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Environment advocate bares torture during abduction, enforced disappearance

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by Maujerie Ann Miranda

Environment advocate and abduction survivor Francisco “Eco” Dangla III bared in a press conference at the Commission on Human Rights in Quezon City today the ordeal he and a fellow activist underwent in the hands of their attackers.

Last March 24, Dangla and Joxelle “Jak” Tiaong were violently kidnapped in San Carlos City, Pangasinan by probable state agents while on board a tricycle on their way home from a consultation with community leaders. 

They were surfaced after three days of harrowing physical and psychological torture he feared he and Tiaong would not survive.

“After some time in the hands of our abductors, we really thought we would be killed,” he said.

The victims were convenors of the Pangasinan People’s Strike for the Environment, fighting against projects such as offshore black sand mining and the establishment of coal power plants they said are being opposed by many Pangasinan residents and institutions such as the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan.

Dangla said he tried using his mobile phone but was ordered at gunpoint to stop. After a prolonged struggle with his abductors that left him with wounds and bruises, he also shouted for help from the residents.

Dangla said they were blindfolded in all the three days and nights they were kept in a safe house, leaving him with deep scars around his eyes.

He revealed that they were constantly interrogated about their alleged links with the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army (NPA).

They were also given names the two were supposed to profile.

 “The first night of the abduction was the worse because they did not allow us to sleep with their incessant questioning,” he said.

The two environmentalists tried reasoning with their abductors, saying they are working with the Church in resisting the construction of more coal-fired power plants in the area, as well as the massive offshore magnetite mining project on Lingayen Gulf.

“I even cited Pope Francis’ Laudato Si as the reason for our activities,” to which our attackers retorted we are just using the church for our alleged activities as NPA recruiters,” he said in Filipino.

Both Dangla and Tiaong are environment ministry affiliates of the archdiocese.

Environment activist, and abduction and enforced disappearance survivor Francisco ‘Eco’ Dangla III. (Photo by R. Villanueva/Kodao)

Days and nights of torture

Dangla said he and Tiaong were repeatedly hit on the head, arms and torso when the abductors disliked their answers.

Dangla said that the pyschological torture was greater than the physical.

He revealed their abductors said there was a cobra beside them ready to bite. He also heard a back hoe in the background the kidnappers said they will use to bury them if they do not admit to their allegations.

Dangla added, “Susunugin kami, tapos ilalaga kami sa gulong. May naaamoy [ naman ako] na nasusunog na plastic, na gulong.” (They will burn us, stew us in burning rubber tires. That was when I smelled burning plastic, rubber.)

The abductors also threatened to electrocute them and were told that the biscuits offered them were laced with truth serum.

Dangla said that the death threats to their family were the worse. 

“They asked about our family background and told us they would kill them as well if we do not confess to whatever they were accusing us of,” he said.

Just before they were freed, the abductors allowed them to take a shower but put marks on their backs to continue the intimidation.

“Iniisip ko kung babarilin ba [ako] o sisipain tapos ihuhulog sa pozo negro,” Dangla said. (I was thinking, they would shoot us and dump us in a septic tank.)

On March 27, they were released. 

Surviving the ordeal

The environment activist shared, “Noong nasa kamay [kami] ng mga abductor ,nananantya [ako] kung mabubuhay o mamamatay [kami]. Gusto [ko] ding i-assure [si Jak] kung mamamatay man [kami], siguro naghahanap ‘yung mga kasama. Marami namang nagmamahal sa atin, na tama yung ginagawa namin.”

(While we were in the hands of the abductors, I did not know whether we would survive or die. I wanted to assure Jak that, if we indeed die, our colleagues were probably looking for us. There are many who love us; that what we are doing is right.)

He thanked the community, the churches and fellow advocates who helped them and called for their surfacing.

Francisco ‘Eco’ Dangla III with fellow environment activist and abduction survivor Jonila Castro (left) and Karapatan-Central Luzon leader Pia Montalban (right). [Photo by MA Miranda/Kodao)

It could only be state forces

The environment advocate shared that he has been experiencing harassment from state forces since 2014, which intensified in 2018 and 2019 when he was tagged as a “regional threat” by the Ilocos Regional Peace and Security Council.

