P-Noy’s “matuwid na daan” is for the few
Fast for freedom, fast for human rights Press con July 21, 2011. Photo by R. Yamzon/TFDP
Human rights groups and peoples’ organizations led by the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) emphasized that after one year in office nothing has changed under the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III. Human rights violations that hung over the country at the end of GMA’s term persist. The climate of impunity continues.
“P-Noy failed to make human rights a priority on its agenda and governance,” Max de Mesa, PAHRA Chairperson continued. “Had P-Noy incorporated and implemented human rights principles as basis for governance and for the country’s development plan, P-Noy’s administration for the year would have kept on the ‘matuwid na daan’.”
In the first year of P-Noy administration, cases of arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearance and extra-legal killings as well as forced evictions have begun to pile up.
PAHRA said we strongly urge P-Noy to dissipate from the climate of fear so as to break through the Arroyo-devised culture of impunity. P-Noy administration has no clear human rights program to offer to the Filipinos. One year in office and yet we see no concrete policy for the respect, protection and fulfillment of human rights.
“The death of Mariano Umbrero, 63, cancer-stricken political prisoner who was detained and died inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) hospital, shows the incapacity and failure of the P-Noy administration to do a compassionate and humanitarian act,” Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) said.
TFDP said that the case of Tatay Umbrero is just an example that this administration is inconsiderate “at bingi sa palahaw ng mga biktima ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao.”
“This situation only reflects that last administration’s poor human rights performance still persists and this only serve to throw the spotlight on P-Noy’s ‘matuwid na daan’ is only impressive on paper but extremely poor in the respect, protection and fulfillment of human rights,” the Medical Action Group (MAG) said.
PAHRA pointed out that it’s now a year into the P-Noy administration the paramilitary groups, including Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGUs), still roam with total impunity. These armed groups are rampant in Central Luzon as systematic and continuing incidences of human rights violations.
PAHRA, TFDP, MAG and other human rights groups and peoples organizations calls for:
- immediate issuance of an Executive Order that would start of the process of making a National Human Rights Agenda;
- release immediately all political prisoners and;
- reform the prison and correction system specifically the Rules on Parole and Guidelines for Recommending Executive Clemency of the Board of Pardons and Parole.
There is one other thing that P-Noy can do for us to see through the dark days ahead in the “matuwid na daan”, other than by telling “our economy grew” and the “war on corruption is gaining ground.” That is to put the respect, protection and fulfillment of human rights on its governance.
The political prisoners and detainees in NBP together with other political prisoners and detainees in other parts of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao will join the protest actions in denouncing the PNoy’s “matuwid na daan” as a sham by escalating their fasting to hunger strike if the government continues to ignore human rights in its governance agenda.-end-
Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearance (AFAD), BALAY Rehabilitation Center, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), Families of Victims of Enforced Disappearance (FIND), Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KPD), Human Rights Defenders (HRD)-Pilipinas, Medical Action Group (MAG), Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates(PAHRA), REHAS-Alab Katipunan, SANLAKAS and Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP)
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Human Rights Online Philippines 
UNLESS THE YOKE OF EXPLOITATION AND OPPRESSION ARE BROKEN, WE ARE ALL PRISONERS!
The struggle to effect the release of Political Prisoners/ Alleged Political Offenders (PPs/APOs) in the Philippines has been an arduous work to do knowing that under the present capitalist run state, the struggle for change to improve the lives of the poor, oppressed and exploited masses has been suppressed by the State using its apparatuses (Executive, Legislative, Judiciary, Prison, Court, Police & Military), the very major reason why freedom fighters, human rights advocates and revolutionaries are being arrested, criminally charged, and detained, in fact, under a class society like the Philippines, the State is always an instrument used by the ruling class to suppress the subordinate class. But once they are arrested and detained, they will face another world of struggle in a limited showground but very hard to overcome. It is a struggle against personal loneliness, social alienation, political demoralization, economic deficiency, family dislocation and most of them, the worries on how to win battles inside the courtroom. The truth of the matter under the current system of society, everyone is a prisoner (the yoke of poverty and oppression) both those outside and inside detention center and unless the yoke of exploitation and oppression are broken, we are prisoners!
As of March 3, 2003, REHAS Inc. has monitored 190 Political Prisoners/Alleged Political Offenders (PPs/APOs) who are still languishing in 58 different detention centers all over the country. There are many political prisoners across the country if we are going to pool together all data from TFDP, KARAPATAN, PAHRA, MAG, BALAY, and other human rights organizations. The government through its judicial branch, charges the APOs/PPs of common crimes, despite that the act they committed were in pursuit of their political belief. Some were arrested and detained because of mere suspicion that they were associated with a revolutionary organization. Jail situations remain to be a place not suited for human being (not well ventilated, seldom PPs are exposed to sun light, insufficient supply of food, no recreation center and most often, PPs are being harassed by jail guards, visitors are being taxed by some jail guards, etc.), the very reason why there is a need for prison reforms. Another problem face by PPs/APOs is the cost of hiring a “competent” lawyer to handle their cases, and posting bail bands, such demands expensive fees, in which families and relatives can’t afford. Families and relatives seldom visited their love ones in jail because of economic difficulties. The split within the progressive movement has also contributed negative impact to APOs/PPs, their next of kin and to the over-all fight to free all political prisoners in this country and therefore, the need to unite all these groups into one call and first time in the history after the split that sometime on February 14, 2011, REHAS through the effort of Juanito Itaas, we were able to unite the said PPs from various blocks (RPM-P/RPA-ABB, CPP-NPA, MLPP, MILF and MNLF) into one common call which resulted into a joint manifesto signed by them calling the Office of the President, DOJ, OPAPP and CHR to release all political prisoners regardless of political affiliations. If the APOs/PPs have already started to unite among themselves, I think there is no reason that political blocks and cause-oriented groups and revolutionary parties in this country cannot also unite for a common call and that is to help free all political prisoners in this country.
The call to free all alleged political offenders and political prisoners is a legitimate demand, not merely a tactical call, but must be a continuous fight because there will always be political prisoners as long as the system is not change.
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