Home / News / Urgent Appeals / UPDATE (Philippines): Police' failure to solve "vigilante killings" aggravates murder
 

UPDATE (Philippines): Police' failure to solve "vigilante killings" aggravates murder

July 21, 2008

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Update: AHRC-UAU-044-2008

22 July 2008

[RE: AHRC-UAG-008-2008: PHILIPPINES: More unsolved murders of crime suspects]
-----------------------------------------------------------
PHILIPPINES: VIGILANTE KILLINGS - Police' failure to solve cases aggravates murder

ISSUES: Extrajudicial killing; police negligence; right to liberty and security; children; administration of justice
-----------------------------------------------------------

SLAUGHTER OF INNOCENTS
http://noprotection.blog.humanrights.asia/

------------------------------------------------------------

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been receiving information continuously that more persons have been murdered recently, including minors and women, on the pretext of "vigilante killings". The police, once again, instead of thoroughly investigating each of these cases, justified the murders as being due to the victim's criminal records.

UPDATED INFORMATION: (According to reliable sources and Sun.Star Super Balita)

In addition to our previous appeals AHRC-UAG-008-2008, AHRC-UAU-032-2008, we have already mentioned that at least 21 persons, one of whom was a boy, have already been murdered on the pretext of vigilante killings since April of this year.

We have previously mentioned that most of those murdered have been suspected of involvement in criminal activities, former detainees and gang members. However, some of those killed have had no involvement but the police authorities are continuously avoiding any responsibility to solve these cases, particularly of identifying and prosecuting those responsible.

For instance, two of those killed as mentioned in this Case No. 5 below, were the wife and a brother-in-law of a deceased person. Even before he was murdered, his colleague, also suspected of having been involved in crime, was shot dead in police custody for reportedly attempting to grab a police firearm in his attempt to escape from their custody but this was never thoroughly investigated.

As the AHRC continues to document murders of this nature it becomes increasingly evident that they are aggravated by the failure of the police failure to thoroughly investigate and ensure the possibility of an effective prosecution. The police also fail to implement the laws regulating the control of firearms and the proper use of license plates of motorcycles. This failure allows the gunmen to arm themselves and use their motorcycles to kill their targets.

The gunmen have been killing their targets in broad daylight, inside their own houses, in crowded public places and even shortly after coming out from a police detention center. Investigation into these cases, however, has not shown substantial progress so far. The perpetrators of these murders remain unidentified.

1. LAYNEL ROMANO, 22 years old, of Bunawan, Davao City. On May 21, when he was watching a basketball game in a crowded place in his village, two young men suddenly shot him in the head using an improvised gun. The gunmen escaped by mixing with the panicked crowd. The police concluded it was a "gang war" without thorough investigation.

2. MANUELITO BELINARIO, 55 years old, of Barangay (village) Cuambogan, Tagum City. On May 22, when he was about to take his dinner, he was shot in the head by a man who was armed with a .45 caliber pistol. Two empty shells were found at the crime scene.

3. RONALD BENGIL, 32 years old; of Barangay Mankilam, Tagum City. On May 22, when he was buying charcoal from a store close to his house, he was shot repeatedly by attackers riding on a motorcycle. He died after suffering from several gunshot wounds.

4. DANILO AUGUIS, 38 years old; of Barangay Bula, General Santos City. On May 26, he was together with his sister Gina when an unknown man approached them. The man asked them if they knew Jun Jorie. Gina told the man to ask someone else instead as she did not know the person he was looking for; and when she turned to the man's back, the man shot his brother, Danilo, on the head with a .45 caliber pistol.  He escaped on board a motorcycle waiting nearby. Danilo had been detained due to a charge for theft of mobile phone but was later released after it was returned to owner.

5. NERITO CALIMBO, his wife JOCELYN, and brother-in-law AARON. On May 22, Nerito, were shot dead in San Pedro Corner Legaspi Streets in Davao City after he was released from police detention. Jocelyn and Aaron, who had fetched him, were also killed by gunmen riding on motorcycle who fired at the taxi they were riding. Only his son, Norman survived.

An hour before Nerito was killed, Jose Jorge Corpuz, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Southern Mindanao warned him that he had to be careful as he had been targeted for a kill. Corpuz, however, when he was interviewed about the warning he had given to the victim claimed it was only his "presumption" that the victim was at risk.

The police nevertheless have concluded that it was Nerito's colleagues in Chigo Gang who had killed him even before the investigation was completed. They however did give neither explanation nor justification why his wife, Jocelyn and Aaron had to be killed also. Nerito's colleague, Bernado Chigo has also been killed on May 22 as he had reportedly attempted to grab a gun from his police escort. This, once again, has not been thoroughly investigated.

6. REZEMIAS BENSOLANO, 17 years old, of Barangay Calumpang, General Santos City. On June 3, when he was sitting outside his house with a friend after dinner, he was stabbed repeatedly by two unidentified men armed with bladed weapons. They also attempted to stab his unnamed friend but failed. The attackers escaped on their motorcycle from the area. Rezemias died on his way to the hospital due to stab wounds to his chest and his back.

