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International human rights group laud conviction of Ampatuans

ICHRP Secretariat
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International human rights group laud conviction of Ampatuans

Acquittal of accused cops raises concern

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines welcomes the recent verdict to convict 28 persons including three Ampatuan siblings principally charged for the death of 57 individuals, 32 of whom were journalists. The 28 will be facing 40 years of imprisonment while fifteen others were convicted with lesser jail time.

The decision was served on December 19, 2019 by Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of Quezon City Regional Trial Court, in the country’s capital, more than 10 years after the worst media killing and worst election-related killing in Philippine history.

However, current local Mayor Sajid Ampatuan, one of the members of the notorious clan, and 52 other accused, 30 of whom are cops, were acquitted. ICHRP is worried at the message this sends out at time of continuing culture of impunity. “By acquitting all the policemen involved in the killings, it has held the government unaccountable for the massacre,” says ICHRP.

Nevertheless, we welcome this long overdue verdict and bittersweet victory for the families and the Filipino people. If not for the vigilance of journalists, surviving families, and human rights advocates, justice would still be elusive.

Peter Murphy, Chairperson ICHRP

It is well known that the Ampatuans are political allies with Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who was Philippine president when the mass killing happened. Arroyo was not legally held accountable as commander-in-chief at that time and she is now restored into power through the high position of House Speaker in the Congress. She also enjoys being part of President Rodrigo Duterte’s close allies.

ICHRP also stressed their concern with how the Ampatuans are able to stall the case for 10 years and were even granted privileges in jail — “This only proves that human rights violators and murderers in the Philippines will do everything in their power to bend the law in their favor. Therefore, we are one with the call of human rights organizations and individuals to be vigilant and to guard this historic victory from being overturned.”

“The battle for justice may be long but Filipinos have proven, time and again, their unwavering dedication to carrying on the fight. Again, we salute the families, the journalists, human rights workers, lawyers and supporters who, for 10 years, never gave up. We will continue to support the search for justice for all victims of human rights violations in previous regimes and exacting accountability for the crimes of the fascist Duterte government,” Murphy concludes. #

Support the Filipino People’s Struggle, Not U.S. War

ICHRP Secretariat
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Support the Filipino People’s Struggle, Not U.S. War

 

On December 10th, Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesperson announced the President would lift martial law in Mindanao two years after its initial implementation. This is a welcome development; however, under a President who has authored 30,000 killings in a war on drugs and unleashed endless attacks against human rights defenders, the move to lift martial law in Mindanao neither absolves Duterte’s guilt nor indicates a change a halt to the Presidents growing list of crimes against humanity.

 

The news brings further attention to the fact that Duterte has not needed to declare martial law over the whole country in order to carry out military rule; Duterte has instead implemented Executive Order 70, the National Task Force to End Local communist armed conflict, and Memorandum 32, a redeployment of state forces to “suppress lawless violence.” According to Karapatan, Duterte’s program of harassment and violence have resulted in 293 political killings, at least 204 people tortured, 429 victims of frustrated extrajudicial killings, 94,075 threatened and harassed and the arrests of 382 of the 629 political detainees in the country. As long as Duterte can continue such a level of repression with impunity, he has no need for any formal declaration of martial law.

 

But whatever guise Duterte uses to try and obscure his dictatorship, his attempts to dupe people in the Philippines and abroad are failing. As evident in the UN Human Rights Council investigation on human rights in the Philippines, the International Criminal Court movement towards its own investigation, the recent statement from U.S. Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders against repression of workers and unions in the Philippines, and in the growing number of people protesting Duterte worldwide, international dissent against the regime continues to grow. Even Bono is calling Duterte to accountability.

 

Still, there are those who lend support to Duterte. Since 2016, the U.S. has supplied $554.55 million in defense assistance to the regime. Furthermore, In a recent report from the Commission on Human Rights in the Philippines, “47 major companies, including Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP and Total, could be found legally and morally liable for human rights harms to Filipinos resulting from climate change.”  Whether it is President Trump or multinational corporations, only those who seek to profit from the exploitation of Filipinos align with Duterte. In the end, those who do win financial gains from political repression are far outnumbered by those of us who support and uphold human rights in the Philippines; what remains for us is to organize more broadly and boldly.