Dangla revealed that placards were also hung around Pangasinan in the past accusing him of being a recruiter for the NPA for his environmental activism.

He was also a victim of online red-tagging during the pandemic.

Jonila Castro, herself an environmental activist, abducted and then surfaced last September with fellow anti-Manila Bay reclamation activities campaigner Jhed Tamano, called for accountability and justice for all victims of enforced disappearance during the press conference.

Castro said Dangla and Tiaong’s case is another proof that the human rights situation has not improved under the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government.

She condemned the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict and its practice of forcing communities and leaders to falsely “surrender” as Communist insurgents.

Karapatan Central Luzon regional coordinator Pia Montalban said enforced disappearance cases follow the pattern of red-tagging and harassment by the State before the abducted of victims.

“Kaya di po kami masisisi na ang sisisihin namin ay ang Estado o ang armadong pwersa nito,” said Montalban. (That is why we cannot be faulted for pointing out to the State and its armed forces as the perpetrators.)

Lee Sudario, Norman Ortiz, Steve Abua, Ma. Elena “Cha” Pampoza, and Elgene “Leleng” Mungcal are some of the abducted activists in Central Luzon that have yet to be surfaced, according to Montalban. 

The human rights advocate emphasized the legitimate advocacies of the abducted, such as the protection of the environment, land for the farmers, among others.

Karapatan Central Luzon called for the surfacing of all desaparacidos and the end to the abduction and other forms of harassment to activists. #

Exhibit paying tribute to Lumad leader opens

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by Maujerie Ann Miranda

An art exhibit commemorating Lumad leader Bai Bibyaon Ligkayan Bigkay was launched at the College of Fine Arts, University of the Philippines – Diliman on April 25.

The exhibit titled “Pagpapatuloy: Isabuhay ang Legasiya ni Bai Bibyaon” features various artists’ works in different forms.

A young Lumad activist pays tribute to Bai Bibyaon at the exhibit opening. (MA Miranda/Kodao)

“Through art, the legacy of Bai Bibyaon is remembered, and the struggle for ancestral lands and self-determination is continued,” said Lala Empong, chairperson of Sabokahan, an organization of Lumad women campaigning.

Bai Bibyaon passed away in December 2023. She was believed to be more than 90 years old at the time of her death.

Bai Bibyaon was the first female Manobo leader.

She led the struggle for ancestral lands in Mindanao and self-determination, and against the destruction of the environment in the Pantaron Range.

Her tribe launched a successful Pangayaw (tribal war) in the 1980s against logging company Alcantara and Sons and went on to lead further resistance against corporate mining in their ancestral domain.

She also led evacuations throughout the years in protest of the militarization of their communities.

In 2017, she was named the Gawad Tandang Sora honoree given by the University of the Philippines College of Social Work and Development.   

READ: UP CSWCD names Bai Bibyaon Ligkayan Bigkay 2017 Gawad Tandang Sora honoree

Some of the artworks on display at the Bai Bibyaon exhibit. (MA Miranda/Kodao)

The art exhibit is open until April 27 at the Multipurpose Hall of the said college. #

Groups mourn passing of nationalist senator Rene Saguisag

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Groups mourn the death of human rights lawyer Rene AV Saguisag, part of the “Magnificent 12” group of senators who voted against the extension of the US-Philippines Military Bases Agreement in September 1991.

A stalwart of the legal profession, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) described Saguisag as a “Filipino patriot, staunch human rights lawyer and civil libertarian, indefatigable fighter for justice, nationalism and democracy.”

“We join the nation in giving thanks and paying tribute to Sen. Saguisag, an activist who never lost his bearings through the twists and turns of the people’s struggle. From taking the cudgels for human rights victims during the Marcos dictatorship, voting against the US Military Bases Agreement in the Senate, to opposing Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Rodrigo Duterte’s fascist regimes, Sen. Saguisag’s long life of service to the nation and the people will always be cherished,” BAYAN said upon learning of Saguisag’s death on Wednesday, April 24.

