Abina Rombaoa, Moro Women Center, Inc.
Abina: The perpetrators are biased. Why do we say that they are biased? Because, during the raid when they were arrested, the police did not have sufficient evidence to arrest them. Once a person has been pointed out by another as a suspect, they immediately arrest him. There is no investigation.
Then, they take the person to the police station. They say that they were merely inviting the person, but actually they were interrogating the person. They put pressure on the alleged suspect to confess to the crime. The suspects usually confess because they are severely injured, suffering not only verbal abuse, but physical assault.
In terms of protection, our system in the Philippines does not really protect all victims, only some, like the rich. The prisons are not for the rich, but for the poor. Once a poor person is accused or commits a crime, they have no ability to defend themselves. As a result, they are sent to prison even if they are innocent.
Innocent civilians are arrested to benefit police officers; firstly, to be promoted to a higher rank: secondly, to add to a yearly budget for intelligence funds, supposedly to look for criminals. But if we thoroughly analyse their actions, they have no proof and no evidence to justify the arrest and detention of a person.
For example, in the arrest of the bombing suspects, the question is, have they arrested the real bomber? No, most of those arrested are innocent people. Those who were arrested in bombing incidents many years ago, still languish in prison. And those they suspected as bombers are just ordinary farmers, sidewalk vendors, day labourers, or porters at the fish market. They are arrested even though there is no basis or proof for doing so.
None of the real bombers have been arrested by the police because the terrorists quickly go into hiding. So, since they could not arrest the real offenders, they randomly pick up and arrest those whom they think would not be able to defend themselves in court.
This is a pattern that we have seen repeatedly.
For me, particularly, in the many years of work from 1992 to the present, I have seen an obvious bias against poor and innocent persons in prison. We have seen bias, for example, in those arrests that are purportedly carried out for purposes of protecting civilians, protecting people, or protecting those innocent civilians who could be victims of bomb attacks.
Why? If the person arrested is poor, he has no space; he is a nobody in court. And when it comes to court hearings, a suspect’s case would be heard only once a year. They would be lucky if their hearing pushes through. Sometimes these scheduled hearings are postponed, Rescheduling a hearing can occur for various reasons such as no judge, no prosecutor, no stenographer to take notes. These are some of the reasons put forth in postponing or cancelling hearings.
And, I ask the court: “Why is there a huge gap from the day a case is heard until its second hearing?” For example, if a hearing is postponed in January, the court will reset the hearing from July onwards. Sometimes they are scheduled in the month of December. It is common knowledge that the court’s working days for the month of December is only the first and second week. Usually a case is heard in court only once or twice a year. That is how slow things are.
In observing cases in other countries, the situation is completely different. In Japan or Hong Kong, I appreciate how speedily their case trials are conducted in court. If they see that the accused or the suspect is innocent, or if there is insufficient evidence for the prosecution, the case is dismissed, having lasted for only a few months
In terms of cases in the Philippines, whether you are guilty of the charges or not, the trial will take ten to twenty years. It is much worse if you cannot post bail. The difference is, if you are out on bail, the length of time is lessened.
Article 2: Concerning those things that you mentioned earlier: first, that the police arrest without evidence and a proper investigation; second, that when the case is taken to court, hearings take place only once or twice a year. Do you think there are other reasons for these delays?
Abina: YES. I have visited many jails and seen for myself that most of those in detention are Moro. And, as a Moro, I have witnessed this strong discrimination against Moro’s. Why is it, if there are incidents of bombings or robberies, the immediate suspects are Moro’s? They are charged as terrorists. Long before the term “terrorist” was in use, negative perceptions against the Moro’s already existed.
The public perception is: “Oh those Moro, their attitudes are really bad, they are bombers and murderers.” So I asked one of the lawyers, who I thought was different from most others, did he feel that there is strong discrimination against the Moro people? YES.
Article 2: So, you understand that the Moro people suffer more: firstly, because they are poor; secondly, because there is unequal treatment for them in terms of the criminal justice process. Now, for those who availed themselves of your services, do they still have confidence in seeking justice through the system, and if not, why not?
Abina: There are some who understand better, who file complaints. But many of them no longer file complaints. They are disillusioned and become close-minded. For example, when we conduct paralegal training in the community to help them understand more and know what to do when they are arrested, they are reluctant. So, it is very difficult for us as human rights defenders and educators to try to afford them this kind of learning. As a Moro I feel nervous once I hear about a bombing incident and I have to make a statement to the media, either as a warning or a prediction. Usually, from previous experience, no other groups would be targeted for arrest but the Moro.
And in most cases, this is what happens. They do arrest a Moro.
Subsequently, the police make public the identity sketches of the supposed suspect. They then arrest anyone who in anyway looks similar to the artist’s sketch, declaring openly that “this is the real suspect.”
