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UPDATE (Philippines): A police director tries to exonerate officers from responsibility of unsolved cases over lack of witnesses

July 28, 2008

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Update: AHRC-UAU-047-2008

29 July 2008

[RE: AHRC-UAU-046-2008: PHILIPPINES: VIGILANTE KILLINGS – Over twelve persons murdered separately, including two young boys]
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PHILIPPINES: VIGILANTE KILLINGS – A police director tries to exonerate officers from responsibility of unsolved cases over lack of witnesses

ISSUES: Extra-judicial killing; police negligence; right to liberty and security; children’s rights; administration of justice
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SLAUGHTER OF INNOCENTS
http://noprotection.blog.humanrights.asia/ 

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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that the police authorities, in particular in Davao City, are now trying to exonerate themselves from their continued failure to have each of the vigilante killings solve and effectively prosecuted, by putting the blame on either the lack of witnesses or refusal to cooperate in prosecuting cases. There are another ten vigilante killings that has been reported, five of whom in Davao.

UPDATED INFORMATION:

In our previous appeal AHRC-UAU-044-2008, we correctly appealed that the respective local executives and police officials concerned, where these extrajudicial killings continue to take place, should take immediate action to ensure that each case is effectively investigated and the perpetrators punished.

In response to these appeals, Senior Superintendent, Ramon Apolinario, city director of the Davao City Police Office (DCPO), placed the blame for the failure of the police on the lack of witnesses or their reluctance to come forward, thereby attempting to exonerate the police authorities and his men.

Sr. Supt. Apolinario was quoted in this report to have said: "As long as we do not have the testimonies of the witnesses, we can never file the formal charges". Apart from investigating cases, it is the responsibility of the police to ensure that witnesses involved in cases they file in court are protected and that the case progresses. Thus, the police has had the obligation to exhaust all means possible to ensure that witnesses come forward and are recommended under the Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act (6981).

However, what the police are practicing there, as it is shown already in Sr. Supt. Apolinario's statement, is that if there are no witnesses, or the witness refuses to cooperate, they would simply not file any case. They make no exhaustive effort to assist the witnesses with protection. There is no proactively effort made to assure potential witnesses and their families that they would be secure or covered by the programme, should they cooperate.

Once again, we are including below brief case details of another ten cases of vigilante killings in the cities of Cebu, General Santos and Davao which have left five persons wounded and ten others dead. One of the victims in Davao City was a 16-year-old boy.

1. MICHAEL MELECIO, 22 years old; of Talomo, Davao City. On February 4, when he was on his way home from a carnival, he was waylaid by four unidentified men, one of whom was carrying an improvised gun. One attacker shot him on the neck when he tried to run. Michael said before he was attacked, he received a text message from an unknown mobile phone number asking him where he was.  The police, however, claim that the motive for attacking him could have been revenge but no proper investigation was made in this case.

2. HERODEL VELEZ, JR., 24 years old; VICTORIANO VELEZ JR. 52 years old; of Bayside, Tibungco, Davao City. On May 17, when they were sitting outside their shack selling a local delicacy, Herodel, who was a vendor, was shot dead by an unidentified gunman. His uncle, Victoriano was wounded during the incident. The investigators prematurely announced that once again revenge could have been the motive for the murder of Herodel as he has just been released from jail for stabbing a young man.

3. RUBIN IMTONG, 54 years old; PATRICIO CARUMAYAN and OBET BETUDO of F. Villa, Barangay T. Padilla, Cebu City. On June 13, they were shot by four gunmen riding on two separate motorcycles while they were sitting outside their house with their neighbours, Obet Betudo. Patricio and Obet were not hurt but Rubin was shot in his right leg. The gunmen escaped immediately after the attack. 

Due to the continuing vigilante killings in this place, the wounded victims have developed a sort of sixth sense and realised that the attackers were coming to kill them as they saw them; thus, they were somehow able to escape from being fatally wounded. There has not been a thorough investigation in this incident.

