Group scores attacks vs women’s rights defenders

May 13, 2012

MANILA — Beyond the pomp celebrations of Mother’s Day worldwide, a human rights group hit the recent reported cases of harassment, vilification, illegal arrest and detention of women activists in the Philippines.

Among other cases, the Tanggol Bayi cited the arrest and imprisonment based on alleged trumped up charges of health worker Helen Igloria, a mother of three children, from Zamboanga del Norte; and the continuing threats to her life against Benedictine nun Sr. Stella Matutina, OSB.

The nun is presently the secretary general of environmental group Panalipdan! Mindanao, which aims to protect indigenous people’s rights against big corporate mining.

“These women are dedicated human rights workers who are being vilified by members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines with Oplan Bayanihan as their tool of terror. They are not merely made vulnerable by such attacks against their persons, they are made fair targets for extrajudicial killings and further rights violations,” said Cristina Palabay, spokesperson of Tanggol Bayi.

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