 

On International Human Rights Day, ICHRP-US declares our unequivocal solidarity with the Filipino people, and we voice our support not only for individual and civil rights in the Philippines, but to the Filipino people’s collective right to self-determination and national liberation. While millions of dollars flow to U.S. defense assistance and multinational corporations that exploit people and their land, we call on people in the U.S. to join the solidarity movement for the Philippines and support the Filipino people’s struggle, not U.S. war and exploitation! #

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS PERPETUATED BY PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT

ICHRP Secretariat
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HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS PERPETUATED BY PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT

Statement of the High-Level Delegation of church, union, political, and foundation leaders on extreme human rights violations occurring in the Philippines

1. High Level Delegation 

From December 3-6, 2019 a High Level Delegation visited the Philippines to investigate reports of human rights abuses. Delegates coming from Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and South Korea represent the HLD visit.

The goal of the Delegation was to investigate human rights abuses under the Duterte Administration and to submit their findings in a report to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCR) of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

The Delegation’s four-day program was organised by Asia Pacific Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (APCHRP). The following groups were co-organisers and assisted with organisational details – International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP), the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) and the Philippine Ecumenical Voice (EcuVoice).

The Delegation of foreign dignitaries and church leaders included former Australian Senator Lee Rhiannon, Reverend Jeong Jin Woo of the Korea Democracy Foundation, Robert Reid President of FIRST Union in New Zealand and Teanau Tuiono of New Zealand’s Green Party.

Reverend Joram Calimutan, APCHRP Coordinator, worked closely with the Delegation throughout their four-day visit. He was assisted by Reverend Marma Urbano of the UCCP and by the ICHRP Secretariat.

The Delegation had an extensive program of meetings with Indigenous peoples, vulnerable communities, leaders of civil society groups and unions, some members of the House of Representatives and of the Senate and the Commission on Human Rights and their staff.

2. Delegation findings

The many testimonies and personal stories presented to the Delegation revealed an intensification of human rights violations that are being perpetuated by the Duterte Administration.

a. Indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples like the Aeta communities and Lumad in Mindanao are fighting for their ancestral land and the right of their youth to attend school and to be educated free of violence, killings, rape and intimidation.

Many Indigenous peoples have become refugees in different parts of the Philippines as they flee from escalating violence, rape and harassment by mining and other business interests taking over their ancestral land.

Development aggression is the cause of many of these crimes against Indigenous people. The Duterte Administration is overseeing a development agenda that favours the Filipino rich and international corporate interests at the expense of indigenous communities, urban poor and other disadvantaged people.

A number of Indigenous peoples and environmental defenders have been targeted by military used by big plantation and mining companies to carry out extrajudicial killings and disappearances.

The massive evacuation of Aeta people to make way for the New Clark City built for the South East Asian Games and the Lumad communities displaced by big mining and plantation projects in Mindanao are current examples of development aggression.

b. Extra Judicial Punishment – killings and disappearances

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s  “war on drugs” has led to many deaths. While the number of deaths is disputed the differences over figures must not divert the debate away from consideration of the damage that Duterte’s “war on drugs” is doing to the fabric of Filipino society.

The “war on drugs” has become a war on the urban poor. It is increasingly recognised that the form and the scale of these killings must be recognised as crimes against humanity.

The need for a top-level international investigation of the extrajudicial punishments (killings and disappearances) is underlined by the findings of Human Rights Watch that Filipino police are falsifying evidence to justify the unlawful killings they have been involved in. The call to investigate human rights violations in the Philippines was made as well by the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) in a report they submitted to the OHCHR on December 9, 2019.

c. Political prisoners – trumped-up charges 

The Duterte Administration is jailing people for no reason other than that they expose human rights violations and oppression or they are political opponents. These people who are jailed are political prisoners. Their numbers are increasing. Many have been in jail for years with no access to a fair judicial process.

