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Groups denounce killing of Moro human rights defender

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Human Rights group Karapatan and Kawagib Moro Human Rights Alliance held an indignation protest Tuesday, September 25, at the Timog Circle in Quezon City against the recent killing of a Moro human rights worker in Mindanao.

Mariam Uy Acob, 43 years old and paralegal of Kawagib, was gunned down by suspected military agents last September 23 in Brgy. Dapiawan, Datu Saudi Ampatuan in Maguindanao. She was shot several times in her chest, stomach, shoulder and back.

Acob was a staunch critic of militarization in Moro communities. She consistently denounced the aerial bombardment and encampment in Moro communities by the 40th IB of the 6th ID of the Philippine Army.

In 2015 she led her community in a protest against militarization in Saudi Ampatuan as well as other parts of District 2 in Maguindanao.

Karapatan condemned the recent spate of attacks against human rights defenders under martial law in Mindanao. The killing of Acob is another blood on the Duterte regime, Karapatan added.

The killing of Acob came after seven young men were massacred after harvesting fruits in Sitio Bato, Brgy. Kabuntakas in Patikul, Sulu. The 55th IB accused the civilians as members of Abu Sayyaf.

“Martial law has not solved anything but has merely increased the power of an abusive institution that is behind these attacks against the Filipino people,” Karapatan said. (Video and report by Joseph Cuevas)

Moro groups condemn Ramadhan airstrikes

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Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) air and ground strike operations in Liguasan Marsh, Maguindanao during the recent Ramadhan displaced 1,716 people or 208 families, a Moro human rights alliance said.

Cotabato-based Kawagib said the AFP claimed that the attacks targeted ISIS members in the area but merely disrupted the lives of Moros instead, particularly in Barangay Dalgan in Pagalungan town.

Kawagib and other Moro and human rights groups said they conducted a fact-finding mission last June 24 and documented complaints from residents about the AFP airstrikes of June 12.

Residents said were up as early as two o’clock that Tuesday to prepare their meals but were surprised by the sound of helicopters and fighter planes that dropped bombs in their community.

The residents rushed to nearby Dalgan Elementary School and National Memorial High School for shelter but later fled to Pagalungan proper when around a hundred soldiers appeared later.

The residents stayed at the municipal gym for a week, fearful of returning to their barangay.

About 100 families also fled by boat and built shelter along the riverside in Kulangan in Datu Montawal, Kawagib said.

The military said no civilian area was targeted in its “surgical airstrikes” and ground operations against Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) gunmen, led by a certain Esmail Abubakar.

 Sixth Infantry Division commander, Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, claimed at least 15 BIFF gunmen were killed and eight others were wounded in their operations.

The AFP previously said the BIFF is an ISIS-inspired group.

Kawagib, however, belied AFP claims.

No BIFF

“Residents said the military’s claim that there is a strong ISIS presence in Maguindanao was fueled by rumors and speculations with no factual basis,” Kawagib spokesperson Cosain Naga said.

“This suggests that ISIS presence is being used to justify the deployment of hundreds of government troops and the intensification of military combat operations in a disputed area,” he added.

The group said the evacuation disrupted classes in Barangay Dalgan.

Dalgan Elementary School principal Faisal S. Kimula said they have yet to restart their classes as residents have occupied the schools for sanctuary.

“It’s so saddening to know that our registered students this academic year has decreased by 52 percent due to the bombing incident in our village,” Faisal told the mission.

Kawagib said fishermen also discovered their pump boats missing when they returned to their community while households complained of losing their livestock worth 186,000 pesos.

Lessons at a Quran school is also being disrupted when its Ustadz refused to follow the soldiers’ orders to leave, Kawagib said.

Second strike

The mission noted that the June 12 air and ground strikes at Brgy Dalgan followed military operations launched last March 13 when civilian Nazrullah Balao of Sitio Tukananes was reportedly killed.

