Jovito Palparan | Human Rights Online Philippines

Tag Archives: Jovito Palparan

[Press Release] Transfer to AFP facility is like freeing Palparan – CTUHR

Posted on September 20, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Transfer to AFP facility is like freeing Palparan – CTUHR

The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights slammed the transfer of Gen. Jovito Palparan from Bulacan provincial jail to an AFP detention facility following a decision made by the Malolos Regional Trial Court last September 15.

“We strongly denounce the transfer of Gen. Palparan from the provincial jail to a military detention. Transferring Palparan to military custody is not just giving special treatment; it is tantamount to giving him freedom because the military is his comfort zone,” Daisy Arago, CTUHR executive director said.

On Monday, September 15, Malolos RTC branch 14 Judge Teodora Gonzales ruled in favor of Palparan’s motion to transfer him to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Custodial Center in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City due to “threats” to his life.

“Indeed, impunity reigns. It is becoming clear that even with Palparan’s arrest and charges filed against him, there is really no intention to prosecute him to the full force of the law because his transfer to a military facility is more advantageous and more convenient to him now compared when he was still in hiding,” Arago added.

After over two years on the run, Palparan was arrested on August 12 in a residential area in Sta. Mesa Manila by agents of the National Bureau of investigation.

The group also raised concerns about how groups and individuals seeking justice for Palparan’s crimes and human rights violations ensure that he is still being detained when he is staying in his home institution.

Palparan, known as the “butcher” faces charges of kidnapping and serious illegal detention in relation to the abduction of Raymond Manalo and enforced disappearance of two UP students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan.

Palparan is suspect of masterminding numerous extra-judicial killings, and enforced disappearance of activists when he was still commanding officer of military units Mindoro and Central Luzon. CTUHR notes that Palparan was responsible for the killing and disappearance of a number of trade unionists namely Rogelio Concepcion, Nilo Bayas, Leodegario Punzal, Florante Collantes, Federico de Leon, Manuel Avila, Ricardo and Rodel Valmocina, and Michael Milanay.

“Ultimately, the transfer of Palparan to military custody is reflective of the Aquino government’s policy to perpetuate injustice and impunity. This sends a bad signal that will further impunity for human rights killings and violations because even when perpetrators and masterminds like Palparan have already been brought to court, the military can always run to their defense and secure them,” Arago said.

RELEASE
18 September 2014

Press Release

[From the web] OHCHR welcomes arrest of Palparan

Posted on August 23, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

OHCHR welcomes arrest of Palparan

BANGKOK (13 August 2014) – We welcome the arrest by the Filipino Army of former maj. general Jovito Palparan, which represents an important step towards addressing impunity for serious human rights abuses in the Philippines.

Palparan was arrested this Tuesday after three years in-hiding. He was indicted in 2011 for ordering the torture, rape, and execution of two Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno in 2006. According to reliable sources, Palparan has also been linked to several human rights abuses, including disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings of leftist activists from 2001 to 2006.

In early 2007, after his official mission to the Philippines, the UN Special Rapporteur on Summary Executions recommended that “as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, the President must take concrete steps to put an end to those aspects of counterinsurgency operations which have led to the targeting and execution of many individuals working with civil society organizations.” We recognise the current efforts of the Aquino administration to follow-up on the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur, and further encourage the Government to take additional steps to strengthen the rule of law and accountability mechanisms.

Ensuring justice in this case will set an important precedent for the Philippines and South East Asia region, where impunity remains an issue of serious concern.

ENDS
The Regional Office for South-East Asia in Bangkok represents the High Commissioner for Human Rights within South East Asia. The High Commissioner for Human Rights is the principal human rights official of the United Nations and heads the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which spearheads the United Nations’ human rights efforts .

OHCHR website: http://www.ohchr.org
OHCHR Regional Office for South-East Asia website: http://bangkok.ohchr.org/

From the web

[From the web] Palparan Arrest End of Aquino Apathy on Philippines Impunity? By Carlos H. Conde

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Dispatches: Palparan Arrest End of Aquino Apathy on Philippines Impunity?
By Carlos H. Conde

Philippine authorities did something extraordinary on Tuesday: in the early morning hours they arrested a former senior security forces official implicated in serious human rights violations.

The arrest of Jovito Palparan, a retired army major general, marks a rare challenge to the country’s rampant impunity, which the government of President Benigno Aquino III has failed to adequately address.

Palparan had been a symbol of that impunity by evading arrest for the past three years and thumbing his nose at the authorities with the alleged help of former military colleagues. His arrest by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation and naval intelligence should be a warning to other rights abusers who routinely elude justice for serious crimes.

Palparan is notorious for his alleged role in the abduction, torture, and enforced disappearance of University of the Philippines farmers’ rights activists Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño in 2006. There is also evidence linking his unit to the torture of Raymond Manalo, who later testified that he witnessed soldiers under Palparan’s command torture Cadapan and Empeño. Palparan, while an army brigade commander in Oriental Mindoro province, was also implicated in the abduction, torture, and murder of at least 29 leftist activists beginning in 2001. Palparan’s reputation for abuses made him a visible symbol of military brutality during the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. During her State of the Nation Address in 2006, Arroyo publicly praised Palparan for his role in a military counter-insurgency campaign that had resulted in widespread human rights violations.

Palparan’s arrest gives Aquino an opportunity to make real progress on his long unfulfilled promise to end rights abuses in the Philippines. That means ensuring that Palparan goes to trial without interference from powerful elements in the military who might seek to protect him.

Above all, Aquino needs to follow-up Palparan’s arrest by bringing to justice other high-profile rights abusers, such as former Mayor Rey Uy, the alleged mastermind of the Tagum City “death squad.” That means jumpstarting the currently moribund judicial “superbody” Aquino created in 2012 to expedite the investigation and prosecution of extrajudicial killings. Failure to do so will be a betrayal of the victims of human rights violations who have looked to Aquino to end the status quo of impunity rather than perpetuate it.

http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/08/12/dispatches-palparan-arrest-end-aquino-apathy-philippines-impunity

From the web

[From the web] Karapatan calls on victims of Palparan to come out and charge him in court -KARAPATAN

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Karapatan calls on victims of Palparan to come out and charge him in court

Karapatan welcomes the long overdue arrest of The Butcher Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. Those who harbored and kept Palparan from arrest in the past years should be accountable as well.

Palparan’s arrest is due to the persistent and untiring struggle for justice of victims and kin, and the Filipino people against state repression. His arrest does not absolve BS Aquino from accountability for the human rights violations—killings, torture, and enforced disappearances—committed by the Palparans under his reign.

He should be immediately in jail for the disappearance of Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan.

Palparan should be fully accountable for all the evils he committed—extrajudicial killings, torture and disappearances—under Macapagal-Arroyo’s Oplan Bantay Laya.

