Condemnation on the
brutal assassination of Prof. Jose Ma. B. Cui of COURAGE-NS
January 20, 2007
We, in the regional
council of the human rights alliance KATUNGOD-Sinirangan Bisayas
condemn in the strongest possible terms the assassination of Prof.
Jose Ma. B. Cui of the University of Eastern Philippines, the
chairperson of UEP Employees Association (UEPEA)-Confederation for
Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE)
and former secretary-general of the human rights group KATUNGOD-Northern
Samar last January 19, 2007 at about 3:45 pm in front of his students
at the Engineering Building of the university in the town of Catarman
in Northern Samar.
Two motorcycle-riding
men gunned him while he was administering the examinations of his
History Class. He sustained two (2) fatal gunshot wounds – one in the
head and another in the chest that led to his instantaneous death.
According to reports
from our counterpart in Northern Samar, the perpetrators drove to the
direction of Mondragon town where a military camp is located about two
kilometers from the university campus (in Brgy. San Agustin, Mondragon).
Prof. Cui is a known
peace-loving citizen, an advocate of human rights and civil liberties
in the province of Northern Samar. He served as KATUNGOD-NS
secretary-general from 1998-2004.
It can be remembered
that during the terror-reign of Palparan, he was a subject of the
smear campaign of the military, maliciously dragging his name as a
high-ranking member of the New People’s Army (NPA). As matter of fact,
flyers were distributed and posters were posted by military men
sometime in November 2004 maligning his name.
His direct involvement
in the human rights issues, employees welfare and anti-corruption
stand could have made him a target of the “neutralization” campaign of
the AFP in its Operational Plan (Oplan) Bantay Laya 2.
He was also charged
with libel by the then commanding officer of the 63rd IB Col.
Manuelito Usi.
He was also listed no.
2 in the military’s order of battle (OB).
We are calling on the
all peace-loving Filipinos, Samarnons and people of Eastern Visayas to
oppose and condemn this incident of killing and all other
state-sponsored human rights violations.
Prof. Cui is the 105th
victim of political killing in
Eastern Visayas (from 2001-2007). This is a systematic phenomenon happening
under the present administration of Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
This is a renewed terror attack as the regime implements a renewed
campaign dubbed Oplan Bantay Bayan 2.
We enjoin the
Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to make a thorough investigation on
this incident and all other victims of extra-judicial killings in
region. The CHR should extend help to the victims that they found
justice amidst the climate of injustice and terrorism perpetrated by
the soldiers of the AFP and the Arroyo regime.
JUSTICE FOR PROF. JOSE
MA. B. CUI!
JUSTICE FOR ALL THE
VICTIMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS!
STOP THE KILLINGS IN
EASTERN VISAYAS AND IN THE PHILIPPINES NOW!
(Sgd.)
KATRINA R. CASTILLO
Katungod-Sinirangan Bisayas
Spokesperson
Justice for Ka Agoy
and Jose Lorena!
A Press Statement by
Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy (ANAD)
January 21, 2006
The Alliance for
Nationalism and Democracy (ANAD), in strongest terms, condemn the
treacherous killings of Augusto “Ka Agoy” Daclitan, 55 yrs. old, ANAD
regional coordinator for Eastern Visayas last January 17, and Jose
Lorena, a freelance broadcaster in Albay and one of the pillars of the
Kilusang Kontra Komunista (KKK), an affiliate of ANAD, last January
18, in Catbalogan, Samar and Daraga, Albay, respectively. They are the
17th and 18th ANAD volunteers whose lives were sacrificed and offered
for the defense and protection of our Motherland and freedom.
Clearly, ANAD accuses
Jose Ma. Sison, chairman of the demonic Maoist Communist Party of the
Philippines; Luis Jalandoni – head of the Maoist communist National
Democratic Front; Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal and their minions as
primary responsible in the deaths of the two ANAD leaders and
volunteers.
Both Ka Agoy and
Lorena were former communist rebels who saw the light of freedom and
peace. Ka Agoy was felled by a bullet to his nape, by an NPA assassin
inside Catbalogan’s Imelda Park, in front of the Western Samar Capitol
Bldg., while Lorena was shot by one of the three-man NPA hit team that
entered his food store pretending to negotiate for the surrender of an
NPA member. Their peaceful campaign of initiating pro-democracy
activities, without the use of firearms, is a manifestation of their
sincere efforts and commitment to wage a peaceful education campaign
against the deceit, lies, intimidation, and harassments masterfully
employed by the Godless, inhuman, and violent Maoist communist
ideology on our people.
