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UPDATE (Philippines): The remains of two victims of extra-judicial execution have been stolen

November 17, 2009

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Update: AHRC-UAU-033-2009

 

 

17 November 2009

[RE: AHRC-UAC-059-2009: PHILIPPINES: A labour rights defender is murdered; police shoot two men in police custody]
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PHILIPPINES: The remains of two victims of extra-judicial execution have been stolen

ISSUES: Extrajudicial killings; witness protection; threats
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Stop Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has just learned that the remains of two persons, believed to have been summarily executed by police officers, have been stolen from their graves. The family of the victims had requested that their bodies be exhumed to collect evidence, but they were told that there was no immediate need by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). The theft suggests that important incriminating factors have been overlooked in the investigation.

UPDATED INFORMATION:

As mentioned in our previous appeal (AHRC-UAC-059-2009), Alberto Ocampo and Jose Gonzales were summarily executed at the former's residence on 29 April 2009 in Orani, Bataan. Policemen had come to Ocampo's house looking for Gonzales, arrested the two men over allegations that they were rebels and tied them to a tree; they were heard being shot and found dead shortly after.

At 11pm on 11 November eight persons carrying firearms and wearing balaclavas were witnessed stealing Ocampo's remains from a cemetery in Orani, Bataan; the grave had been encased in plaster and cement. Four departed on motorcycles and four others in a pickup truck. Three hours later (12 November, 2am) the same group was seen stealing Gonzales' remains from a cemetery about 5km away in Barangay Sanlian, Abucay Bataan.

Regional office III of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in San Fernando, Pampanga has been investigating the killing since 11 May, when Ocampo's partner and a witness to his arrest, Imelda Zulueta, filed the complaint. One 15 June Zulueta and her lawyers submitted a petition asking that the remains be exhumed, but the Commission responded that while they may do so in the future, there was no immediate need because there was already ample evidence in the victims' favour.

The AHRC questions the lack of urgency in the investigation of a case –seven months on – that gravely incriminates police officers. It is also concerned by the apparent ease in which bodies are able to be stolen from plaster and concrete-encased graves without any kind of intervention. Finally, there are serious concerns for the safety of the witnesses in this case and appropriate protection needs to be made available to them.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the concerned authorities asking them to thoroughly investigate this case.

The AHRC has also written to the United Nation Special Rapporteurs on extra-judicial, summary, or arbitrary executions.

To support this appeal, please click here:

 

 

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

PHILIPPINES: The remains of two victims of extra-judicial execution have been stolen

Name of victims:
1. Alberto B. Ocampo, 36, tricycle driver
2. Jose Gonzales
Alleged perpetrators: Elements attached to the 303 Police Provincial Mobile Group (PPMG), Camp Tolentino, Balanga, Bataan, led by Police Officer 2 (P02) Ricardo Vinluan.

Status of the case: The regional office III of the Commission on Human (CHR) in San Fernando, Pampanga is conducting an investigation into the case and the policemen accused have already been investigated. Once the Commission finds sufficient evidence, criminal and administrative charges could be filed against the perpetrators in court.
Date of theft: November 11 and 12, 2009

I am shocked to learn that the remains of Alberto Ocampo and Jose Gonzales, who were summarily executed while in custody in April 2009, have been stolen from their graves. The thefts took place in separate incidents on November 11 and 12, and appear to be part of an attempt to frustrate the ongoing investigation of their murders.

I am aware that prior to the incident the regional office III of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in San Fernando, Pampanga commenced the investigation after Imelda Zulueta, a witness, filed a complaint against police officers. On 15 June the victims' family and their legal counsels had appealed to the Commission, asking that the bodies be exhumed for examination by forensic experts.

I am disappointed by the Commission's failure to act on this request, and deeply concerned that this latest incident will undermine the ongoing investigation. I question the lack of urgency in the investigation of a case –seven months on – that incriminates police officers in extremely serious crimes.

Please therefore ensure that the thefts are effectively and immediately investigated and the bodies are returned to be forensically examined. The regional office of the Commission should also be held to account for failing to act promptly on the exhumation request by the families. There are serious concerns for the safety of the witnesses in this case and I urge that appropriate protection be made available to them.


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: ruth_cossid@yahoo.com

4. 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

5. Mr. Emilio Gonzalez
Deputy Ombudsman
Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for the Military
and Other Law Enforcement Offices
3rd Floor, Ombudsman Bldg., Agham Road, Diliman
1104 Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 926 8747
Tel: +63 2 926 9032

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
AHRC-UAU-033-2009
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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.