Among those killed under Palparan are human rights defenders Eden Marcellana and peasant leader Eddie Gumanoy in Southern Tagalog; UCCP Pastor Edison Lapuz, Leyte; Atty. Fedelito Dacut, Leyte; Supreme Bishop Alberto Ramento of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente.

Read full article @www.karapatan.org

[Statement] Sentro hails arrest of Palparan, calls for no ‘VIP treatment’ and swift conviction -SENTRO

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Sentro hails arrest of Palparan, calls for no ‘VIP treatment’ and swift conviction

The Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa eagerly welcomes the capture early this morning of fugitive retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan; but expresses at the same time apprehension that he will also be accorded VIP treatment in a “special jail” – like Janet Lim-Napoles and her “pork barrel senators” – and the lawsuits against him will drag on for years – like what happened to the Marcoses, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Ampatuans, and their ilk.

Dubbed “the butcher,” Palparan left a bloody and terrifying trail of murders and abductions of social activists wherever he was assigned an army command – from Mindoro, Romblon, Samar to Central Luzon provinces. Like a Grim Reaper, his mere presence in an area was a portent of increased number of extrajudicial killings or “salvaging,” forced disappearances of perceived anti-government individuals, and active harassment of mass organizations. Still, Arroyo lavishly praised Palparan for his “successful” counterinsurgency campaigns from 2001 to 2006, when he retired. He went into hiding in December 2011 when a court ordered his arrest because of the 2006 kidnapping in Bulacan of two UP students, Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño, who both remain missing.

Of course, no direct evidence was ever gathered and not a single witness has yet surfaced to implicate Palparan as the mastermind behind these heinous crimes. This is understandable since Palparan and his gang – not unlike the liquidation crew of gangsters and secret military assassination units during martial law – will ensure at all costs that incriminating proofs will be eliminated and would-be whistleblowers will be bribed or terrorized or “silenced” outright. However, an investigation of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) admitted that there was “certainly (circumstantial) evidence pointing the finger of suspicion at some elements and personalities in the armed forces, in particular General Palparan, as responsible for an undetermined number of killings, by allowing, tolerating, and even encouraging the killings.”

Sentro calls on the Aquino government and the judiciary to ensure that Palparan and his cohorts should be immediately imprisoned in regular jails and not be given special treatment. They should be tried and convicted promptly so that justice will finally be served to their victims and the latter’s families.

The government should likewise vigorously work to end the impunity of violence against the people and their organizations; this includes the speedy resolution of abductions and murders of trade unionists and activists, including two Mindanao leaders of the National Confederation of Transportworkers’ Unions (NCTU-APL-SENTRO) – Antonio “Dodong” Petalcorin and Kagi Alimudin Lucman – who were slain within the span of one month (July) only last year in Davao City and Cotabato City, respectively.

Source: www.sentro.org

Statement

[Urgent Appeals] Overt surveillance on a peasant leader in Bataan -AHRC

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

PHILIPPINES: Overt surveillance on a peasant leader in Bataan
ISSUES: Threats and intimidation; human rights defenders
3 September 2013

Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that renewed surveillance is being carried out on peasant leader in Bataan. The victim has actively participated in campaigns and human rights activities. A series of surveillance operations had been recognize by his family at their residence.

CASE DETAILS: (Based on the documentation by Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights (KARAPATAN))

On 2 August 2013 at 11am Rodolfo “Ka Rudy” Sambajon, Secretary General of Makabayan Coalition-Central Luzon, a local chapter of the Patriotic Coalition (Makabayan) and the National Chairperson Emeritus of the National Federation of the Small Fisherfolk Organization in the Philippines (Pamalakaya), noticed a man riding a Kawasaki motorcycle passing by when he arrived at his home in Orani, Bataan. One reason he noticed this particular motorcycle was because it had an improvised “lost plate” licence plate of vehicle registration number.

According to Ka Rudy, the man riding in the motorcycle had a military haircut and was about 5’7” tall. Ka Rudy’s son also reported that he had seen the same man coming out of an alley near their house and looking around.

On 4 August, Ka Rudy’s wife sent him a text message warning him not to go home. She noticed unfamiliar men going around their place and especially hawkers whom she suspected to be government intelligence agents.

The incident happened almost three weeks after Ka Rudy joined a Quick Response Team (QRT) on 14 July 2013 to look into the case of the reported abduction of farmers in Bataan by soldiers of the 24th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (IBPA). Also in July, the National Office of Karapatan received a report that Ka Rudy has been targeted for assassination by the 72nd Military Intelligence Company, a unit of Sgt. Antonio Hilario. Antonio Hilario is the brother of M/Sgt. Rizal Hilario, a co-accused of Ret. Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan for the enforced disappearance of the two University of the Philippine students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

In 2002, Ka Rudy, then the National Chairperson of National Federation of the Small Fisherfolk Organization in the Philippines (Pamalakaya), was in a protest action against the demolition of houses in Brgy. Ambulong, Tanauan City, Batangas. The demolition was part of the plan to put up a “development project” and a beach resort at the foot of the Taal Lake which will destroy the livelihood of more than 20 families.

On 14 March 2002, an estimated 400 elements from the Batangas, Laguna, and Manila Philippine National Police backed up some 150 members of a demolition team arrived. The residents and their supporters barricaded the area but the police and demolition team attacked the barricade. While Ka Rudy, with the community leaders of farmers and fisher folk, tried to negotiate with the police and the court’s sheriff, one of the police men got angry and pulled out his gun and threatened to shoot Ka Rudy. A farmer, Roberto Dumampo, saw this and struck the police’s hand. The gun fired and the bullet nearly hit the head of Dumampo. This led to gunfire by the police during which seven people injured due to the violent dispersal of the police and 22 families were dislocated due to the demolition.

On December 2006, Ka Rudy was harassed after he joined a fact-finding mission on the cases of extrajudicial killings and frustrated extrajudicial killings in Orani, Bataan.
The barangay captain and a number of neighbours reported to Ka Rudy that some men were asking people about a man named “Ka Rudy Sambajon.” For his own safety, Ka Rudy decided to leave his home and stayed in peasant communities where he is organizing or helping out farmers on land disputes.

For more than four years, Ka Rudy was unable to go home for fear that his family might experience the same harassment from suspected military agents.

In 2010, Ka Rudy learned from his colleagues that motorcycle-riding men wearing ski masks were looking for him at the house he was staying in Bataan. These men came to the said house a couple of times. (See 2010 Karapatan Year-End Report on the Human Rights Situation in the Philippines)
On 11 September 2010, in Brgy. Gen. Lim, Orion, Bataan, Ka Rudy was in a meeting of the Samahan ng mga Magsasaka at Mamamayan ng Bangad (SMMB) or the Association of Farmers and Residents of Bangad. During the meeting, the members noticed that three unidentified men arrived on two motorcycles without plate numbers. The SMMB members saw the three men observing them.

