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UPDATE (Philippines): Attempt on the life of a human rights lawyer working for the Hacienda Luisita farm workers

March 18, 2005

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

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Update on Urgent Appeal
18 March 2005

[RE: 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]
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UP-28-2005: PHILIPPINES: Attempt on the life of a human rights lawyer working for the Hacienda Luisita farm workers

PHILIPPINES: Human rights defenders; Government negligence; Impunity
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned by the attempt on the life of Atty. Romeo Capulong, a senior legal consultant for farm workers on strike in Hacienda Luisita, at midnight on 7 March 2005 in Nueva Ecija, Philippines. Mr. Capulong was among the people who were heading the investigation into the violent confrontation that broke out between the protesters (workers) and government forces broke out on 16 November 2004, which killed seven people and severely injured 10 others.

It was reported that Mr. Capulong and other human rights workers have been continuously receiving threats since they started the said investigation. Previously, two persons - a council member of Tarlac City, Abelardo Ladera, and the chairman of the peasant alliance in Central Luzon, Marcing Beltran - were slain on 4 March 2005 and 8 December 2004 respectively. (See further: UA-34-2005) The AHRC also reported that Fr. William Tadena, who supported workers on strike in Hacienda Luisita, was also killed on 13 March 2005 (See further: UP-26-2005).?

On March 14, Lt. Gen. Romeo Dominguez, chief of the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) issued a statement to the media blaming a vigilante group called Nagkakaisang mga Biktima ng Karahasan ng NPA (United Victims of NPA Violence) for the killing of Councilor Ladera and Fr. Tadena. He did not call for further investigations.

Councilor Lader and Fr. Tadena were victims of false accusations linking them to communist movement New People’s Army (NPA), such misleading accusations led the public to discredit them in their struggle to support the workers. This also seriously affects the conduct of investigation in the case.

The authorities must be held responsible for their failure and inaction in preventing the violence against human rights activists. Arrest and prosecution of the vigilante group, who claimed responsibility, must be taken immediately. The government must not tolerate extra-judicial killings.

A special body to investigate these cases of killings and violence against human rights activists must me created if justice is to prevail. Further, sweeping statements that mislead the public and defeat the purpose of impartial investigations, must be stopped as at once.

Urgent Appeals Desk
AHRC Urgent Appeals Programme
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victim: Romeo Capulong, Senior legal consultant of workers on strike in Hacienda Luisita, Tarlac
Date of the Incident: 7 March 2005, at around 12:00mn
Place of the incident: at his residence along National highway, Nueva Ecija
Perpetrators: unidentified forces

ON 7 March 2005, an attempt was made on the life of Romeo Capulong, a senior legal consultant for the workers on strike in Hacienda Luisita. This follows series of killings of known labor leaders and activist who supported the farm workers on strike in Hacienda Luisita.

Reports said a red Revo van coming from the direction of Cabanatuan and driving west in the direction of La Paz, Tarlac slowed down in front of his house before driving past.?After some minutes, it returned and slowed down again.?The occupants of the red Revo van rolled down the windows.?Two guards provided to Atty. Capulong Joson raise their rifles.?Upon hearing the clicking of the rifles, one of the car occupants was heard by a guard to remark, "Ay may tao pala!" [Oh, there are people around!].

The suspects were described as tall and burly. They did not alight from the van. Before the incident, several men were witnessed in the area seemingly conducting surveillance on Capulong's house.

In the past two weeks, there have been an unusual number of ambulant vendors in the area, purportedly selling taho [soya drink], walis tambo [broom], pots and pans, etc. However, they did not appear to be selling the items.

There has been a spate of human rights violations in the past few months.?The killings of Marcelino Beltran, Tarlac City Councilor Abelardo Ladera and Fr. William Tadena remain unsolved. Thus, the attempt on Capulong's life must be dealt with quickly as a matter of genuine and great concern.

