Appeals for Action

Dear friends,

All 491 political prisoners in detention centers all over the Philippines are on hunger strike and fast to express their urgent plea for freedom, justice and human rights. The hunger strike also coincides with the visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines, as the political prisoners seek the kind intercession of the Pope for their release.

September 23, 2014

We call on all peace and human rights advocates--individuals, institutions, the Church, people’s organizations, the academe and other groups to support the call of the people of Lacub, Abra in the Cordillera Region, Philippines, for the immediate cessation of the military operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) therein and nearby communities.

September 12, 2014

Urgent Call for the Immediate Cessation of Military Operations in Lacub, Abra

We call on peace advocates -  individuals, institutions, people’s organizations, the academe and other groups to support the call of the people of Lacub, Abra to stop the military operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines  in their villages and nearby communities.

On September 8 and 9, a fact-finding mission team went to Lacub, Abra to gather data and assist the communities affected.

Victim/s:

Dear friends,

Please join us in our call for justice for the four-month old child victim of indiscriminate firing and the call to surface Mohammad Abdulkarim and his 14-year-old son Mehad Mohammad.

These cases continue to show that the military's presence in the communities endanger civilians, especially children.

Below is the account based on the initial report received by Karapatan:

Enforced Disappearance of father and son

KASALO-Caraga SecGen and KATRIBU 2nd nominee GENASQUE ENRIQUEZ arrested on trumped up frustrated murder cases

Case:    Political Persecution, Illegal Arrest, Illegal Detention on Trumped Up Charges

Victim/s:

GENASQUE B. ENRIQUEZ

• Male, 41 years old, father of 4, Secretary General of Kasalo-Caraga and second nominee of KATRIBU Partylist

Place of Incident:   Dale’s Food House, Rizal St., Surigao City

Case:    Illegal Arrest and Detention    

Victim/s: MARIA MIRADEL TORRES

-    Female, 26 years old, four months pregnant, member of the Gabriela-Mauban Chapter

Place of Incident:    Barangay (village) Ilayang Iyam, Lucena City, Quezon Province

Date of Incident:    June 20, 2014

Alleged Perpetrator(s): Joint elements of Philippine National Police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group,  and Southern Luzon Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Account of the Incident:

On the evening of June 20, 2014, Maria Miradel Torres was arrested without warrant by elements of the CIDG and Southern Luzon Command (Solcom). The men forcibly entered the house where she was staying in IlayangIyam village, Lucena City, Quezon province.  A policeman said Torres was under arrest for being a member of the New People’s Army (NPA) using the aliases “Alex,” and “Sydney”. Torres insisted to see the warrant of arrest but she was not shown any.

The police took Torres and brought her to the Camp Gen. Guillermo Nakar Station Hospital at the Solcom headquarters in Lucena City.

Torres, 26, who is four-months pregnant, was confined at a hospital in Quezon province from June 11 to 18 due to profuse bleeding. During her stay at the hospital, several men inquired about Torres. A female who introduced herself as “Flor” and who claimed to be the provincial governor’s aide offered assistance. On June 18, Torres was discharged from the hospital and went home to Ilayang Iyam, Lucena City. While traveling home, she and her companion noticed men following them.

APPEAL FOR ACTION

CALL FOR THE IMMEDIATE PULL-OUT OF MILITARY TROOPS FROM

THE COMMUNITIES OF PEASANTS AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES  IN MINDANAO

Dear friends,

Please join us in our call for the immediate pull-out of AFP troops from the communities of peasants and indigenous peoples in Mindanao.  There are at least three groups of evacuees from the provinces of Saranggani, Bukidnon and Davao del Norte. The evacuees, numbering to at least a thousand, are mostly indigenous peoples who left their homes starting May up to the present due to heavy military presence and intense combat operations in their respective communities.