Political prisoners include prisoners of conscience who have expressed views that the Duterte Administration disagrees with. They are usually arrested on trumped-up charges. There are numerous incidents of the police planting evidence on people to justify their arrest and imprisonment.

d. Trade union repression

Repression of union activities, the killing and jailing of union leaders and members is increasing in the Philippines. The International Trade Union Confederation rates the Philippines as one of the worst countries for workers’ rights.

The Duterte Administration actively works to suppress union rights. This brings an advantage to both the Duterte regime and his supporters. Weakening the union movement reduces the ability of civil society to successfully oppose the damaging policies and various crimes associated with the current government and assists business interests to increase their profits. Laws that limit union activities coupled with the killings and jailing of union leaders, weaken union campaigns for on-the-job safety, improved workplace conditions and wage increases. These factors mean more profits for businesses and corporations as they can step up their exploitation of working people with impunity.

Currently workers can be terminated after a six-month contract or less. Contracted workers never receive the benefits that regular workers receive such as social security payments and health insurance contributions. Filipino workers are organising and opposing the illegal termination of union members, the use of sham contracting and unsafe on the job conditions. There is a role for the international progressive and union movements to support the struggle of Filipino workers and their unions.

Human rights defenders and justice advocates, in their commitment to serve and uphold human rights of the poor, the deprived and the oppressed are tagged as communist fronts. Red-tagging frequently leads to jailing and extra judicial punishment.

e. Peasants – land rights and food security

There are increasing incidents of harassment and attacks against peasants and their supporters who are working to protect their agricultural lands from land grabbing of corporations. Critics of the Duterte Administration are regularly targeted, particularly in Mindanao since Martial Law was introduced.

Peasants, development workers and human rights advocates are subjected to false red-tagging allegations. Rural poor communities are suffering as the Duterte Administration is working to promote the interests of mining companies, property developers and big agro-industry interests.

This approach means the issues of worsening poverty and associated landlessness and unemployment in rural Philippines are not being addressed at the government level.

These developments that are bringing greater hardship to more Filipinos underline the need for the government to resume peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

3. Recommendations and call to actions


To the Duterte Administration 
·       Reopen peace talks with the National Democratic Front – Philippines as a matter of priority. To assist this process repressive order and policies like the Executive Order 70, which created the national task force meant to end armed conflict will need to be repealed to allow meaningful negotiations to occur. 
·       Respond to the intent of the Iceland-initiated resolution voted on by the UNHRC.
·       End the culture of impunity. Those responsible for the harassment and killing of journalists, unionists, church leaders and other members of civil society must not be exempt from investigation and punishment.
·       Investigate and prosecute all those responsible in each case of extrajudicial killing and enforced disappearance that have been reported.
·       Order the military to cease targeted attacks on civilians, to cease the practice of denying military involvement in all extrajudicial killings, and to cease red-tagging that is used by government forces to vilify groups and individuals as communist fronts.  
·       Ensure all officers and soldiers who provide evidence in cases of human rights violations are eligible for witness protection and other measures required to ensure their safety. Where necessary reform the witness protection program to ensure the safety of witnesses and families of victims.
·       Cause the enactment of a bill by the Philippine Congress that prohibits enforced disappearances and ratifies the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

To the governments of the countries of Delegation members 
·       Request that foreign nations call on the Philippine government to investigate and prosecute members of the military and police forces who have carried out extrajudicial killings; and instruct their diplomats resident in the Philippines to monitor the activities of the Duterte Administration with regard to extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearance.
 
To the Philippine House of Representatives and Senate
·       Conduct hearings on the involvement of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in ordering and perpetrating extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.
·       Conduct committee hearings on how best to preserve the evidence of witnesses to extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances and then draw up legislation to establish the necessary mechanisms to achieve this.
·       Pass a motion that calls on the President to sign the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and then send it to the Senate for ratification.