Balao’s family said Nazrullah was hit by shrapnel from bombs dropped by the AFP and was found dead inside his house.

Balao’s family only received 500 pesos cash relief and nothing else from authorities, Kawagib said.

“What this State has done to this Moro community is not a victory, but a continuing threat to the Moro people,” Naga said.

“No cover up or military propaganda will justify this injustice brought by military offensive on them,” he added.

During Ramadhan

Naga pointed out that the attack happened during Ramadhan, which also happened in the past years.

Military operations against Moro communities during their holy month is a violation of their cultural and religious rights, Kawagib pointed out.

Kawagib demands indemnification for the victims of the military operations on Ramadhan in Barangay Dalgan, especially to the Ballao family.

“After what the state has done, there must be accountability. The government should take action and pull out [its] troops in Moro communities,” Naga said.

The Kawagib–led fact finding mission was joined by local organizations Suara Bangsamoro, Liga ng Kabataang Moro, and the Manila-based Hustisya. #

Congress mangled BBL, critics say

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Critics have slammed the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) measures passed by both Houses of Congress, saying these fail to recognize the Bangsamoro’s right to self-determination.

In separate statements, Suara Bangsamoro and Bayan Muna have dismissed the approved versions of the bills at the House of Representatives and the Senate as a betrayal of the Bangsamoro people’s long-running struggle for justice and autonomy.

The House of Representative passed HB 6475 Wednesday while the Senate passed Thursday Senate Bill 1717 a few days after President Rodrigo Duterte has finally certified the bills as urgent.

“This milquetoast [submissive one] that they are passing off as BBL leaves the Bangsamoro with no control over the resources of the area they define as our autonomous area,” Suara Bangsamoro national chairperson Jerome Aba said.

“Just like in the ARMM (Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao Law), this BBL appoints the new Bangsamoro political entity to facilitate the wholesale selling of our territories and natural resources to foreign corporations under the guise of bringing growth and development to Bangsamoro areas,” Aba said.

In his speech explaining his rejection of the House of Representatives version of the BBL, Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Isagani Zarate said he could not vote for a measure that is full of compromises.

“This latest and watered-down proposed BBL is unacceptable. This Substituted HB 6475 does away with all the efforts to push for the Bangsamoro’s right to self-determination in the face of many limitations imposed by the government,” Zarate said.

Zarate added many provisions of the version submitted to Congress by the Bangsamoro Transition Council were deleted or changed.

“These include the downgrading of their territory to an autonomous region in the Bangsamoro, instead of simply ‘Bangsamoro’; the [bill’s] use of ‘geographical area’ instead of territory; and the conduct of plebiscites in the additional territory,” Zarate explained.

The Mindanaoan legislator added the deletion of the Bangsamoro’s exclusive control over power and energy, natural resources, public utilities, Bangsamoro police, and many others are also very important issues.

“The Substituted HB 6475 does not answer the Bangsamoro’s aspiration for their right to self-determination and genuine autonomy. This measure deserves to be opposed,” Zarate said.

Suara Bangsamo said it supports calls made by Makabayan bloc at the House of Representatives to truly scrutinize the contents of the present BBL and called on their compatriots to oppose provisions they say compromise the fight of the Moro people for self-determination.

“As the government continue to disregard Moro people’s struggle for the right to self-determination, it is in the hands of Moro people to continue to fight for genuine right to self-determination,” Aba said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

National minorities vow to continue fight for self determination

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THE indigenous and Moro peoples will never be stopped in their struggle for self-determination, national minority groups said as they wind down their Pambansang Lakbayan ng mga Pambansang Minorya 2016 at a rally in Mendiola last October 21.

Two days after the brutal police dispersal in front of the United States Embassy in Manila, thousands of Lakbayan participants said they will go back to their communities and continue their fight for self-determination and other human rights.

“We will not be stopped by state violence and imperialism,” Josephine Pagalan, a Lumad Manobo said.