As President of the Public Interest Law Center, Capulong led a fact-finding mission into the Hacienda Luisita Massacre on 16 November 2004. It must be noted that Councilor Ladera, together with Bayan Muna Congressman Satur Ocampo, went to the house of Jose Cojuangco, one of the owners in Hacienda Luisita, in Dasmarinas Village in Makati, Metro Manila the same day the violent dispersal broke out to seek a negotiated solution. This attempt, however, failed.

Capulong, Councilor Ladera and Congressman Ocampo have been attacked verbally in statements and in documents release by the military.

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) has warned the government of the 'irrevocable end' of the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations should 'any physical harm be done to Capulong'.

Capulong is the legal consultant of the NDFP. He is a part of the negotiating panel in the Peace Negotiations between the Communist Party of the Philippine-New Peoples Army-National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDFP) and the government.


SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter, fax or e-mail to the following authorities and express your concern about this case.

Sample letter:


Dear ____________,

Re: UP- -2005: PHILIPPINES: Attempt on the life of a?human rights lawyer working for Hacienda Luisita farm workers on strike in Nueva Ecija

Name of the victim: Romeo Capulong, Senior legal consultant of workers on strike in Hacienda Luisita, Tarlac
Date of the Incident: 7 March 2005, at around 12:00mn
Place of the incident: at his residence along National highway, Nueva Ecija
Perpetrators: unidentified forces

I am writing to bring your attention to the attempt on the life of human rights lawyer, Romeo Capulong, a senior legal consultant for the workers on strike in Hacienda Luisita. The attempt on Capulong's life is yet another incident in the continued violence against rights activist who support the workers.

I urge you to seriously take action on these cases by conducting an independent and impartial investigation. The death of seven protesters in the 16 November 2004 dispersal, the killing of labor leaders Marcelino Beltran, Councilor Abelardo Ladera and Fr. William Tadena, all of them are supporters of the workers, must be given justice.

These previous cases of violence against human rights advocates prove that attempt on Capulong's life should be taken seriously.

As part of the government's obligation to protect its citizens as stated in Article III Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution, this vigilante group called Nagkakaisang mga Biktima ng Karahasan ng NPA (United Victims of NPA Violence), who claimed responsibility must be arrested, investigated and prosecuted. The government must not allow for extra-judicial killings. Public admission by vigilante groups regarding extra-judicial killings must be dealt with accordingly. They should be held responsible instead of the government blaming them without taking any serious steps.

Further, the peace negotiations between the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines-New Peoples Army - National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) also rest on the assurance of Capulong's safety. Capulong is part of the negotiating panel for the CPP-NPA-NDF, and therefore his security must be ensured.

I look forward to your immediate intervention on this matter.


Yours truly,


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SEND A LETTER TO:

1. Ms. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
President
Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace
J.P. Laurel St., San Miguel
Manila, NCR 1005
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2929 3968
?lt;br />2. Mr. Purificacion Quisumbing
Commissioner
Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., Commonwealth Avenue
U.P. Complex, Diliman, Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Tel. No. +63 2 928-5655/926-6188
Fax: +63 2 929-0102
Email: drpvq@chr.gov.ph

3. Sec. Teresita Quintos-Deles
OPAPP (office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process)
Government Peace Negotiating Panel for Talks with the CPP-NPA-NDF
4th Flr. Agustin 1 Bldg. Emerald Ave. Ortigas Center
Pasig City, Philippines
Telefax: +63 2 6377259
Email: gpnp_cnn@opapp.gov.ph

4. Mr. Avelino J. Cruz Jr.
Secretary, 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

5. P/DEP. DIR Gen. Arturo Lumibao
Chief, Philippine National Police (PNP)
Camp Crame, Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Tel: +63 2 726-4361/4366/8763
Fax: +63 2 724-8763
?lt;br />6. Atty. Jasmin N. Regino
Regional Director
Commission on Human Rights (CHR III)
3/F, Kehyeng Bldg.,
Mc Arthur Highway, Dolores
San Fernando, Pampanga
Philippines
Tel: +63 45 961 4830/ 963 5311
Telefax: +63 45 961 4475
?lt;br />7. 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
?lt;/font>

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UP-28-2005
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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.