Home / News / Urgent Appeals / PHILIPPINES: Poor farm family harassed and detained by fabricated charges
 

PHILIPPINES: Poor farm family harassed and detained by fabricated charges

January 30, 2003

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM
<br />

<br />
30 January 2003
<br />
--------------------------------------------------------------------
<br />
UA-06-2003: Poor farm family harassed and detained by fabricated charges
<br />

<br />
PHILIPPINES: Harassment, illegal arrest and detention conspired with landlord and the police
<br />
--------------------------------------------------------------------
<br />

<br />
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed by Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP), a well-known human rights organisation in the country, about the arrest and detention of a poor farm family under what are believed to be fabricated charges made by a landlord and the police.
<br />

<br />
According to the information we have received, the poor farm family was evicted from their land and have been detained for suspicion of being members of the New People's Army (NPA), which is f. Although one of the victims suffers from tuberculosis and half of her body is paralysed, the victims continue to languish in jail.
<br />

<br />
AHRC requests that you express your concern about this case to the authorities in the Philippines.
<br />

<br />

<br />
CASE DETAILS
<br />

<br />
The Tumampo family has cultivated the contested property since 1981. Primitiva Verano, their relative and landowner, gave them permission to cultivate the land in Sityo Tabgas, Albuera, in the province of Leyte and allowed them to gather coconuts and process them into copra.
<br />

<br />
For almost 17 years, the Tumampo family has religiously shared two-thirds of the farm's income with the landowner. The owner also allowed them to construct a house on this property. However, in 1998, the landowner offered them 10,000 pesos (US$201) and asked them to vacate the land. Ernesto Verano Sr., 63, refused to accept the amount and asked the municipal agrarian reform officer (MARO) and the Dept. of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to help him secure a leasehold contract between the landowner and their family. A pre-mediation conference was set between the aggrieved parties, but Primitiva Verano did not attend the meeting.
<br />

<br />
The Tumampo family continued their daily activities on the farm. In March 1999, the landowner filed a case of qualified theft against Ernesto Tumampo Sr. Although it was later dismissed by the judge since it is an agrarian dispute, Tumampo was detained for almost two months. Four months later unidentified men burned their house, and one family member was injured. The Tumampo family immediately constructed a new house for fear that they would be driven out of the area. A person known as Toto, reportedly a military officer and a nephew of the landowner, allegedly harassed them and accused them of being members of the NPA.
<br />

<br />
In May 2000, the tenants had again harvested the coconuts and processed them into copra, but the landowner refused to accept her share of the harvest. On Sept. 13, 2000, members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) based in Albuera, Leyte, arrested Ernesto Tumampo, 19, the family's second son. The victim claims that no warrant of arrest was presented to him during the incident. Later the son's mother, Virginia Tumampo, 50, and Elberto Tumampo, 21, the eldest son, were also placed behind bars. A week after this incident Ernesto Tumampo Sr. was also arrested. The Tumampo family is presently detained at the Baybay Provincial Jail in Baybay, Leyte.
<br />

<br />
Virginia Tumampo is reportedly suffering from tuberculosis and half of her body is paralysed. The case has not been resolved for two years, and the victims continue to languish in jail. Each family member has to pay 20,000 pesos (US$403) for their temporary liberty.
<br />

<br />

<br />
SUGGESTED ACTION
<br />

<br />
Please send an appeal to the Philippine government officials below to express your grave concern for the family, particularly the health of Virginia Tumampo, and to urge the Filipino authorities to investigate the case.
<br />

<br />

<br />
SUGGESTED LETTER
<br />

<br />
Dear
<br />

<br />
I am writing this letter to you to express my grave concern regarding the arrest and detention of the Tumampo family in Sityo Tabgas, Albuera, Leyte, Philippines.
<br />

<br />
The Tumampo family has cultivated what is now contested property since 1981. Primitiva Verano, their relative and landowner, gave them permission to cultivate the land in Sityo Tabgas, Albuera, Leyte, and the Tumampo family has religiously shared two-thirds of their income with the landowner for the last 17 years. The owner has also allowed them to construct a house on this property. However, in 1998, the landowner offered them 10,000 pesos (US$201) and asked them to vacate the land. Ernesto Verano Sr., 63, refused to accept the amount and asked the municipal agrarian reform officer (MARO) and the Dept. of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to help him secure a leasehold contract between the landowner and their family. A pre-mediation conference was set between the aggrieved parties, but Primitiva Verano did not attend the meeting.
<br />

<br />
In March 1999, the landowner filed a case of qualified theft against Ernesto Tumampo Sr. Although it was later dismissed by the judge since it is an agrarian dispute, Tumampo was detained for almost two months. Four months later unidentified men burned their home, and one family member was injured. A person known as Toto, reportedly a military officer and a nephew of the landowner, allegedly harassed them and accused them of being members of the New People's Army (NPA).
<br />

<br />
In May 2000, the tenants again harvested the coconuts and processed them into copra, but the landowner refused to accept her share of the harvest. On Sept. 13, 2000, members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) based in Albuera, Leyte, arrested the family's second son, Ernesto Tumampo, 19. The victim claims that no warrant of arrest was presented to him during the incident. Later the son's mother, Virginia Tumampo, 50, and Elberto Tumampo, 21, the eldest son, were also placed behind bars. A week after this incident Ernesto Tumampo Sr. was also arrested. The Tumampo family is presently detained at the Baybay Provincial Jail in Baybay, Leyte.
<br />

<br />
Moreover, Virginia Tumampo is reportedly suffering from tuberculosis, and half of her body is paralysed. The case has not been resolved for two years, and the victims continue to languish in jail.
<br />

<br />
Therefore, I appeal on humanitarian grounds that the family be immediately released, especially Virginia Tumampo and Ernesto Tumampo, both of whom are old and suffering from a variety of ailments. I urge you to undertake an immediate and impartial investigation into the case in order to resolve the land dispute and to punish the perpetrators of harassment and wrongful detention.
<br />

<br />
I look forward to learning about your intervention in this case.
<br />

<br />
Sincerely yours,
<br />

<br />
----------
<br />

<br />
PLEASE SEND YOUR APPEAL BY E-MAIL AND FAX TO:
<br />

<br />
1. Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
<br />
President, Republic of the Philippines
<br />
New Executive Bldg, Malacang Palace Compound
<br />
J. P. Laurel St. San Miguel, Manila,
<br />
PHILIPPINES
<br />
Fax: +63 2 929 3968
<br />
E-mail: opnet@ops.gov.ph, kgma@yahoogroups.com
<br />

<br />
2. Gen. Hermogenes Ebdane
<br />
Police Director
<br />
Philippine National Police
<br />
Camp Crame
<br />
Quezon City
<br />
Fax: +632 724 8763
<br />
E-mail: ebdane@info.com.ph
<br />

<br />
3. Commissioner Purificacion Quisumbing
<br />
Commission on Human Rights
<br />
SAAC Bldg., Commonwealth Ave,
<br />
U.P. Complex, Diliman, Quezon City
<br />
PHILIPPINES
<br />
Fax: +63 2 929 0101 or 928 0848
<br />
E-mail drpvq@chr.gov.ph
<br />

<br />
Also send a copy of your appeal to &lt;rnunez@tfdp.org&gt; and &lt;ua@ahrchk.org&gt;.
<br />

<br />

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-06-2003
Countries :
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.