The decimation of the
Maoist communist NPAs ranks and the anti-Maoist communist awareness
among the people of Samar and Albay are living proofs of Daclitan’s
and Lorena’s effective pro-democracy efforts in their respective
areas.
The surviving
families, relatives, and friends of Ka Agoy and Lorena loudly and
strongly cry for justice. But could they ever get justice from persons
who are committed to kill? Justice could only be attained if we all
join hands in calling on the Maoist communist NPA to do their share by
making those responsible of that dastardly act answer for their
crimes.
We urge KARAPATAN,
BAYAN, KMU, EMJP, PCPR, and all sectoral front organizations of the
Maoist communist National Democratic Front to call on the comrades in
the Communist Party of the Philippines(CPP) to hand down the penalty
of death to those responsible in killing Daclitan and Lorena. This
they must have to do to prove their sincerity as they have constantly
called to put an end to the spate of killings happening in the
country.
Their claim as
defenders of human rights must now be shown, to all Filipinos. The
Maoist communist sectoral front organizations must shed the cloak of
deception and lies and must work hand in hand with ANAD in seeking
justice for those whose life were snapped by the guns, bullets,
machetes, and hammers wielded by NPA butchers!
Indeed, the Maoist
communist NPA hitmen made Ka Agoy and Lorena martyrs of freedom and
democracy. Your deaths will serve as our beacon as we stand committed
in our advocacy of protecting and preserving our freedoms, democratic
institutions for our people.
On the death of
a peace advocate; on the fight against terror
By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
January
19, 2007
The heinous killing of
a noted anti-Communist leader in Catbalogan by two young assassins
allegedly members of the Sparrow Unit of the CPP-NPA operating in the
area, is a wake up call for the immediate passage of the anti-terror
bill which have been for quite sometime, pending in Congress.
While the government
operatives, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, continues in its
relentless pursuit on the agents of terror, the passage of the
Anti-terror Bill will complement the government’s anti-terrorism
campaign.
The victim, whose only
sin is his being an advocate of peace and anti-terror, is Augusto S.
Daclitan, 55 years old and a resident of Barangay Canlapwas in
Catbalogan, Samar. He is the Regional Coordinator in Region 8 and
Operations Officer of the anti-Communist group Alliance for
Nationalism and Democracy (ANAD) that is instrumental in assisting the
government in its anti-insurgency campaign.
Daclitan, just
recently, with the help of the local police, successfully convinced
the leaders of the more than 10 youth gangs who have been sowing
violence at the capital town and united them into a single youth group
that is now called the United Youth of Catbalogan.
The relentless pursuit
of the military on the agents of terror, is producing positive
results. While these inspire the Government to have greater resolve in
move forward in strengthening domestic, regional and global security,
these cause despair on the part of the terror groups.
The treacherous
assassination of Agoy Daclitan is a proof on how desperate the
communist terror groups are in the Region. Allegedly, someone called
him up by phone and made an appointment to meet with him for some
official business at the Capitol Park before 7:00 o’clock of January
17.
When he arrived at the
Park, however, one of the assassins shot him in the head. When he
fell, the other one fired at him on the back. This manner of killing
the anit-communist leader, which was done in a crowded park, was a
typical example of the insurgents’ strategy to sow public fear and use
it as a propaganda tool, the local police said.
The Government is
determined to finish the job of cracking down until all the terrorists
and their clandestine cells are accounted for, with a hand of steel in
order to usher in a genuine and durable peace and economic
development.
Congress will
immediately pass the anti-terror bill and give more teeth in the
Government’s crusade against anti terrorism. All the sectors of the
community must join hands in not allowing the communist terrorist from
sowing fear and terror in their respective communities.
This is the only way,
one can say that the death of Agoy Daclitan, the peace advocate shall
not have been in vain. This is the only way of ensuring that no one,
no peace-loving citizen will suffer the fate of Agoy Daclitan.
Asian Human Rights Commission condemns the
execution of Saddam Hussein
A Statement by the
Asian Human Rights Commission
December
31, 2006
The Asian Human Rights
Commission condemns the execution of Saddam Hussein as an act that
demonstrates the failure of the international community to deal with
dictators within the framework of law, while not deviating from
international norms and standards.
