Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that an armed village chief and his men severely assaulted a tricycle driver whom they wrongly accused of attempting to escape liability from an accident.
CASE NARRATIVE: (The summary of the sworn statement by Leonardo Borja written in Filipino)
At 10pm on August 10, 2011, Leonardo Borja (33), a resident of Barangay (village) Ibayo Silangan, Naic, Cavite province, was driving his passenger tricycle to deliver his passengers when his way was blocked at the village road in Muzon. The driver of that vehicle alighted and told him that his tricycle had hit someone.
While Leonardo was asking details from the driver about what had happened, he noticed a group of village militia approaching. Suddenly the group, led by Noel Catibayan, a village chief of Malainen Bago, started assaulting him. A village chief is an elected government official. They severely punched and kicked him and hit his head with clubs. The group forcibly dragged him as he clutched the handle bars of the vehicle.
As he was holding the handle bars as he refused to be taken away, village chief Catibayan pointed his gun at him and threatened to shoot him if he refused to let go. The group dragged him across the other road as they continue to severely and repeatedly beat him until he lost consciousness. Leonardo also heard, before losing his consciousness, that Catibayan had fired his gun.
When Leonardo regained his consciousness, he was already at the village hall of Malainen Bago where the village militia took him. Leonardo only obtained proper medical attention when his father collected him and took him to the Naic Medicare for treatment.
In his sworn statement (read full text in Filipino here), Leonardo claimed that those who had assaulted him were drunk because he could smell alcohol on their breath. During the assault, however, neither the village chief nor the militiamen involved explained to him what his offence was and why they arrested him.
After the incident, Leonardo filed a complaint against the village chief and his men at the local police station in Naic, Cavite province.
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SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ___________,
Re: PHILIPPINES: An armed village chief and his men assaulted a tricycle driver
Name of the victim: Leonardo Borja, 33 years old and resident of Barangay (village) Ibayo Silangan, Naic, Cavite province
Alleged perpetrators: Noel Catibayan, village chief of Malainen Bago, also in the same municipality; and the village militia under his command.
Date and time of the incident: At 10pm on August 10, 2011 in the barangay (village) road in Muzon, Naic, Cavite
I am writing to express my concern at the assault on Leonardo Borja, a tricycle driver, allegedly by Noel Catibayan, a village chief; and a group of village militia. The village chief and his militia assaulted him over the false allegation that he allegedly attempted to escape liability from an accident.
Leonardo, who was driving to deliver his passengers, was stopped by a vehicle at the village road. While he was asking from the driver what he has done wrong, the village chief and his men who were coming from behind suddenly assaulted him. None of them had explained to him properly what offence he had committed nor told him the details of the supposed accident that they had accused him of trying to escape from.
They severely punched and kicked him and hit his head with clubs. The group forcibly dragged him as he clutched his hand to the handle bars of the vehicle.
As he was holding the handle bars when he refused to be taken away, village chief Catibayan pointed his gun at him and threatened to shoot if he refuse to let go. The group dragged him across the other road as they continue to severely and repeatedly beat him until he lost his consciousness. Leonardo also heard, before losing his consciousness, that Catibayan had fired his gun.
When Leonardo regained his consciousness, he was already at the village of Malainen Bago where the village militia took him. Leonardo only obtained proper medical attention when his father took him to the Naic Medicare for treatment.
I urged you to investigate village chief Noel Catibayan and the village militia under his command. Appropriate charges, by way of criminal and administrative case, must be laid on them once evidence is sufficient that they have committed the offence.
Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Benigno Aquino III
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. Ms. Loretta Ann Rosales
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: chair.rosales.chr@gmail.com
3. Director General Raul Bacalzo
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
4. Ms. Leila de Lima
Secretary
Department of Justice (DOJ)
DOJ Bldg., Padre Faura
1004 Manila
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 521 1614
E-mail: soj@doj.gov.ph
5. Josefina Castilla Go, CESO III
Regional Director, Region IV-A (CALABARZON)
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)
2nd Floor, Old Admin Building, FTI Complex
Taguig City
PHILIPPINES
Email: dilgcalabarzon@yahoo.com; jcgo@dilg.gov.ph
Tel. No. +63 2 838-5032 / 838-6748
Fax No. +63 2 838-1526 / 838-5323
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
