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UPDATE (Philippines): Killing of eight more activists reflects ugly reality of government's failure to take adequate action

November 23, 2005

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

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

23 November 2005

[RE: UA-30-2005: Attempt on the life of human rights advocate and his wife in Abuyog, Leyte, Philippines; UA-34-2005: Killing of a labor rights activist for the Hacienda Luisita farm workers in Tarlac City; UP-26-2005: Priest supporting for the Hacienda Luisita farm workers in La Paz, Tarlac killed and two others wounded, UP-28-2005: Attempt on the life of a human rights lawyer working for the Hacienda Luisita farm workers; UP-29-2005: Two more leaders from the Bayan Muna party are killed in Baguio and Tacloban City; UP-59-2005: Another human rights activist killed in Visayas; UP-61-2005: Wounded victim in activist shooting dies: UP-75-2005: Witnesses of activists?killings in Luzon refuse to give evidence fearing their security; UP-101-2005: Another priest wounded in latest attacks on human rights activist in Visayas; UP-106-2005: Another human rights lawyer killed; wounded priest died while being treated at a hospital FA-27-2005: Another labor leader killed in Calamba City, Luzon; FA-29-2005: A female human rights activist stabbed to death in Bislig City, Mindanao]
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UP-143-2005: PHILIPPINES: Killing of eight more activists reflects ugly reality of government’s failure to take adequate action

PHILIPPINES: Extra-judicial killings; human rights defender; government inadequate action; impunity; rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that the increasing incidents of extra-judicial killings of human rights defenders and political activists in the Philippines strongly suggests that the situation has spiraled out of control, and the government’s action to seriously address this is entirely inadequate. The AHRC has received further information that eight more activists were killed since late October this year. Although an investigation was conducted, in most cases the law enforcement’s effort to identify, arrest and prosecute the perpetrators has fallen well short of what is required.

According to a report from KARAPATAN (Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples Rights) in late October this year, five people were killed ?namely Ricardo Ramos of Tarlac; Ricardo Rivera, Dr. David and Mr. Maniti of Pampanga; and Federico de Leon of Bulacan. All the killings happened in Luzon within a short period of time. The victims were leaders of labor organisations, transportation sectors and political organisations. Earlier this month, three people ?namely Jose Ducalang of Ormoc City; Bienvenido Bajado of Eastern Samar, both in Visayas; and Ricardo Uy of Sorsogon City, Luzon were also slained. Even though an investigation was conducted in some of these cases, on the whole the cases remained unsolved.

Although previously, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) reported that the perpetrators in some cases are non-state armed groups, the Commission has not done enough to identify and prosecute the perpetrators in a court of law. The involvement of government agents to the violence is not being investigated properly in most cases. The families of the dead have also not been afforded with compensation, nor has effective witness protection been provided to them, and other witnesses.

In its previous statements, the AHRC has condemned this violence and asked the Philippine government to take appropriate action for the arrest and the prosecution of the alleged perpetrators (please see further: AS-40-2005; AS-42-2005; AS-109-2005). Concerned government agencies were also asked to take effective steps to prevent the violence from reoccurring. An effective mechanism for the protection of the families of the dead and witnesses was also urged in pursuing cases in court (please see our previous appeal: UP-75-2005).

Your immediate intervention is required to pressure the Philippine government, in particular the law enforcement and the judiciary to take effective measures to resolve this cases without delay. Effective measures to prevent such incidents from reoccurring, including the availability of an effective protection programme for victims, families of the dead and the witnesses must be ensured.

It is the responsibility of the government under Article III, Section 1 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution to ensure its citizens shall not be deprived of their right to life without due process of law. Similarly, the government must adhere to provisions of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission
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UPDATE INFORMATION:

Name of the victims killed:
1. Ricardo Ramos (47), president of Tarlac Azucarera de Tarlac Labor Union (CATLU), a resident of Hacienda Luisita, Tarlac
2. Ricardo Rivera, coordinator of Bayan Muna (People First), a party list group
3. Dr. David of Pampanga
4. Mr. Maniti of Pampanga
5. Federico de Leon, chairperson of Anakpawis in Bulacan, a party list group; he is also a transport leader
6. Jose Ducalang, coordinator of Bayan Muna in Ormoc City
7. Bienvenido Bajado, chairman of Bayan Muna in Eastern Samar
8. Ricardo Uy (57), Chairperson of Bayan Muna Sorsogon City
Period of incidents: From 25 October to 18 November 2005

Case details:

On 25 October 2005, at around 3:00pm, Ricardo Ramos arrived in his hut together with his wife and six companions. Two military men attached to the 7th Infantry Division (ID), Philippine Army, arrived later near the place where Ramos was taking his rest. They asked Jorge Gatus, a barangay tanod (village security volunteer), whether they could speak with Ramos. They were told by Gatus that Ramos was resting and that he could not be disturbed. The soldier then left.