After the meeting, Ka Rudy left and waited for a bus at a street corner about 100 meters away from their meeting place. Two men on motorcycles approached him and asked for his name and what he was doing in the meeting.

Ka Rudy in turn asked them who they are and asked for their identification cards. The man driving the motorcycle said, “We are policemen! What is your name?” However, their questioning was cut short and immediately left when they saw a member of the SMMB approaching them.

Ka Rudy was about to go back to the venue of the meeting to relay to his colleagues what happened but, not far from the corner, he saw the two motorcyclists following him. Ka Rudy was forced to enter the nearest yard to ask for help. The men on the motorcycles approached him. One of the men pulled out a gun and shouted, “Do not try to run! Come here! What is in your bag?”

The owner of the house came out upon hearing the noise and the two men were frightened away. Ka Rudy immediately reported the incident to a member of the SMMB who went to the house. While the two were talking, the motorcycle riding men came back and one of them pointed his finger at Ka Rudy.

The SMMB member took Ka Rudy to his tricycle and away from the community. The two motorcyclists who had earlier pointed a gun at Ka Rudy tailed them but were lost when Ka Rudy and his companion drove around the community to shake off the men. Ka Rudy was able to get out of the area safely.

In the afternoon of the same day, seven men threatened a member of the SMMB to get Ka Rudy’s house address. The same men were reported to be asking around residents about Ka Rudy – what he looks like and where his home is. Another report came to Ka Rudy that men were keeping watch on his house.

The surveillance at Ka Rudy’s house by suspected police and military agents continued until 13 September 2010.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write letters to the concerned authorities listed below expressing your concern about this case.

The AHRC is also writing a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

PHILIPPINES: Overt surveillance on a peasant leader in Bataan

Name of the victim: Rodolfo “Ka Rudy” Sambajon, 67 years old, fisherman, Secretary General of Patriotic Coalition – Central Luzon (Makabayan). He is the National Chairperson Emeritus of National Federation of Small Fisherfolk Organization in the Philippines (Pamalakaya).

Alleged Perpetrators: unidentified men
Date of incident: 2 and 4 August 2013 at 11am
Place of incident: Family residence in Orani, Bataan.

I am writing to draw your attention regarding the surveillance to Rodolfo “Ka Rudy” Sambajon, Secretary General of Makabayan Coalition-Central Luzon, a local chapter of Patriotic Coalition (Makabayan) and National Chairperson Emeritus of National Federation of Small Fisherfolk Organization in the Philippines (Pamalakaya), on 2 August 2013 at 11am. He noticed a man riding in a Kawasaki motorcycle passed by when he arrived at his home in Orani, Bataan. One reason he noticed this particular motorcycle was because it had an improvised “lost plate” licence plate of vehicle registration number.

I am aware that on 4 August, Ka Rudy’s wife sent him a text message warning him not to go home. She noticed unfamiliar men going around their place and especially hawkers whom she suspected to be government intelligence agents.

I urge you to conduct an effective investigation in order to identify and held to account those responsible in conducting the surveillance on Rudy Sambajon. Also, ensure the safety of the victim and his family. They must be afforded with adequate security and protection promptly. It is disappointing that despite previous similar incidents, there has not been any progress to ensure their protection and safety.

I trust that you will take appropriate action in this.

Yours sincerely,

——————————
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. Benigno Aquino III
President
Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace
JP Laurel Street, San Miguel
Manila 1005
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 736 1010
Tel: +63 2 735 6201 / 564 1451 to 80

2. Ms. Loretta Ann Rosales
Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., Commonwealth Avenue
U.P. Complex, Diliman
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 929 0102
Tel: +63 2 928 5655 / 926 6188
E-mail: chair.rosales.chr@gmail.com

3. Police Director Alan LM Purisima
Chief, Philippine National Police
Camp General Rafael Crame
Quezon City, Philippines
Fax +632 7248763
Email: feedback@pnp.gov.ph

4. Ms. Leila de Lima
Secretary
Department of Justice (DOJ)
DOJ Bldg., Padre Faura
1004 Manila
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 521 1614
E-mail: soj@doj.gov.ph

Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) (ua@ahrc.asia)

AHRC Philippines page: http://www.humanrights.asia/countries/philippines
Follow us on:
Facebook: ahrc pilipinas
Twitter: @ahrcphilippines
Podcast: AHRC Philippines Rights Cast

Visit our new website with more features at http://www.humanrights.asia.

——————————————————
NEW REPORT:
Special Report: The Philippines’ hollow human rights system

Click to access v11n0203.pdf

Urgent Appeals

[Statement] A call to human rights defenders: conduct creative & courageous actions on four (4) fronts to end impunity! -PAHRA

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

A call to human rights defenders: conduct creative & courageous actions on four (4) fronts to end impunity!

July 22, 2013

“Ang mali – gaano katagal man ito nanatili – ay mali pa rin. Hindi puwedeng “Oks lang, wala lang iyan.” Kapag kinalimutan natin ang mga ito,mangyayari lang ulit ang mga kamalian ng nakaraan.Kung hindi magbabayad ang mga nagkasala,parang tayo na rin mismo ang nag-imbita sa mga nagbabalak gumawa ng masama na umulit muli.” President Benigno Aquino III. SONA July 2011

The Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) recalls that:President Benigno Aquino III, in his 2011 State of the Nation Address (SONA) popularly well defined impunity: That which is wrong, no matter how long it takes, is still wrong. No way can anyone say after sometime that:

“It already is OK. Let bygone’s be bygone’s.” Otherwise, the same wrongs will recur. If no one pays for what has been done, it would be like we ourselves have encouraged the wrong doer to do it all over again.
Impunity is a deadly social virus of such strain that addressing it with half-measures and / or insufficient dosages of actions only emboldens its bearers more while it instills more widely within Philippine society the climate of fear and of helplessness against impunity’s next choice as its victim. The danger is increased when those infected belong to the high echelons of government, the security sector and the business sector – as shown in the unwillingness of PLDT to comply with the final decision of the Supreme Court in favor of the Digitel Employees Union as well as in the still un-captured ex-Maj.Gen. Jovito Palparan, Jr. and the highly possible involvement of military and police officers in rub-outs.

Yes, the reported number of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture are down. But very few have been made to pay for what they have wrongly done. Government and the security sector has miserably failed to diligently investigate and appropriately prosecute the past and present violations. The culture of impunity persist. And the private sector, in varying degrees, is being infected with it. The President’s past SONA words are a warning unto itself: Kung hindi magbabayad ang mga nagkasala, parang tayo na rin mismo ang nag-imbita sa mga nagbabalak gumawa ng masama na umulit muli.

An outbreak of impunity can again occur anytime.

Extrajudicial killings, for one, by death squads are no longer confined in Davao City. Similar incidents, according to Human Rights Watch, are being reported in the cities of Zamboanga, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro and Cebu.