“We Lumad have developed our communities and founded our schools in the face of the worst kinds of discrimination. This is proof that the national minorities are more than capable of relying on themselves,” Pagalan said.

Pagalan added their our progressive initiatives are directly attacked by a “rotten, fascist social system.”

“But we continue to fight, because our struggle for self-determination is justified, she said.

Why they travelled to Manila

The national minorities addressed the many questions about their struggle and why they travelled to Metro Manila as part of the Lakbayan.

“Our struggle is for our right to self-determination, which is strongly tied to the anti-imperialist struggle of the Filipino masses. It is our right to freely determine our political wellbeing and freely pursue our socioeconomic development at our own pace,” Windel Bulingit, spokesperson for Cordillera Peoples’ Alliance, said.

“It is a struggle we can win only if the Philippine society achieves true progress, when the rule of US imperialism is brought to an end,” Bulingit said.

“All of us who took part in the Lakbayan also call for an independent foreign policy,” added Piya Macliing Malayao, spokesperson for Sandugo.

“The national minorities have a lot of experience with foreign powers and we can say that they, led by US imperialism, have brought nothing but harm, not just to us, but to all Filipinos,” Malayao said.

“Foreign intervention only brings mass landgrabbing and environmental destruction thanks to destructive mining and energy corporations and plantations. There are also US military bases that destroy our communities and violate our rights – and our own military is, unfortunately, taking a page from them. There have been too many massacres of our brethren by the US military via the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” Malayao added.

“The violations against us do not appear enough in the mainstream media,  nor in social media,” Bulingit added. “That is why we are here to bring our issues to the people in the city, to the seat of power.”

Post-brutality

The protesters also condemned the excessively violent dispersal of their protests in front of Camp Aguinaldo and the US embassy.

The national minorities held a protest in front of Camp Aguinaldo last October 18, where their peaceful condemnation of the military presence in their communities was met with dispersal with water cannons.

Their protest in front of the US embassy last October 19 was met with worse violence.

As the rally was ending, Col. Marcelino Pedrozo of the Manila Police District arrived and ordered the arrest and dispersal of the rally to save face with the embassy..

The PNP proceeded to violently push the protesters back while a police mobile unit driven by PO3 Franklin Kho ran over rallyists, including Malayao.

They proceeded to violently harrass and pursue protesters, medics, mediamen and bystanders filming the events.

At least 50 were injured while 29 were arrested.

“What the US embassy and their puppets, the PNP, did to us was not right. That is not the work of policemen. That was the work of terrorists. Do they think that our status as national minorities makes such violence ok?” Bulingit said. ”

“The Philippines is for Filipinos. The PNP must serve the Philippines and not foreign powers,” Bulingit added.

Einstein Recedes, secretary-general of Anakbayan, defended the protesters.

“There are those who falsely believe that we have been paid,” he said. “That is nothing but vicious imperialist propaganda spread by the PNP. None of us were paid to protest and hold rallies because our principles do not have a price.” # (Abril Layad B. Ayroso)

Victims of violent dispersal at US embassy demand justice

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PROGRESSIVE organizations demanded justice for the victims of the brutal police dispersal of protesting indigenous peoples in front of the United States Embassy in Manila Wednesday morning (October 19).

In a press conference held last October 20 at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, the groups called on President Rodrigo Duterte and Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa to take action and punish Manila Police District officers for their violence against the victims.

According to Makabayan vice chairperson Neri Colmenares, Senior Superintendent Marcelino Pedrozo and PO3 Franklin Kho as well as other MPD personnel are guilty of violating Batas Pambansa (BP) 880 and of attempted murder.

“BP880 is about illegal assembly.  But there is nothing in it that allows the use of brutal methods. Does a group not having a permit make it alright to violently disperse them?” Colmenares asked.

