𝑶𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑲𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝑹𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝑨𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒕, 𝒁𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝑨𝒍𝒗𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒛

 

We are heartbroken and outraged by the heinous murder of our dear friend and colleague in the Philippines. On the night of August 17, amidst a heavy downpour, Zara Alvarez, 39, a single mother of an 11-year-old, was mercilessly gunned down by an unidentified assailant on a motorcycle while she was on her way home in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental. This is only days after the senseless killing of Randy Echanis, a prominent land reform and peace advocate. Their assassinations are just the latest string of ruthless attacks linked to the Philippine government’s crackdown on dissent.

According to KARAPATAN, a human rights non-governmental organization in the Philippines, at least 134 human rights defenders have been killed under the Duterte administration.

Born to a poor family, Alvarez graduated with a BS in Education at the Philippines Normal College, Cadiz City. As a student, she was active in the local church communities. Instead of employing as a teacher upon graduation, she chose to work fulltime to empower the marginalized. A petite woman with a huge heart, she tirelessly organized farmers, peasants, jeepney drivers, health workers, teachers, and church people. Abroad, she shared her people’s struggle for justice. Her hometown, Negros Philippines, has been a hotbed of violent conflict stemming from festering issues of land rights, poverty, and injustice. The workers are held chained in the exploitative semi-feudal hacienda system, and the oligarchic families perpetuate their power through force. The government has been less than sympathetic to the impoverished peasants facing the threat of starvation or landlord violence. Despite the constant vilification and death threats by vicious state agents, rights activists like Zara Alvarez carry on their work to defend the oppressed.

Sheryl Anne Montano, our HOPE coordinator, witnessed her fierce bravery during her short time in Negros. “Ate Zara had a small frame but had a great spirit. She had a deep love for the people she helped. I witnessed it firsthand when we organized a medical mission in a remote community, and when we took to the streets to fight for them. She was a real-life heroine,” she said.

Zara Alvarez was not the first and will not be the last to shed blood fighting for justice and genuine democracy. As long as this oppression continues, there will be resistance.

Justice for Zara Alvarez!

Justice for the landless peasants of Negros whom Zara defended!

Justice for all the victims of extrajudicial killings!

𝑶𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒂𝒊𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑨𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑵𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒐 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒍𝒂

Democracy is under siege in the Philippines. The arrest of peasant leaders, trade unionists, human rights defenders, cultural workers, journalists, women’s rights activists as well as minors over the past few days in Negros and Metro Manila represents an escalation of repression and impunity in the country. We vehemently condemn these outrageous attempts to eliminate critics of the Duterte regime and curb the peaceful struggles of the marginalized groups.

On the night of October 31, like thieves in the night, state forces barged into the homes of activists disrupting their peaceful remembrance of All Saint’s Day. The offices of people’s organizations, including the partylist Bayan Muna, the local chapter of the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW), and women’s rights group Gabriela, were also raided. The groups targeted have been critical of the anti-people policies and the human rights violations of the Duterte administration including the government’s ongoing “war on drugs”. According to a BPO Industry Employees Network representative, “the arrests of the unionists in Negros is a desperate tyrannical move of the Duterte government to silence groups that have been airing legitimate demands of the workers for secure jobs, higher wages and workers rights”. Amnesty International expressed concern about the use of malicious tactics like “red-tagging” by security officials to “discredit the groups and undermine the credibility of their claims”.

Among those arrested are Romulo Bito-on Jr of Bayan Muna and his wife Mermalyn; John Milton Lozande secretary general of the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW); Noli Rosales of Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU); Anne Krueger of Paghimutad; Proceso Quiatchon of Karapatan; Aldrin Dela Cerna of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and Danny Tabura of NFSW. Others include 6 minors who are members of Teatro Obrero.

