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Arrested peasant advocates tortured, Karapatan says

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The four peasant rights workers arrested in Nueva Ecija recently may have been tortured, human rights group Karapatan said.

In a statement, the group said Yolanda Diamsay Ortiz (46) of Anakpawis Party, Eulalia Ladesma (44) of Gabriela Women’s Party, and youth activists Edzel Emocling (23) and Rachel Galario 20 bore visible bruises on their faces when visited by kin last October 14.

The four were arrested by operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), Philippine National Police and elements of the 7th Infantry Division in Sitio Bangkusay, Brgy. Talabutab Norte, Natividad, Nueva Ecija last October 13/

They are being held by the CIDG in their office at the Old Capitol building in Cabanatuan City.

Ladesma’s daughter told Karapatan after their visit her mother recounted that her hair was grabbed and was forced to drop to the ground when the CIDG operatives accosted her.

While on the ground, Ledesma was kicked several times and her hands tied thereafter while being forced to admit to being “Mariz”.

The daughter also relayed that she also saw Ortiz with a bruised face, her left eye swollen and there were hand marks on her neck due to strangulation.

Ladesma and Ortiz repeatedly told the former’s daughter that they were hit every time they refused to answer their captors’ questions.

Karapatan paralegals were not allowed to have access to the four women.

“Karapatan strongly condemns the illegal arrest, detention, and torture undergone by the four women human rights defenders in Nueva Ecija. This is indefensible,” Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said.

“This is precisely what happens when you have security forces that have no respect for human rights. This is the kind of police and military that we have – uniformed men with no integrity and not the slightest respect for women and their rights,” Palabay added.

Palabay said the four were arrested two days being Rural Peasant Women’s Day on October 15 when the world honors the struggles of women peasants and their advocates.

Palabay also lamented how abuses against rural women persist in the Philippines despite the ratification of laws that explicitly prohibit such violations, including the Anti-Torture Law of 2009.

This is on top of legislation and policies that seek to protect women from all forms of violence, including the Magna Carta of Women, Palabay said.

Karapatan noted that there has been a spike in the number of arrests of activists on the basis of trumped-up charges and the an increase of harassment cases against rights defenders – all alleged to be “rebels” by the Rodrigo Duterte government.

The 7th Infantry Division for its part said in a statement that the four women were “rebels conspiring against the government.”

Palabay, however, said that the military’s statement has no credibility if the victims were tortured.

“We have no doubt the spin doctors in the military will use this opportunity to forward their deluded narrative, even at the expense of torturing women! This is a shameful act that truly exposes the atrocities of the military and the police. All of those involved should immediately be held accountable,” Palabay said.

Karapatan demanded the release of the four women. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

PNP arrests NDFP consultant and companions in Laguna

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National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) consultant Adelberto Silva and four companions were arrested Monday afternoon in Sta. Cruz, Laguna.

Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said that Silva (70), Ediecel Legaspi (60), Ireneo Atadero (55), Hedda De Luna Calderon (63) as well as their driver Julio Lusania (53) were arrested yesterday, October 15, and brought to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group headquarters in Camp Crame in Quezon City.

Palabay said the five may be brought to Sta. Cruz, Laguna today for inquest proceedings.

She added they are still in the process of reconciling varying reports they received on how Silva and company were arrested and on what grounds.

Silva was among the 19 consultants released by the Rodrigo Duterte administration in 2016 to enable their participation in the formal peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the NDFP.

Silva was eventually designated as the vice-chairperson of the NDFP Negotiating Panel’s Reciprocal Working Committee on Social and Economic Reforms.

He was instrumental in the crafting of the draft National Industrialization and Economic Development document initialled by both GRP and NDFP negotiating panel representatives last June.

The GRP and NDFP negotiating panels were set to approve the document as part of the Interim Peace Agreement package that would have also included Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, coordinated unilateral ceasefire and general amnesty documents.

President Duterte, however, cancelled the fifth formal round of talks for the fifth time last June.

Silva was among the 600 personalities included in the list submitted by the Department of Justice to the Manila Regional Trial Court last January in its bid to have the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army proscribed as so-called terrorists.

