National
Karapatan to Army chief Emmanuel Bautista: tell that to the marines
Submitted on Mon, 11/05/2012 - 13:26“It’s psywar, not respect for human rights. The disconnect between Bautista’s statement and the reality on the ground is the result of a paradox between respect for human rights and Oplan Bayanihan, the Aquino government’s version of the United States’ Counterinsurgency program 2009, which Bautista penned,” said Marie Hilao-Enriquez, chairperson of Karapatan.
Among the many cases of human rights violations under Oplan Bayanihan, Karapatan cited the recent massacre of Juvy Capion and her two sons, both minors, on October 18 by elements of the 27th IB of the Phil. Army. They were killed when the military strafed the house where they were sleeping. Capion was two-months pregnant.
Karapatan also documented the case of Genesis Ambason, a tribal leader and anti-mining activist who was shot and tortured to death on September 13 by members of the Civilian Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU) and elements of the 26th IB Detachment in a barangay in San Luis, Agusan del Sur. When found, Ambason’s face was beyond recognition, his teeth were all gone and his head shrunk due to torture inflicted on him.
“Lt. Gen. Bautista is lying” - SELDA
Submitted on Mon, 11/05/2012 - 13:00On the Army chief’s statement that Palparan is the last of his kind
The recent statement made by Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista, the chief of the Philippine Army drew ire from members of the Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainee Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA).
“Lt. Gen. Bautista is lying. There are clones of Palparan in the AFP because it breeds the likes of Palparan. It’s not about dishing out phrases like ‘respect for human rights’. It’s about actual rights violations being committed by the AFP and its paramilitary forces,” said Angie Ipong, Selda Secretary General.
Selda said that illegal arrest, torture and other grave forms of human rights violations continue under the Aquino government Oplan Bayanihan. Activists and even civilians continue to become victims of trumped-up charges as the military tries to beat its deadline to end the “insurgency”.
The recent arrest of Rolly Panesa on October 5 is a proof that people are arrested arbitrarily, and on mere suspicion that he is an ‘enemy of the state’ and based on trumped up charges, in violation of his rights.
Panesa, a security guard, was illegally arrested by joint elements of the 2nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army, led by Southern Luzon Commander Maj. General Alan Luga, and the Philippine National Police. He was severely tortured because the military misidentified him for a certain “Benjamin Mendoza,” supposedly the secretary of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in Southern Luzon, with a reward of PhP 5.6 million.
Marites Chioco, Panesa’s live-in partner was also abducted, with her daughter and son-in-law. Chioco was forced to admit that she is ‘Ka Luisa’ whom the military claimed as “Mendoza’s” wife. It was Chioco who saw Panesa blindfolded while his cheeks were bruised, his mouth was swollen and lower jaw pushed in. Panesa’s right ear was also bleeding because of heavy beatings. Rolly Panesa is currently detained at the Security Intensive Care Area (SICA), Metro Manila District Jail in Taguig City for rebellion and frustrated murder.
Mga biktima kay Bautista: “Bakit may mga tulad namin?”
Submitted on Mon, 11/05/2012 - 13:00
“Kung wala nang mga gaya ni Palparan sa militar, bakit may mga tulad namin?”
Ito ang tanong ni Ernan Baldomero, vice-chairperson ng Hustisya, bilang sagot sa mga pahayag ni Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista, pinuno ng Philippine Army na wala na raw mga gaya ni retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan sa AFP.
“Kaming mga kaanak ng biktima ng mga paglabag sa karapatang pantao ang patunay na pawang kasinungalingan ang pahayag ni Lt. Gen. Bautista na wala nang mga katulad ni Palparan,” dagdag pa ni Baldomero.
Si Ernan ay anak ni Fernando Baldomero na pinaslang noong Hulyo 2010. Ang kanyang ama ang unang biktima ng extrajudicial killing sa ilalim ng gobyernong Aquino.
“Isang malaking kahibangan na sabihing wala nang katulad ni Palparan sa hanay ng military dahil patuloy ang extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances at iba pang paglabag. Bakit may mga gaya ni Fr. Pops Tentorio, Leonard Co, at Juvy Capion?” ani Ernan Baldomero.
Rolly Panesa’s kin file petition for habeas corpus before SC
Submitted on Tue, 10/30/2012 - 14:16Marites Chioco, common-law wife of tortured and detained security guard Rolly Panesa, and sister Jiose Panesa today filed before the Supreme Court a petition for habeas corpus directing the respondents to produce the body of Rolly Mira Panesa before the Supreme Court and to seek other remedies thereof, including his immediate release. Panesa’s kin are accompanied by counsel Ephraim Cortez of the National Union of People’s Lawyers and Cristina Palabay of Karapatan.