Many of the activists, whose résumés include helping workers to unionize, speaking out against landlords’ abuses and promoting the rights of marginalized and under-represented Filipino women, work with constant threats hanging over them. Despite the climate of fear instilled by Duterte’s oppressive regime, they continue to organize the masses. As long as the workers in Negros are held chained in the exploitative semi-feudal hacienda system and the oligarchic families perpetuate their power through force, inequality and injustices will continue to push them to resist and assert their rights.

Many members of the Centre for Philippine Concerns (CAP-CPC) who have visited Negros Island have witnessed firsthand the perilous struggle of peasant leaders and trade unionists. “To quell their resistance, they are often branded as terrorists or dangerous criminals by the state and slapped with trumped-up charges. They relentlessly fight for the rights and welfare of the oppressed despite receiving death threats every day,” said Sheryl Anne Montano, CAP-CPC member who visited Negros in early 2018 as part of an internship on community-based health program.

Another CAP-CPC member, Sherilyn Recinto, recounted her 2016 visit with political prisoners in Negros. “They were incarcerated on various trumped-up charges by the Philippine government,” Recinto said. “Their age ranged from late teens to late 50s. They had spent from a few months to, in some cases, a few years without any hope of bail. In the vast majority of cases, almost all were found not guilty due to trumped-up charges. Activists and leaders of various grassroots organizations in the Philippines representing youth, women, farmers, and indigenous communities are being arrested for the fine work they do in those sectoral communities,” she concluded.

Since Duterte came into power, Negros Island alone witnessed 85 victims of extrajudicial killings, mostly farm workers and their families who have been fighting for their land. The island has consistently made headlines for a spate of bloody attacks against farmers, human rights defenders, lawyers, doctors, and politicians as state security forces implement the government’s counter-insurgency campaign. We demand an immediate stop to the regime’s attacks against community activists, farmers, trade unionists and human rights workers in Negros. Canada must pull its support from this rising dictatorship. We call on Centre for Philippine members and allies along with concerned citizens everywhere to protest in front of Philippine embassies and consulate.

Karapatan condemns threats harassment vs fact-finding mission in Mindanao

Press Release | April 9, 2018

Reference: Cristina Palabay, Secretary General, 0917-3162831

Karapatan Public Information Desk, 0918-9790580

 As the three-day International Fact Finding and Solidarity Mission in three regions in Mindanao is concluded today, Karapatan scored the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police for the numerous cases of threats and harassment faced by participants to the said mission.

"Either these are proof of the State forces' paranoia overdrive or it is clear evidence that the Duterte administration has much to hide and cover up in its continuing implementation of martial law and counterinsurgency program Oplan Kapayapaan in Mindanao," said Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay.

Karapatan also stressed that "the widespread presence of soldiers in the streets and communities, suspicious-looking men on motorcycles and vehicles taking pictures and intimidating participants brazenly, and the endless military checkpoints all prove that civilian authority is severely undermined by the military in the Mindanao."

"The Duterte regime is spinning a narrative that military presence is normal and for peace and order. The cases of extrajudicial killings, torture, illegal arrests and detention, forced and fake surrenders documented by the fact-finding mission all show the contrary - that there is widespread unpeace and insecurity precisely because of the presence and combat operations of the military against civilians, who they perceive are all enemies of the state," Palabay commented.

"Congratulations, AFP, PNP and Malacañang! Your dirty tricks against human rights defenders and peace advocates who joined the factfinding mission have all the more exposed the lies underneath your 'no human rights violations in Mindanao under martial law' mantra. You never fail to prove that the real terrorists are those in uniform and those in power," she added.

"Unless repressive policies are revoked, any change in the leadership of the AFP or PNP or DOJ will have no real effect in making the human rights situation on the ground any better," Palabay said.

The said mission was led by the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas and the Mindanao for Civil Liberties. Makabayan legislators led by former Rep. Satur Ocampo and Mindanaoans Rep. Ariel Casilao and Rep. Carlos Zarate, former Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano, peasant leaders and rights groups like Karapatan participated in the mission.