4. TIRSO REPONTE, 26 years old; of Barangay Ma-a in Davao City. On June 15, Tirso, who was reported to have been allegedly involved in the sex trade of women, was stabbed repeatedly by unknown suspects as he was standing at the corner of Quirino and Palma Gil Streets. He died of his injuries.

5. AN UNKNOWN MAN. On June 15, while he was walking along the Metro Circle in Magallanes street, Davao City, unknown persons suddenly attacked him. The victim could not be identified as he did not have identification documents with him when he was found dead. The place where he was killed, Bankerohan Public Market, is a place where vigilante killings had been taking place. Even though there are police foot patrols in the area they do not prevent this type of attack.

6. BRYAN MASIGA, 26 years old; of Samuel Street, Emily Homes Subdivision , Cabantian, Davao City. On June 15, when he was on his way to a store, two unidentified men shot him several times. The gunmen fled on foot after the shooting incident. The victim's family is clueless as to the motive for the killing and the neighbors believe he could have been killed over mistaken identity.

7. DEMAS MINDO, of legal age, of Purok Saway, Zone 3, Barangay Labangal, General Santos City. On June 15, when Demas was sitting outside his house, two gunmen on motorcycles appeared and shot him in the chest and head. They fled on board their motorcycles. Demas died three hours later. No adequate police investigation has taken place.

8. ALIAS JR, 16 years old; of Barpa, Agdao, Davao City. On June 16, when he was playing a local coin gamble game "taksi" together with three other minors, an unidentified man armed with knife stabbed him nine times killing him instantly. The attacker had two other companions, one served as a lookout while the other one was on board a motorcycle which the attacker boarded when they escaped. The victim was described as one of "Bakal Boys (steel boys)" for earning money allegedly for stealing steel from cargo vehicles.

9. RONALD JAPITANA, 23 years old and an UNIDENTIFIED MAN; of Silway, General Santos City, EDISON NUEVO, 20 years old; of Barangay Apopong, General Santos City. On June 16, while they were waiting for a ride on their way home, two unidentified men shot them. Japitana and his unidentified companion died due to gunshot wounds to the face and head. Nuevo was hit at the back and stomach and was sent to hospital. Police though prematurely claimed the killing could have been related to the victim supposed involvement in illegal drugs.

10. ALDREN ALBA, 22 years old; of Purok Intik, Barangya Mabuhay, General Santos City. On June 17, Alba was shot dead by two unidentified men while he was sipping coffee with his common law wife, Irene Salazar. Irene said Alba tried to escape from his attackers towards their house after being shot but the suspects followed him and shot him dead. Alba's father said his son had been trying to reform as he had just been released after being detained for robbery.

Once again, the AHRC urges your appropriate intervention by demanding the concerned authorities, in particular the police in their respective cities, ensure that they exhaust all means to ensure potential witnesses are either afforded with necessary protection arrangement or promptly covered under the witness protection programme once they decided to testify. Please refer to our previous appeals for your appropriate action: AHRC-UAU-044-2008; AHRC-UAU-046-2008.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The lack of witnesses has been the endemic problem in the prosecution of cases, in particular on the worst forms of human rights violations. The cases either do not reach court for prosecution or would have no progress even if they are filed in court due to lack of witness.

For more details about this: please read our Special Report on this: The Criminal Justice System of the Philippines is Rotten and Prosecution in the Philippines, a chapter of the Special Report - Focus: prosecutions in Asia

In the Philippines, even before a witness could avail himself of the witness protection programme the case to which he is supposed to be testifying should have been filed in court first. Without a case being filed in court, the Department of Justice (DoJ), the agency who is responsible for the implementation of this programme, could not process any application for the programme.

Thus, even when the police claims there are witnesses and when they themselves are continuously failing to afford at least protection arrangement for the witnesses; for instance, with pending application for the witness protection programme, or if the some of the provision under this programme are not amended, there would be the possibility that potential witnesses would never come out—as it is already been happening in these places.

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
AHRC-UAU-047-2008
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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.