 Arrested due to his opposition to Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s declaration of martial rule in 1972, Saguisag joined the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) of Senators Jose Diokno and Lorenzo Tanada upon his release from prison.

He later co-founded the Movement of Attorneys for Brotherhood, Integrity and Nationalism, Inc. (MABINI) in 1980 with Tañada, future Senator Joker Arroyo, future Labor Secretary Augusto “Bobbit” Sanchez and future Vice President Jejomar Binay, among other civil libertarians.

After Marcos Sr.’s ouster in 1986, President Corazon Aquino appointed Saguisag her first presidential spokesperson who also encouraged his successful run for the Senate. Aquino reportedly referred to Saguisag as her possible successor to the presidency.

He however went against Aquino’s wish for an extension of the military bases agreement and honored his campaign promise to only become a one-term senator.

Saguisag (center) with former Senate colleagues Leticia Ramos-Shahani (+) and Victor Ziga (+). [Kodao file photo]

‘Magnificent until the end’

Fellow lawyers paid tribute to Saguisag, saying their colleague had been unswayed by power, “chasing away the darkness from Marcos Sr. to Marcos Jr.”

“We mourn alongside his children and family the loss of an indefatigable, incorruptible, and principled Filipino,” the group Concerned Lawyers for Civil Liberties (CLCL) said in a statement yesterday.

Saguisag co-founded CLCL in 2006 to help combat the spate of extra-judicial killings under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and was a founding convenor of the Manananggol Laban sa Extra-judicial Killings, set up at the height of the killings and abuses under President Rodrigo Duterte.

It counts among its members Binay, Bayan Muna chairperson Neri Colmenares, former De la Salle University Law Dean Chel Diokno, Ateneo de Manila University Law Dean Antonio La Vina, former Quezon Rep. Erin Tanada, and other human rights lawyers.

CLCL pointed out that even in his advancing age and deteriorating health, Saguisag stood against the return of US troops through the Visiting Forces Agreement and the Enhanced Development Cooperation Agreement.

Saguisag also insisted in joining the petition against the Anti-Terror Act of 2020.

“Through the years, Sen. Rene with his signature wit and humor was a core of movements for free and impactful legal aid, for the rule of law, against disinformation and revisionism, and against all assaults on human rights,” CLCL said.

“Sen. Saguisag showed us how to recognize the insidious approach of anything dangerous or evil, and more importantly, how to slay it. He led by example, and there is no other way to honor his enduring legacy but to continue his work for the poor and the disenfranchised inside and outside the courtroom,” the group added.

But Saguisag once earned criticisms even from among his friends for pointing out the “unconstitutionality” of President Joseph Estrada’s ouster in 2001.

He however led investigations on the rigging of government contracts under Estrada who requested his participation in the probes. He also once described Estrada as a “substandard president.”

BAYAN said that even while Saguisag remained true to his legal profession, he remained their warm friend despite political and ideological differences in the pursuit for common aspirations such as people’s rights and welfare.

Despite old age and ailments, Saguisag also became an active convenor of the Movement Against Tyranny (MAT), the No to Cha-cha Coalition, and the Pilipinong Nagkakaisa Para sa Soberanya (P1NAS) that opposed China’s bogus claims over the West PH Sea as well as the US’ increasing role in stoking the PH-China conflict.

“May Sen. Saguisag’s life serve as a shining example and inspiration to our fellow Filipinos in their continuing struggle for freedom, justice, and democracy,” BAYAN said.

Bar topnotcher, top-notch journalist

Born in a poor family on August 14, 1939, in Mauban, Tayabas (now Quezon Province), Saguisag grew up in Pasig City where he graduated from Rizal High School (RHS) with honors. He was schoolmates and friends with the late Benito Tiamzon and Wilma Austria, reported top leaders of the Communist Party of the Philippines he described to Kodao as two of the brightest RHS alumni ever.

Saguisag earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Beda University in 1959, graduating cum laude while serving as editor-in-chief (EIC) of its college student publication The Bedan.