The fact that the United
States of America and the United Kingdom supported this act is a sad
reflection on the disregard of the very norms and standards on which the
post-Second World War foundations of human rights are based.
That the dictator should be
punished is a premise that is now well established. However, the manner in
which dictators are punished is the crux of the matter. In the process of
punishing dictators if the very process of democratization and humanization
is undermined, the actual results of such punishments do not help to
establish higher norms and standards. Barbarity being met with barbarity
does not help civilization to progress. An illegal war under international
law, undermining the fundamental premise on which the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights was adopted, makes this situation even worse. Had the United
States ratified the Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court (ICC)
and if Saddam Hussein was prosecuted and punished by such a process
Iraq
and all other countries would have learned the lessons of the new
international law.
As a new year begins, those
who are committed to upholding the fundamental premises of human rights
philosophy and law must reflect on the challenges posed by new tendencies
that oppose the most basic aspects of human rights.
The National Road to
watch
By CHITO DELA TORRE
December
27, 2006
President Arroyo’s
go-signal for the immediate re-construction of the severely
dilapidated Calbiga-Buray portion of the national highway appears to
raise hopes and, sadly, a false expectation at the same time.
The hopes are mostly
for operators of buses, vans and commercial and public utility
vehicles that regularly take up the Maharlika road to travel north and
south and vice-versa. Equally elated by the news are regular
commuters, most of them government employees who find it life-saving
to go home on afternoons from serving the public in Calbayog City or
Catbalogan and other towns near Tacloban. A repaired road will mean
many things to them, but mostly comfort in traveling. To government
development planners, it will open propositions to hasten the
development of eco-tourism areas that now, all over the world, are a
profitable investment.
However, other
un-ambitious Samarnons appear unaffected by the good tidings. Arroyo’s
announcement has been confusing to them. There is for instance the
belief that the road improvement priority will re-channel funds
originally intended for other purposes that identified other fund
sources other than those for the highway repair.
Basaynons had for many
years, since the pre-Marcosian martial law regime, been aching to have
roads crisscrossing their interior barrios – a demand seen by them as
the surest facile way to end military claims during martial law years
and until now that Basey is a hotbed of insurgency and that most of
its barrio and mountain people are rebels and supporters of the New
People’s Army if not otherwise its active members. To them, it is also
the only first-step ingredient towards introducing the fundamentals of
massive growth and development. The road problem had been repeatedly
compromised by those who had, and who have just lately, been given the
authority to look after it in Basey – they, mostly politicians and the
corrupt-minded government personalities. Less than point one percent
of the expressed needs for roads in that town had been realized, and
today, via the INFRES, that invisible percentage is melting in
pocketed money.
The national
government before Arroyo, built a road that would be for the
convenience of Tacloban City and the Leyteños from Basey to Sohoton to
Borongan, but environmentalists and the procrastinators of rural
development from among the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources officials denied that aspiration, to the total dismay of the
Department of Public Works and Highways, the local government
officials and constituents of Basey, and the military who shared the
universal belief that with the road completed, as originally
conceived, Basey would be liberated from the conscience of poverty and
insurgency.
Instead, the
Basey-Balangiga road, via Marabut, was built. Then, Provincial
Governor Mila Tan wanted to build provincial roads within Basey, but
last September she wanted to revert the funds for those roads, and
that could have materialized had not Vice-Governor Jess Redaja and the
conscientious members of the Samar Sangguniang Panlalawigan foiled all
attempts by Provincial ABC Federation President Joseph Escober, who
seems to be the governor’s dummy in the SP, in quick in response to a
fax message of objection from Basey Mayor Vic Labuac.
For another,
Sangguniang bayan member Anie Ogrimen had looked the other way. She
cried last August when someone golden-hearted in Malacañang told her
over the cellular phone that her earlier request for the improvement
of the Basey-Sohoton road was approved and that the improvement,
costing at least P130 million, would consist of asphalting the
facility from the point of Balantak tourism site up to the poblacion.
But last October 16’s order of Pres. Arroyo in Calbayog City for the
road repair to start seemed to some Basaynons to be a signal to stop
the asphalting, to stop the INFRES, and to nip in the bud all other
demands for road building in Basey. Bumming up the false perception is
the fast-coming glow of Senatorial, congressional, provincial, city
and municipal elections.