To prevent this backlash, we call on all human rights defenders to conduct creative and courageous actions to:
1. Assert the right to truth.
2. Pursue the right to justice.
3. Organize to obtain the right for an effective remedy and to received reparations.
4. Work for structural and institutional reforms to prevent recurrence of systemic abuses.

Determinedly work for the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill. Now we need to push for the success of the People’s Indirect Initiative as it has been freed from the clutches of political unwillingness.

Barriers to obtain the truth about graft and corruption as well as criminal activity and/or human rights violations must be demolished to deliver justice to victims and their families and to the Filipino people as a whole.

The intransigence of both the AFP and the PNP, as pointed out by the Court of Appeals, in cooperating with the CHR to obtain information relevant to the resolution of Jonas Burgos case must be decisively dealt with.
If wrongly permitted to take this course, Jonas Burgos and his family would be, despite being a high profile case, added victims of impunity, piled on cases like that of the enforced disappearances of six young casual workers from Surigao known as the PICOP 6. If there is no full consideration, as another example, of the truth about the massacre of the Capion family in Davao del Sur, proper redress and compensation along with justice will be not achieved.

Truth should not only be obtained in the realm of civil and political rights, but also in economic, social and cultural rights. The right to information is not only on the accessibility of police blotters, military camp records but also of transparency of business plans and records containing also financial reports affecting people, their sources of subsistence and the environment particularly in areas of extractive industries.

Till now there is no official National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP) that would guide this administration’s compliance of its human rights obligations. It must be remembered that most of the time, impunity in the realm of civil and political rights is rooted in the impunity of economic, social and cultural rights. The completion of CARPER and the people’s control, not foreigners, over sources of subsistence should be ensured to progressively root out the causes of the armed conflict and concomitant abuses.

The touch-and-go or piece-meal style in human rights will not weaken, much less stop, impunity but rather strengthen impunity by using new learned technicalities to subvert actions that respect, protect and fulfil human rights, such as blind-folding a person to escape identification in a torture case.

Passage of some legislation related to human rights, such as the laws on reproductive health, enforced disappearances, compensation for human rights victims during Martial Law and on domestic workers, are noted and commended.

While awaiting the said laws’ full implementation, there are others which should be soonest addressed by the Chief Executive who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

The President should order, not merely endorse, that transparency and accountability be diligently done in dealing with serious accusations of criminal and/or human rights violations implicating both rank-and-file personnel and officers. The President should review and / or rescind executive actions which give rise to human rights violations, like the Executive Order 546 which allows the arming of militias by local officials.
Alongside the ban, he should issue an Executive Order which bans all para-military formations and to dis-arm immediately all the said groups. There is urgency as well to check that Command Responsibility does not deteriorate into a ‘command conspiracy’ between officials both in the civilian bureaucracy and the security sector and their corresponding rank-and-file personnel.

Finally, to ensure that systemic abuses do not recur, structural and institutional changes should take into serious consideration without discrimination the promotion and protection of human rights of all, especially, the indigenous peoples, the peasants, the workers, women, children, the LGBTs, the elderly and persons with disabilities. Human Rights Defenders should monitor government compliance.

No trade-off’s to end impunity.

Statement

[In the news] Human rights advocate wants Palparan arrested -SunStar.com.ph

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Human rights advocate wants Palparan arrested
By Ivy C. Tejano
December 19, 2012

A HUMAN rights advocate urged President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday to make true his promise to hold soldiers accountable for human rights violation.

In a letter emailed to Sun.Star Davao, Brad Adams, Asia director of the Human Rights Watch, said the call is in line with the first anniversary of the issuance of warrant of arrest against retired Army general Jovito Palparan Jr.

Palparan was earlier charged with kidnapping and serious illegal detention before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 14 in Bulacan. He is included in the “Big Five” most wanted men in the country with a P2-million reward for his arrest.

The court issued the warrant of arrest against him on December 19, 2011, after he was accused in the 2006 kidnapping of University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño, who were allegedly tortured and have not been found.

Adams said it was a year ago when the court issued a warrant of arrest against the accused but until now, authorities have yet to arrest Palparan.

“Along with the families of the victims, we are disappointed that Palparan remains at large in spite of the efforts of the Department of Justice and the police to find him,” Adams said.

Read full article @ www.sunstar.com.ph

In the News

[Statement] Strong rights, no remedy -AHRC

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Human Rights Online Philippines 2 comments

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of the Human Rights Day 2012

PHILIPPINES: Strong rights, no remedy

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has released its 15-page report on the situation of human rights in the Philippines this year. The report, titled “Strong rights, no remedy,” gave detailed analysis on the absence, if not lack of adequate remedy and redress to any forms of violation of rights in the country’s system of justice. The report is written in seven sections and each section gives analyses of the important events which took place this year, and by examining old cases and new cases it has documented, it evaluates what impact it has had on protection of rights.

The discourse on protection of rights, or the lack of it, in the Philippines has been very challenging in recent past. There is a strong perception–domestically and internationally–of the governments political will to protect rights. But whether their public statements and policy of protection of rights are translated into reality to the daily lives of the people who suffer have been questionable. There are rights, like freedom from torture, with no legal remedy in the past, now they have; perpetrators of gross human rights violations, like former president Gloria Arroyo and the military generals during her term, who could not be prosecuted in the past, are now being prosecuted.

The government has been engaged in legislating and ratifying domestic and international human rights treaties respectively, but in practice none of those accused of torture have been punished. Events and developments like this have resulted to renewed confidence on the government. By examining empirical cases, it is clear that there is a fundamental breakdown in the country’s system of protection as described below.

Convicted chief justice & the court judges
This section examines the impact of the conviction of Renato Corona, former chief justice of the Supreme Court (SC) in an impeachment trial for his non-disclosure of his assets, on the discourse of judicial accountability and corruption amongst the judges in the lower courts all over the country. Corona’s conviction has restored the confidence of the public on the executive and legislative for exercising their role as co-equal branches in safeguarding corrupt practices and abuses.

But Corona could be impeached and punished; however, in practice judges in lower courts subordinate to him breached due process rules and fundamental principles of fair trial as they exercise of their duty daily. Judges ignoring orders by the SC, admitting evidence taken by way of forced confession and torture, conniving with prosecutors in fabricating charges against human rights and political activists, delaying trial of cases, and others subverting due process is very common. They were never punished.

Old and new cases: no arrest, remedy
This section explains why the Inter-Agency Committee on Extra-Legal Killings, Enforced Disappearances, Torture and Other Grave Violations of the Right to Life, Liberty, and Security of Persons, which President Benigno Aquino III, is doomed to fail. This body, with a fresh mandate to investigate old and new cases, only repeats the ritual of creating task forces and special investigation bodies.