The two soldiers, whose names were “Joshua?and “Castillo?were known to the villagers because they often conducted foot patrols in the area. They were later identified as Sgt. Castillo and Dela Cruz. At 5:30pm, several villagers arrived in Ramos?hut. At about 7:00-8:00pm, the two soldiers came back. They again asked Gatus if they could speak to Ramos. But Ramos refused to speak to them so they decided to leave and told Gatus that they would return the next day.

At about 9:00-9:30 in the evening, Ramos was together with several of his fellow workers and constituents celebrating inside in a bamboo hut, which is about 40-50 meters away from his residence. Ramos was having a conversation with his fellow workers when an unidentified armed man shot him twice. He sustained two gunshot wounds on his body: one on his left zygomatic bone that exited to the right occipital area; and another one on his right shoulder.

When Ramos?elder brother Romy, and their brother-in-law, Benny Pineda rushed to the place after they heard the gunshot, they found Ramos lying on the ground and bleeding.?Dr. Saturnino Ferrer examined and conducted an autopsy on Ramos?body. As of this writing, the autopsy report has not yet been released. The fact-finding team found out that the perpetrator was only about 12 meters away from where Ramos was sitting inside the hut.?

At around 10:15pm, according to the residents who live near the military detachment, they heard and saw what looked like a helicopter circling over the barrio.?The residents also reported that a van was noticed leaving the detachment after Ramos?killing. After the news of Ramos?killing broke out, the outraged villagers went to the military detachment at around 11:00pm to protest his killing. It was reported that the soldiers left as the villagers started throwing stones at them.

On October 26, three other persons, namely Ricardo Rivera, coordinator of party list group Bayan Muna (People First) and his two companions, Dr. David and Mr. Maniti of Pampanga, were also killed. A transport leader, Federico de Leon (53), was also slained in a separate incident.

It was at the tricycle terminal in Barangay Caingin, Malolos, Bulacan when De Leon was approached by a man and a woman believed to be members of the 56th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army, to bring them to the Hotel Gatchalian in Barangay Catmon, Malolos, Bulacan. De Leon had just arrived after sending off his wife, Ester, at the same terminal where she sells cigarettes.

It was later established that De Leon was found dead at the nearby Casa Malolena and Blas Ople ByPass at the boundary of Barangay Catmon and Barangay Bulihan, Malolos City.?His two passengers were already gone. According to witnesses, who refused to be named, two alleged perpetrators were seen hurriedly riding in another van after the shooting.

An autopsy report revealed De leon was shot with a .45 caliber gun from a distance of two feet. The body had traces of three gunshot wounds with one exiting through his thigh. The victim’s skull was smashed with a hard object. It was believed that he had been beaten on the head before he was shot.

De Leon is the Chairperson of the party list group Anakpawis. The victim’s colleagues believe that his killing was connected to the rash of killings in Central Luzon.

On November 7, Jose Ducalang, coordinator of Bayan Muna Ormoc City coordinator was also shot at the tricycle terminal in Barangay Ipil, Ormoc City, Leyte Island. He died three days later while being treated at hospital.

On November 13, Bienvenido Bajado, the former Vice Mayor of Maydolong, Eastern Samar and Bayan Muna Eastern Samar chairman, was also gunned down and killed in Maydolong, Eastern Samar.

On November 18, at 11:00am another activist, Ricardo Uy (57), who was the chairperson of Bayan Muna in Sorsogon City, was shot dead inside his rice mill (Soledad Corral Uy Ricemill) in Bgy. Basud, Sorsogon City.

Reports said Uy was alone inside his rice mill when the gunman shot him in the back.?After Uy’s helper heard the gunshots, he hurriedly ran inside the rice mill to see what had happened.?There he saw the gunman. The gunman then attempted to shoot the helper but his gun was already empty with bullets. The perpetrator then left and calmly walked to his getaway motorcycle parked close to the rice mill.

According to the helper’s description of the gunman, it was a tall man with long hair, who was wearing eyeshades and a hat.?Uy had suffered five gunshot wounds.

At the time of his death, Uy was the radio anchor of a morning program at dzRS Sorsogon radio. He was a hard-hitting critic of the militarisation of the towns of Sorsogon and other policies of the government he considered anti-poor.

