CHR has received information that indicates the possibility that members of the NPA committed the kidnapping and other human rights violations on Roxas et al. These sources have been found to be credible. However, no specific names of individuals have been provided to the CHR, thus the Commission, with its limited resources, is unable to further follow up and identify specific persons as the possible perpetrators,” the report said.

The report also said that “given the findings that present strong indication of involvement of the members of the New People’s Army as the perpetrators of the human rights violations against the complainant, there is a need to remind the parties of …the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law” which was signed by the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

Bayan decried as “gratuitous, illogical and unsubstantiated” the CHR’s statement that sources pointing the NPA’s involvement were “credible”.  The group questioned the basis of how the CHR came to the conclusion that the “findings present strong indication of the involvement of the NPA.”

“The CHR practically clears the AFP and misleads the public to believe the NPA abducted Melissa, without even presenting a shred of evidence and with total disregard for the detailed testimony of the victim. Nowhere in the report does it offer any detail, let alone motive, for the NPA to abduct Melissa,” Reyes said.

Bayan said that the line of questioning by Melissa’s captors during her detention and torture make it “illogical” to pin the blame on the NPA. The umbrella group said that the line of questioning, as detailed in Roxas affidavit, was consistent with how the military interogates activists suspected of being NPA members.

“During detention, accordng to her testimony, Melissa was forced to sign a document saying she’s NPA and was repeatedly asked to return to the fold of the law. She was asked how she got involved in Bayan USA and was lectured on anti-communism and religion. She was told she was in the “order of battle”. She was only released when she played along with her captors’ demand that she will reform. Is this the work of the NPA? It simply defies logic. What is the motive of the NPA for abducting her? Why does the CHR give this theory any credibility?” Reyes asked.

In her testimony, Roxas said she got a glimpse of men wearing fatigue uniform, heard gunfire as if in a firing range, and heard the sound of aircraft as if near an airport or landing strip. She also said she was confined in a facility that appeared to be a barracks that had iron bars.

“Isn’t it the AFP who has the motive for abducting Melissa, because of her leftist involvement? Why was Melissa’s detailed account of her interogation simply disregarded? Why not pursue the investigation as to theinvolvement of the AFP instead of clearing them,” Reyes said.

“The CHR makes a big deal about so-called non-state actors involved in Melissa’s abduction yet offers not a shred of evidence. After practically clearing the AFP, the CHR then says it cannot determine the identities of the abductors because it has neither manpower nor resources,” he added.

Bayan said that the AFP alibi that human rights violations against leftists were the handiwork of the NPA has already been discredited years ago.

“The line that the NPA did the human rights violations against leftist activists has long been discredited. It was rejected by the Melo Commission and by the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings Philip Alston. It is a surprise then that the CHR again resurrects this worn out and discredited line. It’s an injustice to Melissa and other victims of torture who are unable to identify their torturers hidden in the shadows,” Reyes said. ###

by Ronalyn V. Olea, Bulatlat.com

MANILA – In an open letter, media organizations called on President Benigno S. Aquino III to take concrete action to put a stop to the killings of journalists.

The Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists, Inc. (FFFJ), a national network of press oriented organizations, together with other media organizations and mass communication professors and students, said the action should “send a signal that the executive will do all that is necessary and within its power to counter impunity.”

Six journalists have been murdered since Aquino assumed the presidency. An unidentified gunman shot at broadcaster Miguel Belen of Camarines Sur on July 9, 2010; he later died on July 31. On January 24, Gerardo Ortega [2] was gunned down in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. A woman broadcaster Marlina Flores Sumera [3] was shot dead on March 24. The FFFJ noted that the first two killings are work-related and said that the murder of Sumera could also be work- related.

The group said that while the murder of three other journalists are probably not work-related, the killings, said FFFJ, “are part of the same culture of impunity that has allowed to go unpunished the murder not only of journalists but also that of political activists, human rights workers, members of the clergy, lawyers and even progressive local officials.”

According to the FFFJ, a number of these killings involve local government officials and officers of the Philippine National Police. “We are anxious because you have not taken any significant action to show political will to put an end to impunity and to launch the presidential initiatives needed to begin the process of change,” the letter said.

“We realize that there are many other urgent problems that call for your attention. But you were elected because the people were hungry for change, and you thwart that belief in the possibility of change at the risk of the people’s loss of faith in the capacity of the system to deliver justice,” the letter further stated.

While the groups recognize the limitations of the executive in dealing with the problems in the judiciary, they asserted that “the power and capability of the president resonates in different ways and … executive action can have a positive impact on the conduct of the judicial system, as it does on the legislature.”

The groups also decried the snail-paced trial of cases against the alleged masterminds and killers of the massacre [4] on Nov. 23, 2009 that claimed the lives of 58 victims, including 32 journalists. “Fifteen months since the Massacre, in which 32 journalists and media workers were killed together with 26 others, the cases against the alleged masterminds and killers have hardly moved. Even more dangerously, however, these killings enfeeble the Philippine state, demonstrating that it cannot enforce its own laws, and protect its own citizens within its own territory,” the groups said.

The groups pointed out that failure to prosecute the killers of journalists as well as those of political activists and the masterminds behind these crimes “is sending the dangerous signal that, as in the administration of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the killings can continue during Aquino’s watch without the perpetrators being punished. “That failure will confirm that impunity will continue to reign, and those with the means will not stop the use of violence against those they wish to silence,” the letter further stated.

On August 8, 2010, the FFFJ and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) discussed their concerns with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Secretary Herminio Coloma of the Presidential Communications Operations Office and Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda. The groups recommended, among others, the following: 1) the strengthening of the Witness Protection Program; and 2) the formation of Multi-Sectoral Quick Response Teams which will combine both investigative, forensic and other police actions on the killing of journalists; 3) Steps that would accelerate the pace of the Ampatuan Massacre trial. For long-term reform, the groups also called for a review of the rules of court “to diminish the possibility of abuse and manipulation.”

“We understand that it has been less than a year since that meeting. But we are alarmed by the unabated killing of journalists and political activists, and the continuing human rights violations which undermine Philippine democracy more than any rebellion. We reiterate the need for your administration to act now to prevent the further deterioration and the recurrence of more killings – if only to retain the public’s confidence in the promise of reform,” the media groups stated.

“As we pause from daily routine in this period of spiritual contemplation and renewal, we ask once again that you draw strength from our advocacy to end the impunity that has punished the Filipino people for so long,” the groups said.

Other signatories include Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, Center for Community Journalism and Development, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, faculty members of the University of the Philippines-College of Mass Communication, BusinessWorld and College Editors Guild of the Philippines.