Home / News / Urgent Appeals / UPDATE (Philippines): Catholic priest and human rights activist still faces suspected death threats
 

UPDATE (Philippines): Catholic priest and human rights activist still faces suspected death threats

November 30, 2006

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

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

30 November 2006

[RE: UA-219-2005: PHILIPPINES: Threat against an activist priest; bullets offered after a mass in Bulacan, Luzon]
-------------------------------------
UP-216-2006: PHILIPPINES: Catholic priest and human rights activist still faces suspected death threats

PHILIPPINES: Surveillance and intimidation of a human rights defender; early warning of possible extrajudicial killing or forced disappearance; inadequate government action; rule of law
-------------------------------------

PETITION - PETITION - PETITION - PETITION
STOP EXTRA-JUDICIAL KILLINGS IN THE PHILIPPINES   
http://www.pinoyhr.net/
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear friends,

Since the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) issued its first urgent appeal a year ago about alleged death threats against Catholic priest Rolando de Leon of the community of Norzagaray in Bulacan Province (please read our previous appeal UA-219-2005), he has continued to face a series of intimidating incidents to presumably stop him from further work to promote and protect human rights in his area in Central Luzon.

UPDATED INFORMATION:

Father Rolando de Leon is the parish priest of San Andres Apostol Parish in Norzagaray in Bulacan Province and the supervisor of 20 Catholic parishes in the city of San Jose and three towns in the area. He is also the spokesperson for the Catholic human rights organisation in the province. Because of these roles, he is a well-known public figure in this part of the Philippines in Central Luzon located north of Manila.

As noted in the AHRC's previous urgent appeal, Father de Leon began experiencing a series of intimidating events after the Mass he celebrated on Sunday 30 October 2005 in Norzagaray. After the Mass, four envelopes were found in the church offering with the following message: "Warning to you Father Rolando de Leon; you will be the next." Three of the envelopes contained an M-16 bullet. The empty envelope has been interpreted to possibly mean that the missing bullet is meant for Father de Leon. It is suspected that the military or police put the envelopes in the offering as ordinary citizens do not possess or have access to this type of ammunition.

About two months later in December 2005 a soldier was seen putting up posters in the main public square of Norzagaray and the adjoining streets and bridges. The posters contained the picture of a priest celebrating Mass with the hammer-and-sickle logo of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its military wing, the New People's Army (NPA), on the back of the priest's robe. Although the priest is nameless in the poster, it is believed that the image of the priest refers to Father de Leon as there are only two priests in Norzagaray and Father de Leon's assistant has not received any death threats. During the same month, the army stationed a detachment of soldiers in front of the neighbourhood clinic from where they could observe Father de Leon's church.

In March 2006, Father de Leon spoke at a press conference about human rights violations in Bulacan Province that had been documented by the Catholic Church's provincial human rights office in Bulacan's capital of Malolos. A few days later Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr., the military commander of the region at the time, was quoted in the local newspaper Balita as saying that Father de Leon "cannot be trusted because he is a liar."

Moreover, between January and October 2006, the military organised a series of meetings in the five towns of the province at which the military accused Father de Leon of being a member of the NPA. Furthermore, throughout the year, uniformed soldiers periodically come to Father de Leon's convent asking for him but never indicate the reason for their visit. In addition, uniformed soldiers also sit in the church's courtyard with their guns from time to time.

This pattern of events in the past year are similar to those experienced by other clergy members, lay people and human rights defenders in the Philippines, many of whom who later have been extrajudicially killed or who have disappeared.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities below and urge them to immediately conduct an impartial and thorough inquiry into the alleged intimidation and surveillance of Father Rolando de Leon that follows a similar pattern to other death threats received by other clergy members and human rights defenders in the Philippines. Because many of these clergy members and human rights activists have been killed, please also urge them to immediately take measures to provide effective protection to Father de Leon.