The inability and failure of similar special task forces before, notably the Task Force 211 in November 2007, to ensure that its prosecution based on the special investigation they earlier had conducted would result to conviction, identification of the accused and conclusion of cases, questions the competence and credibility to this new ‘super body’. Also, the inability of the authorities to arrest former General Jovito Palparan and his accomplices for the enforced disappearance of activists despite the increases reward money for his arrest clearly illustrates that even if court issues arrest orders, perpetrators would not arrested.

If Palparan and other powerful and influential politicians, who had been identified as masterminding targeted attacks of human rights and political activists in high profile case could not be arrested despite being known in the country, it means the possibility of prosecuting perpetrators of extrajudicial killings and disappearances where the perpetrators are not identified–like the death squad in Davao City–is non-existent. Thus, the recommendation of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to hold local officials accountable in Davao City would be meaningless.

Cycle of rights violations: massacre, killings, torture & disappearance
As expected, massacres and other forms of horrible violations happened this year, too. But these cases are no different to earlier documented cases that remain unresolved. If the perpetrators in the Maguindanao massacre in November 2009, after three years of trial, are still unpunished and other perpetrators remain at large, it would not be surprising that the massacre that documented this year, notably that of Capion family in October 18 in Tampakan, South Cotabato, would not be resolved, too.

One of the complainants in the case of the Maguindanao massacre, Myrna Reblando, widow of journalist Alejandro ‘Bong’ Reblando, had to leave the country for lack of adequate protection. Not only her that is being targeted, there have been potential witnesses who had been killed before they could testify, families of the victims offered bribe, if not being continuously being the object of threats and harassment with the deliberate intent for them to withdraw their complaint. They have no protection.

No remedy, redress: they be Filipinos or not
In the past, there are probabilities of prompt and effective intervention when foreign governments and their people take action from abroad on human rights issues. In this section it explains that even in cases of foreign nationals, Wilhelm Geertman and Fr. Fausto “Pops” Tentorio who were murdered on July 3, 2012 and October 17, 2011 in the country respectively, perpetrators are either unpunished or unidentified.

Wilhelm and Fr. Fausto had lived and worked for decades with the poor and vulnerable communities. If cases of these persons, who has representation from their foreign governments and pressures from their own people back home had not resulted to adequate remedy, will cases of Filipinos in their own country have? This section demonstrates numerous cases without remedies regardless of the identity and personal background of the victims. No remedy be they Filipino or not.

Prospects in the emerging justice system: Bangsamoro political entity
The signing of agreement between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Government on “Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro” offers prospects of peace and building of democratic institutions that would address the aspirations of the struggle of the Muslims in the south. The real challenge is how to build institutions of justice that would address the grievance of the Muslims who are often the usual suspects in terrorist activities after decades of subjugation.

This section draws the old experience on how cases of torture, arbitrary detention and fabrication of charges, had been committed with the operation of justice system—the police, prosecutors and judiciary. These lessons should be learned. Thus, it is important that fair trial and due process is to be fundamental values in this emerging justice institution in the proposed political entity if this agreement for political settlement on the Mindanao question is to survive.

Rights in the Philippines: on paper, not in practice
This section explains that by its legislation of domestic law and ratifying international human rights treaties, the government succeeded in making it appear on paper that not only it has ‘political will’ it is also a ‘champion of human rights.’ The perception it has created and ‘diplomatic victory’ is has obtained in doing so, has changed the landscaped of human rights discourse into becoming even more difficult. The government’s records is being reviewed, not how in reality it afforded or not afforded remedy to violations of rights, but how many domestic laws, human rights treaties it has signed; and public statements of its government officials reaffirming protection of rights.

In conclusion, it is clear that without changes as to how the institutions of justice – police, prosecution and the judiciary – operate to ensure adequate protection of rights, there is no possibility that rights on paper would have remedy. If the very fabric of the system of protection of rights is flawed, no rights would have the possibility of obtaining any remedies.

This report is available at
http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2012/ahrc-spr-009-2012.pdf/view

Read this statement online

# # #

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation that monitors human rights in Asia, documents violations and advocates for justice and institutional reform to ensure the protection and promotion of these rights. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

Visit our new website with more features at http://www.humanrights.asia.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-STM-262-2012
December 11, 2012

Statement

[In the news] Palparan’s legal maneuver sign ‘world getting smaller’ for fugitive general – lawyer -InterAksyon.com

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Palparan’s legal maneuver sign ‘world getting smaller’ for fugitive general – lawyer
By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, InterAksyon.com
November 2, 2012

MANILA, Philippines — A private prosecutor in the criminal case against the fugitive Jovito Palparan said on Friday the retired general‘s newest legal maneuver indicated that “his world is getting smaller every day.”

Human rights lawyer Edre Olalia, lead counsel of the families of Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan urged the Court of Appeals not to heed Palparan’s petition questioning the jurisdiction of the Bulacan regional trial court to try him for the abduction of the two University of the Philippines students.

Empeno and Cadapan have remained missing since they were snatched by alleged military intelligence under Palparan’s command in 2006.

In a statement, Olalia said Palparan’s petition “is an afterthought as he is clutching at the remaining thin straws of legal maneuvers that he could futilely resort to. Probably his world is getting smaller every day so he is desperately trying to preempt and delay the inevitable.”

Read full article @ www.interaksyon.com

In the News

[Statement] Message to PNoy: honor your parents’ struggle vs. Martial Law through stopping all human rights violations -Visayas Clergy Discernment group

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

VISAYAS CLERGY DISCERNMENT GROUP

Message to PNoy: honor your parents’ struggle vs. Martial Law through stopping all human rights violations

September 21, 2012

On the 41st commemoration of the declaration of Martial Law, the bishops and priests of the Visayas Clergy Discernment Group (VCDG) call on President Benigno Aquino III to meaningfully honor his parents’ struggle against Martial Law, through stopping human rights violations such as militarization, demolition and eviction of urban and rural poor communities, summary killing of media people and environmentalists, and other forms of human rights abuses.

Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI said, “Those with greater political, technical, or economic power may not use that power to violate the rights of others who are less fortunate. Peace is based on respect for the rights of all” (Pope Benedict XVI, in his Message for World Day of Peace, 1 January 2007).

Despite its insistence on “daang matuwid”, human rights violations and the impunity of perpetrators continue to characterize the Aquino government.

Two years into his presidency, 99 extra-judicial killings have been recorded, 11 enforced disappearances, 60 frustrated extra-judicial killings, 222 illegal arrests without detention, 216 illegal arrests with detention, 185 illegal search and seizure, and 7,008 forced eviction/demolition.

The Aquino government also committed 29,465 acts of forced evacuation, 19,325 threat/harassment/intimidation, 6,721 indiscriminate firing, 45 forced/fake surrender, 296 use of civilians in police and/or military operations as guides and/or shield, 14,620 use of schools, medical, religious and other public places for military purposes, 2,099 restriction or violent dispersal of mass actions, public assemblies and gatherings, among others (Karapatan Quarterly Monitor, 2012).

