The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) drew this conclusion after two more recent murders in Mindanao, where the victims were executed in front of family members, one of them in the presence of three young daughters.
But the non-government body also made an apparent reference to the eight Hong Kong tourists who died in the Manila hostage crisis last August 23 after botched police negotiations and a rescue attempt, describing the Philippines as a place where citizens "cannot hope to protect the foreigners on its soil."
'A broken and lawless nation'
In an article on its web site, the AHRC stated:
"In a country where an individual can no longer protect himself, he cannot protect his family; a family that cannot protect its members, cannot protect the community where they belong; and a person, a family and a community that cannot protect itself cannot protect a Nation. A Nation that cannot protect its own citizens, their families and the community where they live cannot hope to protect the foreigners on its soil. It is a broken and lawless nation."
AHRC said it has become an "illusion" and "absurdity" for anyone to claim that there is protection and security for people in the Philippines.
The Philippine National Police and government spokesmen have a habit of assuring the foreign community that the country is safe, in the face of travel advisories to the contrary issued by foreign governments.
The human rights body said it has become ordinary for killings to be carried out by policemen, the military and the paramilitary forces working for them, and for killings to be perpetrated in broad daylight in crowded public places and in front of the victims' families in their own homes.
Unreported cases
"Hundreds if not thousands" of stories go unreported and this has been taking place in the country for many years now, the AHRC lamented.
"A system of justice can still continue to exist on paper, structure and appearance, but its existence is meaningless once it departs from its original role of being a protector, it becomes the very opposite of what it was supposed to be; that is the protector of those within the system, protecting those who are already protected; securing those who are already secured. This is the type system that each Filipino lives in daily in their own country. Unless there is a discussion and organic realization by those who are part of the system of the need for reform to reexamine their purpose, its existence remains an object of contempt," it said.
Mindanao murders
The AHRC cited the murders of Reynaldo Labrador of Davao City and Vicente Felisilda of Mawab, Compostela Valley, who were executed in front of their families.
Labrador, 39, was shot at 7:30 p.m. last Sept. 3 in front of wife Leonisa and daughters Reylon, 10; Raquel, 8; and Jennifer, 4, at their home in Paquibato District in Davao City. He was a member of the Paquibato District Farmers Association (PADIFA), a local chapter of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP).
The gunmen escaped after the shooting. They left a note at the victim's house that read: "Demonyo ka! Hiposon ka!" (You're evil! You must be killed!)
Felisilda, 38, a farmer with four children and a member of Bayan Muna, was shot dead last September 9 at 7 p.m.
Both the KMP and Bayan Muna are leftist groups that the military has tagged as being communist front organizations. The Philippines has seen a spate of extrajudicial killings of activists committed by what international observers say are agents acting on behalf of the military, or by soldiers themselves.
What happened to Felisilda illustrates the brazenness exhibited by killers in the prevailing culture of impunity. The victim and and his elder brother Allan were resting inside a small hut in Mawab town, Compostela Valley after extracting meat from coconut shells on their farm.
While the brothers were resting, two gunmen arrived. They were wearing civilian clothes and armed with cal-.45 pistols.
"At first the two greeted the brothers and tried to make conversation with them by asking what they were doing. However, suddenly one of them shot Vicente at close range. Startled by what he saw, Allan ran for safety to a cliff nearby," the AHRC said. - HS/TJD, GMANews.TV
State, Weak Justice System Blamed for Impunity in Killings of Journalists, Activists
By BENJIE OLIVEROS
“We stand not at a crossroad, but at a recipice.”
— Atty. Jose Manuel Diokno
MANILA — Impunity, according to human-rights lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno is the “dark side of accountability.” It is, he said, a thousand guns aimed at perceived enemies of the state.
Impunity, said Frank La Rue, a Guatemalan academician and the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, is a state policy. La Rue cited as reasons for the prevalence of impunity: a weak state, state negligence, or a conscious policy of the state. By not investigating a case, the state gives the message that it could be repeated over and over again. Thus, said La Rue, impunity multiplies geometrically.
To end the culture of impunity in the country is the call of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Southern Mindanao as they spearheaded a protest rally and liturgy together with the National Union of Journalist of the Philippines and other progressive groups gathered around Rizal Park, Davao City a day before the 1st anniversary at of the Ampatuan Massacre that killed 58 individuals. (Photos by Jose Hernani / bulatlat.com)
To stress his point on impunity, Eric Mallonga of the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law and the UP Law Center Institute of Human Rights, cited the massive violations committed during the implementation of the counterinsurgency program Oplan Lambat Bitag during the administrations of Cory Aquino and Fidel V. Ramos and how this “total war” policy of the Philippine government and the Armed Forces of the Philippines is being implemented up to now.
Malloga said there is no clear policy statement that this “total approach” to counterinsurgency is no longer being implemented. “Low intensity conflict intensifies,” he said. Low intensity conflict refers to the counterinsurgency strategy developed by the US Armed Forces, which is still the framework of counterinsurgency operations being implemented up to the present, especially by countries that are allies of the US and hosts of its troops, such as the Philippines.
This was how impunity was defined and dissected in a forum with the title “Journalism Asia Forum 2010: Media and the Culture of Impunity,” which was held at the Manila Hotel last November 23 and was sponsored by the Southeast Asia Press Alliance (SEAPA). The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism are the Philippine members of SEAPA. Representatives from Indonesia Ms. Bina Bektai of Tempo, a Jakarta based news magazine, and Thailand Mr. Anucha Charoenpoh, a senior reporter of the Bangkok Post shared their experiences with impunity in their own countries. The forum was also participated in by SEAPA delegates from the different Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Myanmar, among others.
