Opinion
Palparan's comeuppance
AT GROUND LEVEL By Satur C. Ocampo
Updated May 07, 2011 12:00 AM
Source: THE PHILIPPINE STAR
Remember Jovito Palparan Jr., the notorious Philippine Army officer tagged by militant political activists as “The Butcher”?
In 2007 the Melo Commission recommended Palparan’s investigation for extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and other human rights violations. Instead, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo personally presented him as a special guest and commended his exploits during her 2008 state-of-the-nation address, thus abetting his continued terror campaign till he retired as major general in 2009.
Now Palparan may soon be hailed to court to face criminal charges. Comeuppance at last!
Last Wednesday the mothers of the two former UP students, Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno, who were abducted and “disappeared” in 2006, filed a complaint at the Department of Justice against Palparan, two Army colonels and several others. The charges: rape, serious physical injuries, arbitrary detention, maltreatment of prisoners, grave threats, grave coercion, and violation of RA 7438 (on the rights of detained persons).
Sherlyn and Karen were abducted by armed men on June 26, 2006 in Hagonoy, Bulacan. Witnesses have identified their abductors as soldiers of the Army’s 56th Infantry Battalion in Norzagaray, Bulacan. They were detained and tortured in a camp in Limay, Bataan under the 24th IB. The 56th and 24th IBs were both under the 7th Infantry Division, then headed by Palparan.
Their mothers, Erlinda T. Cadapan and Concepcion E. Empeno, filed a petition for habeas corpus at the Supreme Court. The SC directed the Court of Appeals to hear the petitions. Initially the CA denied the petition in 2007, but on appeal in 2008 it reversed the ruling and ordered the military to release the two women.
Yet to this day they remain in limbo.
At least two factors can be credited for the recent positive turn of events.
1. The courageous and credible detailed testimony at the 2008 CA hearing of a young Bulacan farmer, Raymond Manalo. His testimony — which convinced the CA to reverse its 2007 ruling on the habeas corpus petition cited above — is the linchpin of the criminal case, backed up by the testimonies of seven other witnesses.
In that testimony Raymond cited the direct involvement of Palparan in the abduction, detention and torture of Sherlyn and Karen. In a separate testimony earlier in his own petition for the writ of amparo related to his abduction, he detailed Palparan’s direct role and those of his two trusted aides since the 1980s, MSgt. Donald Caigas and MSgt. Rizal Hilario.
Raymond and his brother Reynaldo were abducted on Feb. 14, 2006 in San Ildefonso, Bulacan and detained together with Sherlyn and Karen, and another farmer, Manuel Merino in the Limay camp. They escaped after 17 months of detention, filed the amparo petition which the Court of Appeals granted in 2008 and affirmed by the Supreme Court.
In its ruling penned by then Chief Justice Reynato Puno, dismissing the military’s appeal to reverse the CA decision, the SC affirmed the credibility of Raymond’s testimony. It likewise clearly pointed out Palparan’s direct accountability for the abduction and violation of the brothers’ human rights.
2. The formation of Task Force Lawsuit, a legal-paralegal group which supervises the preparation, filing and pursuance of this case. The group has been formed by the human rights alliance Karapatan, the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, and progressive party-list organizations. (The group needs more lawyers to help, and justice and human rights supporters to donate funds.)
TF Lawsuit last month filed a damage suit against Gloria Arroyo and some military officers for the illegal arrest and detention of the health workers known as “Morong 43.” The group is set to file next a criminal case against officers and soldiers of the 56th IB for the abduction-disappearance of Jonas Burgos on April 28, 2007. It is also looking into the revival of the Manalo brothers’ abduction case, which was filed with the Ombudsman but hasn’t been acted on.
On the Jonas Burgos case, TF Lawsuit will coordinate with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who last April 14 directed state prosecutors to initiate criminal proceedings against 1st Lt. Harry Agagen Baliaga Jr., a 56th IB company commanding officer, and other persons allegedly involved.