The Bedan eventually honored Saguisag by naming him as its EIC emeritus.

He earned his law degree from the same school in 1963 and placed sixth in the bar examinations of the same year. He went on to earn his Master of Laws from Harvard University as a scholar in 1968.

While building a successful career, he was invited to teach at his alma mater where he eventually became its law college’s assistant dean from 1971–1972.

It was while he was dean-in-charge that he recommended Duterte’s dismissal from the school for figuring in an in-campus shooting incident.

In the Senate, Saguisag was one of only two who lodged perfect attendance in all 415 session days from July 1987 to June 1990.

He co-authored the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (R.A. 6713) with his uncle and former Senate President Jovito Salonga and was the main author of the Ombudsman Act of 1989 (R.A. 6770).

After his Senate stint, Saguisag became a long-time columnist for The Manila Times and build a loyal following for his witty column “TGIF”. He also authored several books, notably “Saguisag Wit-1” and “Saguisag Wit-2.”

Saguisag was married to Dulce Quintans who later became Department of Social Work and Development secretary. They had five children.

Saguisag and wife figured in a vehicular accident on November 8, 1997 that killed Dulce and seriously injured the lawyer. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

NDFP celebrates 51st anniversary, foresees resurgence

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The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) foresees another resurgence in its revolutionary struggle following the Communist Party of the Philippines’ (CPP) third rectification movement launched last December.

In a message to members and supporters on the occasion of its 51st founding anniversary today, April 24, Luis Jalandoni, NDFP chief international representative, said they remain confident of complete victory in the struggle for national and social liberation.

“On the firm foundation of the 51 years of glorious revolutionary struggle and the resurgence that inevitably follows rectification we are confident of winning more battles in the years to come,” he said.

In his statement, Jalandoni also urged NDFP allied organizations as well as the “fighting Filipino masses” to continue “resist[ing] imperialist wars and confront chronic crises.”

Jalandoni said Filipinos are facing the real threat of “inter-imperialist armed confrontation” between the United States and China, made worse by the ongoing Balikatan war exercises “intent to transform the Philippine archipelago into a forward military base where the US can station is military personnel, warships, anti-aircraft weapons and other war materiel.”

A weakling amid bullies

For the ongoing exercises, the US Army for the first time has deployed new ground-based missile launchers, in Northern Luzon capable of supporting Tomahawk cruise missiles and other projectiles against China.

US Naval News said the mid-range capable launchers, known as the Typhon Weapon system were created to address “the wide range of threats” from both China and Russia.

China for its part condemned the Balikatan, saying it will only lead to greater insecurity in the South China Sea.

China warned that the Philippine government should be “sober enough to realize” that allowing external countries to hold war games is a provocation that will only aggravate tensions and undermine regional stability.

“Attempts to bring in external forces to safeguard its so-called security will only lead to greater insecurity for itself,” People’s Republic of China foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a press briefing in Beijing.

Jalandoni said Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is serving the Filipino people on a silver platter to its US imperialist master is dragging the Philippines in a brewing hot war with China.

Reasons to resist

The former NDFP chief peace negotiator said that while Philippine sovereignty is being undermined by both the US and China, Filipinos are also subjected to worsening economic conditions under Marcos Jr.

He pointed that farmers are subjected to systematic and criminal neglect by not providing substantial air and support during El Nino.

Jalandoni added that the working classes suffer from varying schemes of labor exploitation as wages remain depressed amid sky-rocketing prices of basic goods and services.  

 “Despite the consecutive onslaughts of economic crises and the threat of war, the Filipino fighting masses remain persistent in the struggle for national liberation and democracy,” he said.

Jalandoni said the NDFP persists in uniting the peasants and the working class in their struggle for national and social liberation.

An underground organization composed of revolutionary groups such as the CPP and the New People’s Army, the NDFP is engaged in peace negotiations with the Manila government for more than three decades. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Kal welcomed back as ‘revolutionary hero’

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by Maujerie Ann Miranda

Activists as well as family and friends of Kaliska Dominica Peralta commemorated her life as “a revolutionary hero of the people” through a grand tribute at the Cine Adarna, University of the Philippines Diliman (UP Diliman) last Saturday, April 20.

