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PHILIPPINES: Obvious surveillance on a legal aid office for workers continuing

October 29, 2007

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

29 October 2007
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UA-309-2007: PHILIPPINES: Obvious surveillance on a legal aid office for workers continuing

PHILIPPINES: Human rights defenders; lack of protection; delay in adjudication of cases; inaction by the police; impunity
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you of the renewed surveillance being carried out on a legal aid office for workers and labour organizations. Staff members of the Prolabor Legal Assistance Center (PLACE), has again noticed the suspicious movements of unknown persons immediately outside their office that began in October 16. It is the latest incident in which they have seen persons are keeping them under observation. In October 2006, a soldier was held for questioning for tailing persons coming to their office. On another occasion a person also attempted to break into their office.

CASE DETAILS: (Based on the information from the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR))

It was in the afternoon of October 16 when five unknown men, described as having bulging waists, were seen apparently spying on the office of the Prolabor Legal Assistance Center (PLACE) located at No. 33B, E. Rodriguez Avenue, Quezon City. One of them was seen speaking into a microphone which was attached to his collar while others were keenly observing the office.

They positioned themselves across the street near a small retail store from the apartment building where the office of PLACE is located. They continued their observation and did not leave there until the following morning. On October 17, another group of four men arrived. At around 3pm, two of them were seen sketching the façade of the office vicinity while the other men were seen surveying the area. Their presence had also alarmed the other occupants of the vicinity.

One of the men seen spying on was said to be the same person who had attempted to break in into their office sometime in October 2006. He was identified by the witnesses and staff members by his physical appearance. It was also during that month when a soldier, Corporal Romel F. Santiago of the Philippine Army, was held for questioning for tailing workers and labour leaders coming to the PLACE office. Santiago's companion was able to elude arrest. Santiago was briefly detained at the Taguig City Police Station. He was released after the police officers were reportedly instructed by an unnamed Inspector General who ordered them to release him. Before Santiago was released though, he admitted to the police that he had been instructed to conduct surveillance on the PLACE office.

One of the witnesses to the recent incident, told the staff members: "Maraming nag-aabang sa opis nyo, dapat tanghali pa sasabihin ko na kaya lang baka ako mahalata" (There were many men watching at your office, I could have told you at midday but I was afraid they might have noticed me). The witness, whose name is withheld for safety reasons, had only informed them in the evening of October 17.

The group remained in the area until the third day, October 18. Two of them were also seen carrying firearms tucked in their waists bands. They are described as about 30 to 40 years of age, dark-skinned and slender. They were seen closely observing the movements of staff members and people coming in and out of the office.

In one instance, one of them was alerted when one of the staff members of PLACE went out to buy cassava cake at a store close to where they are positioned. For about an hour, one of them was seen using his mobile phone. Their presence in the area also caught the attention of other occupants in the vicinity and it prompted one of the occupants to approach them. When asked of their purpose for staying there, surprisingly one of them admitted they were indeed intelligence agents. They, however, claimed that they are watching a gas station thereby suggesting that they were not targeting PLACE. The gas station is located few meters away from the PLACE. However, their gestures and movements left no doubt that it the PLACE office they were watching.

In the afternoon of October 18, one of the PLACE's staff members was awaiting for a passenger utility jeep going towards the direction of Cubao. Surprisingly, one of those men seen spying on them came and stood close to them. He was overhead speaking to his microphone attached to his collar mentioning the place of "Cubao" where the staff members were heading to.

As of October 25, two men were still seen positioning themselves in the area apparently conducting continuous surveillance. It was noticed that the men are being rotated one after the other.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The renewed surveillance on PLACE's office took place the same day when they received a letter from the government regarding their petition with the Supreme Court of the Philippines to nullify the Human Security Act of 2007. PLACE and the CTUHR were legal counsels to the said petition. The content of the letter was not mentioned.

The CTUHR believes the overt surveillance is intended to harass and intimidate not only the PLACE' lawyers and staff members, but also the clients they are representing in numerous labour dispute cases. Their clients are mostly union leaders, workers who are illegally dismissed from their jobs, urban poor villagers who were forcibly demolished from their dwellings, amongst others.

When Santiago was held for questioning in October 2006 for tailing on the workers and union leaders of the FTI (Food Terminal Inc) from Taguig City to Metro Manila, they had just finished their meeting with lawyers at the PLACE office. It was the FTI security guards who had him arrested after they noticed he was following them. Santiago was on official duty at the time. Although he admitted to the police he was conducting surveillance on the PLACE office, he claimed that following the FTI workers was a mistake.

On 6 November 2006, three lawyers from the PLACE filed a complaint at the head office of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) requesting them to conduct a thorough investigation into the surveillance incident. However, no substantial progress has been taken so far.  When the CHR called for a hearing in January, no representatives from the Philippine National Police (PNP), particularly from Taguig Police, appeared. Santiago also did not appear during the said hearing. The PNP, however, claimed having not properly informed of the hearing.

On January 9, Santiago submitted his counter-affidavit contradicting his earlier statements given to Taguig City police. No further investigation had been conducted on this despite the numerous inconsistencies of his statements, the entry of police blotters, and the testimonies of complainants and witnesses. The complaint against Santiago remains pending at the CHR.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the authorities demanding for their immediate action into the continuous overt surveillance made of the legal aid office. The pending complaints with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) of the Philippines on similar surveillance incidents against a soldier must also be resolved without delay.

To support this appeal, please click here:

Sample letter:

Dear __________,

PHILIPPINES: Overt surveillance of a legal aid office for workers continuing

Name of office subjected to surveillance: Prolabor Legal Assistance Center's (PLACE) office located at No. 33B, E. Rodriguez Avenue, Quezon City

I am writing to express my grave concern regarding the renewed surveillance on the office providing legal aid for workers mentioned above. The overt surveillance began on October 16 and continued on for several days. Several men were seen positioning themselves across the street of where the office is located.  Some of them were seen carrying firearms on their waists, equipped with audio monitoring devices and were seen apparently surveying the area.

I am aware that this is not the first time this surveillance incident happened. In October 2006, a soldier, Corporal Romel Santiago of the Philippine Army, had been arrested and held for questioning soon after he was caught by workers and labour leaders for following them. They had just come out from a meeting with lawyers from PLACE's office when the incident happened. Santiago's companion was able to elude arrest though.

Also on the same month, an unidentified person tried to break in into the PLACE's office. I have learned that the physical description of this person is similar to one of those involved in continuous surveillance that began in October 16. I have learned that his companions, around four to five persons, were described as having bulging waits, dark-skinned and slender. They are seen replacing each every now and then.

What is alarming is when one of the PLACE's neighboring occupants asked these men of their purpose of staying there, one of them surprisingly admitted they are intelligence agents. They, however, claimed watching over a gas station which suggests that they are not having PLACE's office under surveillance. But the gesture and movements they are showing though is otherwise. They are indeed watching the PLACE office.

I therefore urge you to use your authority to take immediate action in this case. The authorities must exhaust all means to ensure the safety of the PLACE staff members and the people seeking their legal assistance. They must be allowed to continue with their usual work without fear of being harassed and intimidated. I am disappointed with the continued failure and inaction by the policemen to immediately ensure the safety of these persons.

I urge for an effective investigation in order to identify and held to account those responsible in conducting the renewed and overt surveillance on the said office. Their actions have effectively threatened the lives of their persons which is completely unacceptable. It is extremely disappointing that despite previous similar incidents, wherein a soldier had been identified as responsible, there has not been any progress to ensure protection and safety of the persons working at the said office.

Furthermore, I also urge you to ensure that the complaints filed by the PLACE lawyers against Santiago with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) are resolved without further delay. I am disappointed by the continued lack of effective investigation to identify those responsible for ordering Santiago to conduct the surveillance; and the lack of action taken against them. The resolution of this case is extremely essential of ensuring the safety and welfare of the persons threatened.

I trust that you take immediate action in this case.

Yours sincerely

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

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

2. Mrs. 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

3. Deputy Director General Avelino Razon
Chief, Philippine National Police (PNP)
Camp General Rafael Crame
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Tel: +63 2 726 4361/4366/8763
Fax: +63 2724 8763
Email: bluetree73@gmail.com

4. Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera
Officer in Charge
Department of Justice (DoJ)
DOJ Bldg., Padre Faura
1004 Manila
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 521 1614
Email: agnesdeva@yahoo.com

5. Ms. Hina Jilani
Special Representative of the Secretary General for human rights defenders
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)

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-309-2007
Countries :
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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.