Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that two persons, one of whom was a woman, were killed under the pretext of a “legitimate encounter” that took place between rebels and government soldiers. The victims were farming villagers living in Maramag, Bukidnon. The dead body of one of the victims bore evidence that he could have been tortured and summarily executed.
CASE DETAILS: (According to information received from the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) – Mindanao)
At 7am on 22 February 2009, Rufino Ratilla told his wife, Emily, to get herself to safety and avoid going close to her father’s house, where members of a rebel group, the New Peoples’ Army (NPA), were staying. They had sought shelter over night in Sitio San Nicanor, Maramag, Bukidnon. Rufino had seen the rebels carrying firearms and preparing them.
Sensing the danger of the rebel’s presence close to their house, Rufino asked his wife to take cover at once but she told him she would do so once she finished her housework. Soldiers arrived out of nowhere and began shooting at their house. Rufino jumped and shouted at Emily to take cover prompting his frightened wife to run towards her father’s house where unfortunately the rebels were positioned.
It was the last time Rufino saw his wife, Emily, alive as he also ran for safety. It was only around 9am, two hours after the incident, that they had been able to recover Emily’s dead body. However, her body was no longer at her father’ house, but some 300 meters away from where she was last seen. It was believed that her body could have been dragged from where it lay dead towards a place close to where the rebels were positioned.
Emily suffered 21 gunshot wounds all over her body. She had a splinter wound in her head and parts of her brain were splattered on the ground.
Also on the same day, about 6am, another farmer, Danilo Guinanas, left his house to tend his farm. At 7am, at the same time when the shooting at the house of Emily’s father place took place, Danilo’s wife Luzviminda, also heard gunshots. Later she learned that there had been an encounter between rebels and soldiers attached to the 29th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army based in Maramag, Bukidnon.
In the evening of that day, Luzviminda waited for her husband, Danilo, to come home. However, he did not arrive. When Danilo failed to return home, Luzviminda thought that perhaps he might have stayed overnight at the house where their farm is located, as he often did. However, when Danilo failed to come home on the second day, she became alarmed.
It was only at 10am on February 23 that Luzviminda learned of Danilo’s death. His dead body was found in a forested area, opposite to the direction he usually takes on his way to their farm. Danilo’s body was in a kneeling position bending forward towards the ground. Both his knees had been fractured. He had fourteen gunshot wounds all over his body. He also had a seven-inch slash wound on his left leg and a stab wound on his left chest.
There were hematomas found on his face, throat and chest. His mouth was swollen and there were pieces of fingernails in his throat. His jacket had bullet holes when it was recovered from a road nearby. The injuries that Danilo suffered raised suspicions that he could have been tortured and summarily executed.
ADDITIONAL COMMENT:
In the Philippines, farming villagers living in remote areas are exposed to the risk of being murdered or summarily executed on the pretext of a “legitimate encounter”. In most cases, villagers have no choice but to allow rebels to take refuge in their houses or small huts. Once they refuse it often results in their being accused of either sympathizing with the soldiers or being government spies themselves.
When the villagers allow rebels to stay or take refuge in their house, they also expose themselves to dangers from the other side: the soldiers. Any persons whom the soldiers see together with the rebels, whether they carry firearms or not, are accused of being rebels themselves or sympathetic to the rebel cause.
There are some circumstances in which the villagers do allow the rebels to take shelter in their houses or huts; however, in most cases it is either through fear of reprisal or lack of choice that the villagers are motivated to do so. Therefore, villagers allowing rebels to take refuge in their houses should not be considered as rebels or supportive of the rebels cause as an absolute.
However, whenever soldiers catch up with rebels in a villager’s home, anyone inside the house or close by where the rebels are positioned, carrying firearms or not, can make the judgment to shoot them. In such a scenario, if a person is killed and later found not to be a rebel, the murder is often justified under the pretext of a “legitimate encounter”.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the concerned authorities below asking them to have the killings of these two farming villagers thoroughly investigated. The soldiers who are involved in this incident should also be investigated to answer allegations over the questionable circumstances in the killing of the victims.
The AHRC is also writing a letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions calling for intervention in this case.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear _________,
PHILIPPINES: Two farming villagers killed under pretext of a “legitimate encounter”
Name of victims:
1. Emily Ratilla, 23 years old, married
2. Danilo Guinanas, 37 years old, married
Date of incident: 22 February 2009
Place of incident: Sitio San Nicanor, Barangay Lipa, Quezon, Bukidnon
I am writing to express my grave concern regarding the killing of two farming villagers, Emily Ratilla and Danilo Guinanas, both residents of Barangay Lipa, Quezon, Bukidnon.