The grand tribute for Peralta also called for justice and accountability from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) her supporters said summarily killed her.

According to reports, Peralta was unarmed when she was summarily executed by 1003rd Infantry Brigade of the AFP in Bukidnon where she served as a fighter for the New People’s Army (NPA).

State forces meanwhile said Peralta was killed in an encounter, an account disputed by eyewitness accounts.

READ: Groups demand investigation on ‘summary execution’ of former UP student leader

(Photo by MA Miranda/Kodao)

Peralta, known as Ka (Comrade) Rekka in the the NPA, was 33 at the time of her death.

She was a filmmaker, athlete, UP Diliman scholar, student leader and activist who led mass campaigns inside and outside the university.

She later joined the revolutionary path, “seeing the necessity to fight for a society that is truly free, and against intensifying oppression and exploitation after numerous experiences of integration with different oppressed sectors, according to tributes,” the tributes said.

Friends and colleagues remembered Peralta as big-hearted, strong-willed, hardworking, passionate, and selfless. #

When peace dialogues should be ongoing, Marcos gov’t pronounces revolutionary groups as ‘terrorists’

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The Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government maintains its designation of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People’s Army (NPA) as so-called terrorist organizations and declared two National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultants as alleged terrorist individuals.

On separate resolutions passed around the time when Malacañan Palace announced efforts to resume formal peace negotiations with the NDFP, the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) said that based on evidence gathered by law enforcement agencies, the basis for the designation on the CPP and NPA still exists.

ATC Resolution 54–approved last December 6 but only uploaded only last Wednesday to the Manila government’s Official Gazette website–alleges that both the CPP and the NPA committed 268 “atrocities” from December 2020 to August 2023.

The ATC first designated the CPP and the NPA as “terrorist organizations” in its Resolution No. 17 passed in 2021.

ATC Resolution 53, also approved last December 6 but only uploaded last April 17, designated NDFP peace consultant Elizabeth Principe as a so-called terrorist individual.

Earlier ATC Resolution 52, approved last October 25 but only uploaded to the Official Gazette last January 9, also declared Ma. Concepcion Araneta-Bocala as a so-called terrorist individual.

The ATC alleges that both Principe and Araneta-Bocala are CPP Central Committee members and are thus qualified for the designation.

Resolution 53 also alleges the elderly Principe has participated in NPA attacks in Cagayan Valley as late as March 2023, such as in the burning of heavy mining and dam construction equipment in Isabela Province.

Principe has attended a formal round of peace negotiations between the Benigno Aquino Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the NDFP in Oslo, Norway January 2011 while Araneta-Bocala has repeatedly attended formal peace negotiations with the Rodrigo Duterte administration throughout Europe from 2016 to 2017.

Both peace consultants are GRP-NDFP Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees documents of identification holders and included in a reconstituted list of protected peace talks personnel submitted to the Old Catholic Church Patriarch in The Netherlands in 2017.

The GRP already included Araneta-Bocala in an earlier list of so-called terrorists under the Human Security Act of 2007.

The ATC resolutions were signed by Marcos’ executive secretary, Atty. Lucas Bersamin, as chairperson of the ATC as well as other council officials.

The council was created by the passage of Republic Act 11479, otherwise known as the Anti-Terror Act of 2020.

‘Talking to terrorists?’

ATC’s approval of its resolutions 53 and 54 came mere days after both GRP, NDFP and Royal Norwegian Government, Third Party Facilitator to the peace process, simultaneously announced that dialogues between the parties have resumed to try to revive the stalled formal talks last November 28.

ATC’s uploading of both resolutions to the Official Gazette also came at a time when further dialogues between both parties were expected.

The parties’ simultaneous press conferences last November 28 said that further dialogues may be expected in the first quarter of the current year.

The CPP, NPA and NDFP dispute the designation and were affirmed by a September 2022 Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) decision junking their attempted proscription by the GRP as “terrorists”.