That may not be
entirely correct. But perhaps Presidential Assistant Vic Domingo
should go to Basey, talk to a large number of people, and assure them
that the road projects originally announced as already funded, or on
the blueprint, will go as planned, beginning November this year, and
that politics has nothing to do here.
Meanwhile, many had
been assured last year that the bad road from Calbiga up to Catbalogan
and then up to Calbayog would be rehabilitated the sturdier way. Would
that now wait until the elections in May 2007 will be over? There was
no clear detail about it during the Arroyo visit in Calbayog, but I am
very certain that Calbayog Mayor Mel Sarmiento will tick the ribs of
Malacañang so that the massive road reconstruction between Calbiga and
his very own city will be a reality.
An improved criminal
justice system is key to upholding human rights
A Statement by the
Asian Human Rights Commission
December 8, 2006
“Cases of torture and
enforced disappearance have become a way of life in the Philippines…”
The Philippines in
recent times has been plagued by widespread and systematic violations
of human rights, which include unabated extrajudicial killings,
torture and enforced disappearances, among others, that are occurring
in an increasingly unexplained fashion. The sense of frustration and
distrust of the victims and their families that they will ever attain
justice is the result of flawed and defective policing and judicial
systems. The possibility for victims to seek redress and justice is
often denied due to poor police investigations, a non-functioning
witness protection programme, delays in the adjudication of cases and
the absence of enabling laws.
While the government
claims to uphold and protect human rights, its actions do not live up
to this claim. The government does not come close to providing what is
required and urgently needed. How can justice be served, for instance,
if investigations are flawed and defective? There have been cases
where the police have declared cases solved without having conducted
thorough investigations. They are unable to protect or afford security
to witnesses and those facing threats but instead put the blame on the
victims for not cooperating with them. Once the police are able to
identify the suspects and file charges in court, regardless of whether
the suspects are arrested or evidence they have gathered can be used
effectively in court, they consider the case solved. It is on this
flawed premise that the police measure their performance and a high
crime solution rate.
Police investigations
are an extremely important factor in seeking justice and redress. In
the Philippines, however, poor and incomplete police investigations
have become a factor as to why seeking justice is extremely difficult
and cases do not succeed in court. A number of cases have been
recorded where victims have not been able to even file charges in
court as a result of these failures by the police. Not only are the
police accused of such failings, however, but in some cases the police
themselves have been accused of either being involved or of conspiring
to commit gross human rights violations.
Although the police
are among the essential pillars of the criminal justice system, the
experience of human rights victims confirms that it is impossible to
seek justice and redress if the current practice of the police is
allowed to continue or be tolerated. In reality, the moral and
investigative credibility of the police towards the victims to deliver
justice and protect human rights is waning if not already lost. This
failure was manifested by the number of task forces it created to
investigate cases of extrajudicial killings. One such body is Task
Force Usig, which has been unable to obtain conclusive findings to
identify and arrest perpetrators and warrant a strong case in court.
Even if cases are
filed in court though, victims are still confronted with the common
problem of long delays in the adjudication of their cases. In the
Philippines, the poorly resourced and understaffed prosecution offices
and court branches are unable to effectively perform their duties due
to heavy workloads. It is extremely alarming though that the
government has not done enough to improve these institutions and make
them more effective. This neglect creates and nurtures a negative
perception and deep distrust towards the prosecution system among the
country’s citizens.
Not only are the
victims confronted with the dilemma of poor police investigations and
delays in the adjudication of their cases, but they also have to
endure threats to their lives while seeking justice. They themselves
have to ensure their security given the inability of the prosecution
system to do so, in particular the Department of Justice (DoJ). Thus,
a mixture of poor investigations, delays in the adjudication of cases
and the absence of protection adds to the threats that the victims and
their families feel and denies them the possibility to seek justice
and redress. Therefore, on what basis can the government claim to
uphold protection for human rights if it is unable to adequately
address these basic issues? The increasingly alarming cases of
violations and abuses have long been traced to these problems.
