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PHILIPPINES: An urban poor leader and her son killed for defending their dwelling

October 13, 2009

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-136-2009

14 October 2009
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PHILIPPINES: An urban poor leader and her son killed for defending their dwelling

ISSUES: Extrajudicial killings; human rights defenders; right to land; right to housing
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STOP extrajudicial killings in the Philippines
http://www.pinoyhr.net/
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you of the death by shooting of an urban poor leader and her son in Quezon City, Metro Manila on October 9, 2009. The victims were shot at close range by security guards when they tried to prevent them from fencing off their dwellings. The security guards were employed by a person who claimed ownership of the land that the villagers had been occupying for over 20 years.

CASE DETAILS:

According to the information received from the Urban Poor Associates (UPA), a Non-Governmental Organization that advocates for housing rights, Maria Myrna Porcare, leader of Samahan ng Magkakapitbahay sa Pechayan (SAMASAPE) and her son, Jimyr Porcare, were shot dead by private security guards of Melecio Lavares, a person claiming to be owner of the contested property.

The contested lot where the incident took place is located in Pechayan, Barangay (village) North Fairview, in Quezon City. It is an urban poor community near the Tullahan River.

The guards were responding to orders by the land owner who had been granted a writ of execution by the Metropolitan Trial Court (MTC) Branch 38 in Quezon City for the eviction of a family named Domingo. The family is reported to have also been occupying a portion of the contested 2.4 hectare property.

However, when the guards began fencing the property, instead of fencing only the areas which the Domingo family was occupying (and which is the subject of the court order), the guards had started fencing the entire 2.4 hectares, which prompted the villagers to resist them. The areas the guards were fencing included the houses and dwellings of the victims and over 1,000 informal settlers who had been living in the area for over 20 years.

Mrs. Porcare was leading the villagers in trying to stop the guards when she was shot in the stomach with a shot gun. When her son, Jimyr, rushed to her side he was shot and killed instantly. Photo 1 and 2. The 15 security guards in attendance were all armed with shotguns.

The perpetrators, whose names for the time being cannot be mentioned, have been charged with two counts of homicide. They were arrested and taken to the Crime Investigation Detection Unit (CIDU) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Camp General Tomas Karingal in Quezon City where they are presently being held.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The AHRC has in the past documented hundreds of cases wherein human rights and political activists have been targeted because of their human rights work.

In its special report published in February 2007, entitled "the Criminal Justice System of the Philippines is Rotten", it provided details and analysis as to how cases are investigated, prosecuted and taken to court. The report revealed that the widespread impunity, lack of convictions and legal remedies to victims of extrajudicial killings, is aggravated by the systemic defects within the country's institution of justice.

Also in February 2007, Philip Alston, Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions of the United Nations, went to the Philippines for his country visit to conduct field investigations into the cases of extrajudicial killings. His visit and the subsequent publication of his report were able to reduce the numbers of killings.

However, many of Alston's recommendations and also that of the UN Human Rights Council's (HRC) in concluding the Universal Periodic Review on April 11, 2008 have not been adequately implemented. The AHRC's sister organization, the Asian Legal Resource Center (ALRC) in its written submission enumerated the recommendations on the Philippines that it failed to implement.


SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write letters to the concerned authorities below asking them to ensure that the investigation and prosecution of this case in court is adequate. It should also consider providing compensation to the family of the deceased.

The AHRC has also written letters to the Special Rapporteurs on Extra-judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions, Human Rights Defenders and on Adequate Housing.

To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

PHILIPPINES: An urban poor leader and her son killed for defending their dwelling

Name of victims killed:
1. Maria Myrna Porcare, a leader of Samahan ng Magkakapitbahay sa Pechayan (SAMASAPE)
2. Jimyr Porcare, son of victim No. 1. They both lived in Pechayan, Barangay (village) North Fairview, a community near Tullahan River in Quezon City
Alleged perpetrators: Security guards of Melecio Lavares, a person claiming ownership of the contested lot the victims and their fellow villagers are occupying.
Date of incident: October 9, 2009

I am writing to express my deep concern for the killing of Maria Myrna Porcare, an urban poor leader, and her son, Jimyr, when they defended theirs and their fellow villagers' dwellings on October 9, 2009. The mother and son were among the 1,000 informal settlers in a 2.4 hectare property in North Fairview, Quezon City.

The incident took place after the security guards of Melecio Lavares, a person claiming ownership of the contested lot the victims and their fellow villagers are occupying, began fencing the area that was not included in the boundary of his property. When Lavares's guards went to fence off the place, they had orders from the local Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 38 in Quezon City, for the eviction of the Domingo family only.

The Domingo family is reported to have also been occupying a portion of the 2.4 hectare contested property. However, the lot to which the couple had occupied and is the subject of the court order for eviction is only a fraction of the contested lot.

However, the guards, instead of fencing the boundaries as mentioned in the court order proceeded to fence off the dwellings of other villagers. The guards persistence on illegally fencing the areas no longer covered by the court order resulted in the needless conflict between them and the villagers which lead to the killing of the mother and son.

When Mrs. Porcare prevented the guards from fencing theirs and their fellow villagers' dwellings, she was shot at close range with a shot gun. When her son rushed to her side he was shot and killed instantly. The needless death of this mother and her son is shocking.

Although I appreciate the arrest and subsequent detention of the perpetrators I have deep reservations as to how the case will progress in terms of investigation, prosecution and hearing of the case in court. I am aware that even if cases are filed in court, the probability of the perpetrators not being held to account remains high. I therefore urge you to closely monitor the case in order for the police, the prosecutors and the court to ensure the possibility of securing a conviction.

I also urge you to consider affording compensation to the families of the dead.

Respectfully yours,

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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

2. Mr. Noli De Castro
Vice President of the Philippines and Chairman
Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council
15th Floor Banco De Oro Bldg.,
Paseo de Roxas, Makati City
PHILIPPINES
Tel. No.: +63 2 811 4159
E-mail: bdsec@hlurb.gov.ph

3. 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: mtm_rodulfo@yahoo.com

4. 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: ruth_cossid@yahoo.com

5. Ms. Agnes Devanadera
Secretary
Department of Justice (DoJ)
DOJ Bldg., Padre Faura
1004 Manila
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 521 1614
E-mail: raulgonzalez_doj@yahoo.com

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-136-2009
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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.