In a 135-page resolution penned by Presiding Judge Marlo Magdoza-Malagar, the Manila RTC said a perusal of the CPP-NPA’s program shows that it is organized not for the purpose of engaging in terrorism.

NDFP Negotiating Panel Chairperson Julie de Lima earlier told Kodao that the retraction of the terrorist designation of the revolutionary groups shall be among the issues to be discussed in further dialogues with the GRP as part of efforts to resume formal peace negotiations.

“They can’t be negotiating with parties they allege to be terrorists, can they?” de Lima said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)  

3 Filipinos die in UAE floods, top Philippine official confirms

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By Angel Tesorero / Khaleej Times

Three Filipinos were reported dead – one in Dubai and two in Sharjah – following the torrential rain that hit the United Arab Emirates on April 16,the Philippine Consulate General (PCG) and a top Filipino labor official announced in Manila on Thursday.

Hans Leo Cacdac, officer-in-charge (OIC) of the Philippine Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on X (formerly Twitter) said: “With extreme sadness, we report the death of 3 OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) during the flooding in the UAE.”

“Two OFWs died due to suffocation inside their vehicle during the flood. One other OFW died due to a vehicular accident,” he added.

Cacdac did not provide details about the identity of the victims or where the incidents happened but underscored that “DMW shall provide utmost support and assistance to their families.”

Close coordination with authorities

On reported fatalities, the PCG said, they have “received official confirmation from police authorities regarding the unfortunate demise of three Filipino nationals.”

“In Dubai, a 47-year-old Filipino male worker tragically succumbed to a fatal vehicular accident on a road damaged by heavy rains on Tuesday night. Additionally, Sharjah police authorities have confirmed the passing of two Filipinas who lost their lives while inside a vehicle submerged in floodwaters”, the PCG added.

The Philippine Consulate General (PCG) in Dubai also released a statement on Thursday, “assuring the public that all efforts are being undertaken to ensure that Filipinos affected by the floods are provided assistance”.

“The Consulate and MWO-OWWA (Migrant Workers Office-Overseas Workers Welfare Association) are in close coordination with Dubai authorities to obtain accurate and updated information so that we can give urgent support to our countrymen affected the extreme weather conditions,” PCG added, noting: “On the reported deaths of Filipinos in Dubai, the Consulate is coordinating with Dubai Police to ascertain details including the cause of death. This will also allow us to provide necessary assistance for the NOK (next of kin).

The PCG said they are “working hand in hand with the Filipino community organisations in Dubai to be able to reach out to those affected.”

“So far, the reports being received is that Filipinos are helping fellow Filipinos as well as other nationalities in Dubai, proof that bayanihan (community volunteerism) is alive and well.

“The Consulate is also coordinating with Dubai airport authorities regarding stranded passengers due to cancelled flights,” PCG added. #

= = = = =

This report was originally published by the Khaleej Times where the reporter is a senior deputy editor.

Negros political detainees to hold another fast against rights violations

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Political prisoners in Negros are set to hold another 24-hour fast on Friday, April 19, to demand thorough and impartial investigations by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on reported human rights violations since July 2022.

The families and friends of political prisoners under the Negros Occidental chapter of Kapatid (Kapisanan para sa Pagpapalaya ng mga Detinidong Pulitikal sa Pilipinas) said the fast follows CHR’s revelation last March 9 its efforts to investigate the growing number of human rights and international humanitarian law violations in the island is being stymied by the lack of cooperation by various units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Negros.

“It has been 40 days since the said constitutional body made that damning admission yet, until now, the families of victims of these heinous crimes have not been given even the barest minimum attention they deserve from the government,” Kapatid said.

Kapatid added that the investigation should include a follow through on the disappearance of political prisoner Mary Joy Enyong’s daughter Lyngrace Marturillas reported abducted with three others somewhere in Negros’ Hinigaran Highway April 19 of last year.

“It should at least be able to explain why her companion Rogelio Posadas, a National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultant, was surfaced dead by the 62nd IB as a casualty in a highly-suspect encounter they claimed to have had with the NPA (New People’s Army) the following day, while the fate of Marturillas and their two habal-habal (motorcycle for-hire) drivers Renald de los Santos and Denald Malen remain in limbo,” Kapatid said.