In Cebu, violent demolition and eviction of urban poor communities have continued; and more than 30,000 households in Metro Cebu are facing demolition. There are also farmers’ leaders who have asked helped from Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma as they are being harassed for asserting genuine agrarian reform. Fisherfolks in Cordova, Cebu and other areas in the province are being displaced from their livelihood due to reclamation projects for ports, golf courses, and others.

We recall the Church’s social teachings on integral development. In any program for development or progress, the government must make sure that everyone affected by it, especially those who don’t have the means to have their voices heard or who can’t defend themselves, is given the chance to be listened to or consulted. The government should ensure that its decisions are not biased in favor of those who have more in life, at the expense of those who have less. Each one’s rights should not be violated in the name of progress.

Yet amidst increasing human rights violations, we are dismayed with the continuing impunity of perpetrators. Impunity or exemption from punishment of perpetrators has become so common that it has become just another matter of routine. Impunity denies the victims their right to justice and redress.

For example, General Jovito Palparan, who is facing two charges of kidnapping and serious illegal detention for allegedly masterminding the 2006 abduction of University of the Philippines students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan, continues to elude the law. The late Sec. Jesse Robredo in his talk in the Cebu Discernment of Public Servants last July 20, 2012, even said that Palparan can’t be arrested because “may kasabwat sa kapangyarihan.”

Many other government military officials and personnel accused of perpetrating human rights violation continue to enjoy impunity under the current dispensation.

We ask the Aquino Government to denounce Martial Law through doing all it can to stop impunity and stop all human rights violations.

We also challenge ourselves, and everyone concerned. To attain lasting peace, all of us must promote human rights and justice. We are one with Pope Benedict XVI who said, “Peace for all is the fruit of justice for all, and no one can shirk this essential task of promoting justice” (Message for World Day of Peace 2012, Pope Benedict XVI).

As Christ lives,

BISHOP GERARDO ALMINAZA, D.D. (SGD.)
Auxiliary Bishop of Jaro/
Head Convenor of the Visayas Clergy Discernment Group (VCDG)
Tel. No. (033) 3291625

VISAYAS CLERGY DISCERNMENT GROUP
E-Mail Address: visayasclergydiscernment@yahoo.com

Statement

[From the web] Aquino’s warped sense of justice: GMA freed, torturer promoted, impunity ignored -Karapatan

Posted on July 28, 2012 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Aquino’s warped sense of justice: GMA freed, torturer promoted, impunity ignored

“And so this is justice under Aquino — torturers are given plum positions in the military, and the rich, powerful and notorious human rights violators like Palparan and Arroyo are mockingly free as preying vultures. No wonder, Noynoy deliberately omitted anything on human rights and peace in his SONA, a tacit and dangerous signal for state security forces to continue to prowl, with terror and violence against the people.”

Thus said Karapatan spokesperson Cristina Palabay, after news came out on the court resolution granting bail for former Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the designation of Morong 43 torturer Col. Aurelio Baladad as acting commanding officer of the 9th Infantry Division of the Phil. Army, shortly after Aquino’s State of the Nation Address (SONA). In his SONA, Aquino heralded the state of “justice” under his administration.

Karapatan supported the Morong 43 health workers who filed criminal and civil charges against Arroyo and Baladad, and the mothers of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno who also filed criminal cases against Palparan resulting to the issuance of an arrest warrant. The group also filed an opposition to the appointments of Gen. Jorge Segovia and Baladad at the Commission on Appointments based on the pending complaints against them.

“It is reprehensible that a former President and military generals, whose notoriety on human rights violations has been condemned by the Filipino and the international community, are now both walking free from accountability. The crooked path of impunity lies under Aquino,” Palabay added.

The group also scored the series of moves to cover up the liabilities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police in the extrajudicial killing of Italian missionary Fr. Fausto Tentorio and Dutch development worker Willem Geertman. Prior to Aquino’s SONA, the PNP investigators have stated robbery as the main motive behind the killing of Geertman, while paramilitary elements were excluded by the Dept. of Justice from the list of suspects in the killing of Tentorio.

“These are among the cases of extrajudicial killings that all remain unsolved under Aquino. Again, it begs the question: what kind of justice is Aquino harping on in his SONA? Clearly, it is the kind of justice that bears upon the poor and those working for meaningful changes in society, while promoting ‘justice’ for the moneyed and powerful,” Palabay concluded.

Source: www.karapatan.org

From the web

[Statement] Human Rights Community Commemorates International Day Against Torture by free zone -HRD-Pilipinas

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Human Rights Online Philippines One comment

Human Rights Community Commemorates International Day Against Torture by free zone
26 June 2012

In 1997, the United Nations General Assembly decided to mark this historic date and designated 26 June each year as International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

On this significant day, the Human Rights Defenders-Pilipinas together with the human rights communities worldwide commemorates this important date in pushing through a much needed process of globalizing human rights and acknowledging torture, and all forms of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as absolutely prohibited and universally illegal.

Torture has no place in a civilized society like ours. But we are gravely concerned of its continuing practice not only to persons under investigation but against human rights defenders.

A recent case showed that farmer-leader Franklin Barrera, 18, claimed that he was abducted and tortured by the military. This happened on June 7, 2012 in Lopez, Quezon Province.

Barrera was allegedly hit in the nape with a rifle butt when he failed to identify the persons in the picture presented by the military. He claimed that he was forced to swallow three spoonful of salt and made to drink water to liquefy it. He managed to escape and was eventually confined at Doña Martha Memorial Hospital in Atimonan, Quezon.

Given this incident, we call not just for a reorientation but also reformation of our institutions in the work for human rights, particularly the protection and promotion of the rights of human rights defenders with the likes of Barrera.

Soon we hope that human rights defenders are truly considered partners in the creation of a worldwide culture of human rights, peace and development — where torture becomes a thing of the past and where human rights defenders are protected in the conduct of their duties.

In the latest United Nation’s process of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) last month, the Philippines claimed a decrease in the number of reported cases of torture, enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings; but, one victim of any human rights violations is too many. Efforts to prosecute perpetrators remain insufficient. And there is still much concern over slow convictions for human rights violations.

Up until now, cases involving Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, Jr, who is accused of torture, killing and disappearance of political activists have not been resolved. Palparan is still at large. Based on unconfirmed reports he is currently under the protection of close friends in the military and private individuals.

It is not a question of whether or not cases of torture have been lessened. It is on how our government solves and permanently eradicates this procedure in their practices. The police and military should seriously respond to this challenge by identifying concrete steps, clear policy and truthful implementation of their sworn duty based on the international standards of human rights.