The Philippine
government perhaps believes that it gained credibility for the
protection of human rights with its election to seats on two main
organs of the United Nations, the Human Rights Council and the
Economic and Social Council, as the requirement for election to these
bodies is for the state to have upheld the “highest standards and
norms” of human rights. The government’s election, however, does not
exonerate it from its bleak human rights record and poor
implementation of the international human rights covenants and
conventions, in particular Article 2 of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which calls for the
“implementation of rights”. The ongoing deterioration of human rights
in the country clearly speaks though of the complete absence of
remedies for victims whose rights are violated by legislative and
judicial means.
On what basis can the
government claim that it religiously complies with the provisions of
the ICCPR and other international human rights instruments when it
cannot effectively and adequately implement the Witness Protection,
Security and Benefit Act (RA 6981)? Victims who survive atrocities,
families of the deceased, witnesses and those facing threats are being
killed or continuously attacked or harassed while the government,
meanwhile, has not done enough to effectively implement this law. Not
only existing laws are not being implemented effectively, however, for
there are also no laws to prosecute perpetrators of gross abuses of
rights, in particular torture and enforced disappearance. On what
grounds, once again, can the government claim that it upholds
protection and respect for human rights when domestic legislation as
required by the ICCPR of the state party are not acted upon? Often
what the government has done is to please the international community
by its rhetoric, but, in reality, victims and their families are
systematically denied the possibility of redress.
Cases of torture and
enforced disappearance have become a way of life in the Philippines.
Torture victims, whether their torture was politically motivated or
not, do not have a venue where they can file complaints for the
violations committed upon them. The police, military and other
government security forces are committing brutal acts of torture with
impunity. They cannot be prosecuted because the act of torture itself
is not a crime in the country. Although the Constitution prohibits the
use of torture and the government is a state party to the U.N.
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (CAT), no venue or mechanism exists where
victims can seek redress and justice. Although there is a law that
provides compensation for torture, the absence of an enabling domestic
law on torture, which defines the crime itself and provisions for
compensation, makes it difficult for victims to obtain compensation.
In practice, victims do not obtain compensation.
Similarly, the absence
of an enabling law on enforced disappearances makes it difficult for
the families and relatives of the disappeared to locate their loved
ones. The police do not conduct investigations on disappearance cases
unless dead bodies are recovered; and even if they do provide
assistance, they often refuse to cooperate with the families of the
disappeared in instances where they are accused of holding disappeared
victims in their custody. Consequently, families of the disappeared
frequently have no options but to monitor the media, hoping there are
reports of the recovery of a body or the whereabouts of their
relatives, dead or alive.
Can the government
claim to uphold human rights when, in fact, its inaction to ensure the
enactment of domestic enabling laws results in the systematic
violation of rights? The absence of a mechanism to seek redress is
actually the result of the government’s failure to comply with
international human rights conventions and covenants.
On December 10, the
international community will observe Human Rights Day. In the
Philippines, survivors and the families of victims of human rights
violations that occur on a daily basis deserve clear explanations as
to why the government should not be condemned for this systematic
failure. It must also give a sufficient explanation why it should not
be expelled from sitting at the table of the U.N. Human Rights Council
and the Economic and Social Council given its bleak human rights
records. In no circumstances can a country like the
Philippines
with such a poor human rights record be allowed to continue sitting on
these U.N. bodies. It dishonours the very reason why these bodies were
created.
The government must be
held liable for its obvious failure to implement the provisions of
Article 2 of the ICCPR and to human rights conventions and covenants
to which it is a state party. There cannot be genuine protection and
implementation of human rights unless the Philippine government’s
criminal justice system – the police, prosecution and the judiciary –
is improved. Unless the government has the political will is able to
seriously improve its criminal justice system and the rule of law,
there cannot be genuine implementation and protection of human rights.
Any claims by the government to have upheld human rights are
meaningless for the victims.
The Asian Human Rights
Commission (AHRC) calls upon the international community to once again
register its unity and participate in the human rights movement that
advances the protection of human rights and democracy of the Filipino
people. This is a critical time for Filipinos, and the international
community must make its presence felt in that they are one with
Filipino people by helping to expose these continuing atrocities and
the excessive violations of rights occurring within the country on a
daily basis. Unless the government is held accountable for their acts
and the victims are given the possibility to seek redress, there
cannot be genuine implementation of human rights. The failure of the
government to effectively arrest this serious and critical situation
is dragging the country towards the brink of a human rights crisis and
disaster.