The political prisoners previously held similar fasts in March 2022, March 2023 and last December on various human rights issues in the island.

They said the rights violations are integral to the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government’s counter-insurgency drive in the island, adding that the island has seen a sharp rise in incidents that include last year’s June 14 massacre of the Fausto peasant family in Himamaylan City.

The political detainees also cited the September 21 massacre of five New People’s Army (NPA) hors d’ combat and their tricycle driver in Kabankalan City as well as the military’s February 21 aerial bombing operation in Escalante City allegedly in pursuit of armed guerillas.

Political prisoners in Negros island number no less than 128 as of April 1, or about 16% of the country’s current total, Kapatid said.

For peace

Kapatid-Negros Occidental also said the fasting of political prisoners is meant to support the growing call for the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government to effect the long-awaited resumption of the GRP-NDF formal peace negotiations.

The Marcos Jr. government, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the Royal Norwegian Government, Third Party Facilitator to the peace process, made simultaneous announcements last year on their intention to resume negotiations. 

“The resumption of the GRP-NDF peace talks is necessary to once again bring to the national attention the necessary pro-people solutions to the fundamental problems plaguing our country, which continue to fuel the 55-year old armed rebellion of the CPP-NPA-NDFP,” Kapatid-Negros Occidental said.

The political prisoners are also calling on the Marcos Jr. government to immediately release from the National Penitentiary 75-year old NDFP peace consultant and former Negrense priest Frank Fernandez they said is suffering from various ailments and need immediate medical attention outside prison

“Fernandez, as well as other sick or elderly political prisoners like 84-year old Gerardo de la Peña (at the National Bilibid Prison), 70-year old Cleofe Lagtapon (at the National Correctional for Women), and 61-year old Corazon Javier (at the Canlaon City Jail), deserve to be released immediately on humanitarian grounds, if only to compensate – albeit partially – for their many years of unjust incarceration,” Kapatid added.

The group also revealed that two sick and elderly political prisoners have died in jail since Marcos Jr. became president. 

Marcos Villareal died last December 3 at the Camarines Sur Provincial Jail while 66-year year old Generoso Granado died at the National Bilibid Prison last March 8. 

Out of the more than 800 political detainees, at least 95 political detainees are sick while 75 are elderly, human rights groups said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Groups demand investigation on ‘summary execution’ of former UP student leader

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Activist groups mourn the death of a former University of the Philippines (UP) student activist they said was a “revolutionary serving the people of Mindanao” and condemn the manner of her “summary execution.”

Killed last April 10 by combined elements of the 1003rd Infantry Brigade of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Barangay Butong, Quezon town, Bukidnon, the groups said Kaliska Dominica Peralta was tortured and summarily killed like many other New People’s Army (NPA) fighters captured by state forces.

“We raise concerns, and condemn in no uncertain terms, the manner of her death and call on relevant agencies and institutions to conduct a thorough and impartial probe,” Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) said in a statement.

 The group said reports emerging from Mindanao show that there was no armed encounter in Bukidnon on the day of Peralta’s death.

Women’s group GABRIELA also said the Peralta’s death may be another violation of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL).

“The willful killing of Peralta by the military, who was unarmed at the time of her arrest, is a war crime that can never be justified under any circumstance. This is a blatant violation of (the IHL),” GABRIELA secretary general Clarice Palce said in a separate statement.

Kaliska Dominica Peralta

‘Another IHL violation under Marcos Jr’

Both BAYAN and GABRIELA cited an earlier report from the League of Filipino Students (LFS) saying Peralta was killed last Wednesday, contrary to the military’s claims that an “encounter” occurred on April 11 that resulted in her death.

The LFS said that Peralta’s death certificate confirms she died on April 10 and her remains were not subjected to an autopsy.

The student group added that according to witnesses, Peralta and three of her comrades were already unarmed when captured and that she was later “taken to another part of the community and mercilessly killed.”

“Peralta’s body was unrecognizable and severely desecrated, showing marks of brutal torture and abuse,” GABRIELA added.