As an active NDFP peace negotiator, Silva is supposedly protected from arrest, surveillance and harassment under the GRP-NDFP Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

‘Pakana ng gobyerno’

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“Ang October plot ay isang pakana ng gobyerno para bigyang katwiran na harangin, i-delay at harasin ang lahat ng makiki-gunita sa araw ng mga magsasaka.”—Pido Gonzales, PAMALAKAYA Southern Tagalog

Rights groups demand IACLA abolition

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By Joseph Cuevas

Human rights group Karapatan and other organizations trooped to Camp Crame in Quezon City Tuesday, October 9, to demand the abolition of the Inter-Agency Committee on Legal Action (IACLA) they said is a mechanism for political repression.

Karapatan said since the formation of IACLA by the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) a year ago, 221 individuals have been charged with trumped-up cases.

Of those charged, 178 have already been arrested from October 9, 2017 to September 30 this year, Karapatan said.

The group said 128 peasant and indigenous peoples have been victimised by these trumped-up charges.

It added that the arrests include those of development workers Benito Quilloy and Rita Espinoza of Assert Socio-Economic Initiatives Network last October 2017, the continuous detention of National Democratic Front of the Philippines peace consultant Rafael Baylosis, trade union organizer Marklen Maojo Maga and public sector union organizers Alexander Reyes and spouses Oliver and Rowena Rosales.  Karapatan added.

“We call on for the abolition of IACLA and the withdrawal of all trumped up charges against activists and progressives. This is a systematic move by the government to legitimize repression, a blatant subversion of laws compounded by the collusion with the Justice Department, courts and other agencies to jail individuals and members of progressive organizations labelled as enemies of the state,” Karapatan said.

Makabayan seeks House probe

Meanwhile representatives from the Makabayan bloc at the House of Representatives filed a resolution seeking a probe on “the profiling and surveillance of PNP against activists in schools.”

House Resolution 2229 filed last Monday wants the House Committee on Human Rights to look into the claims of the AFP that some schools recruitment grounds for communists.

Rep. Sarah Elago of the Kabataan Party said that the AFP’s move is a serious attack and crackdown against youth and students groups critical of government policies.

She added that the so-called ‘Red October’ plot is a mere ploy to silence the people’s growing opposition to rising prices brought by the government’s tax reform law.

School administrators from the University of the Philippines (UP), De La Salle University and the Ateneo de Manila University denied the allegation.

Dialogue with CHR

Last Monday, progressive groups and church leaders held a dialogue with the Commission on Human Rights about the red-baiting incidents against activists and church leaders.

Iglesia Filipina Independiente Bishop Antonio Ablon of Pagadian City told to CHR Chairman Chito Gascon that the military branded him and his church as a “menace” and as members of New People’s Army with markings and spray paint on the wall of a chapel last September 29.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) also revealed a PNP memorandum to all station commanders to conduct surveillance and profiling of so called “left leaning groups and leaders.”

These include the profiling of unionists at the Jose Reyes Medical Center in Manila.

Police officers also visited the office of an environment group and the student regent of UP were also reported, Bayan added.

Gascon for his part said the CHR investigate.

Gascon added that the CHR will create a mechanism such as a quick reaction team in cooperation with human rights groups and lawyers group to address reports of human rights violations.

 

CPP: ‘Red October’ plot an AFP invention

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The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) denied repeated claims by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) of a so-called Red October plot to oust President Rodrigo Duterte by October.

The CPP said the AFP conjured the fictional plot only to set the stage for the Duterte government’s draconian measures against the people.

“This so-called Red October plot is nothing but an AFP invention. Like the rest of the AFP’s fakery, it is a poorly concocted story. They came up with this ‘intelligence information’ as early as July,” the CPP in a statement said.

The group challenged Duterte and the AFP to show proof especially after Duterte himself recently claimed he is in possession of a recorded phone conversation between the CPP and other groups.

