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PHILIPPINES: Eight killed in separate incidents including six activists, a driver and one journalist

January 4, 2007

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

4 January 2007
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UA-004-2007: PHILIPPINES: Eight killed in separate incidents including six activists, a driver and one journalist

PHILIPPINES: Extra-judicial killings; violence against activists, need for effective police investigation, protection to families of the dead, complete collapse of rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) informs you regarding the further killing of eight persons, six of whom activists, one driver and one journalist, in separate incidents that took place between December 12 to 31, 2006. These cases were received from reliable sources and information from various media sources.

CASE DETAILS:

On December 12, 2006 at around 9:55am, human rights lawyer Gil Gojol and his driver Danilo France were shot dead by four armed men riding on two motorcycles in Barangay (village) Carriedo, Gubat, Sorsogon. Gojol and France had just left the Municipal Trial Court after attending a court hearing when they were ambushed while traveling in their service vehicle.

According information from Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples' Rights) quoting accounts from a witness, the attackers shot first France which made the van come to a stop. Gojol then tried but failed to escape from his attackers. Both died on the spot from multiple gunshot wounds.   The place of the incident is about 200 meters away from the army detachment of the 22nd Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army, in San Ignacio of the said town.

Lawyer Gojol was a former local government official who had served as a Provincial Board Member for the 1st District of Sorsogon. He was also a former President of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) in Sorsogon Chapter and a legal counsel for ADLO-KMU (Association of Democratic Labor Organizations-Kilusang Mayo Uno). At the time of his death, Gojol had served as counsel to cases involving defense of the rights of the poor. Gojol was also a legal counsel for Sotero Llamas, a consultant of the National Democratic Front (NDF) who was also killed in May.
 
A day before Gojol was killed, 35-year-old Crisanto Frivaldo, a law student at the Aquinas University College of Law, was also shot dead by hooded gunmen inside his house in San Julian, Irosin, Sorsogon. Frivaldo died from five gunshot wounds one to his head and four to his chest. Frivaldo was the younger brother of former Councilor and Bayan Muna Municipal Coordinator Maximo Frivaldo who was also shot dead in January 30, 2006. Frivaldo was tending to his two-month-old baby inside their home when he was murdered.
 
Also on the same day, at around 6pm Renato Estrella (58), a barangay (village) chief of Atlag, Malolos City, was shot in the head at close range by a gunmen in Sitio Buhangin. Estrella died while being taken to the Santos General Hospital in Malolos City. He was pronounced dead on arrival.

Although the police initially claimed Estrella's death could have been perpetrated by a rebel "hit squad", according to the group, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (New Patriotic Alliance) in Central Luzon Estrella had received threats on his life, allegedly from the military. It is reported that Estrella was opposed to the deployment of government troops in his area.

On December 20, 46-year-old Andres Augusta, a radio broadcaster for dzJC Action Radyo, an affiliate network of the Manila Broadcasting Company was brutally stabbed by unknown assailants. Augusta died at the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital in Batac at around 10:30pm.

It is reported that Augusta was on his way home after attending a Christmas party when unidentified men stabbed him. He managed to reach the nearest hospital on his own onboard a motorcycle but he died later. The motive behind his killing has yet to be determined.

On December 22, Francisco Bantog, a municipal coordinator for a party-list group Bayan Muna in the province of Sorsogon, was shot dead at around 10am. He was at the Donsol Tourism Office at the time he was attacked. Bantog was also a party-list' provincial auditor.

It is reported that Bantog was shot 20 times by three motorcycle-riding gunmen. At the time of his death, Bantog was also a "Butanding" interaction officer (BIO). Butanding is the local name for whale sharks. Bantog was with three other BIOs when the assailants, who were wearing motorcycle helmets attacked him. Police have recovered spent .45-caliber cartridges at the scene.

On December 24, 59-year-old Juan Sanggalang was shot dead by soldiers, allegedly attached to the 59th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army, who reportedly had sought refuge at the victim's house a day before in Sitio Pinag-apugan, San Diego, Lian, Batangas. The military unit was believed to be under an officer named Colonel Felix.

It is reported that it was around 4:00 a.m. when Sanggalang and his companion, Roberto Espaldon (57), were attacked. Sanggalang died while Espaldon survived the attack but suffered gunshot wounds to his leg and stomach. At the time of his death, Sanggalang was a member of HABAGAT (Haligi ng Batangenyong Anak Dagat), a local chapter of Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA), A nationwide federation of fisherfolk organizations.

