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PHILIPPINES: Another female activist killed while her husband was wounded in a shooting in Bohol

April 5, 2006

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

6 April 2006
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UA-118-2006: PHILIPPINES: Another female activist killed while her husband was wounded in a shooting in Bohol

PHILIPPINES: Extra-judicial execution; violence against human rights defender and their family; violence against women; communal violence; collapse of rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that another female activist was killed while her husband was wounded in a shooting on 3 April 2006 in Candijay, Bohol. Activist Liezelda Estorba-Cuñado (30) was declared dead on arrival at hospital while her husband, Gerry, suffered a gunshot wound to his arm after their neighbour, Joel Bayron, shot them one after the other.

According to a report from Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples’ Rights), the couple were awakened early dawn from the sound of Bayron and his wife shouting in front of their house. The Bayron couple was yelling out that they were communists and terrorists. Gerry and Liezelda went out to confront the Bayron couple who continued yelling insulting words at them. They also accused Gerry and Liezelda of throwing rocks at their house the night before.

Gerry suggested that they should solve this problem later in the morning as they were disturbing and catching the attention of their neighbours. Joel left with his wife but ten minutes later they both returned with Joel carrying a gun. While Gerry was talking to their neighbours Joel shot him in the arm. Gerry immediately ran for safety. As Gerry was about to go around his house, he heard his neighbours screaming, "Gipatay si Inday!" ("He killed Inday!"). Joel had shot Liezelda at close range in her chest before fleeing.

Their neighbours immediately rushed Gerry and Liezelda to the municipal hospital. Liezelda was declared dead on arrival. Gerry was later transferred to the Provincial Hospital for treatment. Thereafter, the local police arrested Joel’s wife, but Joel still remains at large. It was not immediately known whether Joel’s motive in killing Liezelda had any connections with her work as activist in the area. That they had screamed to Gerry and Liezelda that they were communists and terrorists, however, insinuates that it may well have been.

This is yet another instance of violence against activists and their families in the Philippines. On 20 March 2006, a peasant leader was seriously wounded while his wife and son were killed when unidentified gunmen shot them in Castillejos, Zambales. (Please see for details of the case: UA-107-2006).

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the concerned agencies listed below voicing your condemnation of this case. Joel Bayron’s wife must be investigated to determine whether Liezelda Cuñado’s killing had any connections with her work as an activist. Charges must be filed in court against them. If allegations that Liezelda’s killing had connections with her work, an inquiry regarding reports of Joel’s involvement as a civilian informer must also be looked into.

Additionally, an investigation must be conducted as to how Joel was able to secure a firearm, who gave him authority to carry it and who issued it to him. If found that the barangay (village) officials and the military have any responsibility in Joel’s possession and use of a firearm, they must likewise be investigated as to whether there was negligence or inaction on their part.

Suggested letter:

Dear ___________,

PHILIPPINES: Another female activist killed while her husband was wounded in a shooting in Bohol

Name of victim killed: Liezelda Estorba-Cuñado (30) a.k.a. Inday, a resident of Panadtaran, Candijay, Bohol. She was a mother of two children aged nine and six. She was a staff member of the Gabriela Women's Party (GWP).
Name of victim wounded: Gerry Cuñado (30), a peasant. He is the husband of Liezelda. He is also the district Coordinator of party list Bayan Muna (People First).
Name of allege perpetrator: The victim’s neighbour, Joel Bayron, who is believed to be a member of the Barangay (village) Intelligence Network handled by the 15th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army.
Date and time of incident: 3 April 2006 between 2 and 3am
Place of incident: In front of the victim's house in Barangay Panadtaran, Candijay, Bohol

It has come to my attention that another female activist, Liezelda Estorba-Cuñado was killed in a shooting incident while her husband Gerry was wounded on 3 April 2006. According to information I have received, the couple was shot one after the other in front of their house in Candijay, Bohol by their neighbour, Joel Bayron. Joel and his wife confronted the couple and accused them of throwing rocks at their house the night before.

I am aware that Joel, who is reportedly a member of the Barangay (village) Intelligence Network (BIN) handled by the 15th Infantry Battalion, Philipine Army, publicly labeled the couple as being communists and terrorists. Although it was not clear whether the attack had any connection with Liezelda’s work as an activist, I am deeply concerned that it may have been and yet no further investigations were conducted into this matter.

Although I welcome the arrest of Joel’s wife by the local police, I am deeply concerned that he has not been arrested as far as I am aware. I urge the local police to exhaust all means for the immediate arrest of Joel Bayron. An investigation must also determine whether Joel’s motive in killing and wounding the victims had any connection with Liezelda’s work or was a part of his duty as a BIN member.

The concerned government agencies, in particular the local police, must also investigate from whom the suspect managed to secure a firearm. The investigation should determine who is to be held liable for the issuing of the firearm and who gave authorisation to Joel to carry one, if in fact someone did. This case should not be treated merely as a communal dispute, but rather all possible scenarios should be looked into.

I urge your office to ensure that further communal violence in the area be prevented. The local police must also look into whether the BIN operation is recognised by law. I am deeply concerned by the possibility that villagers are undertaking duties on behalf of the military or police as informers in the absence of sufficient training and effective complaint mechanisms on abuses they might commit. The role of BIN members must clearly be defined. To arm villagers and encourage them to take part in areas where they do not have sufficient training and understanding is a matter of very serious concern.

I trust that you intervention in this case is forthcoming.

Yours sincerely,

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1. Mrs. Purificacion Quisumbing
Commissioner
Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines
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. P/DIR Gen. Arturo Lumibao
Chief, Philippine National Police (PNP)
Camp Rafael Crame
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Tel: +63 2726 4361/4366/8763
Fax: +63 2724 8763

3. Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President
Republic of the Philippines
Malacañang Palace
JP Laurel Street, San Miguel
Manila 1005
PHILIPPINES
Tel No: +63 2 735 6201 / 564 1451 to 80
Fax: +63 2 736 1010

4. Mr. Erico Aumentado
Provincial Governor
Province of Bohol
2/F Provincial Capitol Building
C.P.G. Avenue
6300 Tagbilaran City, Bohol
PHILIPPINES
Tel. No. (038) 411-3300
Fax No. +63 38 411-4821 / 501-9847
Email: info@bohol.gov.ph

5. 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

6. Ms. Yakin Erturk
Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women
c/o Ms Vernonica Birga
Room 3-042
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9615
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN)
Email: vbirga@ohchr.org (please also cc: rrico@ohchr.org)

7. 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


Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-118-2006
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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.