But the AFP continues to push its story as its spokesperson Col. Edgar Arevalo told DZMM Tuesday that so-called legitimate opposition groups such as Tindig Pilipinas and Magdalo refused participation in the plot.

Arevalo cited the groups’ absence at the Rizal Park rally last September 21 commemorating the 46th anniversary of the declaration of martial law by the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship.

Arevalo claimed that part of the plot involved engaging in massive workers strikes, adding they learned of the plan from digital files and documents recovered from former communist rebels who surrendered.

‘What are Duterte and AFP planning for October?’

The CPP shot back that the real question is not whether there is such a conspiracy but what Duterte and the AFP are plotting for October.

“Is this a foreshadowing of a declaration of martial law by October? Indeed, ‘Red October’ sounds very similar to 1972 claims of a ‘Maoist rebellion’ which Marcos used as justification for declaring martial law and imposing his fascist dictatorship,” the CPP said.

The group said that in hyping up the alleged conspiracy, the clear aim of the AFP is to justify the implementation of increasingly severe measures in the name of “defeating the plot” to target legitimate protest actions which express the sentiments of a disgruntled people.

The revolutionary party said it is very apparent that Duterte and the AFP are increasingly insecure amid the rising economic and political crisis.

The CPP said Duterte has only himself to blame for his regime’s destabilization.

“By turning a deaf ear to the Filipino people’s most urgent demands for an end to the burdensome TRAIN taxes, solution to incessant price increases, wage increases, jobs and job security, as well as their clamor for an end to state terrorism, rampant violations of human rights, narco-politics and bureaucrat capitalist corruption, Duterte is inciting more and more people to rise up in protest and resist his rule,” the CPP said.

‘His own destabilizer’

In a separate statement, the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said the so-called Red October plot is an obvious attempt to cover-up legitimate consumer actions and public grievances against frequent price hikes.

“Strong public opinion and actions against high rice prices have heightened during the past months and it really shook up Duterte’s leadership,” KMP secretary general Danilo Ramos said.

“Duterte is his own destabilizer. Any ploy or operation plan is not needed for his ouster,” the peasant leader added.
The farmers’ group however added that AFP’s canard could also lead to witch hunting and political persecution of activists and progressive mass leaders.
“The AFP could use this to justify more illegal arrests and detention of activists,” Ramos said, adding that almost 200 individuals were already arrested and detained since 2016 based on trumped-up criminal charges.  # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

On conspiracy tales vs. the resumption of peace talks

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Press Statement
September 25, 2018

A recent interview of AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Carlito Galves and Brig. Gen. Antonio Parlade, Jr. revealed the sad truth that the Armed Forces of the Philippines remains in a quagmire of anti-democratic war-mongering, stale conspiracy peddling, and vicious red-tagging of known peace advocates in the GRP-NDFP peace process.

In dropping the names of Rey Casambre and former congressman Satur Ocampo as being in the center of an imagined, nay, invented conspiracy plot, the AFP has provided concrete evidence that they are indeed war-mongering peace-spoilers. Rey Casambre of the Philippine Peace Center and Satur Ocampo of Pilgrims for Peace are publicly known peace advocates. Their efforts in seeking to move the peace talks forward in addressing the roots of the armed conflict towards the aspiration of a just and enduring peace in the Philippines are well known to peace advocates throughout the country and internationally.

Naming Casambre and Ocampo as central figures in the AFP’s poorly concocted conspiracy theory makes abundantly clear that Duterte’s state forces are prone to fascist machinations and red-tagging which undermine democracy and impinge upon democratic freedoms.

Many peace advocates—both in the Philippines and around the world—will insist that part of peace building is allowing and even encouraging the participation of dissenting and marginalized voices in government and society. In contrast, the blatantly oppressive character of the military was revealed as they repeatedly warned of infiltration by communists in government. Peace advocates applaud the participation of progressive, pro-poor leaders in government, especially as they have been seen to deliver reforms and services that benefit the poor and toiling majority.