7. RICHARD BALDELOBAR; 22 years old, of Dona Salud Village, Davao City. On June 3, while Felipe and his friends were standing on a street in their village, unidentified gunmen, who were riding on a motorcycle, suddenly approached and shot him in the head at close range. The attacker was described as about 30 years old, 5'4 tall and was wearing white sleeveless shirt. He escaped with another person who had waited for him close by. Senior Police Officer Demetrio Palomar of Sasa Police Station described the victim as a "known troublemaker" since, according to the police, he had been involved in theft cases and had criminal records for beating and had been part of a "6425 Gang".

8. FELIPE REBUCAS, 30 years old, laborer of Buhangin, Davao City. He was queuing up at a government retail store at the Upper Malagamot, Panacan to buy rice when he shot dead by one of the two unidentified armed men riding on a motorcycle. His parents and siblings and several witnesses were present during the shooting. The attackers escaped on board a black motorcycle. During investigation, the police looked into the victim's criminal record rather than identify who were responsible for the killing.

9. JUNARD CALACAR, 19 years old; MELVIN CAPUYAN, 38 years old of Mintal, Davao City. On June 2, they were shot dead by gunmen inside their house when they were watching television. Junard's cousin, John Carlo Calacar was also injured as he was present during the attack. Police Office (PO3) Edgar Genovia of the Tugbok police station claimed that there were four identified men who shot the victims. Junard's mother said his son was the real target as he was a gang member and had received death threats before the attack.

10. MICHAEL CASTINO, of Zone 5, Barangay Bonbon, Cagayan de Oro City. On May 30, two men who were riding on a motorcycle shot him at the left side of his head. This happened at the corner of Osmena and Yacapin streets where many people were eating breakfast. The victim had been described supposedly as a member of the Batang Mindanao 29 gang and involved in numerous robbery and pickpocket cases.

You can also read the AHRC's statements on this: AHRC-STM-184-2008; AHRC-OLT-017-2008; ALRC-CWS-08-014-2008 and AHRC-STM-079-2008.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

In our succeeding appeals, the AHRC will continue to issue individual cases of victims murdered on the pretext of vigilante killings in recent times. In writing letters to the concerned authorities, we suggest that you refer to our previous appeals (AHRC-UAG-008-2008) regarding actions from the authorities involve they needed to take.

In addition to the addresses we have already mentioned there, we are providing you below contact details of each of the local Chief Executives and their Chiefs of Police of the cities to whom your letters should be sent. Also, you can also call them directly regarding this matter to phone numbers below.

The AHRC is also writing separate letters to these offices and to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions respectively calling for his intervention in these cases.

----------------
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

For cases in General Santos City:
1. Mr. Pedro Acharon Jr.
City Mayor
Office of the City Mayor
City Hall Building
General Santos City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 83 554 4212
E-mail: cmo@gensantos.gov.ph

2. P/Sr. Supt. Robert Po
City Police Director
General Santos City Police Office (GSCPO)
Camp Fermin Lira
General Santos City
PHILIPPINES

For cases in Cagayan de Oro City:
1. Mr. Constantino G. Jaraula
City Mayor
Office of the City Mayor
3rd Floor, City Hall building
Cagayan de Oro City
PHILIPPINES
Tel: Vice Mayor's Office +63 88 857 2257 / 857 5040

2. The City Director 
Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (CDPO)
Maharlika Building, Gumamela Ext. Carmen,
Cagayan de Oro City
PHILIPPINES
Tel No.: +63 88 728-557 Fax No.: +63 88 728-557

For cases in Davao City:
1. Mr. Rodrigo R. Duterte
City Mayor
Office of the City Mayor
San Pedro Street, City Hall
City Hall Drive
Davao City
PHILIPPINES
Tel.: +63 82 227 6271

2. P/ Sr. Supt. Catalino S. Cuy
City Director
Davao City Police Office (DCPO)
Camp Captain Domingo E. Leonor San Pedro Street
Davao City
PHILIPPINES
Tel. Nos:+63 82 226 4521 / 224 1313 / 235 2514
Fax: +63 82 226 4521

For cases in Tagum City:
1. Mr. Rey T. Uy
City Mayor
Office of the City Mayor
City Hall Building
Tagum City
PHILIPPINES Tel.: +63 84 217 3688 / 218 1216
Mobile: +63 917 7190326

2. P/Supt. Dario L. Gunabe
City Director
Tagum City Police Office (TGPO)
Ground Floor, City Hall Building
Arellano Street
Tagum City
PHILIPPINES
Tel. Nos.: +63 84 217 3296 / 218 2913
Mobile: +63 921 8411240
Hotline No.: 24-hour hotline 166 (local only)
SMS hotline: +63 9214168832


Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
AHRC-UAU-044-2008
Countries :
Campaigns :
Issues :
Document Actions
Share |
Subscribe to our Mailing List
Follow AHRC
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.