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PHILIPPINES: Another activist killed, several others seriously wounded in separate attacks

April 25, 2006

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

26 April 2006
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UA-140-2006: PHILIPPINES: Another activist killed, several others seriously wounded in separate attacks

PHILIPPINES: Extra-judicial killing; violence against activists and their families; violence against women and children; collapse of rule of law; inefficient police investigation
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you that another activist was killed while several others were seriously wounded in separate incidents on 6 and 24 April 2006. Activist Enrico Cabanit was killed while his daughter Daffodil is currently in a critical condition after a gunman shot them on April 24. On April 6, activist Nicanor Briones suffered multiple gunshot wounds when gunmen attacked them in Trianggulo, Naga City.

According to a report from the Mindanao Farmworkers Development Center (MFDC), a non-governmental organisation, Enrico and his daughter Daffodil were buying food at the public market in Panabo City when a gunman who was wearing a bonnet attacked them. Enrico died on the spot due to multiple gunshot wounds to his head while his daughter suffered a gunshot to her lungs. She is presently confined at the Intensive Care Unit of the Davao Regional Hospital in Tagum City.
 
It is reported that Enrico had just come from a dialogue with officials of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) regional office together with other farmers when the shooting incident took place.  The farmers are demanding for the inclusion of the huge tract of land owned by a wealthy Floirendo family, which covers a 400 hectares citrus plantation, under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp). Under the Carp, landowners are required to have their land distributed to beneficiaries once the Carp covers it. The Floirendo’s property, however, has not been included in the Carp. The disputed land is part of over 1,000 hectares of farm of the Worldwide Agricultural Development Corporation (WADECOR) owned by the Floirendos.

Enrico’s murder is believed to have been connected to his struggle for land reform and distribution of lands to poor farmers who are beneficiaries of Carp. He confronted wealthy and influential landowners in the area, including the Floirendos. The Floirendos owned the WADECOR and other plantations in Davao del Norte, Mindanao. Enrico was formerly their regular employee but he was dismissed from his job for leading a campaign against the Floirendos called the “Floreind(s)”. It is believed the Enrico may have angered them.

At the time of his death, Enrico was the secretary general of Pambansang Ugnayan ng mga Nagsasariling Lokal na Organisasyon sa Kanayunan (UNORKA-Mindanao), a non-governmental organisation campaigning for land reform. He was also the chair of the WADECOR Employees Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Association Inc. (WEARBAI). Two weeks before the incident, his wife Yolly noticed unidentified men spying upon their house. Enrico’s remains lie in state at a funeral home in Davao City. His remains will be laid to rest in Toril, Panabo City.

Meanwhile, on April 6 at around 2:20pm Nicanor Briones and his companions were attacked by two gunmen riding on a motorcycle. The gunmen were armed with a .45 caliber pistol equipped with a silencer. One of the gunmen approached Briones’s group, which was gathered at the CBD-Bus terminal in Naga City, and started shooting them. Briones was immediately rushed to the Bicol Medical Center for treatment. He suffered five gunshot wounds and is now recovering from the incident.

Briones was together with his companions, namely Jariz Vida (27), Eric Torrecampo, Leo Caballero, Nida Barcenas and Norberto Autor, when the shooting incident happened. His companions were unharmed but were extremely frightened as a result of the incident. The group had just concluded launching their activity, which was a caravan to oppose the issue of Charter Change (Amendment to 1987 Constitution) and Repression. At least 127 member organisations affiliated with Bayan-Camarines Sur joined the caravan activity.

A report from Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples Rights) claimed that the attack could be related to the series of “black propaganda” to discredit the progressive organisations in the area. The victims’ group is reportedly considered among them.

This violence against activists and their families are yet further examples of the alarming level of incidents of extra-judicial executions across the country. It is extremely shocking that the Philippine government has not adequately remedy this situation. The government is also failing to enforce the recommendations made by the UN Human Rights Commission on December 2003 to: "adopt legislative and other measures to prevent such violations, in keeping with articles 2, 6 and 9 of the Covenant, and ensure effective enforcement of the legislation". (Please see our statement on this: AS-076-2006)

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send letters to the agencies listed below asking for their immediate intervention. An effective investigation must be conducted into Enrico Cabanit’s murder. Allegations into the possible involvement of influential persons in his murder must be looked into. His family, in particular his daughter Daffodil must be afforded with adequate security and protection without delay. His family must be afforded with appropriate compensation.

Meanwhile, the attack made on Nicanor Briones and his colleagues must also be adequately investigated in order to identify those responsible. The victims must also be afforded with protection to ensure their safety. Briones should also be reimbursed with the medical expenses incurred for his treatment. The report that the motive of the attack could be related to a smear campaign to discredit the victims’ group must also be look into.

Suggested letter:

Dear ________,

PHILIPPINES: Another activist killed, several others seriously wounded in separate attacks

Case 1
Name of victim killed: Enrico G. Cabanit, a.k.a. Ka Eric. He was the Chairperson of WADECOR Employees Agrarian Reform Benificiaries Association Inc. (WEARBAI)
Name of victim wounded: His daughter Daffodil
Name of alleged perpetrators: An unidentified armed man who was wearing a bonnet
Place of incident: At a public market of Panabo City, Davao del Norte, Mindanao
Date and time of incident: 24 April 2006 at 6pm

Case 2
Name of victim wounded: Nicanor Briones (42), a resident of Pili, Camarines Sur. He is the President of the National Federation of Sugar Workers-Camarines Sur (NFSW-CS) 
Names of victims harassed:
1. Eric Torrecampo (27), secretary General, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or Bayan-Camarines Sur (New Patriotic Alliance)
2. Jariz Vida (27). He is the provincial coordinator of Bayan Muna (People First)
3. Leo Caballero, a human rights worker attached with the Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights – Camarines Sur)
4. Nida Barcenas, a human rights worker attached with Karapatan-Camarines Sur
5. Norberto Autor, a peasant leader of the Bicol Coconut Planters' Association, Inc. (BCPAI)
Name of alleged perpetrators: Two armed men riding a motorcycle wearing crash helmets.
Place of incident: Central Business District (CBD) II - Bus Terminal, Trianggulo, Naga City
Date and time of incident: 6 April 2006 at 2:20pm

It has come to my attention that another activist, Enrico Cabanit, was murdered while his daughter Daffodil was seriously wounded and currently in a serious condition after a gunman attacked them in Panabo City on 24 April 2006. Prior to this incident, on April 6, activist Nicanor Briones and his group were also fired upon by gunmen in Naga City. Briones suffered five gunshot wounds while his companions were not harmed.

According to the information I received, Enrico and his daughter Daffodil were buying foods at a public market when a gunman who was wearing a bonnet shot at them. Enrico died from fatal gunshots to his head while a bullet hit Daffodil’s lung. She is in a serious condition and is presently confined at the Intensive Care Unit of the Davao Regional Hospital in Tagum City.

I have learned the shooting took place just after Enrico concluded a meeting with officials of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) regional officer together with farmers who are demanding that the land of a plantation they are tilling be covered under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp). The farmers are beneficiaries of the Carp. The wealthy Floirendo clan owns the land they demand to be covered under Carp. They are demanding the DAR to have those lands covered by Carp and to subsequently redistribute to farmers as provided for by the land reform.

I have learned that the murder of Enrico could have been prompted by his struggle for genuine land reform and support to farmers. I urge your office to conduct an impartial investigation to determine who is responsible for Enrico’s murder. The victim’s daughter, Daffodil, must also be considered as a beneficiary to the witness protection programme. Her safety is greatly required to ensure an effective investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators. The victim’s family must also be afforded with compensation. Appropriate medical assistance must also be afforded to Daffodil without delay.

Meanwhile, I have learned that armed men also attacked another activist, Nicanor Briones, and five of his companions in a separate incident on April 6 at a public terminal in Trianggulo, Naga City. Briones suffered five gunshot wounds to his body while his five other companions namely Eric Torrecampo (27), Jariz Vida (27), Leo Caballero, Nida Barcenas and Norberto Autor, were not harmed but were extremely frightened as a result of the incident.

According to the information I received, one of the gunmen riding on a motorcycle, armed with a .45 caliber pistol equipped with a silencer, approached Briones’s group and started shooting at them. The gunmen left soon after the incident. Briones was taken to the hospital where he was treated accordingly. I urge you to conduct an effective investigation to identify the perpetrators and to closely coordinate with the victims when doing this.

Finally, I urge the concerned government agencies to exhaust all means possible to seek redress for victims and their families.

I hope that you will take action in this case.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR 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. Atty. Alberto Sipaco Jr.
Regional Director
Commission on Human Rights, Region XI
Trinity Bldg., Quimpo Boulevard, Ecoland
8000 Davao City
PHILIPPINES
Tel: +63 82 298-3749
Fax: +63 82 298-2233

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

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

5. Mr. Domingo F. Panganiban
Secretary
Department of Agriculture
4/F DA Annex Building, Elliptical Road, Diliman
Quezon City 1104
PHILIPPINES
Tel. No: +63 2 920 4323 / 4358, 929 8183 local no. 2210
Fax: +63 2 926 6426

6. 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)
E-mail: MChingSimon@ohchr.org

7. Mr. Jacob Egbert Doek
Chairperson
Committee on the Rights of the Child
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9022

8. Ms. Yakin Erturk
Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women
c/o Ms Lucinda O'Hanlon
Room 3-042
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9615
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN)
E-mail: lohanlon@ohchr.org


Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-140-2006
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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.