“That kind of behavior is illegal, especially with the way they manhandled medics, minors and (members of the) media. The Manila police are clearly guilty of violating the same law they are trying to use against the rallyists,” Colmenares said.

Colmenares added, “BP880 states that you cannot file a case against a participant of a rally. You can do so against a leader, but not a simple participant like how they tried with this protest.”

“The fact that there was premeditation, superior strength and even treachery in play also means we can also charge them with attempted murder – at the very least,” Colmenares said.

The Makabayan bloc has filed a resolution to investigate the incident and condemning the police force for the violence. Progressive groups also call for accountability and firing of the policemen involved.

Police brutality

The protest was about to conclude when Pedrozo ordered the dispersal of the rally and the arrest of its participants, in violation of the agreement between the police and the ralyists before his arrival.

The police then fired teargas and began clubbing the demonstrators.

A police mobile unit, driven by Kho, ran over rallyists several times.

Police officers then proceeded to violently pursue, harass and arrest demonstrators, medics, media personnel and even bystanders filming the events.

At least 50 were injured, 18 of whom needed hospitalization.  At least 20 were arrested, including five medics, two minors and one media practitioner.

The arrested were released after at least three hours at MPD Precinct 5 along United Nations Avenue.

PNP’s lies

The PNP claimed that the violence was unintended, the protesters did not have a permit and who incited the violence.

PO3 Kho, for his part, said he did not intentionally run over the protesters whom he accused of trying to steal the police vehicle.

Their victims, however, presented video footage from various media outfits which they said showed Kho’s criminal intent to maim or kill as well as of Pedrozo ordering the dispersal and arrests for the MPD to save face with the US embassy.

According to Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes, there was no provocation from their side.

“We were down to our final speaker, but Pedrozo showed up and said that the police had shamed the US embassy, that the rally must be dispersed and that there must be arrests,” Reyes said.

“There were even policemen who hesitated to act because they understood that violence was senseless as the protest was peaceful and ending anyway. They were not provoked. They attacked first under Pedrozo’s orders,” Reyes said.

Reyes said they believe there was no need for a permit to protest.

“President Duterte has been fine with it all this time. Besides, we had been protesting for over an hour by the time they began their assault,” he said.

Colmenares added that the videos showed that the police violence was premeditated.

“In the videos, Pedrozo clearly ordered to disperse the rally, with or without provocation, because they would apparently shame themselves with the US embassy by allowing the rally to go for so long,” he said.

“Is Pedrozo ashamed, then, of President Duterte for condemning the US, telling Obama to go to hell, pursuing a strong foreign independent foreign policy?” Colmenares asked.

Why protest?

Majority of the protesters were indigenous peoples and Moro participants of the ongoing Lakbayan ng Pambansang Minorya 2016 who travelled to Manila to demand for respect of their right to self-determination over their ancestral domains and culture.

They were joined by progressive organizations led by Bayan as they also called for the immediate pullout of US military forces and corporate interests from their lands, as well as to express support for president Rodrigo Duterte’s call for an independent foreign policy.

“We have experienced the imperialism of the US, the massacres of our people and those who fight for us. This is why we were at the US embassy yesterday,” said Piya Macliing Malayao, spokesperson for the newly-formed indigenous peoples alliance Sandugo, said.

“We have been dishonored and brought to poverty by the control and meddling of the US in our areas,” Malayao, who was among those run over by Kho, added.

“We already face brutality and violence in our communities. Why must we be confronted with violence in the city as well, when we were only asserting our rights?” she lamented. # (Abril Layad B. Ayroso)

Peoples’ lawyers to file attempted murder charges vs MPD

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National Union of People’s Lawyer chairperson Neri Colmenares explains why they intend to file attempted murder charges against Manila Police District officers who violently dispersed protesting indigenous peoples in front of the United States embassy in Manila last October 19.

In a press conference at the University of the Philippines a day after the incident, Colmenares explained there the police actions were unwarranted and with criminal intent. Read more