According to the information received from KARAPATAN-Batangas Chapter, the three soldiers attached to the said military unit sought refuge at Sanggalang's house on December 23 at around 8:00 p.m. and left the next day, December 24 at around 4:00 a.m. The victims were shocked when the same soldiers opened fired at them. It is reported other soldiers, who were apparently their companions, also positioned themselves beside the victim's hut and opened fired at the victims.

After the shooting incident, the victims' family immediately went to Sitio Pinag-apugan, San Diego, Lian, Batangas where the shooting took place to help their relatives. When they arrived in the area, Sanggalang was already lying dead. His companion, Espaldon, managed to run for safety towards a nearby coastal area. The victim's family even saw the soldiers leaving the crime scene after the shooting.

Soon after, the village's Chief Carlito Caisip together with policemen from the Lian town arrived in the area. A mobile phone reportedly owned by Colonel Felix was recovered by police investigators beside the victim's house. The mobile phone was found to belong to Colonel Felix when Caisip tried to make phone calls to the former. The police likewise recovered several items belonging to the military which had been left in the area.

It is reported that some members of the Civilian Auxiliary Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU), who are also attached to the same military unit, may have attempted to take vital pieces of evidence from the crime scene. They were together with Caisip and the policemen when they were seen to be looking for something. It was found out later that it was their intention to find and retrieve Colonel Felix' mobile phone had it not been found by the police investigators first.

After the incident, a military officer, General Mesa of the 202nd Brigade, Philippine Army, quickly declared to the media that the shooting incident was an encounter between the New Peoples Armed (NPA) rebels and their troops. Days after the incident, posters and pamphlets appeared containing messages critical of village chief Caisip, Isabelo Alicaya, the town's vice mayor Roberto Cunamay and Joe Cabadin, accusing them of being supporters of the rebel group scattered in Lian town.

On December 31, a reliable source reported that Rodolfo Alvarado, Jr. (a.k.a. Pong), was shot dead by unidentified armed men at around 5:00 p.m. in his house in Barangay (village) San Lorenzo, Ligao City. Alvarado died from eight gunshot wounds to different parts of the body.

At the time of his death, Alvarado was a regional project coordinator for Bayan Muna, a party-list organisation. He was also the 6th nominee and a potential candidate to represent the party before the House of Representatives.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the concerned authorities requesting their effective intervention into each of these cases. Effective investigation to identify the perpetrators must be conducted and that immediate arrest to those involved must take place. Appropriate protection and assistance must be afforded to the families of the victims, potential witnesses and those who could be of help for the immediate resolution of these cases.

To support this appeal, please click:

Sample letter:

Dear ____________,

PHILIPPINES: Eight killed in separate incidents; six of whom activists and one journalist

CASE 1:
Name of the victims killed:
1. Lawyer Gil Gojol (45). He was a former Provincial Board Member of the 1st District of Sorsogon, former President of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) in Sorsogon Chapter and legal counsel for Association of Democratic Labor Organizations-Kilusang Mayon (ADLO-KMU)
2. Danilo France, driver of lawyer Gojol
Alleged perpetrators: Armed men riding on motorcycle
Date of incident: 12 Dec 2006 at around 9:45am
Place of incident: Gubat, Sorsogon province

CASE 2:
Name of victim killed: Crisanto Frivaldo (35), a law student at the Aquinas University College of Law
Alleged perpetrators: Gunmen hooded with bonnets
Date of incident: 11 December 2006
Place of incident: Inside his house in San Julian, Irosin, Sorsogon province

CASE 3:
Name of victim killed: Renato Estrella (58), a barangay (village) chief of Atlag, Malolos City
Alleged perpetrators: Unidentified gunmen
Date of incident: At around 6pm on 12 December 2006
Place of incident: Sitio Buhangin, Malolos City

CASE 4:
Name of victim killed: Andres Augusta, a radio broadcaster for dzJC Action Radyo, an affiliate network of the Manila Broadcasting Company.
Alleged perpetrators: Unidentified men
Date of incident: At around 10:30pm on 20 December 2006
Place of incident: Laoag City, Ilocos Norte

CASE 5:
Name of victim killed: Francisco Bantog, a municipal coordinator for a party-list group Bayan Muna in the province of Sorsogon
Alleged perpetrators: Three gunmen riding on a motorcycle
Date of incident: 22 December 2006
Place of incident: At the office of Donsol Tourism Office in Donsol town, Sorsogon