To members of foreign parliaments
·       Make speeches about the situation Indigenous communities, civil society and workers and unions are exposed to under the Duterte Administration.
·       Move motions in their respective parliaments calling on the Duterte Administration to take all necessary steps to end extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances; and to sign the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

To unions in foreign countries and international union bodies
·       Lobby their respective governments to make representations to the Philippine government to end the killings and harassments of union leaders.
·       Support Philippine union struggles by organising demonstrations and events in our respective countries; and organise exposure tours to the Philippines so union members are aware of the struggle and hardships experienced by Philippine workers. 

To civil society organisations 
·       Make a submission to the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the human Rights situation in the Philippines. The deadline for submission is 31 January 2020.
·       Lobby their respective governments to make representations to the Philippine government to end the development aggression of extractive industries and ensure all aid projects work with local communities to meet their needs.
·       Investigate organising annual Friendship and Learning Tours to the Philippines, similar to what is organised in the USA.
·       Engage with contacts in the international community to provide moral and practical support to the Filipino people embattled by the severe repression of the Duterte presidency.

4. Concluding remarks

Delegates expressed their appreciation to the brave men and women who shared with them their disturbing accounts of murder, harassments and ongoing attacks that this report draws on. Delegates also thanked the organisations that coordinated and hosted their visit.

Members of the Delegation were left appalled by the continuing gross violations of human rights in the Philippines.

Prior to leaving the Philippines delegates confirmed their commitment to take the findings of their work to the widest audience.  They plan to put in a submission to the OHCR of the UN Human Rights Council. They will also produce a more comprehensive report that they will use for civil society and parliamentary advocacy within their own countries and globally. ###

Reference:                              Former Senator Lee Rhiannon
Mobile number: +61400350067
                                                    Email: lee.rhiannon@gmail.com

PCPR-HK Statement on Red-tagging

ICHRP Secretariat
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PCPR-HK Statement on Red-tagging

TERRORIST TAGGING ONLY STRENGTHENS NCCP’s FAITH IMPERATIVES TO SERVE THE POOR, THE DEPRIVED AND OPPRESSED 

The Promotion of Church Peoples’ Response-Hong Kong Chapter (PCPR-HK) vehemently condemns the malicious tagging of National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) as a ‘communist terrorist group’ together with other humanitarian and progressive organizations as well as the series of raids against the offices of Bayan Muna, Gabriela and National Federation of Sugar Farm Workers (NSFW) and the mass arrest of progressives, activists and human rights defenders by state forces.

These series of intensified attacks and red tagging and arrests came after Pres. Duterte warned the Filipinos on August 27, 2019 saying, “I’m serving notice to everyone that in the coming months—not really bloody—but there will be a little trouble. We have to finish it.”

 The Duterte government, prior to the renewed threat laid down the grounds of using the law as a weapon to silence political dissenters and outspoken critics of corruption and abuses in the government. His failed economic and political policies serve only the oligarchs and foreign powers like China and US at the expense of impoverished millions of Filipinos. By unilaterally terminating peace talks between the Government of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDF), issuing his Memorandum 32 in November 2018, ordering extra military and police to be deployed to Negros, Samar and Bicol, coupled with his Executive Order 70, institutionalize the “whole nation approach” in attaining an “inclusive and sustainable peace” that created the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTFELCAC) and the Oplan Kapanatagan, a counter insurgency program targeting not the armed combatants or NPA’s but the unarmed civilians and legal democratic movements.

Weaponizing the law as the favorite method of the Duterte government led to killings, illegal arrests and detention of 62 lawyers, journalists, progressives, activists, human rights defenders, justice and peace advocates including children and minors in Negros, Southern Tagalog, La Union and Metro Manila. The PNP and the military in complete disregard for the principles of justice plant evidence such as guns, ammunitions and explosives and fabricating charges to obstruct the efforts for social justice and human rights and frighten the Filipino people.