Emily and Danilo were reported to have been killed at the time of fighting between a rebel group and soldiers. I am deeply concerned over the circumstances of their deaths which raises serious questions that they could have been tortured, summarily executed and their deaths justified under pretext of a “legitimate encounter”.
Firstly, when the soldiers, attached to the 29th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, exchanged fire with a rebel group, Emily was in her own house. However, close by is her father’s house where the rebels had sought refuge.
As the soldiers approached Emily’s house, they began shooting. This prompted Emily and her husband, to run for cover. Frightened, Emily ran towards the house of her father in a panic. The rebels were unfortunately positioned in the house and the soldiers continued shooting at her. She was not carrying a firearm and was not a rebel. Two hours later, Emily’s dead body was recovered about 300 meters away from where she was last seen alive. She suffered several gunshot wounds.
The position and location of her body raised suspicions. The body could have been deliberately dragged or taken towards the rebel’s position. According to a source, it was made to appear that she took part in the fighting. Emily, however, neither took part in the fighting nor was a rebel herself. She was a villager whose father had offered refuge to a group of rebels. This was subsequently used against her and her family to justify her death.
There was also a similar case with another villager, Danilo, who was also killed in a separate incident on the same day. Danilo, according to his wife, was on his way to their farm when the fighting took place. His wife, however, knew of his death only after he had failed to return home for two nights and his dead body had been found. His body incurred many injuries and had signs that he could have been tortured and summarily executed.
Danilo’s dead body was in a kneeling position bending towards the ground. Both his knees had been fractured, he had fourteen gunshot wounds all over his body, a seven inch slash wound to his left leg and a stab wound to his left chest. He had hematomas on his face, throat and chest. His mouth was swollen and there were traces of fingernails in his throat.
I therefore urge you to ensure that an impartial and thorough investigation is conducted into these cases and that the perpetrators are promptly brought to court for prosecution should there be sufficient evidence against them. The investigation must establish who was responsible for the deaths. If it is proven that these victims were summarily executed, those responsible should be held accountable according to the law.
Also, I urge the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to consider affording compensation to the families of these victims.
It is of grave concern that farming villagers, particularly in remote areas, have been exposed to the danger of being murdered and their deaths subsequently justified under the pretext of a “legitimate encounter”. As you are aware, one of the victim’s fathers did allow the rebels to take refuge in his house. However, to justify the murder of all those in the house, or those close by, on this pretext is unacceptable. This is tantamount to providing soldiers with either immunity or a license to kill. It is often unavoidable that villagers allow rebels to take shelter in their houses.
Whether it is done willingly or under duress is the question. These villagers, for lack of choice and to prevent possible rebel reprisals, utilize ways to protect themselves, which unfortunately also exposes them to become targets of the soldiers and accused as rebels.
Thus, the presence of any persons with an illegal armed group, or persons having been seen close to where they are positioned, particularly if they are not carrying firearms, should not be used as a justification to kill them. This is in contravention of International Laws which protects civilians from being targeted in times of conflict.
I therefore urge you to consider thoroughly reviewing the rules of engagement, in particular with these circumstances. Unless this matter is clearly defined and the government takes responsibility to protect the villagers from being arbitrarily killed, I am deeply concerned that further deaths under this pretext would be used as justification in the future.
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. Ms. Leila De Lima
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: chr.delima@yahoo.com or mtm_rodulfo@yahoo.com
3. Deputy Director General Jesus A. Verzosa
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: raulgonzalez_doj@yahoo.com
5. Mr. Ronaldo V. Puno
Secretary
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)
A. Francisco Gold Condominium II
EDSA cor. Mapagmahal St., Diliman
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 925 0332
Tel: +63 2 925 0330 / 31
E-mail: rvpuno@dilg.gov.ph
6. Atty. Jeanne Ivy F. Abrina
Regional Director
CHR, Region 10
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 88 22724525
Tel: +63 83 5538887
E-mail: chr.region10@yahoo.com
7. Mr. Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr.
Department of National Defense
Room 301 DND Building, Camp Emilio Aguinaldo,
E. de los Santos Avenue
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Tel: +63(2) 911-9281 / 911-0488
Fax: +63(2) 911 6213
E-mail: osnd@philonline.com
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