CASE 6:
Name of victim killed: Juan Sanggalang (59), a resident of Sitio Pinag-apugan, San Diego, Lian, Batangas. He was a member of HABAGAT (Haligi ng Batangenyong Anak Dagat), a local chapter of Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA), a nationwide federation of fisherfolk organizations.
Name of victim wounded: Roberto Espaldon (57), a resident of the same place
Alleged perpetrators: Elements of the 59th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army reportedly under a certain Colonel Felix
Date of incident: Around 4am on 24 December 2006
Place of incident: Sitio Pinag-apugan, San Diego, Lian, Batangas

CASE 7:
Name of victim killed: Rodolfo Alvarado, Jr. (a.k.a. Pong), a resident of in Barangay (village) San Lorenzo, Ligao City. He was a regional project coordinator for Bayan Muna, a party-list organisation. He was also the 6th nominee and a potential candidate to represent the party before the House of Representatives
Alleged perpetrators: Unidentified armed men
Date of incident: At around 5pm on 31 December 2006
Place of incident: In his house in Barangay (village) San Lorenzo, Ligao City

I am writing to once again express my extreme shock to yet another incidents of apparently targeted killings of activists and journalist in the Philippines. According to my reliable sources, eight persons were again been killed in separate incidents in Luzon between December 12 to 31, 2006; six of whom are human rights and political activists and one was journalist.

According to information I have received, the perpetrators into the killings of human rights lawyer Gil Gojol and his driver Danilo France, activist Crisanto Frivaldo, political activists Renato Estrella, Francisco Bantog and Rodolfo Alvarado, Jr. (a.k.a. Pong), and radio broadcaster Andres Augusta, have yet to be identified.

I therefore urge you to exhaust all means of impartial and effective police investigation to ensure that the perpetrators of these brutal attacks are identified and brought to justice. Appropriate assistance must also be afforded to the victim's family and potential witnesses. I once again express my extreme shock to this apparent failure on the part of the Philippine government to stop these extra-judicial killings. I am aware that some of these victims have had threats on their life prior to the murder but have not been afforded any protection.

Although the attackers into the killing of activist Juan Sanggalang, who are alleged to be elements of the 59th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army, I am extremely shocked that no immediate actions were taken against them. I am aware that Sanggalang's companion, Roberto Espaldon, survived the said attack and suffered injuries during the shooting. No appropriate actions, however, were taken against the soldiers to act on Espaldon's allegations. To ignore these serious allegations of the military's involvement is completely unacceptable.

Time and again I have had rightly urge the concerned authorities of the government to immediately and effectively address this unabated targeted attacks against activists and journalists. With this killings continuing unabated, obviously the government is failing to effectively respond to this deteriorating situation of human rights in the country. And therefore, genuine and effective measures have yet to take place.

This, of course, is contrary to what the government claims to uphold within the country and abroad about the protection of right to life and rights of your citizens. As you are aware, the government's failure to address this serious crisis and stop this violence without delay is tantamount to gross violations of the country's obligation to uphold the highest norms of human rights. Unless this deteriorating situation is arrested effectively, the country's credibility and reputation would continue to be challenged.

I am looking forward for your effective intervention on these cases.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER 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

2. Dr. Purificacion Quisumbing
Commissioner
Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., Commonwealth Avenue
U.P. Complex, Diliman
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Tel: +63 2 928 5655 / 926 6188
Fax: +63 2 929 0102
Email: drpvq@yahoo.com 

3. Director General Oscar Calderon
Chief, Philippine National Police (PNP)
Camp General Rafael Crame
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Tel: +63 2 726 4361/4366/8763
Fax: +63 2724 8763
Email: bluetree73@gmail.com 

4. Mr. Raul Gonzalez
Secretary
Department of Justice
DOJ Bldg., Padre Faura
1004 Manila
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 521 1614

5. Mrs. Esperanza I. Cabral
Secretary
Department of Social Welfare and Development
3/F DSWD Building, Batasang Pambansa Complex,
Constitution Hills
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Tel: +63 2 931 7916 / 931 8068
Fax: +63 2 931 8191
Email: eicabral@dswd.gov.ph 

6. Mr. Ronaldo V. Puno
Secretary
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)
A. Francisco Gold Condominium II
EDSA cor. Mapagmahal St., Diliman
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Voice: +63 2 925 0330 / 31
Fax: +63 2 925 0332
Email: rvpuno@dilg.gov.ph 

7. Mr. Orlando Casimiro
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
Tel: +632 926 9032
Fax: +63 2 926 8747
Email: omb1@ombudsman.gov.ph 

8. Mr. Philip Alston
Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
Atten: Lydie Ventre
Room 3-016
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9155
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (general)

9. Ms. Hina Jilani
Special Representative of the Secretary General for human rights defenders
Attn: Melinda Ching Simon
Room 1-040
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 93 88
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS)


Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-004-2007
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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.