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Incidents of threats and harassment against members of the International Fact Finding and Solidarity Mission in Mindanao

Compiled from updates by Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas

April 6: Upon arrival at the Bancasi Airport in Butuan City and the Lumbia Airport in Cagayan de Oro City, delegates of the FFM noticed banners with threatening texts: "Welcome members of international fact finding and solidarity mission. Just do it right!".

In Butuan, at least five military intelligence agents held the said banner. Unidentified and suspicious looking men were taking pictures and videos of FFM participants. Two men onboard a black Toyota Hi- Lux van with plate number ABF1165 followed the delegates from the airport to the

Butuan City Highway. Men onboard two motorcycles also tailed the convoy from the highway.

In Misamis Oriental, soldiers held the FFM team led by formerAgrarian Reform Secretary Rafael “Ka Paeng” Mariano at a checkpoint in Brgy. Molugan, El Salvador, Misamis Oriental at 6:26am. Participants were required to get off their vehicles and present their IDs. At 6:38am, FFM delegates in another vehicle were held at a checkpoint im Brgy. Luyong Bunbun, Opol, Misamis Oriental, where the driver was asked to show his license and the vehicle’s certificate of registration. In less

than 30 minutes at Brgy. Igpit, the delegation was again held by AFP Scout Rangers who required them again to show their IDs, while their driver was questioned and threatened with some traffic violation.

April 6: FFM delegates in Southern Mindanao saw banners with threatening texts "Out International Fact Finding and solidarity mission teams. We want peace" en route to mission areas in Tagum City, Davao del Norte.

April 6: FFM delegates were harassed in at least eight checkpoints from the airport. They were tailed by men onboard motorcycles and their pictures were taken.

April 6-8: men in plainclothes onboard a motorcycle and unknown men on board a heavily tinted Toyota intermittently tailed FFM in Caraga.

April 6: FFM delegates en route to Malaybalay, Bukidnon have been harassed at least 5 times.

10:15am, Baloi, Cagayan de Oro: The team led by Amihan Secretary General Cathy Estavillo was stopped by the Regional Public Safety Battalion. The armed personnel asked their driver to show the vehicle’s Official Receipt of Certificate of Registration (OR-CR),  then instructed all passengers to

get off the vehicle and to show their identification cards. They were also told to sign the Scout Rangers’ logbook.

11:15am, Alae, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon: The team led by former Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael “Ka Paeng” Mariano was stopped by the PNP Highway Patrol Group and held for over 30 minutes without explanation. As in the last checkpoints, the HPG officers asked the driver to show his license and vehicle’s OR-CR. Before being let go, the delegates were asked to leave the vehicle and go through quarantine. The same HPG officers also held the local delegates and asked to show a permit to travel before they could proceed.

11:55am, Manolo Fortich Central, Bukidnon: The delegates were briefly stopped by armed special police forces, at which point the delegates also noticed they were being tailed by two motorcycle riders.

12:30pm, Impasug-ong, Bukidnon: FFM teams were stopped by the 8th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army and asked to get off their vehicles to show their IDs. The policemen disallowed the delegates from taking photos.

12:50pm, Dalwangan, Malaybalay, Bukidnon: The Bukidnon Provincial Public Safety Company stopped both teams and demanded that they write their names in their logbook.

The teams finally arrived at their destination at Brgy. Patpat, Malaybalay, Bukidnon at 1pm. All three contingents of the FFM were tailed hereon till they made it to the city proper.

4:30pm, Brgy. Sumpong, Malaybalay City, Bukidnon: A small contingent of the team en route to IFI Church was asked by the Bukidnon Provincial Public Safety Company to get off theirvehicles and show their IDs. Thirty minutes later, the Bukidnon Provincial Public Safety Company held the team ledby ACT Rep. Antonio Tinio. They were asked to show their IDs, and their names were listed down by the police.