BAYAN also added that Peralta’s killing fits the pattern of many other NPA fighters and activists who were captured and summarily executed by the military, including NPA spokesperson Jorge “Ka Oris” Madlos, National Democratic Front of the Philippines peace consultant Ericson Acosta and others.

“The violations of (IHL) continue to rise under the Marcos regime. The viciousness of these killings has intensified in light of the terrorist-labeling of revolutionaries by the Philippine government,” BAYAN said.

Peralta was a Film student and served as the chairperson of the LFS-UP Diliman chapter in 2014-2015. She was involved in various student campaigns against education budget cuts, academic calendar shift, and various socialized tuition schemes.

“After several years, she decided to embrace the highest form of struggle to free society from the current prevailing system. She struggled with the Lumad and farmers of Mindanao for their rights to land and ancestral domain that are being taken by landlords and bombed by the military,” LFS said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Hydroelectric plants running below capacity due to El Niño, group reports

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Seventy percent of hydroelectric plants in the country are running below capacity due to the effects of El Niño, with Luzon forecast to suffer further decreases in power supply output this year.

Citing Department of Energy (DOE) data, the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) reported that Luzon already suffered a 22% decrease in power output from its hydroelectric plants in the first quarter of the year and expected to experience even tighter power supply in the coming months.

It may lead to “yellow alerts” as El Niño continues to threaten power sufficiency during the country’s dry season, ICSC in a press conference in Quezon City said Tuesday.

Already, 980-megawatt (MW) has already been made unavailable by the ongoing prolonged dry spell from the maximum of 12,000-MW capacity of the country’s baseload power plants, ICSC reported.

Baseload power plants are relied upon to provide the minimum amount of electric power needed by an electrical grid.

“As El Niño reduces the available capacity from hydroelectric power plants, all baseload power plants need to be compliant with the approved Grid Operating and Maintenance Program of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and the DOE,” ICSC chief data scientist Jephraim Manansala said.

“Any unplanned outages may further deplete operating reserve levels and affect the grid’s reliability,” Manansala added.

ICSC predicted that Luzon will suffer the tightest power supply in the last two weeks of May.

ICSC however said that while Luzon is threatened with insufficient power supply, Visayas and Mindanao are projected to maintain normal reserves in the second quarter.

El Niño will have minimal impacts on the Visayas grid due to the region’s limited hydroelectric capacity. Many Visayan islands rely on the more expensive bunker and diesel fuel as well as coal for power generation.

The region also receives 540-MW from Mindanao’s reserve levels.

The NGCHP meanwhile announced a yellow alert status over all of Luzon and Visayas on Tuesday.

Meralco alert on the power supply situation in its areas of operation on Tuesday, April 16.

PH needs more ‘resilient’ power sources

ICSC urged energy sector players to efficiently deliver its committed capacities as well as work on preventing power outages .

The group also urged the sharing of power supply capacities among major grids.

“Activating the DOE’s Interruptible Load Program (ILP) can also augment the power supply in Luzon during yellow or the more precarious red alerts,” ICSC energy transition advisor Alberto Dulusung III said.

Resorting to ILP means that the power supply has already deteriorated, signaling the grave reality of the country’s power supply vulnerability, the expert said.

ICSC said workplaces and households may help in increasing efficiency by shifting their use of energy-intensive activities to non-peak hours.

They may also upgrade to more efficient technologies, the group said.

“The recurring issue of power supply deficiency in the country highlights the vulnerability of the current centralized and baseload-reliant grid system. Our country must prioritize flexibility and distributed generation in energy policy-making and planning,” ICSC senior policy advisor Pedro Maniego Jr. said.

The Philippines must transition to greater integration of renewable, indigenous and clean energy into the grid to ensure a resilient, dependable and sustainable electricity supply for consumers, he added.

“Relying on imported fuel makes us highly-vulnerable to the vagaries of geopolitics and global market prices. With no end in sight to the Ukraine war and escalation of the Middle East conflicts, fuel prices might reach record levels once again,” Maniego warned. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)