Since last year, the military has been vilifying Uy as a communist supporter and recruiter of the NPA over the Philippine Army’s radio program. He was allegedly accused by the military as being a communist supporter. Prior to his death, Uy was the subject of verbal attacks by the military in their radio program at dzMS.

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SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send letter to the heads of the Ombudsman for Military, Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and raise your serious concern regarding the unabated killings in the county. In your letter, please urge the concerned agencies to take appropriate action to identify, arrest and prosecute the alleged perpetrators. Assistance, compensation and protection must be afforded to the families of the dead and the witnesses.

Suggested letter:


Dear ____________,

PHILIPPINES: Killing of eight more activists reflects ugly reality of government’s failure to take adequate action

Name of the victims killed:
1. Ricardo Ramos (47), president of Tarlac Azucarera de Tarlac Labor Union (CATLU), a resident of Hacienda Luisita, Tarlac
2. Ricardo Rivera, coordinator of Bayan Muna (People First), a party list group
3. Dr. David of Pampanga
4. Mr. Maniti of Pampanga
5. Federico de Leon, chairperson of Anakpawis in Bulacan, a party list group. He is also a transport leader
6. Jose Ducalang, coordinator of Bayan Muna in Ormoc City
7. Bienvenido Bajado, chairman of Bayan Muna in Eastern Samar
8. Ricardo Uy (57), Chairperson of Bayan Muna Sorsogon City
Period of incidents: From October 25 to November 18, 2005

I am writing to draw your attention to the unabated incidents of killings and violence against human rights and political activists in your country. I have learned that another eight people have been killed, four of whom are leaders of Bayan Muna (People First), a party list group, over a short period of time.

I am deeply concerned by the government’s failure, in particular the law enforcement agencies to take effective actions to identify, arrest and prosecute the alleged perpetrators. The government has also failed to prevent such incidents from reoccurring. Although I am aware that investigations have been made into some cases, little has been done to bring the perpetrators to a court of law.

Although the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is aware of the possibility that the alleged perpetrators could be a non-state armed group, no effective or immediate actions have been taken to prosecute them. Allegations of possible involvement of the government agents, in particular in the case of Ricardo Ramos of Tarlac, Jose Ducalang of Bulacan and Ricardo Uy of Sorsogon may have not been properly investigated.

Despite the obvious unabated violence against human rights defenders and political activist, the government has failed to take effective measures to provide protection to persons who may have been at risk or threatened. I am aware that even in seeking justice in court there is no effective witness protection mechanism for the families of the dead and witnesses.

I have learned that most of the victims had previously been accused by government agents of being either supporters or sympathisers of an armed movement. I am deeply concerned that the victims?membership to a group seemed to have justified their killing.

I am deeply concerned by the government’s inaction regarding the common practice among the military and police of directly accusing the victims, and the group they were supposedly involved with as being supporters of an armed group in the absence of a fair and credible investigation. Such practice is a threat to persons advocating human rights.

Regardless of organisational or political involvement, it is the duty of the government to ensure that the victims of extra-judicial execution and violence are afforded with their equal rights for investigation, protection and compensation under Article III, of the 1987 Philippine Constitution. The Philippine government, as state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and other international human rights mechanisms has an obligation to protect it citizen’s of right to life.

I trust that you will take genuine action on these very serious cases.

Yours sincerely,


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PLEASE SEND 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. The Director
Fact-Finding Investigation, Corruption
Prevention and Public Assistance Bureau
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

3. 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

PLEASE SEND COPIES TO:

1. Mrs.?Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President of the Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace,
JP Laurel St., San Miguel
Manila
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 742-1641 / 929-3968
E-mail: corres@op.gov.ph/?lt;/font>opnet@ops.gov.ph

2. Secretary Avelino J. Cruz Jr.
Department of National Defense
Room 301 DND Bldg.,
Camp Emilio Aguinaldo
E. de los Santos Avenue, Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2911 6213
Email: osnd@philonline.com

3. Hon. Raul Gonzales
Secretary
Department of Justice
DOJ Bldg., Padre Faura
1004 Manila, Philippines
Fax: +6325211614
Email: sechbp@infocom.com.ph

4. Ms. Hina Jilani
Special Representative of the Secretary General for human rights defenders
Att: Ben Majekodunmi
Room 1-040, c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 93 88
Fax: +41 22 917 9006
E-mail: bmajekodunmi@ohchr.org

5. 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


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-143-2005
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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.