April 7: A rally was staged by soldiers of the 71st IBPA and police in Brgy. Anibongan, Maco, Compostela Valley calling for the continuation of martial law in Mindanao and for the FFM teams to leave. They also took pictures of the FFM delegates. Since April 2, they have been encamped in the village, purportedly for "clearing operations." The 71st IBPA is responsible for the frustrated EJK, torture and illegal detentionof two youth peasants in Maco last November 2017.

April 7: Some 15 farmers from  Surigao del Sur who participated in the FFM focus group discussions were accosted by the police in Lianga, Surigao del Sur. They were brought to the Lianga police station, where their pictures were taken and they were made to sign on the police logbook. The license of their van's driver was confiscated. They were released after.

April 7 - Elements of Task Force Tagum, in full battle gear, flagged down, boarded and inspected the vehicles of FFM delegates in Purok Durian, Brgy. Apokon, Tagum City, Davao del Norte, while the participated were en route to Compostela Valley. Soldiers told the delegates that they will be barred

from passing through unless they subject themselves to the said checkpoint. Lt. Cricensio refused to let the delegation proceed without presenting the IDs of all the participants.

April 7 - FFM delegates in Northern Mindanao were stopped in two checkpoints from Malaybalay City on the way to the mission area in Quezon, Bukidnon. The contingent was tailed by men onboard three motorcycles, two of which do not have plates. Unidentified masked men also took pictures of delegates and their vehicle at the checkpoints in Brgy. Aglayan, Malaybalay City and Brgy. Lumbo, Valencia City.

Members of the Regional Public Safety Battalion asked if the participants were with former DAR Secretary Rafael Mariano.

Strengthening Partnerships and Studying the Impact of Canadian Mining Interests in the Philippines

The following report from the "Beaconsfield Initiative" that toured Cordillera region of the Philippines in early 2012 to look at the impact of Canadian mining is submitted to the CAP-CPC for sharing with our members by our good friend, Reverend Shaun Fryday. CAP-CPC spokesperson Tess Tesalona also participated in the exposure tour.
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River running in you and me,
Spirit of life, deep mystery.
Dancing down to the holy seas,
river run deep, river run free. *

From Province to Province: The Beaconsfield INITIATIVE January 1-12, 2012;
Strengthening Partnerships and Studying the Impact of Canadian Mining Interests in the Philippines

Connecting with the Local Filipino people

While in the Philippines for 13 days on the Beaconsfield Initiative Exposure tour, we visited many rural communities under threat from mining applications or who are directly impacted by mining activities, resulting in environmental degradation, human rights violations, militarization and other social and economic impacts in the communities.

To that end, in terms of our information gathering, we met with municipal mayors and councilors, provincial government representatives, 2 provincial governors, representatives from women’s organizations, and clergy organizations, political prisoners, the Canadian ambassador and his staff, the Attorney General of the Philippines, Bishops and other church leaders, women and children, Elders, and representatives from people`s organizations, including, CHESTCOR, CHRA, CPA, UCCP, NCCP, RECCORD, ETS and their student body, family members of the disappeared, family members of victims of extrajudicial killings and protestors of mining activity. As Christians engaged in justice, we have a responsibility to know what is happening in these areas of injustice in the Philippines today.

Our focus became clear when we divided our group into two teams in Salapaddan and Tubo, where we lived for several days. It became clear, through our first conversations with people in all communities, that the river is the source of life. It is sacred, holy, embodied with the life of the people, a place of creation and goodness, where the children play, the people wash and bathe, the fish swim, a place of celebration and delight in the abundance of the earth. It is a place of life!
The river is also a place of death! An individual who had spoken out against mining companies in the community of Tubo was decapitated, his body was desecrated, divided and thrown into the river. With the explosion of mining activities in the nearby centres, the Abra River has been impacted, with the mine tailings which contain deadly cyanide, mercury and a host of other chemicals being deposited into the once healthy and vibrant Abra river.

