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UPDATE (Philippines): Commission on Human Rights (CHR) set to file charges against soldiers allegedly involved in killing peasants in Leyte

March 24, 2006

UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Update on Urgent Appeal

24 March 2006

[RE: UA-216-2005: Soldiers kill nine farmers in Leyte, Visayas; UP-141-2005: Peasants were brutally massacred by soldiers; pregnant woman among the dead; UP-019-2006: PHILIPPINES: Possible irregularities in police investigation; survivor details brutal killings of peasants]
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UP-053-2006: PHILIPPINES: Commission on Human Rights (CHR) set to file charges against soldiers allegedly involved in killing peasants in Leyte

PHILIPPINES: Extra-judicial execution; call for speedy disposition of cases; inadequate police investigation; filing of fabricated charges; collapse of rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is pleased to inform you that the regional office of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in Tacloban City, Visayas has identified four of the alleged perpetrators involved in the killing of farmers in Palo, Leyte on 21 November 2005. In a letter dated March 8 received by the AHRC, Mr. Paquito Nacino, CHR VIII regional director wrote “that the investigation was finally terminated on 8 February 2006”.

Although Nacino did not include the copy of their findings, he did identify Major Lope Dagoy, 2nd Lieutenant Luel Adrian Benedicto, Sergeant Ruel Fernandez and Corporal Dioscoro Jamorawon. Major Dagoy is the commanding officer of the 19th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army. Nacino added that the military concerned “were already duly notified on the pending charges”.

Nacino likewise wrote that the case is already “with their legal unit for resolution. Filing of appropriate charges, as well as the extension of financial assistance shall be initiated by this (CHR) office once the resolution is completed”.

The CHR’s findings reaffirm the version of the survivors and families of the dead that the incident was a case of extra-judicial execution and not an encounter as claimed by the police and military. Police Senior Superintendent Manuel Enage Cubillo, chief of the Regional Intelligence and Investigation Division (RIID), earlier release findings claiming the incident was a legitimate encounter between the victims (whom they accused as communist rebels) and the soldiers. Please see our previous appeals: UP-019-2006.

While we appreciate this development, the AHRC raises its concern over possibilities of delays in the filing of charges against the perpetrators and provision of appropriate financial assistance to the survivors and families of the dead. Also, the alleged fabricated charges of illegal possession of firearms, possession of subversive documents among others laid against the victims have not been withdrawn. Please visit our previous appeal for details: UP-141-2005 and UA-216-2005.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the agencies listed below requesting them to hasten the filing of charges against the alleged perpetrators involved. The regional officer of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR VIII) must resolve the case immediately after receiving counter-affidavits from the concerned military men. They must set deadlines as to when it should be resolved to ensure the speedy filing of charges before the local court. Immediate sanctions and restrictions must be imposed upon the military officials and their men involved. Also, please request the immediate dropping of charges laid against the victims if they are found to have been fabricated.


Suggested letter:


Dear _________,

PHILIPPINES: Commission on Human Rights (CHR) set to file charges against soldiers allegedly involved in killing peasants in Leyte

It has come to my attention that the regional office of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR VIII) in Tabloban City, Visayas has identified four of the military men allegedly involved in the killing of peasants in Palo, Leyte on 21 November 2005. CHR regional director Paquito Nacino identified Major Lope Dagoy, commanding officer of the 19th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army and his men 2nd Lieutenant Luel Adrian Benedicto, Sergeant Ruel Fernandez and Corporal Dioscoro Jamorawon, as respondents to the criminal charges.

As you are aware, seven farmers were killed, including a pregnant woman, while 11 others were wounded when the incident occurred. Alleged fabricated charges of illegal possession of firearms and possession of alleged subversive documents have been laid against the victims in court.

While I appreciate the development in identifying the four men, I am deeply concerned by the possible further delay in filing of appropriate criminal charges against the perpetrators and the provision of appropriate assistance to the victims and the families of the dead. I therefore urge you to ensure that charges are filed in court without delay. The regional office of the CHR must resolve the case once it receives the counter-affidavits from the respondents and file it before the court to begin the trial as charged.

The CHR must also ensure that the families of the dead and the survivors are afforded with appropriate financial assistance without delay--as provided for by its mandate. They must also recommend for the imposing of immediate sanctions and restrictions against the military official and his men involved to ensure the impartiality of the case and to prevent the possibility of them threatening or harassing the victims.

Furthermore, I urge you to use your authority to request the local court concerned to consider withdrawing the charges against the victims if indeed the cases are found to have been fabricated. Those victims who remain in jail must be released immediately once the court withdraws the charges.

Finally, I urge you to ensure that the CHR implements its order involving this case accordingly and with urgency. The promptness of resolving the case is essential. Failure by concerned government agencies to perform their duties as required must be dealt with accordingly.

I trust your action in this case will be forthcoming.

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 Lumibao
Chief, Philippine National Police (PNP)
Camp 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. 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

7. Mr. Leandro Despouy
Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers
Att: Sonia Cronin
Room: 3-060
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9160
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR INDEPENDENCE JUDGES & LAWYERS)
E-mail: scronin@ohchr.org


Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-053-2006
Countries :
Issues :
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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.