The AFP made evident that they wish to blame a faltering economy on the opposition. They even went as far as to accuse the opposition of manipulating the price of rice. This is ridiculous. Meanwhile, they also exposed the lie of their so-called “Whole of Nation” approach where the military seeks to control and manipulate access to basic and social services for their anti-insurgency campaign, while feigning that they are apolitical.

We want peace for the Philippines. The way to move in this direction is to resume GRP-NDFP peace talks intended to address the roots of the armed conflict. The negotiating parties had hammered out meaningful agreements, ready for signature, on much needed Socio-Economic Reforms. These very peace spoilers in the AFP and the security cluster are the ones standing in the way of democracy and peace building.

The public would be wise not to give an iota of credence to the AFP’s conspiracy tales. An open opposition exists. It would be much worse for democracy in the Philippines if it didn’t. And as Duterte’s military henchmen grasp at straws to attempt to tie together these perceived strands of opposition and falsely render them into a tidy conspiracy, they only lay bare their penchant for military rule.

On some level, President Duterte appears to have coalesced with their thinking. We must urge him that it is not too late to recalibrate toward peace talks and addressing historic injustices and root causes of armed conflict in our beloved homeland. People like Rey Casambre of the Philippine Peace Center and Satur Ocampo of Pilgrims for Peace would welcome such developments.

As President Duterte continues to follow the AFP’s war-mongering and martial law, opposition will continue to grow in response to increased oppression and militarization. Not only should we not believe this conspiracy they are peddling, we must encourage the Duterte administration that peace-building and resuming GRP-NDFP peace talks is the better option altogether. #

Reference: 
Bishop Rex RB Reyes, Jr., D.D.
Convenor, Ecumenical Voice for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines (Ecuvoice)

Abolish IACoLA, trumped-up charges—Makabayan 4

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Activists called on the abolition of the government’s Inter-Agency Committee on Legal Action (IACoLA) in a gathering celebrating the dismissal of double murder charges against their four leaders in Quezon City Tuesday, August 14.

In a packed hall at the Quezon City Sports Club, National Anti-Poverty Commission lead convenor Liza Maza and fellow former Makabayan bloc representatives Satur Ocampo, Rafael Mariano and Teddy Casiño condemned the IACoLA as an attack mechanism resurrected from the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo era.

The four said IACoLA was the resurrected form of the Inter-Agency Legal Action Group (IALAG) that persecuted the four, along with former Anakpawis Representative Joel Virador and the late Crispin Beltran who were then collectively known as the Batasan 6 who sought refuge at the House of Representatives for many weeks.

“If these are truly the handiwork of the reconstituted (IALAG) as some quarters have alleged, then this body requires the reexamination as they did with its predecessor, the (AILAG) under the time of Arroyo, which was abolished upon the recommendation of the UN,” Maza said.

The IACoLA was created through a joint resolution signed by former Philippine National Police Director General Ronald Dela Rosa and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Eduardo Año last October 9, 2017.

The PNP and the AFP said the resolution aims to strengthen the intelligence gathering and cooperation, investigation, prosecution and monitoring of cases against threat groups by establishing stronger coordination of ongoing and future efforts of the government in addressing cases.

The activists, however, said IACoLA is being used to persecute perceived dissenters using trumped up charges.

Human rights group Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights cited the abduction of couple Rowena and Oliver Rosales last Saturday in Bulacan as another handiwork of IACoLA.

Karapatan said the Rosaleses, former Confederation for the Unity, Advancement and Recognition of Government Employees (Courage) organizers, were forcibly taken while onboard their privately-owned tricycle at Barangay Wawa, Balagtas, Bulacan, and were later taken to Camp Crame, Quezon City.

Rowena was later shown a warrant of arrest for trumped-up charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives, the same warrant used against Courage member Juan Alexander Reyes on June 2, 2018, the group said.

“The Duterte regime is tying up loose ends left by past repressive governments. Taking off from the atrocious handiwork of previous regimes, foremost that of Marcos’, Arroyo’s and Aquino’s, Duterte has escalated attacks against rights defenders,” Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said.