We followed the course of the Abra River from its headwaters where it continues to be polluted from the Lepanto mine. It winds its way through several provinces, many communities and opens, eventually, into the sea. Fish that once swam abundantly now float to the surface, destroyed. Skin diseases plague the Filipino people and their animals. The water buffalo, the most valuable domestic animal, and other domestic animals help the people preserve their way of life in subsistence farming and municipal or small-scale fishing. The Abra river is now an ambiguous place, a place where the balance of life needs to be restored and whose very flow of life is in peril with the development of mining practices.

As we heard the first hand stories of people who were directly impacted, individually and communally, we were awakened to the realities of gross injustice, realities we had heard about only in theory.

Karapatan to AFP: Stop victim blaming

Press Statement: March 21, 2012

“The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) should stop its habit of blaming the people whose rights are violated in the implementation of its counter-insurgency program, Oplan Bayanihan, especially when the victims are children,” asserted Marie Hilao-Enriquez, chairperson of Karapatan.

The AFP claimed that the 6 year-old Rodilyn Aguirre was killed, and her 4 year-old sister Baby wounded, because of their involvement with NPA activities, specifically in manufacturing improvised explosive device (EID). “These are not only false claims, these are preposterous! Rodilyn and her sister were hit by grenade shrapnel from an M203 launcher. The barangay residents believed that the explosion could only come from the nearby detachment of the 61^st IB-PA as they often saw army personnel Willy Faulo brandishing that weapon, ” retorted Hilao-Enriquez.

Results of the fact finding by Karapatan-Panay stated that on March 11, the two children were in their house with their grandfather, Julian Aguirre, when an explosion struck a few meters from their house. The report said that, “Rodilyn was hit by shrapnel from M203 launcher in “different parts of her body, resulting in fatal injuries. The most fatal wounds were on her left eye and her neck. Baby sustained superficial injuries on her face, arms and stomach.” Rodilyn died on the way to the hospital which was  “two hours walk and another hour by motorcycle away from the village.”

Karapatan said that the people in Brgy. Tacayan have, for years, complained of the military’s presence in their village for fear of their safety. Hilao-Enriquez said that, “this is proof that civilians’ lives are endangered by the mere presence of the military in the communities. Children are especially vulnerable to such violations, depriving them not only of a peaceful environment, but of their lives and security as well.”

Four days earlier, on March 7, 10 year-old Michael Mancera and brother Richard, 7 y.o., were likewise killed when soldiers from the 49^th IB in Labo, Camarines Sur fired at the Mancera’s house. The 24 sqm. Mancera house was riddled with bullets. Recovered from the different spots outside the house were a total of 231 spent shells from armalite rifles. To cover up the killings, the military tagged Benjamin, Michael and Richard’s father, as “NPA militia” and called the incident an ‘encounter’ between the military and the NPA.

Karapatan said it has been the practice of the AFP to easily and immediately brand the victims of human rights violations as members or supporters of the New People’s Army (NPA) to wash off their bloodied tracks. Hilao-Enriquez added that, “the AFP often uses ‘legitimate encounters’ or ‘hot pursuit operations’ against the NPA to cover up its rights violations against the unarmed civilians in the communities. They are mindless of who are victimized in the process because they have a healthy excuse -- branding civilians, including children as rebels, as if branding a person as NPA or NPA supporter justifies extrajudicial killing.”

Karapatan reiterates its call “to immediately pull out military units in the communities and stop the implementation of Oplan Bayanihan which is nothing but a repackaged Oplan Bantay Laya. ###

Reference:     Marie Hilao Enrique, Chairperson, +63 917-561-6800

Angge Santos, Media Liaison, +63 918-979-0580

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PUBLIC INFORMATION DESK
publicinfo@karapatan.org
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Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights

2nd Flr. Erythrina Bldg., #1 Maaralin corner Matatag Sts., Central District

Diliman, Quezon City, PHILIPPINES 1101

Telefax: (+63 2) 4354146

Web: http://www.karapatan.org

KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties.  It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign.