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PHILIPPINES: Threat and intimidation of human rights lawyer and activist

June 4, 2006

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

5 June 2006
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UA-178-2006: PHILIPPINES: Threat and intimidation of human rights lawyer and activist

PHILIPPINES: Violence against human rights activists; complete collapse in rule of law; inadequate protection and security for persons at risk
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that unidentified men riding motorcycles reportedly spied upon human rights lawyer, Jobert Pahilga and activist, Ms. Marissa Dumanjug-Palo in separate incidents. Pahilga reported that two men riding on a motorcycle pursued him through his neighborhood when he went for a court hearing. On May 31, activist Dumanjug-Palo also noticed four men riding on two motorcycles apparently following her while riding in a taxicab.

On June 2, Pahilga reported the harassment on him. He is one of the counsels for Anakpawis partylist representative Rafael Mariano (please see our previous appeal on this: FA-008-2006). He claimed that his case is yet another in the increasing list of political harassment of identified activists. Pahilga, executive trustee for the Sentro Para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo (SENTRA), denounced the threats and harassment saying: “This obvious threat to my life and security is undoubtedly politically motivated and in consonance with the ongoing political persecution of identified militants and activists.”

It is reported that Pahilga was informed by a reliable source from the military that those men tailing him were from Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija and were acting allegedly upon the instructions of Major Gen. Jovito Palparan, head of the 7th Infantry Division, Philippine Army.  Pahilga’s source added that not only were his movements being monitored but also the activity of his mobile phone.

Pahilga is deeply involved with the struggle of peasants. He serves as the legal counsel for farm workers in Hacienda Luisita, Tarlac (to read the background of this case: UA-34-2005). He likewise serves as counsel for peasants on a number of land cases involving influential landowners. Pahilga is convinced that the harassment on him is aimed at "paralysing his work in peasant and human rights lawyering."

In another case, on May 31 activist Dumanjug-Palo was on her way to her office in a taxicab when she noticed that four unidentified men riding on two motorcycles were following her. Dumanjug-Palo is the head of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) – the nominated section of the Joint Secretariat of the Joint Monitoring Committee. The Committee was established as part of the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CAHRIHL). Their office receives complaints from victims of human rights violations and their families on cases of violations committed by government soldiers and the New People's Army (NPA) rebels.

Prior to this incident, 38 out of the 51 personalities accused and charged with Rebellion by the Department of Justice (DoJ) were sent notices for court hearings through the office of NDFP-Nominated Section of the Joint Secretariat in Cubao, Quezon City. These accused persons, however, are not connected with the said office. The functioning of the Joint Secretariat had been affected when the peace talks between the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) was stalled.

It is reported that two of the 51 accused persons have already been disappeared and killed; these are disappeared victim Philip Limjoco (please see our previous appeal: UA-170-2006) and Sotero Llamas, former NDFP peace panel member and Bayan Muna (People First) Partylist founder who was killed on 29 May 2006.

Below is an account of the May 31 incident according to Dumanjug-Palo:

Around 11:15am today, 31 May 2006, I hailed a taxi along V. Luna Road , Quezon City, in the vicinity of V. Luna hospital (several establishments away) on my way to the office. The taxi went towards the direction of East Avenue.

The taxi driver called my attention when we reached the traffic light (red) in the corner of V. Luna Road and East Avenue by saying, "Ma'm, napansin nyo ba yung motorsiklo na nakasunod? (Ma'm, did you notice the motorcycle following us?)" I looked back but did not see a motorcycle. I asked him, "Bakit po?  Saan ninyo nakita na nakasunod? (Why po [expression of respect for elder]?  Where did you notice that it was following us?" He replied, "Bandang kanto ng hospital nakita kong sumunod, parang nag-cut mula sa kanto. (In the vicinity of the hospital, near the corner, I saw that it started following us, it seems to have swerved from the corner.)" I replied, "Sige sa EDSA ninyo idiretso, mag-U-turn tayo sa ilalim ng fly-over, pero huwag kayong hihinto, diretso lang. (Okay, go directly to EDSA, make a U-turn under the fly-over, but do not stop, just go straight.)"

We turned left on East Avenue and proceeded towards EDSA. I then looked back again and vaguely saw a black motorcycle with two men riding but it was quite a distance and they were partly hidden by the other vehicles. When we made a U-turn under the fly-over near GMA-7 station, I saw that the black motorcycle (model like a dirt bike) was one vehicle away and also making a U-turn.  Riding it were two men wearing black helmets and dark-colored jackets. I was able to see that the motorcycle did not have a license plate.

I instructed the taxi driver to go towards Timog Avenue (turning right) and take one side street (the jeepney route) towards E. Rodriguez.  The black motorcycle was still following us.  Before we were to turn left towards the side street (which was three or four corners from GMA-7), the taxi driver said, "Ma'm, dalawa na sila. (Ma'm, there are now two motorcycles.)" I again looked back. 

I saw another black motorcycle (bigger model than the dirt bike and similar to what SWAT teams use) with two men riding it. They were also wearing helmets and dark-colored jackets. The second motorcycle was around ten meters behind the first motorcycle.  When we turned the corner, I asked the taxi driver, "Manong, paano ninyo nasabi na dalawa sila? Magkasama sila? (Manong [term for elder male], how can you say that there are two?  Are they together?)" The driver replied, "Parang synchro ang kilos eh. (It's as if their movements are synchronized.)"

At the end of the street, we turned left towards E. Rodriquez. When I looked back again, I saw that the second motorcycle was now one vehicle behind us and the first motorcycle was further back.

The two motorcycles followed us the entire stretch of E. Rodriguez, maintaining a distance of one or two vehicles (even if there was no vehicle between us and them), did not attempt to overtake us and always rode diagonal from each other.

I instructed the taxi driver to turn right on New York Street and towards Lantana Street. 

When we turned right on New York Street, the two motorcycles did not follow anymore and sped straight towards the direction of Cubao. I saw that the second motorcycle also did not have a license plate.

All four men did not have any bags with them. I was not able to see if the back-riders were wearing gloves (like the drivers) because they always had their hands in their pockets or were hidden whenever I had the chance to look towards their direction.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send your letters to the relevant government agencies to raise your concern about the threats made against Jobert Pahilga and Marissa Dumanjug-Palo. An impartial investigation must look into reports received by Pahilga that those who are spying on him are military agents who allegedly have connections with Major Gen. Jovito Palparan. A separate inquiry must also be conducted into Dumanjug-Palo’s case. Please request the authorities to take measures to ensure the safety and security of these persons with urgency.

Suggested letter:

Dear ___________,

PHILIPPINES: Threat and intimidation of human rights lawyer and activist

Case 1:
Name of victim facing threat: Lawyer Jobert Pahilga, Executive Trustee for the Sentro Para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo (SENTRA).
Name of alleged perpetrators: Two men riding on a motorcycle

Case 2:
Name of victim facing threat: Marissa Dumanjug-Palo. Married with one child and a resident of Quezon City. She is the head of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP)-Nominated Section of the Joint Secretariat of the Joint Monitoring Committee. Former staff of KARAPATAN-Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights (National Office) as Projects and International Desk Officer.
Name of alleged perpetrators: Four unidentified men riding on two separate motorcycles. They were wearing black helmets and dark-colored jackets
Place of the incident: From V. Luna Road, Barangay (village) Pinyahan to New York Street, Cubao, Quezon City
Date of Incident: 31 May 2006 at 11:15am

It has come to my attention that human rights lawyer Jobert Pahilga and activist Marissa Dumanjug-Palo have been the subject of threat and intimidation by unidentified persons. According to information I have received, on May 31 Dumanjug-Palo was on her way to her office in a taxicab when unidentified men riding on two separate motorcycles were apparently following her. On June 2, Pahilga reported he also noticed for some time that unidentified men riding on motorcycles were spying on him as he drove through his neighbourhood and towards the courts.

It is believed that the threats against Pahilga and Dumanjug-Palo are most likely related to their work. Pahilga is one of the counsels for six partylist representatives accused for rebellion while Dumanjug-Palo is the head of the National Democratic Front of the Philippine (NDFP)-nominated section of the Joint Secretariat of the Joint Monitoring Committee. The Committee Dumanjug-Palo was heading monitors and receives cases of human rights violations committed by both the government forces and the rebels. The functioning of their work, however, has been affected by the stalled peace talks between the government and the rebels.

I am deeply concerned by these two incidents and for the future safety of both Pahilga and Dumanjug-Palo. I have learned that Pahilga has been informed by a reliable source from the military that those who were tailing him were allegedly agents with connections to Major General Jovito Palparan, head of the 7th Infantry Division, Philippine Army. I urge your immediate intervention to have the reports received by Pahilga’s investigated into in order to determine whether this is true or not.
 
There have been many requests for your office’s intervention to have the allegations of abuse and misconduct made by Major General Palparan and those military agents connected to his division investigated. This includes the case of disappeared victims Rogelio Concepcion, Reynaldo Manalo and Raymond Manalo of San Ildefonso, Bulacan; Ronald Intal of Tarlac City, Tarlac; the killing of Ofelia Rodriguez (a.k.a. Nanay Perla); the threats made on Enrico Estarez and torture of his colleagues Francis Paraon, Reynaldo Pizon and Herminio Zuniga in San Miguel, Bulacan. I am unaware if these requests have been acted on, if your office has launched investigations, or if any action has been taken against those persons who the allegations were made against. If such action has not been taken, I once again request that it is.

Additionally, I urge your intervention to have the threats on Dumanjug-Palo’s investigated thoroughly. Concerned authorities must also afford immediate security and protection to her once the investigation commences. All means must be exhausted to identify those who made threats on her. The government must take all possible measures to prevent any violence against any members or staff of the Joint Secretariat of the Joint Monitoring Committee. Their security and safety is imperative in upholding the effectiveness of monitoring and to ensure the protection of human rights in your country.

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

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

4. 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

5. Mr. Ronaldo V. Puno
Secretary
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)
A. Francisco Gold Condominium II
EDSA cor. Mapagmahal St., Diliman
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Voice: +63 2 925 0330 / 31
Fax: +63 2 925 0332
Email: rvpuno@dilg.gov.ph

6. Mr. Orlando Casimiro
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

7. 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

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-178-2006
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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.