Rolly Panesa is detained at the Security Intensive Care Area (SICA), Metro Manila District Jail for rebellion and frustrated murder. Panesa was illegally arrested on October 5 by joint elements of the 2nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army, led by Southern Luzon Commander Maj. General Alan Luga, and the Philippine National Police. He was tortured because the military mistook him for a certain “Benjamin Mendoza,” supposedly the secretary of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in Southern Luzon, with a reward of PhP 5.6 million.
“Panesa’s illegal arrest, torture and continued illegal detention on the basis of trumped-up charges showcases the military’s arbitrariness in the conduct of its counterinsurgency program, the Oplan Bayanihan, and the government’s obsession to meet its self-imposed deadline to end the so-called insurgency,” said Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan.
Chioco and Panesa, through their legal counsel, the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) named the following as respondents to the petition: Inspector Bernardino Edgar T. Camus, jail warden of the Security Intensive Care Area (SICA), Metro Manila District Jail; Maj. Gen. Alan Luga, Commanding General of the AFP Southern Luzon Command (SOLCOM); Maj. Gen. Eduardo D. del Rosario, Commanding General, 2nd Infantry Division, Philippine Army; P/CSupt. James Andres B. Melad, Regional Director, Philippine National Police Regional Office IV; and, P/SSupt. Manuel M. Abu, Chief of the Regional Intelligence Office of the PNP Regional Office IV.
Think before you speak, Mr. President, the ball is in your hands
Submitted on Fri, 10/26/2012 - 16:14Karapatan today derided Pres. Aquino’s statement that extrajudicial killings is not his government’s policy, as he called on senatorial candidate, Teddy Casino of Bayan Muna, to help in solving the killings by looking for evidences and filing cases.
“The problem with the Aquino government is when it can no longer justify the existence of human rights violations and when its pro-human rights posturing is exposed as a sham, it turns the table around and puts the burden of proof on the victims and those who advocate and defend human rights. Ano naman ang silbi ng ganitong gobyerno? ” said Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan.
“Mr. President, you should think before you speak, because the responsibility of exacting justice is in your hands. In the first place, the burden of solving the cases of extrajudicial killings and serving justice to the victims is with the Aquino government, especially because majority, if not all of the killings, involve the armed and paramilitary forces headed by Aquino. But since he failed to even lift a finger to solve these cases, the relatives of human rights victims and Karapatan have taken it upon ourselves to initiate the filing of cases in Court,” she added.
Karapatan welcomes disqualification of Bantay Partylist
Submitted on Thu, 10/25/2012 - 13:32Karapatan today said it is pleased with the decision of the Commission on Election to disqualify Bantay partylist, a known anti-left partylist that was represented in Congress by “The Butcher”, Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr., who is now charged in court for kidnapping and serious illegal detention of the two missing UP students, Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan.” Bantay partylist’s number one nominee at present is Evangeline Palparan, wife of the fugitive general.
“We welcome COMELEC’s decision because Bantay partylist did nothing in Congress but to bark at the progressive members of Congress and those it calls as leftist organizations. It does not represent the marginalized. On the contrary, Bantay did nothing but to justify the armed forces’ rampage against leaders of organizations of the marginalized farmers, workers, indigenous peoples, women and youth and communities where these organizations exist,” said Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan.
Bantay, Palabay said, “represents the government’s counterinsurgency program, primarily implemented by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and is directed against the poor who struggles against poverty, oppression and exploitation.”
Karapatan to Aquino: Yes, Mr. President, your human rights record ‘speaks for itself’
Submitted on Wed, 10/24/2012 - 18:05
“Mr. President, your human rights record indeed speaks for itself with 114 victims of extrajudicial killing (EJK), 127 victims of frustrated EJK, 70 persons tortured, 12 disappeared, and scores of other rights violations under your administration. These violations, plus the fact that your security forces are a miserable failure in arresting the Butcher Gen. Palparan, speak volumes on your administration’s culpability in promoting impunity and rights violations.”
Thus, said Cristina Palabay, Karapatan secretary general, on Pres. Noynoy Aquino’s statement before the New Zealand media. Palabay likewise scoffed at Aquino’s apparent emphasis on the so-called abuses committed against state agents saying that ‘they were pelted with human waste’ in the course of their work, “ as “a diversionary tactic that failed to answer the nagging questions on his administration’s commitment to human rights.”