“Many of such violations are orchestrated by the police and the military in line with the IACoLA in particular, and counterinsurgency program Oplan Kapayapaan in general,” Palabay said, adding that at least 129 rights defenders and political dissenters have already been arrested and filed with trumped-up charges since IACLA’s creation in October 2017.

“It is time to review, reexamine at dismantle this group as AILAG was dismantled before. This is a grave concern for all of us. These trumped-up charges against all of us activists and individuals who are working for genuine change in society,” Maza said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

3 CAFGUs die in Masbate encounter

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Three government troopers under the 2nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army were killed in an encounter in Masbate Province Friday morning, a spot report from the Philippine National Police said.

The soldiers figured in a fire fight with suspected members of the New People’s Army at Barangay Mactan, Cawayan town at about 8:30 in the morning that resulted in the deaths of three Civilian Armed Force Geographical Unit auxiliary troopers, the police added.

The Masbate Provincial Police Office (MASPPO) said that soldiers of the Philippine Army detachment based in Barangay Del Carmen in Uson town were conducting combat patrol operations when they encountered NPA fighters in the area.

The MASPPO did not reveal the names of the casualties.

The PNP said they have yet to determine if the NPA also suffered casualties.

The Romulo Jallores Command of the NPA in the Bicol Region has yet to issue a statement on the incident. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

‘Mas maraming human rights violation’

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“Sa pagtalikod ni Duterte sa usapang pangkapayapaan sa CPP at NDF ay mas lalong nagkakaroon ng kalayaan ang mga State Security Forces para magkomit ng samu’t-saring human rights violation.”—Joms Salvador, Secretary General, Gabriela

AFP, PNP enforce another food blockade against Lianga evacuees

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The Philippine Army and the Philippine National Police (PNP) are enforcing another food blockade against the Lumad evacuees in Lianga, Surigao del Sur, a human rights group reported.

The 75th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (75th IBPA) as well as the local PNP blocked food aid brought by Church groups at around 11:30 AM, Karapatan Caraga said in an alert Wednesday, July 18.

Troopers have also been deployed around the Barangay Diatagon Gymnasium where the evacuees have stayed since their forced evacuation Monday, the group said.

“We should not tolerate the bakwit (evacuees) so that they will be forced to go back to their community,” the soldiers reportedly told the donors in Cebuano.

The soldiers erected a checkpoint by the national highway leading to Diatagon gym to prevent motorcycles carrying food items bought from the town market passing through the blockade, the group added.

“[The 75th IBPA and the PNP] threaten(ed) to arrest non-Lianga residents who are extending humanitarian support for about 1600 Manobo evacuees [are],” the group said.

The same army unit has also implemented a similar blockade when the Lumad evacuated last January.

The Lumad were forced to evacuate from their communities 33 days after the military put up detachments and encamped at Kilometer 9 of the said barangay.

Tandag Bishop Raul Dael (center, with pectoral cross) visit the Lumad evacuees at Diatagon. (Kasalo Caraga photo)

Bishop visits evacuees

In a separate announcement, Lumad organization Kasalo Caraga said Roman Catholic Bishop Raul Dael as well as nuns of the Diocese of Tandag visited Diatagon Wednesday night to offer support to the evacuees.

Kasalo said the prelate were able to talk to Barangay Diatagon Chairperson Metong and leaders of the local Lumad organization Mapasu during their visit.

The barangay captain admitted he was pressured by the military to sign Barangay Resolution 11-2018 allowing the establishment of a military detachment in Km 9, forcing the Lumad to eventually evacuate, Kasalo said.

The barangay leader promised to review the said resolution, the group added.

Lumad evacuees sleeping in very crowded conditions. (Photo by Chad Booc)

Harassments

Karapatan Caraga said that aside from intimidating the evacuees, the army troopers also harassed the Manobo women, asking “Kinsa ang mga ababe nga pwedeng bayran diri?” (Who are the women that we can buy here?)

The evacuees also complain of lack of water and sanitation facilities at the gym arousing fears of a health crisis.

The Lumad said their resistance to five coal mining contracts in the Andap Valley Complex have made them targets of intense militarization of their communities. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)