To support this appeal, please click:

Sample letter:

Dear __________,

PHILIPPINES: Catholic priest and human rights activist still faces suspected death threats

Name of the victim: Father Rolando de Leon, a Catholic priest in San Andres Apostol Parish of the Diocese of Malolos in Norzagaray in Bulacan Province
Period of alleged intimidation and surveillance: October 2005 to the present
Place of incidents: Norzagaray and other communities in Bulacan Province in Central Luzon
Those allegedly responsible: Military troops or police officers in Bulacan Province
Potential motives: To intimidate Father de Leon to end his efforts to promote and protect human rights in Bulacan Province and if this is not successful to abduct or kill him

I am writing to express my deep concern for the security of Father Rolando de Leon, a Catholic priest in San Andres Apostol Parish in Norzagaray in Bulacan Province in Central Luzon and the spokesperson of the Catholic Church's provincial human rights office in Bulacan's capital of Malolos. Since October 2005, a number of intimidating and suspicious incidents have occurred to Father de Leon. These include envelopes with M-16 bullets left in the church offering during Mass celebrated by Father de Leon on 30 October 2005, and the following message: "Warning to you Father Rolando de Leon; you will be the next." In addition, posters of a priest with the logo of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People's Army on his robe were put up by a soldier in the main public square of Norzagaray and the adjoining streets and bridges in December 2005. Because there are only two priests in the community and Father de Leon had previously received death threats, it is believed the posters are meant to represent him.

This conclusion was later confirmed in a series of meetings organised by the military in the five towns of Bulacan Province between January and October 2006 at which the military directly accused Father de Leon of being a member of the New People's Army.

In addition, in March 2006, Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr., the military commander of the region at the time, was quoted in the local newspaper Balita as saying that Father de Leon "cannot be trusted because he is a liar" after Father de Leon had spoken at a press conference a few days earlier about human rights violations in Bulacan Province that had been documented by the Catholic Church's provincial human rights office in Malolos.

Lastly, throughout the year, uniformed soldiers periodically come to Father de Leon's convent asking for him, but they never indicate the reason for their visit. In addition, uniformed soldiers also sit in the church's courtyard with their guns from time to time.

I have reason to believe that all of these events for more than a year are meant to intimidate Father de Leon to end his work to uphold human rights in the Philippines as they follow a similar pattern of intimidation and death threats that other priests as well as lay people and human rights defenders in the country have encountered, many of whom who later have been extrajudicially killed or who have disappeared. There is thus cause for Father de Leon to believe that his life is in danger.

It is for these reasons that I ask that an impartial and thorough inquiry into the alleged intimidation of Father Rolando de Leon be launched right away and that immediate measures be taken to protect him.

In closing, I wish to say that I am extremely concerned about the hundreds of extrajudicial killings and disappearances that have occurred in the Philippines in the past few years. Most of those who have been killed or who have disappeared have sought to uphold the human rights of the Filipino people. Because of this stance, they have frequently been critics of the Philippine government and its policies. Regardless of their criticism of the government, however, the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has an international obligation to protect the lives of its people. I thus ask the government to take this obligation seriously and to work to stop the killings and disappearances in the Philippines. The protection of Father de Leon is a step in this direction.

Thank you for considering my views. I trust they will be taken seriously.

Yours sincerely,


--------------

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
Tel: +63 2 735 6201 / 564 1451 to 80
Fax: +63 2 736 1010
E-mail: corres@op.gov.ph / opnet@ops.gov.ph 

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

3. Director General Oscar Calderon
Chief, Philippine National Police (PNP)
Camp General Rafael Crame
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Tel: +63 2726 4361/4366/8763
Fax: +63 2724 8763

4. 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@yahoo.com

5. Ms. Hina Jilani
Special Representative of the Secretary General for human rights defenders
Att: Melinda Ching Simon
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)

6. Mr. Philip Alston
Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
Attn: Lydie Ventre
Room 3-016
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9155
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR EXECUTIONS)


Thank you.

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



Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-216-2006
Countries :
Issues :
Document Actions
Share |
Subscribe to our Mailing List
Follow AHRC
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.