Palabay said the President deliberately did not mention the recent massacre of the Juvy Capion, a pregnant B’laan woman who was killed along with her two children when the military strafed their hut on October 18. Juvy was a member of Kalgad, an organization of the B’laan tribe that is opposed to the entry of Xstrata-Sagittarius Mines, Inc (SMI) as there are about 30,000 B’laan who will be displaced from their ancestral lands with the entry and operation of Xstrata-SMI.
Karapatan calls for pullout of 27th IB from Lumad areas, condemns massacre of Blaan family
Submitted on Fri, 10/19/2012 - 12:23“It was a massacre and not an encounter,” said Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan belying claims of Lt. Col. Alexis Bravo, head of the 27th IB of the Philippine Army that a Blaan woman, Juvy Capion, 27, and her two sons, John Capion, 8, and Pop Capion,13 were killed in a gunfight.
Initial reports that reached the Karapatan national office indicated that on October 17, Juvy Capion and her two sons went to their farm and spent the night in Fayahlob, Sitio Datal-Ayong, Bgy. Danlag, Tampakan, South Cotabato because they did not finish their day’s work. The following day, On October 18, at around 6 a.m., the three were still inside the hut when element of the 27th IB arrived and sprayed bullets on the hut, killing Juvy Capion and her two sons.
“There was no gunfight between the military and Juvy’s husband Daguil as the military claimed,” said Palabay. The military said that Danguil Capion, a B’laan tribal leader, has taken up arms against the entry a mining corporation in the area, the Xstrata- Sagittarius Mines, Inc (SMI).
Karapatan dares govt to apply the law vs. Palparan and other perpetrators
Submitted on Thu, 10/18/2012 - 15:03On the approval of the Anti-Disappearance bill
Karapatan appreciates the approval of the Anti-Disappearance bill by a bicameral committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives, as it challenged the Noynoy Aquino government to immediately end its practice of enforced disappearance among activists and suspected members of the revolutionary movement.
Karapatan has documented 12 victims of enforced disappearance since Noynoy Aquino became President, and in the course of the implementation of Oplan Bayanihan.
“The law will remain a meaningless compilation of words, unless the Aquino government goes after, and swiftly punish the perpetrators of this heinous crime, mostly members of its own armed forces,” said Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan.
Karapatan cited the Anti-Torture law which was passed in 2009, “but has not prevented the use of torture among political prisoners during detention; and against activists and those suspected to be members or sympathizers of armed revolutionary groups during combat operations in the rural areas.”
Recently, a security guard, Rolly Panesa, was illegally arrested, tortured and detained because he was mistaken for a certain Benjamin Mendoza, whom the military claims as the secretary of the Community Party of the Philippines in Southern Luzon. Panesa was severely beaten during interrogation in Camp Vicente Lim in Laguna that even officials at the Special Intensive Care Area-Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (SICA-BJMP) refused custody unless they were given a medical certificate.
Still no justice as the Aquino gov’t refuses to go after its own people
Submitted on Wed, 10/17/2012 - 16:10After a year since Fr. Pops Tentorio’s killing
“It has been a year after the extrajudicial killing of Fr. Fausto Tentorio, and the real masterminds and perpetrators of this heinous offense have not been rendered justice. Karapatan attributes this grave injustice to the persistent denial and stonewalling of the Aquino administration in holding the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and its paramilitary groups accountable,” said Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan.
Yesterday, at the United Nations Human Rights Committee 106th session in Geneva, Switzerland, the head of Philippine government delegation and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said that the murder of Fr. Tentorio has not been validated as an extrajudicial killing.
“Such act of the Aquino administration indicates its refusal to go after its own people, the paramilitary group Bagani which, is under the command of the AFP. Thus, as in almost all cases of human rights violations, the perpetrators run around freely, terrorize many more and do it with impunity,” she said.
Karapatan said that in April 2012, a new witness to the killing of Fr. Tentorio came out, prompting the members of the Justice for Fr. Fausto Tentorio Movement and the Pontifical Institute of Foreign Missions (PIME) to file charges against Jan Corbala and four others of the Bagani paramilitary group, also known as Alamara. Corbala is known in Arakan, North Cotabato as “Commander Iring (cat).” The Bagani paramilitary group is the military’s version of the CAFGU (Civilian Armed Force Geographical Unity) among the indigenous peoples in Mindanao.
Prior to this, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has not included the above-mentioned members of Bagani among the respondents in the case, despite information that the said paramilitary group threatened and harassed Fr. Tentorio. Then Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jesse Robredo publicly denied the existence of the said Bagani force and refused to investigate them.