Finally, as a measure of sincerity to end cruel, degrading and inhuman act, the government especially President Benigno Aquino III must openly declare war against torturers, and yield them with appropriate penalties they deserve.###

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-807463
http://renatomabunga.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/human-rights-community-commemorates-international-day-against-torture/

Statement

[Event] Run for your Life 2 (This is not a fun run) -Karapatan

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

“Run for your Life 2 (This is not a fun run)” is also a part of the series of activities to commemorate the abduction of Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan, who was also a sprinter/triathlete.

To put a “twist” to the usual, there will be a “prison cell,” and participants will be encouraged to keep their eyes open for “Jovito Palparan”, whom they must capture by virtue of citizen’s arrest.

The real Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. is a fugitive who remains scot-free after he was served a warrant of arrest for kidnapping and illegal detention of Karen and Sherlyn.

The run will also serve as a fundraising event to generate financial support for the ongoing legal cases against Palparan and all human rights violators, so donations for the run are very welcome. A short program will be held at the end of the 4.4K run, at the foot of the AS steps.

We hope that you can join us on the 22nd. Please contact us through 4354146 (Karapatan Office). Thank you very much.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.444825498870184.107952.100000282136253&type=1

Source: https://www.facebook.com/karapatan.public.info

[From the web] Young people protest vs Bulacan landfill -www.cbcpnews.com

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Young people protest vs Bulacan landfill.

http://www.cbcpnews.com

SAN JOSE DEL MONTE City, April 25, 2012—Hundreds of youth protesters called for the closure of the V.G. Landfill in Bulacan in a rally held last April 20.

A motorcade was held from two different districts and merged at one of the gates of the landfill for an ecumenical service.

Fr. Anacleto Ignacio, parish priest of San Pedro Apostol in Brgy. Tungkong Mangga who is also president of “Kilusang Tutol sa V.G. Puyat Landfill at ibang LGUs Inc. (KILOS)” said their protest was held because of the failure of the provincial and city government and DENR to close the landfill despite repeated calls for its shutdown.

Protesters made a human barricade at one of the gates to stop any garbage truck in entering the said facility.

Some 300 young people from the newly formed Student and Youth Network Oppose (SAY NO) to V.G. Puyat Landfill were among the people who joined the barricade.

Read full article @ www.cbcpnews.com

From the web

[In the news] Philippine human rights groups turn to citizens to help find fugitive ex-military general, others -mindanaoexaminer.com

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Philippine human rights groups turn to citizens to help find fugitive ex-military general, others
mindanaoexaminer.com
April 04, 2012

MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 4, 2012) – Filipino human rights groups have asked the support of the public to help find a former army general accused of extrajudicial killings of political activists in the Philippines.

The human rights organizations Karapatan, Hustisya and Desaparecidos have asked those commuting to the provinces to help find fugitive Jovito Palparan Jr. in places where they are spending the Lenten Season.

Relatives of the victims of human rights violations and members of the three organizations went to several bus stations in Quezon City to distribute “Wanted Palparan” flyers.

The action was part of the so-called “People’s Manhunt” on the former major general that was launched three months ago when the Malolos Regional Trial Court issued a warrant of arrest against Palparan.

“The Aquino government should show grit, consistency and seriousness in arresting criminals and human rights violators such as Palparan and his co-accused Master Sergeant Rizal Hilario. The delay in their arrests puts across the message that government and military officials are being exempted from arrest under Aquino.”

Read full article @ www.mindanaoexaminer.com

In the News

[From the web] People of the Philippines vs Jovito Palparan -RAPPLER.com

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

People of the Philippines vs Jovito Palparan.

BY PATRICIA EVANGELISTA
March 29, 2012

The Cadapan-Empeno Case

THE DISAPPEARED

MANILA, Philippines – In a resolution released 15 December 2011, prosecutors from the Panel of National Prosecution Service found probable cause to charge retired Major General Jovito Palparan Jr., retired Lieutenant Colonel Felipe G. Anotado, retired Master Sergeant Rizal Hilario, and Staff Sergeant Edgardo Osorio with two counts of Kidnapping and Serious Illegal Detention in connection with the abduction of UP students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno.

Cadapan, 27, and Empeno, 20, were abducted on June 26, 2006 from a farming community in Hagonoy, Bulacan.

Empeno was a member of the left-wing League of Filipino Students. Cadapan was a member of Anakbayan. Both were students of the University of the Philippines Diliman.

Read full article @ www.rappler.com

In the News

[Statement] PHILIPPINES: The importance of arresting retired general Jovito Palparan Jr. -AHRC

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

A Statement from the Asian Human Rights Commission

PHILIPPINES: The importance of arresting retired general Jovito Palparan Jr.

In the streets of Metro Manila, it is common to see photographs or posters of missing persons posted on walls and electricity poles, with details of the missing person and how to contact the relatives looking for them. These families have taken it upon themselves to look for their loved ones, in the absence of any help from the government.

What is not common however, is the poster of Jovito Palparan Jr., a retired military general, also posted widely on public walls in Manila. He is not a missing person, but a person who went into hiding after the court issued arrest orders against him, to answer allegations of his and his men’s involvement in the disappearance of two activists, Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno in 2006 (See Story No. 86 for details). The inability of the government to arrest him is not surprising; in fact, him being actually arrested would be more of a surprise. (photo: Jovito Palparan’s wanted poster in streets of Manila)

Failure to arrest persons subject to court arrest orders is not unique to Palparan. The failure or inability to arrest is unfortunately a norm more than an exception throughout the Philippines. Even ordinary criminals or escapees from jail can in fact roam freely. Unless they make trouble again, or they apply for employment requiring police clearance, they are not likely to be arrested. Under such circumstances, how can society expect Palparan to be arrested?

Firstly, Palparan is not an ordinary man. Before he retired from the military, he commanded military units and was assigned to various different regions. His military accomplishments–regardless of whether they conform to the articles of war and human rights norms, which the military establishment claim to adhere to–are publicly endorsed and recognized by his former commander-in-chief, former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Secondly, Palparan is well known to the government. All of his personal and military records are well documented by the Armed Forces, not only as a military officer, but also as a civil servant subject to civil service laws. In performing his duty in the military, he is subject to both administrative and criminal proceedings. As a known military general well endorsed publicly by the former president, it is hard to imagine that the government, particularly the military establishment, does not know where Palparan is.

Thirdly, Palparan’s military career and achievements was strongly endorsed during Arroyo’s presidency. In other words, Arroyo consented to Palparan’s actions and his rhetoric justifying the fight against counter-insurgency and protecting the rights of only those people he considered as ‘humans’. Now that Arroyo herself is under hospital arrest and being prosecuted for election fraud however, where does Palparan’s support lie?

Despite the change in leadership and government knowledge regarding Palparan, there are today posters put up in search for him. This is a clear indicator that the assumption that any police or military officer who committed violations during Arroyo’s time could be held accountable once the leadership is changed, is deeply flawed. The dominant thinking that change of leadership is prerequisite to accountability for gross human rights violations has been flawed for many years; this did not happen in the present Aquino term, nor did it occur in the regime of Corazon Aquino after Marcos, or in Gloria Arroyo’s regime after Estrada.

