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PHILIPPINES: Nineteen-year-old activist found dead in Abucay, Bataan

March 1, 2006

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

1 March 2006
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UA-078-2006: PHILIPPINES: Nineteen-year-old activist found dead in Abucay, Bataan

PHILIPPINES: Extra-judicial killing and torture of activist; inadequate government action to identify and prosecute perpetrators; arbitrary use of authority by police and military agents
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that 19-year-old activist, Audie Lucero, was found dead in Barangay (village) Capitangan, Abucay, Bataan on 13 February 2006. Lucero suffered fatal gunshot wounds to his back, knee and left hand and his body had traces of torture marks.

According to information from the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (Pahra), a human rights organisation based in Quezon City, Manila, Lucero was seen on February 12 together with seven uniformed policemen who reportedly introduced themselves as members of Balanga Police Station. Lucero was at the time visiting his friend confined at the Immaculate Catalina Medical Center (ICMC) in Balanga, Bataan.

It is reported the police and military questioned Lucero over his relationship with his friend to whom he was visiting. Lucero’s friend has been accused by the police and military of allegedly being a member of a rebel group.

When the said policemen left, another group of policemen from Lubao Police Station arrived at the hospital. They were accompanied by military men believed to be connected with either the 24th or 64th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army. They were seen talking to Lucero before he went missing and was found dead the next day. The location of the village where Lucero’s body was found was nearby the hospital.

At the time of his death, Lucero was a member of the Youth for Nationalism and Democracy – Bataan (YND), the youth arm of the political organisation Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KPD). Lucero was active in all the YND’s activities and mobilisations.

This is yet another instance of an activist affiliated with the KPD having been killed. On 5 December 2005, Kathy Alcantara was also murdered. (Please visit our previous appeals: UP-160-2005; UP-014-2006). Lucero and Alcantara are visible in all KPD’s activities in Bataan and Central Luzon.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write letters to the concerned government agencies, in particular the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), asking them to commence an impartial and effective investigation into Lucero’s death. The police and military men alleged involved should be investigated so as to answer to the allegations made against them.

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Suggested letter:

Dear _________,

PHILIPPINES: Nineteen-year-old activist found dead in Abucay, Bataan

Name of victim: Audie Lucero (19), a member of the Youth for Nationalism and Democracy – Bataan (YND), the youth arm of political organisation Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KPD).
Name of alleged perpetrators: Several policemen attached to Balanga and Lubao police in Bataan; elements of either 24th or 64th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army
Date of incident: 12 and 13 February 2006
Place of incident: Barangay (village) Capitangan, Abucay, Bataan

I am writing to draw your attention to the case of Audie Lucero, an activist who was found dead on 13 February 2006 in Barangay (village) Capitangan, Abucay, Bataan. I have learned that he had suffered fatal gunshot wounds and his body had traces of torture marks when found in the middle of a rice field.

I am aware that Lucero was last seen talking with policemen who introduced themselves as members of Balanga and Lubao police on the evening of February 12 at the Immaculate Catalina Medical Center (ICMC) in Balanga, Bataan. The policemen reportedly questioned Lucero possibly over his involvement with his friend whom he visited at the hospital. The police and military have allegedly accused Lucero’s friend of being a member a rebel group.

Additionally, I have also learned that military men believed to be attached either with the 24th or 64th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army were also last seen talking to Lucero at the same hospital the night before he was found dead. I am deeply concerned that the investigation conducted into Lucero’s case is completely inadequate. I am extremely disappointed that the allegations against the police and military may have not been dealt with seriously.

I urge your immediate intervention to ensure the conduct of an impartial and effective investigation into Lucero’s case. The investigation by concerned authorities, in particular the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) should reach conclusive findings to identify the perpetrators of Lucero’s death.

Furthermore, the police and military men involved should also be investigated to answer to the allegations made against them. They must be suspended from their duty once the investigation commences to ensure impartiality of the investigation. If the allegations are found to be true, appropriate criminal and administrative charges must be filed against them.

I trust that you will take immediate action in this case.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND LETTERS TO:

1. Ms. 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@chr.gov.ph

2. Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President
Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace
JP Laurel Street, San Miguel
Manila 1005
PHILIPPINES
Tel: +63 2 735 6201 / 564 1451 to 80
Fax: +63 2 736 1010

3. P/DIR Gen. Arturo Lumibao
Chief, Philippine National Police (PNP)
Camp Crame
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Tel: +63 2726 4361/4366/8763
Fax: +63 2724 8763

4. 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

5. Ms. Hina Jilani
Special Representative of the Secretary General for human rights defenders
Attn: Melinda Ching Simon
Room 1-040, c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 93 88
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS)
E-mail: MChingSimon@ohchr.org

6. Mr. Philip Alston
Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
Atten: Lydie Ventre
Room 3-016, c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9155
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (general)
Email: lventre@ohchr.org

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-078-2006
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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.