This happens not only for Moros but also for other indigenous people whom we have helped. On one occasion, there was an indigenous person, married to a Cebuano whose face was similar to one of the suspects in the Maguindanao massacre. Although their eyes were similar he was not the same person the police claimed him to be. Nevertheless, he was arrested and taken to Taguig, a prison in Metro Manila. There was another Moro whose looks were completely different, but whom the police were insisting was the real suspect.
For us, as educators, we want to see authentic police investigations. This means that when the police or the military make arrests, they should have accurate information as to the reasons for the arrests, that the suspicions regarding the suspects they intend to arrest are accurate. What is obvious is that most of their suspicions are baseless. For the most part, they arrest innocent persons, like farmers, side-walk vendors or day labourers who can do nothing to defend themselves. Of course, once you are tortured, you will admit to anything. Torture includes such things as clipping your fingers, or passing electricity through your genitals.
You asked about Alex Salipada and Pedro Hamsa who told me that their private parts were subjected to electrodes. They tortured the victims for nine days to force them to admit guilt, but guilt for what? They were innocent. All this time they were prevented from any contact with families and relatives. One of them is a sidewalk vendor, another a day labourer, another a porter at the fish market. These are some of the kinds of biases that I have seen. They are not really protecting the people who are in need, but are only protecting the few. It means they concentrate on protecting people who are capable of protecting themselves, like those who are rich, influential and of the elite. Even drug addicts who are rich are treated well in prison. By contrast, those prisoners who are poor receive completely different treatment.
Rich prisoners in confinement set up their cells with many of the comforts they have at home. Not only do they have soft mattresses on their beds, with television sets, but various other luxuries that are supposed to be prohibited in prisons. It is evident that the treatment between the rich and the poor is not fair. In addition, they can afford to bribe prison staff to accommodate their every desire but freedom.
Article 2: In all of the cases that you are handling, are most of them torture victims?
Abina: Yes, they are tortured to force them to admit to crimes they did not commit.
Article 2: For those who were tortured, have there been any cases where the victims filed complaints of torture against the police or the military? If so, what happened to their cases?
Abina: So far, I have not come across torture victims who filed complaints against their perpetrators. Mostly, they wanted to get back to their old way of life, to their livelihoods. Simply, with what they have left to them, they just want to return to their same status in life. Mostly, they prefer not to remember what they experienced in the past. They close their eyes to the torture that happened to them. They want only to remember who they were before they were tortured.
Next, let us consider the case of the GenSan 3. I believe that the intention of the police was not only to arrest, but to rob. Why? for the following reasons. The luggage that the police took from the victim’s house has disappeared. The luggage contained gold, imported goods, and other sundries. The owner has lost all hope that his goods will be recovered.
Of late, the owner of the goods had asked me: “Can we still recover the goods? Can we file charges against the police?” So far, I have only encountered this one case where the complainants are willing to file a complaint against the police. So we filed a case against the police officers for the loss of the goods involved.
Article 2: Are those perpetrators who are involved in the torture of the GenSan 3, are they still in police service?
Abina: Some of them are still in service. Colonel Bartolome (Baluyot) should be the one held responsible. I asked at the time of the crime: “Sir, why are you carrying this luggage? It has nothing to do with this arrest.” He completely ignored me and my question.
Article 2: From what has happened to the GenSan 3, what impact did it have for your family and for your work as a human rights defender?
Abina: It impacted me a great deal in that it helped me strengthen myself to serve the victims more effectively, and to help other victims later on. It was a profound learning experience for me. I remember what an old woman, a relative of one of the victims, said: “Oh, such inhuman actions that were thrust on us was the first time in our life that we were treated in such a way. What really were their reasons for this kind of behaviour toward us? We are innocent.
This is how the elderly think of it now. Fear has entered their lives. They fear because they have young grandsons. They think: “What will happen to them in future?” Although they are successful in rearing good children, why are their children being treated so poorly? Why are they made to have such bad experiences?
A second impact is on our local government, especially those involved in arresting people. They should be careful. If a person is really guilty, then they should have a basis for making the arrest. They should conduct a thorough investigation including going to the communities where the crime took place. Why don’t they ask the communities about the background of the person whom they arrested? If they really want to get to the truth these are the things that should be done.
I therefore challenge the local government. When you arrest anyone, you should to have a strong basis for arresting, prosecuting or detaining the person. The evidence and the investigation you are conducting on the accused must be solid. And if you want to know the truth of a situation, you must also go to the community.
(Editor’s note: Abina Rombaoa speaks about the illegal arrest, torture and detention of Jejhon Macalinsal, one of her relatives and Abubakar Amilhasan and Arsul Ginta, collectively known as the GenSan three.
The GenSan three were arrested during a police raid on April 24, 2002 in Calumpang village, General Santos City, on allegations that they were responsible for bombing a shopping mall which killed 16 people, and wounded many others.
In October 29, 2010, after eight years, all the accused were acquitted of charges of illegal possession of explosives. The evidence against them was planted by the police.)
