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PHILIPPINES: Yet another activist killed following threats

January 24, 2008

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-010-2008

24 January 2008
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PHILIPPINES: Yet another activist killed following threats

ISSUES: Extrajudicial killings; human rights defenders; political detainees
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed of yet another killing of an activist subsequent to receiving continuing threats on his life in 17 January 2008 in Tagbilaran City. He was in front of a pharmacy buying medicine when one of the two gunmen riding on a motorcycle shot him at close range in the head. Hours before he was killed, an unknown person whose phone number was used in sending threatening SMS messages to him had also called him on his phone.

CASE DETAILS: (based on the information received from the Karapatan and Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP))

On 17 January 2008, Ronald C. Sendrijas was visiting his sister who had just given birth at the Ramiro Hospital in Tagbilaran City. At around 9pm, he went out to buy medicine for his headache at the Paz Pharmacy, which is located close to the same hospital. About twenty minutes later, as he was approaching the pharmacy's counter, two men riding on a motorcycle arrived and stopped in front of the pharmacy.

The man, who was riding on the back of the motorcycle, wearing a white jacket and shirt, alighted and approached him from the back. He clamped his arm around Ronald's neck and uttered the latter's name, he then shot him twice in the back of his head with a 9mm pistol killing him instantly. After the shooting, the two gunmen then escaped.

Ronald was killed on the day he celebrate his 35th birthday. Prior to the incident, Ronald had already relayed his concern to his sister telling her that he suspected that he was under surveillance; and that he had been receiving threatening SMS messages on his mobile phone. Her sister even recalled that one of the messages stated that her brother would be killed on his birthday; however, Ronald then did not mention from whom the message came from. Also, she added that few hours before her brother was shot dead, he received a phone call from the same number sending him threatening messages. The conversation Ronald had with his caller was not mentioned.

Prior to his death, Ronald had also experienced being vilified and discredited by the police and military. He had reportedly been implicated by the police in the murder of another activist, Victor Olayvar, who was killed on 17 September 2006 (For details please read: UA-300-2006). Victor was the chairperson of Bayan (New Patriotic Alliance) in Bohol. In once instance though, Ronald also relayed to his colleagues that he had been offered a position within the government in exchange for his cooperation with the army, mentioning the 302nd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army.

Ronald was also a political detainee himself. In 2004, Ronald was arrested together with Jigger Geverola in Argao, Cebu for charges of Arson, Robbery with Serious Physical Injury and Rebellion at the Regional Trial Court, Branch 18 in Cebu City. Ronald's alleged involvement previously in a rebel group, New Peoples' Army (NPA), had earned him a tag as Front 2 Secretary of the Central Visayas Regional Party Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

On July 2006 Ronald was released on bail while Jigger remains in detention at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) in Cebu City.

According to Karapatan, after Ronald's release he went back to Bohol and became actively involved with the Samahan ng mga Ex-detainees Laban sa Detensyon at para sa Amnestiya (SELDA). He also became active in campaigns for environmental issues in his hometown in Inabanga, Bohol. He was the spokesperson of the Association of Concerned Inabangnons (ACIN), an alliance of group that strongly opposing the Cebu-Bohol Water project.

Meanwhile, according to TFDP, Ronald had also informed his family and friends in his hometown of his intention to cease any involvement with the rebel group and that he wanted to live peacefully in his community. At the time of his death, Ronald was also doing secretarial work in his village in San Jose, Inabanga.

SELDA is a member organization of Karapatan involved in the struggle for justice for the victims of human rights abuses during martial law. It also spearheaded the filing of a class suit of the 9,539 victims against the heirs of late President Ferdinand Marcos. The group continues to lobby for the passage of the Human Rights Compensation Bill in both Houses of Congress. They likewise promote the rights and welfare of political prisoners and campaigning against the use of torture as a form of interrogation of political detainees.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the authorities below requesting them to ensure that investigation conducted into this case is effective and credible. They must ensure that the perpetrators are identified and effectively prosecuted in court.

The AHRC writes separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Execution and Representatives to the Secretary-General on human rights defenders calling for their immediate intervention in this case.

To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear ___________,

PHILIPPINES: Yet another activist killed following threats

Name of victim: Ronald Cempron Sendrijas, 35 years old, single, member of Samahan ng mga Ex-detainees Laban sa Detensyon at para sa Amnestiya (SELDA) "Society of Ex-Detainees for Liberation, against Detention and for Amnesty", spokesperson for the Association of Concerned Inabangnons (ACIN)
Alleged perpetrators: Two armed men on board a motorcycle
Place of incident: In front of a pharmacy along Gallares Street, Tagbilaran City, Bohol
Date of incident: 17 January 2008, at around 9:20pm

I am writing to draw your attention to the killing of another activist, Ronald Sendrijas, in Tagbilaran City. Ronald was shot dead to his head by one of his two unidentified attackers riding on motorcycle on 17 January 2008. He was buying a medicine at a pharmacy shortly after visiting his sister who had just given birth when he was shot.

I have learned that prior to Ronald's murder he had been receiving threatening SMS messages on his mobile phone. One of the messages contains warning that the attackers would kill him on his birthday; which eventually happened. Hours before he was shot dead, he also had been able to receive a phone call from number who had been sending him threatening messages. Though he wasn't able to relay to his relatives of who they are, I am deeply concerned that those responsible of threatening him and who murdered him are the same.

I have also learned that Ronald had also been the object allegedly of overt surveillance and had been discredited by security forces, particularly the police and military. I therefore urge you to ensure that his murder is effectively investigated by a credible body. Investigation must lead to identifying the perpetrators to effectively prosecute them in court.

I am aware of Ronald's involvement in campaigning for the protection of the rights of the political detainees as a member of SELDA, as a former political detainee himself; and for campaigning against the construction of the water project linking Cebu and Bohol they claimed not beneficial to the locals. It is disappointing that persons engaging in peaceful means of social activism had been continuously targeted there.

Despite Ronald's recent activities, still he has continuously been allegedly the object of overt surveillance, harassment and had been discredited by the security forces. It unfortunate that even though Ronald have had continuing threats on his life he fails to obtain any remedies for protection to ensure his safety as in previous cases of killings. I therefore urge you exhaust all means to ensure that those responsible for his murder--they be security forces or not--are identified and held to account. All the circumstances in this case must be effectively and adequately investigated.

Also, the action taken by security forces by allegedly vilifying and discrediting him prior to his death must also be investigated. This is very essential in order to establish whether or not the security forces had any involvement for his death subsequent to their actions. The police authorities should also closely cooperate with the victim's relatives and friends in the process of investigation.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President
Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace
JP Laurel Street, San Miguel
Manila 1005
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 736 1010
Tel: +63 2 735 6201 / 564 1451 to 80
E-mail: corres@op.gov.ph

2. Mrs. Purificacion Quisumbing
Commissioner
Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., Commonwealth Avenue
U.P. Complex, Diliman
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 929 0102
Tel: +63 2 928 5655 / 926 6188
E-mail: drpvq@yahoo.com

3. Deputy Director General Avelino Razon
Chief, Philippine National Police (PNP)
Camp General Rafael Crame
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2724 8763
Tel: +63 2 726 4361/4366/8763
E-mail: bluetree73@gmail.com

4. Mr. Raul Gonzalez
Secretary
Department of Justice (DoJ)
DOJ Bldg., Padre Faura
1004 Manila
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 521 1614
E-mail: agnesdeva@yahoo.com

5. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon
Chief of Staff
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)
AFP-GHQ Offices, Camp Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 911 6436
Tel: +63 2 911 6001 to 50

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-010-2008
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.