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PHILIPPINES: Another sick inmate denied adequate treatment after being falsely charged

May 10, 2006

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

11 May 2006
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UA-153-2006: PHILIPPINES: Another sick inmate denied adequate treatment after being falsely charged

PHILIPPINES: Denial of adequate treatment; arbitrary use of authority by police and military; filing of fabricated charges
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that another sick inmate has been deprived of adequate treatment following his arrest for charges believed to have been fabricated on 12 April 2006. Victim Samuel Lagulao (53) was being treated at the Iloilo Mission Hospital for injuries to his spine when arrested by a joint police and military unit. He was turned over to the provincial jail in Iloilo, Nanga, Pototan where he is presently detained without having his injuries adequately treated.

According to a report from Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples Rights), an umbrella of human rights organisations, Lagulao was arrested following an arrest warrant having been issued by Judge Guilljie Delfin-Lim in March 2006. Lagulao was charged with multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder in connection with the 19 November 2005 incident, wherein nine military men were killed in a landmine attack in Barangay (village) Mambiranan, Calinog, Iloilo. Eighteen soldiers of the Philippine Army’s 47th Infantry Battalion and 1st Scout Ranger Battalion were also wounded in the attack. 

It is reported that rebel group, the New People's Army (NPA) were responsible for the attack against the soldiers. After the incident Lagulao was included among those charged, including Abelardo Hurtada (who in fact died in February 2005), over allegations that they were responsible for the attack.

The arrest of Lagulao at the hospital surprised him and his family. Lagulao, a former political prisoner in the late 1980's during martial law, was among those underground personalities who surrendered to the government. It is public knowledge that he has long been out of "the movement".

In March 2006, Lagulao met with a vehicular accident, which caused a fracture in his spinal column.  At the time of his arrest, he was being treated and in a delicate condition at the Iloilo Mission Hospital.  Lagulao was wearing a brace around his neck and required additional oxygen. He could not even manage to get up from his bed without being assisted.

On April 12, the police and military arrived at the hospital and arrested Lagulao. They told Lagulao's family that he was going to be transferred to another hospital but was in fact taken to the provincial jail where he is presently detained. Lagulao's family and his lawyer insist he should be receiving proper treatment in hospital. Lagulao is now confined to a wheelchair and is receiving some medication for his injuries.

Lagulao’s lawyer, Roberto Castillon, has filed for bail for his client and will be moving for a reinvestigation of the case. The case is pending before the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 22 in Iloilo under Judge Guilljie Delfin-Lim.

This is yet another incident whereby sick or injured inmates who require proper medical treatment are being deprived of such services. On May 5, we reported the case of Elvie Apolona, also a sick inmate who was arrested at the hospital where he was being treated. He was also forcibly discharged from the hospital without completing his medication. (Please see the following for further details: UA-149-2006). According to the latest information, Apolona’s petition for adequate treatment and admission to a hospital is dragging in the court. The prosecutor is reportedly opposed to Apolona’s petition, thereby depriving him the possibility to be treated with urgency. The prosecutor’s reason as to why he is opposed to the petition for treatment is not known.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write letters to the concerned agencies listed below requesting for their intervention to have Samuel Lagulao adequately treated without delay. The court must ensure that Lagulao is adequately treated for his full recovery. If the charges against him in court are found to be fabricated they must be dismissed and he must be released. There must also be an inquiry into the possible irregularities in the filing of charges against Lagulao and his co-accused, Abelardo Hurtada, who died nine months prior to the incident they were charged over.

Suggested letter:

Dear ___________,

PHILIPPINES: Another sick inmate denied adequate treatment after being falsely charged

Name of victim: Samuel Lagulao (53), a resident of Barangay (village) Lawaan, Roxas City. He was a rebel returnee working as branch manager for Great Domestic Insurance at the time of his arrest. He is presently detained at the provincial jail in Iloilo, Nanga, Pototan.
Name of alleged perpetrators: Philippine National Police Regional Intelligence and Investigation Division (PNP RIID VI), Police Anti-Crime Emergency Response (PACER) 6, Police Precinct 3 of the Iloilo City Police Office and the Army's Intelligence Task Unit-Panay headed by Supt. Cornelio Defensor
Place where he was confined and arrested: Iloilo Mission Hospital, Jaro, Iloilo
Date and time of incident: 12 April 2006 at around 3:15pm

I am writing to draw your attention to the case of Samuel Lagulao, a sick inmate who is presently detained at the provincial jail in Iloilo, Nanga, Pototan. I have learned that Lagulao has been deprived of adequate treatment following his arrest on 12 April 2006 at the Iloilo Mission Hospital, where he was then confined for injuries to his spine and was arrested by joint elements of police and military. I have learned that those who arrested Lagulao were reported to have deceived his family that he would be taken to another hospital for treatment but he was actually remanded to the provincial jail.

I am extremely disappointed by this action by the arresting police and military officers. While I am aware that Lagulao’s arrest was based on the arrest warrant issued by the court, the manner in which the officers implemented it shows a lack of concern and disrespect for persons who are in need of proper medical attention.

I have also learned that the charges of multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder filed against Lagulao could have been fabricated. The case was in connection with the 19 November 2005 incident wherein nine soldiers were killed and several others were wounded in an ambush in Barangay (village) Mambiranan, Calinog, Iloilo. According to the information I have received, another of those charged, Abelardo Hurtada, had already died nine months prior to the incident in question.
 
I urge your appropriate intervention to ensure that Lagulao is afforded with adequate medical treatment to ensure his full physical recovery while in detention. The allegations regarding the irregularities in the filing of charges against Lagulao must be looked into. If the charges against him are found to have been fabricated they must be dismissed immediately and he must be released from jail.

As you are aware, Elvie Apolona, a sick inmate has also been denied adequate treatment and is presently detained at the provincial jail in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur. I am deeply concerned by both Lagulao and Apolona’s plight. I am extremely disappointed by the practices of police and military men in recent times by arresting persons at hospitals, and thereby denying them adequate treatment. To deny any individual who requires treatment is totally unacceptable.

I trust that you will take action in this case.

Yours sincerely,

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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. 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

3. 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

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. 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

6. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Mr. Safir Syed
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 917 9016 (general)
E-mail: ssyed@ohchr.org
 
8. Mr. Paul Hunt
Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Fax: +41 22 917 90 06
E-mail: urgent-action@ohchr.org

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-153-2006
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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.