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UPDATE (Philippines): Lawyers demand adequate action, protection of witnesses

August 12, 2008

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Update: AHRC-UAU-051-2008

12 August 2008

[RE: AHRC-UAU-047-2008: PHILIPPINES: VIGILANTE KILLINGS - A police director tries to exonerate responsibility from unsolved cases over lack of witnesses]
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PHILIPPINES: VIGILANTE KILLINGS - Lawyers demand adequate action, protection of witnesses

ISSUES: Extra-judicial killing; police negligence; right to liberty and security; 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 a group of lawyers in Mindanao has joined appeals for the authorities to exhaust every effort in solving cases of vigilante killings in Davao City and calling for an end to the killings. Their appeal came days after a police director tried to exonerate himself and his men from their continued failure to have these cases solved and to hold the perpetrators to account.

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

As mentioned in our previous appeal (AHRC-UAU-047-2008), Sr. Supt. Ramon Apolinario, city director of the Davao City Police Office (DCPO), has defended the failure of the local police to solve cases of vigilante killing on the lack of witnesses and their refusal to cooperate with the police.

In the same appeal, the police was urged to take action by way of taking proactive measures to ensure that witness comes forward. For instance, they must provide interim arrangements to ensure protection for witnesses and give them assurances that they would be either protected or would be recommended for the Witness Protection Programme should they testify.

On August 4, a group of Mindanao lawyers, consisting of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), the Union of Peoples' Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM) and the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), issued a joint statement demanding the authorities concerned "to address this issue (of vigilante killings) squarely and decisively".

The full text of the lawyer's statement can be read at:
Mindanao lawyers reaffirm concerns over "vigilante killings"

The AHRC has already express concern that the failure of the police to ensure that the witnesses come forward; and their failure to exhaust all means possible to encourage and give assurance of protection, has already resulted in the perpetrators murdering their targets without fear of being identified, arrested or prosecuted. It thus deprives the families of the dead to possibilities of redress.

In addition to the cases we have previously reported, we are providing below the names of the latest victims and brief details of their cases. Apart from cases that took place in Davao City, these details also include cases from the cities of Tagum, Cagayan de Oro, and General Santos and in Carmen, Davao del Norte--all in southern Mindanao; and in Cebu City in Central Philippines.

1. JOEL BAPILAR, 25; of Purok Talisay, Tagum City, Davao del Norte. On June 19, Joel was at the city's passenger terminal when an unidentified man shot him in the head. He died instantly. He was reported to have been detained for rape and was released in November last year.

2. CELMAR RADAZA, 30; of Everlasting Street, Cagayan de Oro City. On June 30, when he was standing along a dark portion of the street, two men travelling on two motorcycles shot him. He suffered gunshot wounds to his shoulder and back of his head. He was declared dead on arrival at a hospital. Police recovered a sachet containing methamphetamine hydrochloride from his hand. He was reported to be a member of a gang, BM-29.

3. CARYL LLOYD ABELLANA, 20; and cousin CHRISTIAN ARSUA, 23; of Crossing Ulas, Davao City. On June 30, when the two victims were playing a game of cards, two unidentified men approached them. One stabbed Abellana and shot him in stomach, hand and shoulder while another attacker shot Arsua on his right thigh. The suspects fled by motorcycle. One of the victim's relatives said: “We could not do something about what happened to the victims as they have done something wrong in the past.” They were last reported undergoing treatment.

4. ALBERT BATAYULA Alias KOKONG, 21; former employee of a beverage company and a resident of Barangay Labangal, Gerneral Santos City. On July 2, when he was about to board a tricycle on his way home, he was shot by a lone gunman in the back and head. He died due to fatal gunshot wounds. The suspect ran to a waiting motorcycle to escape. Police claimed no witness were willing to cooperate in the investigation.

5.  JASPER CANTON Alias TABILONG, 28; of Barangay Duljo-Fatima, Sugbo City. On July 9, the victim, who was supposed to be charged with attempted murder before the Hall of Justice in the same city, was shot dead by an unidentified man when as he was riding on a public transport. The suspect sped off with another unidentified man onboard a motorcycle. The victim was reported to have also been involved in a clan conflict.

6. GILSON BINDANILLO, 21; of Union Village, Barangay Mankilam, Tagum City. On July 8, when he was playing billiards at a crowded billiard hall, two men riding on a motorcycle appeared, one of whom shot the victim several times. The three gunshots caused the victim's death. The gunman left the scene of crime with his companion.

7. TEODOLO ALQUISAR, 30; a motorcycle taxi driver; of Purok 1, Magsaysay, Carmen, Davao del Norte. On July 7, when he was playing basketball, a lone gunman approached and shot him several times in the neck and body. The gunman escaped with his companion on a motorcycle waiting for him nearby. The victim was already dead when he was taken to the hospital.

8. UNIDENTIFIED, found in Cagayan de Oro City. On July 7, an unidentified man was found dead in Zone 9, Bulua in the same city. His injuries show that he was tortured. The police discovered he had been stabbed 14 times and had gunshot wounds in different parts of his body. The victim did not bear any identification documents and the police said they have yet to carry out investigation once they are able to identify him.

WHAT YOU CAN DO?

You can support by either making direct phone call expressing your concern or by way of sending your own appeal letters to concerned authorities as we have mentioned in our previous appeals: AHRC-UAU-044-2008.

We have also developed a system wherein you can also respond or intervene to a particular city of your concern where these cases took place.

For cases in General Santos City, please click here  

For cases in Davao City, please click here  or contact them in their official website to send you comment.

The AHRC is also sending separate letters to the authorities concerned and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions respectively calling for their intervention in these cases.

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
AHRC-UAU-051-2008
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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.