Rather, it is clear that those accused of crimes, regardless of whether they are government civil servants, policemen or military officers, have developed sophisticated methods of escaping from accountability. At the same time, the relatives and victims of human rights violations are also developing creative means to deal with this absence of accountability; the distribution of Palparan’s poster being one such method.

Escaping arrest for instance, is not a special skill unique to Palparan. Needless to say, the current Philippine Senator Panfilo Lacson himself had gone into hiding and absconded from his responsibility as a lawmaker to evade the very jurisdiction of law he was mandated by the people to uphold. In his defence, he also claimed innocence of the murder charges against him for the assassination of the former publicist of President Estrada. After the court dismissed the charges, he surfaced bragging about his exploits while in hiding.

Like Palparan, Lacson is also a ‘decorated police officer.’ He had been accused for committing torture and human rights violations during his career as a police officer before joining the Senate. The difference is that the charges on Lacson were dismissed, while Palparan’s charges had just begun. In the Philippines, jurisprudence says that flight is an indication of guilt; Lacson can now afford to show up in public, while Palparan cannot. However, there is one thing that these individuals have in common: the capacity to hide from the law using their connections with the police and military.

The spread of posters of Palparan in the streets of Manila, initiated by Karapatan and the families of the victims who took responsibility in asking to locate him, demonstrates an utter state of impunity that continues to thrive in the country. In the case of Palparan and his men involved in forced disappearance, even the Department of Justice and its attached special investigation unit, the National Bureau of Investigation, have openly admitted being unable to arrest them, despite their resources and intelligence network all over the country. While the government may be willing to arrest Palparan, it seems its willingness does not match its ability.

The failure and inability of the government to arrest Palparan should therefore be examined thoroughly by the countryâ€™s justice institutions to address unresolved cases and the ongoing impunity of past regimes. The skills and habits to evade accountability developed by the offenders of the law, particularly the security forces expected to uphold the law, must first be learned and understood. No reform can be made possible without this knowledge. This is not only about arresting Palparan or him evading prosecution, but rather narrating the state of justice institutions that exist in the country.
Read this statement online

# # #
About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation that monitors human rights in Asia, documents violations and advocates for justice and institutional reform to ensure the protection and promotion of these rights. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
Visit our new website with more features at http://www.humanrights.asia.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-STM-075-2012
March 30, 2012

Statement

[In the news] What Jollibee saw -INQUIRER.net

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

What Jollibee saw.

By: Patricia Evangelista, Philippine Daily Inquirer
March 25, 2012

On Dec. 20, 2011, five years after University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño were abducted from Hagonoy, Bulacan, the Bulacan courts released a warrant for the arrest of retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. and three other officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. They were charged with two counts of abduction and serious illegal detention. It is the first time in recent history that officers of the AFP are being hunted down for human rights violations.

Of the witnesses who have stepped forward to point a finger at the military, the youngest is a Bulacan native previously referred to as Jollibee. He was 14 at the time of the abduction, and testified to the abduction of Cadapan and Empeño in spite of his own father’s refusal to stand by his statements.

Late in 2011, at the resumption of the Palparan et al. hearings, the boy called Jollibee pointed a finger at a man who appeared in court as Palparan’s bodyguard. Palparan claimed it was the first time he had met the man. After much reluctance, the AFP introduced him to the court as Staff Sgt. Edgardo Osorio. He is now in custody, along with Lt. Col. Felipe G. Anotado.

Almost three months after warrants for their arrest were released, Palparan and retired Master Sgt. Rizal Hilario are still at large. Jollibee, born Wilfredo Ramos Jr., is now 19 years old, and is happy to inform the gentlemen who once called him a liar that he is still waiting.

* * *

This is Jollibee’s account as told to Patricia Evangelista.

They call me Jollibee, because my mother had me 19 years ago in the first Jollibee fast food restaurant opened in Bulacan.

At 2 in the morning of June 25, 2006, about 15 men from the AFP arrived at our village. They were in full uniform. They knocked on our door. They said if we didn’t let them in they would shoot us down. My father got scared. He opened the door fast, but they beat him anyway and shoved him to the ground. They hit him, behind the neck, and tied him down.

I was 14 when it happened. The girls were staying with us, researching the farmers in Hagonoy. As far as I know they were not members of the New People’s Army. I don’t think they were rebels. Activists, maybe. I knew them for years. They were almost family.

I saw the men bind my father. I went down the stairs. They grabbed me and hit me and shoved me down the hallway and tied me up, too. That’s when I heard the girls screaming for help. They were being forced out of our house and beaten. One of the farmers who lived with us, Manuel Merino, ran out to help Karen and Sherlyn. He was worried about them. They took him, too.

Read full article @ http://opinion.inquirer.net/25565/what-jollibee-saw

In the News

[Press Release] P-Noy continues to skirt the issue of Human Rights -KARAPATAN

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Human Rights Online Philippines One comment

P-Noy continues to skirt the issue of Human Rights

“It has been three months since the fugitive general, Jovito Palparan Jr., was issued a warrant of arrest by the Malolos Trial Court for the disappearance of UP students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño yet he remains in hiding with neither a word nor two from the P-Noy government on his whereabouts. We now tend to believe that the warrant of arrest issued to Palparan was just for show,” said Marie Hilao-Enriquez, chairperson of Karapatan.

Hilao-Enriquez added that, “until today, P-Noy continues to hide behind his so-called campaign against corruption to skirt the issue of human rights, along with other people’s issues such as the continuous rise of fuel prices and basic commodities.” Hilao-Enriquez’s statement was in reaction to P-Noy’s speech yesterday before the graduates of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA). “While we are for good government, P-Noy could also have exhorted the new graduates to make sure that they don’t end up like Palparan but he continues to avoid talking about human rights because his own Oplan Bayanihan pursues the same crooked path and generates the same impact on the people as Gloria Arroyo’s bloody Oplan Bantay Laya.” said Hilao-Enriquez.

Karapatan also chided the statement of Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin that the new PMA graduates will join a “cleaner” AFP. Hilao-Enriquez said, “How can the AFP be ‘clean’ when people like Palparan, whose hands bear blood of people killed in the name of national security, remain unpunished?”

Hilao-Enriquez called on the P-Noy government to “stop showing off and get real” on the issue of human rights. “What good is it that Palparan was issued a warrant of arrest when he remains scot-free? What good is it that GMA was ‘arrested’ but stays in an air-conditioned room in a hospital with the government at a loss on what to do to her? And what good is it to the Filipino people that P-Noy vowed to be the exact opposite of GMA yet sows the same terror and blazes the same bloody path through his Oplan Bayanihan?”