Abadilla 5

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to draw your attention to the complaint of five men, known as the Abadilla Five, pending before your office. The case, which bears Case No. OMB-P-C-041269/CLP-C-04-1965 (“CHR, et al. vs. S/Supt. Romulo Sales et al”), was endorsed by the Department of Justice (DoJ) in January 2003 for your […]

(Manila, January 8, 2009) To renew their demands to have the policemen responsible for torturing their loved ones prosecuted at once, the families of the Abadilla Five held a protest at two government offices dealing with the victim’s complaint on January 7.  Simulating the prisoners’ experiences while in police custody after their arrest and subsequent […]

(Manila, January 7, 2009) Nearly thirteen years after the Abadilla Five’s arrest and subsequent detention in June 1996, their families, the wives, children, mother and a grandmother, have yet to get over with their feeling of tremendous loss.  One of these, Marilou Lumanog (54), wife of Lenido Lumanog, shares with other fellow relatives of the […]

(Manila, January 6, 2009) They were either children or were not born at the time when their loved ones, known as the Abadilla Five, were arbitrarily arrested, detained and tortured but the calls to have these detainees released have reached their generation.  As she held a bundle of 13 white roses with a placard “Palayain […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you regarding further delays in the conclusion of the Petition for Review on Certiorari that the Abadilla Five has filed. We previously reported that the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) was required by the Supreme Court to submit their comment on the petition; […]

New Bilibid Prison Muntinlupa City 21 August 2008 Dear Loved Ones of the Late Col. Rolando N. Abadilla, Greetings of Peace!   We take this opportunity to reach out to you, first of all in sympathy with you for your loss of a loved one in the person of the late Col. Rolando N. Abadilla, whose […]

(Hong Kong, July 28, 2008) All the respondents from interviews conducted by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) agreed that the delays in the trial of the Abadilla Five case highlighted the endemic problem in the country’s justice system. A feature that breeds conditions that allows for instances of extrajudicial killings and endorses inequality before […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that the Supreme Court (SC) has already required the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to comment on the Petition for Review on Certiorari the legal counsels of the Abadilla Five filed on May 5. The SC’s resolution was issued on June 16 but […]

While a researcher for the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) were conducting random interviews on the case of the Abadilla Five, a short comment from a father, Victoriano Galang, which we have published in our previous press release, caught our attention. His son, Hernani, like that of the Abadilla five, remains in jail for several […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) cautiously welcomes the effort by the judiciary to re-start their program called “justice-on-wheels”. The program, which started conducting hearings on July 9, aims to reduce the number of court cases in order to ease the congestion in crowded jails, by conducting hearings in jails. Buses have been converted into […]

(Hong Kong, July 2, 2008) Random interviews conducted by a researcher for the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) have revealed that the plight of the Abadilla Five is a shared experience and common knowledge amongst respondents. These random interviews, which began in early June, highlights the endemic problem in the administration of justice in the […]

I remember watching two movies where the word silence played an eerie role. One was the “Silent Scream,” the other, the “Silence of the Lambs.” In both movies, violence took place with the victims’ muffled pleas for help were an occurrence known only to them and their offenders. In the Silent Scream, the fetus squirms […]

(Hong Kong, June 17, 2008) Marking their twelfth year in jail, the Abadilla Five writes pleading for “compassion and help” to a known Filipino Catholic priest and others expressing concerns for the delay of their case. In a signed letter dated June 13 to Fr. Roberto Reyes, the prisoners “recognize the sacrifices and efforts you […]

(Hong Kong, June 12, 2008) Twelve years ago tomorrow, Colonel Rolando Abadilla, an influential police colonel during the regime of late President Ferdinand Marcos, was murdered. His murder resulted in the arrest of five men now known as the Abadilla Five, who through the years have persisted in challenging their conviction for his murder in […]

The AHRC in its letter to you on May 5, has asked the Supreme Court to take appropriate action to ensure that the appellate review of the Abadilla Five case is effectively conducted. We have also asked the Court to promptly resolve the merits of the Petition for Review on Certiorari filed by the appellants. […]

(Hong Kong, May 13, 2008) The lawyers for the Abadilla Five, have invoked, as addendums to their Petition for Review on Certiorari, a decision by the United Nation Human Rights Committee, finding the government as responsible for violating their clients’ right for unduly delaying their case. The Committee’s decision, which was adopted on March 20, […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-PAP-005-2008 May 7, 2008 A Paper by the Asian Human Rights Commission PHILIPPINES: Christmas with a Dead Man’s Watch Abstract This article is an account of a well known Filipino priest, Fr. Roberto Reyes, whom a rebel group claiming responsibility to the murder of Colonel Rolando Abadilla had approached nine years ago. […]

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to share with you the full text of a decision adopted by the UN Human Rights Committee on 20 March 2008 regarding a complaint filed under the Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) by Lenido Lumanog and Augusto Santos. They are two […]

(Hong Kong, May 5, 2008) The legal counsels of the Abadilla Five has filed today a Petition for Review before the Supreme Court (SC) seeking to declare as “null and void” a decision by the Court of Appeals (CA) affirming their clients’ conviction. On April 1, the CA has affirmed the eight-year old decision by […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that following the Court of Appeals (CA) conclusion of its appellate review affirming the conviction imposed by a lower court on the Abadilla Five, the lawyers for the accused are seeking to nullify the CA’s decision on April 1. They filed a Petition […]