Churches and ecumenical institutions are no exemption to the Duterte government’s dastardly attacks against human rights defenders, justice and peace advocates. The recent tagging of NCCP by M/Gen. Reuben Basio, AFP Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence as a “communist terrorist group” is a manifestation of the Duterte regime’s tyrannical rule aiming to silence dissenting voices from various sectors of Philippine society in the midst of his failed economic policies, war on illegal drugs, impoverishment of millions and wanton corruption in his government.

The malicious tagging of NCCP is not new in the span of its 65 years of unwavering service to the poor, the deprived and the oppressed Filipinos. The council experienced the same from previous governments, many of its church workers fell victims to enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings under Martial Law yet it never cower in fear and submission. More than ever, the NCCP together with other churches and faith-based organizations will never submit nor tremble in fear in the face of the Duterte government’s fascist and tyrannical rule.

The Duterte government should realize that red-tagging and demonization of NCCP and other humanitarian and progressive organizations critical of the government resolves nothing but has prejudged the victims.  On the contrary, it further strengthens the NCCP’s faith imperatives and resolves of proclaiming Jesus’ message of truth, justice and human rights and accompanying the poor, the deprived and oppressed towards God’s promise of abundant life (Jn 10:10) and liberation from evil and darkness engulfing the country as Paul’s letter to Ephesians remind us “For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6: 12)

Thus, we call on to the Duterte government, that instead of red-tagging and demonizing the NCCP and other humanitarian and progressive organizations critical of his government it should examine the legitimacy of their demand and go back to the negotiating table with CPP/NPA/NDF to address the root causes of social unrest and leave a legacy of genuine and lasting peace that the Filipino people are longing for so long. ###

For reference:

Fr. Dwight Q. Dela Torre

Co-chairperson

CP# 9810-5070

Urgently withdraw “red-tagging” of National Council of Churches of the Philippines, restore the peace talks

ICHRP Secretariat
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Urgently withdraw “red-tagging” of National Council of Churches of the Philippines, restore the peace talks

November 7, 2019

Ret Maj Gen Delfin Lorenzana,

Secretary, Dept of National Defence

DND Building, Segundo Ave.

Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo

Quezon City, Philippines 1110;

Email: publicaffairs.dnd@gmail.com

Urgently withdraw “red-tagging” of National Council of Churches of the Philippines, restore the peace talks

Dear Secretary Lorenzana,

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines was launched in Quezon City, the Philippines, in July 2013. ICHRP has over 90 member organisations outside the Philippines.

We are writing to you urgently to attest to the credibility of the National Council of Churches of the Philippines over many decades in its mission to serve the people of the Philippines, especially the most humble and marginalised. NCCP has an enviable record of integrity and performance in implementing projects and programs with all kinds of partners, including government agencies.

Yet, your Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Major General Reuben Basiao, brazenly and falsely accused the NCCP before a house committee on November 5, 2019, as a “front organizations of local communist terrorist groups”. The general’s presentation alleged that the NCCP, among a list of other humanitarian and social service organisations, provided funds to the “Communist Terrorist Group” through “International Solidarity Work”. There were also a number of international funding agencies identified as “wittingly or unwittingly” providing funds to “CTG front organizations”.

This is a clear threat to the lives of NCCP staff, and to the staff of member churches, associate members and ecumenical partners. This reckless red-tagging will also delay, or even prevent, the delivery of much-needed services to marginalised communities coping with disasters. On a larger scale, this will further shrink the already limited civil space in Philippine society.

Your government has badly mistaken the support of the NCCP for peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines as some kind of violence. Instead you too should call for genuine re-opening of the peace process and an end to the terrible violence in the country.

We at ICHRP are proud to be part of an international community which will resolutely stand against your government’s shamelessly false attack on this honourable council of churches.

Sincerely,

Peter Murphy, Chairperson, Global Council,

International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines

Cc: Justice Raoul V. Victorino (ret.) Chairperson NCCP. Cristina Palabay Secretary-General Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples Rights

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