While the forum was meant to discuss the problem of impunity in the killings of journalists — especially on the day which marked the first year anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre that claimed the lives of 58 people, inlcuding 32 journalists — and the legal remedies available in the pursuit of justice, it could not help but touch on the whole question of justice, or the lack of it, in the country up to the present.
To end impunity in the country, Diokno, Mallonga, and La Rue were one in saying that there is a need to pursue justice and strengthen the justice system in the country.
In the massacre site, progressive groups join the families of the victims of the Ampatuan Massacre in commemorating the 1st anniversary as they call to end impunity, to seek justice for all of the victims of human rights violations in the country and to trial former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as the primary violetator. (Photo by Jose Hernani / bulatlat.com)
Diokno pointed to the excruciatingly slow grind of justice in the country as the reason behind the dismal record of convictions of those responsible for the killings and the need to amend the rules of court through legislation or by an act of the Supreme Court. Specifically, Diokno said, the courts should allow the “perpetuation of testimony” so that witnesses could have their testimonies recorded immediately to be able to move on with their lives. According to Diokno, a case that normally takes two to three years creates a tremendous amount of pressure on the witness who has to endure being under confinement for his or her protection while the accused roams freely. What happens is that witnesses decide to get out of the program and are either killed or intimidated. He also pushed for the strengthening of the Witness Protection Program (WPP). Not like in the US, Diokno said, the Witness Protection Program in the Philippines does not provide for the relocation of witnesses and their families. After the case, the witness is practically left on his or her own. Mallonga added that not only are there very few convictions, those convicted are only the truggermen and not the masteminds. He also batted for the plugging of loopholes in current laws and available remedies.
La Rue said the formation of an international body such as the Comision Internacional Contra Impunidad en Guatemala that would investigate the killings of journalists and activists could contribute a lot in pursuing justice for the victims and strengthening the state and its justice system toward ending impunity. However, he said, it would require a lot of humility on the part of the government and the president to admit that the justice system is weak and that it needs outside assistance. Also the government needs to formally request for a partnership with the United Nations and to solicit the support of a group of funders.
Meanwhile, La Rue said, to push press freedom forward, there is a need to decriminalize the freedom of expression, referring to laws that constrict it such as laws on libel and censorship.
On the other hand, journalists should professionalize and be accountable to the public, not to the state because that would constitute censorship, said La Rue. Journalists should also be wary of media conglomerates, which control what and how news would be broadcasted and published.
In any case, La Rue stressed, violence against journalists must end, citing reports that the Philippines ranks first in the list of countries with the most number of cases of violence against journalists. Joining the Philippines in the top five are Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Mexico. Somalia is under a violent civil war; Iraq and Afghanistan are being occupied by the US, which has been encountering stiff resistance from local armed groups; in Mexico the drug war has turned increasingly violent.
The speakers called on journalists, organized groups and the general public to continue the fight against impunity. “We stand not a crossroad but at a precipice,” Diokno concluded.
Military, Police Raid Office of Progressive Organizations in Camarines Sur, Four Arrested
By RONALYN V. OLEAMANILA — Elements of the Daet Police and the 9th Infantry Division, 902nd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army raided the office of progressive groups at F Pimentel Ave., Pasig, Brgy II, Daet, Camarines Norte at 10:30 a.m., Nov. 22, human rights group Karapatan said in a report.
Four activists were arrested. They are Esmeraldo Bardon, chairman of the provincial chapter of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP),Denver Bacolod, a staff member of Karapatan, Mherlo Bermas, a member of Kabataan Party and Elpidio de Luna, a former political prisoner who was released just this October. The three have been brought to the Daet Philippine National Police.
Karapatan said the soldiers and police who raided the office barred everyone from leaving and entering the premises. “After some time, just like in the case of the Morong 43, the raiding troops purportedly were able to recover grenades from the office!” Karapatan said. Office property and personal items were taken from them, including computers, cameras and documents.
The Morong 43 are the 43 health workers arrested on Feb. 6 in Morong, Rizal during a health skills training. They were slapped with charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives and were branded as members of the NPA. The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).
“This is a very alarming trend of raiding legal offices of non-government and human rights organizations; planting evidences and then saying that the office is a “safe house”of the rebels who ‘recruit the youth to become rebel NPAs [New People’s Army],” Karapatan chairwoman Marie Hilao-Enriquez said.
“The office is shared by progressive organizations. There is no truth to the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] claim that the office is being used as a ‘recruitment office’of the New People’s Army (NPA). Charges against them are trumped-up and the supposed ‘evidence” for bomb-making was planted, as what was done in the Morong 43 case,” Makabayan president Satur Ocampo said in a separate statement.
“This is a direct attack on legal progressive organizations and human rights defenders. We know that trumped-up charges have been conjured against leaders and members of these organizations in Bicol and elsewhere. But this is no justification for the state’s violence against them,” Enriquez said.
“In the face of growing national and international clamor for the release of the Morong 43, illegal arrests, detention, and the filing of trumped-up charges against activists persists under the Aquino administration,” Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano said.
Enriquez added that the recent incident shows that the Oplan Bantay Laya counter-insurgency program is very much operational and ‘resorted to by state security forces to silence legitimate dissent and criticism.’
Ocampo said the commander-in-chief of the AFP, President Benigno S. Aquino III, should be made accountable for the worsening human rights situation in the country.
Enriquez said they would certainly file counter-charges. “The international human rights community would hear of this. And Aquino will sooner or later have to answer for that,” Enriquez added.
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