NUPL secretary-general Edre Olalia, chief counsel in the Cadapan-Empeno case, explains:
“This will not ensure that Karen and Sherlyn will be brought back to us. Indeed, this is more than seeking justice for them. This is a way to put these incorrigible abductors, torturers, and rapists out of places of authority.”
In short, TF Lawsuit aims to score a breakthrough against impunity, the political atmosphere wherein no major human rights violators have been arrested and prosecuted since the era of martial law.
Another NUPL member, Juan Oliva, commended the decision of seven Bulacan farmers, fishermen and barrio folk to testify in the case as “an outstanding act of courage, and a genuine belief that criminals must be punished.”
Interestingly, two young women, contemporaries of Sherlyn and Karen as UP students, passed the last bar examinations and are now assisting in the case. They are Sandra Jill Santos and Ma. Cristina Yambot.
Let’s wish all of them Godspeed.
Showing posts with label human rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label human rights. Show all posts
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Saturday, May 07, 2011
Seeking Justice for Jonas Burgos
Seeking Justice for Jonas Burgos
Published on May 6, 2011
Source: BULATLAT
Mrs. Burgos told Bulatlat.com that for three consecutive nights, a van with tinted windows parked in front of their house in Quezon City for 15 minutes.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Despite the risks involved, Mrs. Edita Burgos, mother of missing activist Jonas Burgos, is determined to sue all those involved in the abduction of her son.
In an interview with Bulatlat.com, Mrs. Burgos said, surveillance on her intensified again after the release of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) report implicating the military in the enforced disappearance of her son.
Jonas, son of press freedom icon Jose “Joe” Burgos Jr., was abducted on April 28, 2007 at the Ever Gotesco mall in Commonwealth, Quezon City by elements of the Philippine Army.
Mrs. Burgos told Bulatlat.com that for three consecutive nights, a van with tinted windows parked in front of their house in Quezon City for 15 minutes. In all three occasions, no one boarded or stepped out of the van. Mrs. Burgos said she also noticed motorcycle-riding men tailing her several times.
“I have learned to be alert,” Mrs. Burgos said. “I am ready to hit them with my bag,” she added.
The surveillance and harassment she has been experiencing are not new. At one time, Mrs. Burgos’s car was taken. Reliable sources told her that anti-carnapping syndicates were not the ones who did it.
In a media briefing on May 4, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima announced that steps are being taken in relation to the recommendations submitted by the CHR to the Supreme Court.
The CHR recommended the filing of kidnapping charges against Lt. Harry Baliaga, commander of the 56th Infantry Battalion’s Bravo Company, 7th Infantry Division, based in Bulacan. Baliaga was identified by two witnesses as one of those who abducted Jonas. The Commission also urged the Supreme Court to grant the petition for writ of amparo filed by Mrs. Burgos.
The CHR was tasked by the Supreme Court to investigate the abduction of Jonas Burgos. In its resolution, the High Court noted that there were “significant lapses” in the police investigation. The Burgos family filed a petition seeking the reversal of the Court of Appeals’s decision denying their petition for writ of amparo and absolving police and military officials implicated in the Burgos case.
On April 29, Mrs. Burgos met with Prosecutor General Claro Arellano to discuss the filing of formal charges against Baliaga.
De Lima said they hope to start the preliminary investigation on Baliaga soon.
Mrs. Burgos called for the suspension of Baliaga. “He must be detained in the barracks so that any time, he can be summoned by the courts,” she said.
Mrs. Burgos said she is set to meet with a panel of prosecutors next week.
As for the threats, Mrs. Burgos said: “I am ready to see God any time. My only fear is that they would go after my children.” She is determined to pursue the family’s search for Jonas and their struggle for justice.
Published on May 6, 2011
Source: BULATLAT
Mrs. Burgos told Bulatlat.com that for three consecutive nights, a van with tinted windows parked in front of their house in Quezon City for 15 minutes.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Despite the risks involved, Mrs. Edita Burgos, mother of missing activist Jonas Burgos, is determined to sue all those involved in the abduction of her son.
In an interview with Bulatlat.com, Mrs. Burgos said, surveillance on her intensified again after the release of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) report implicating the military in the enforced disappearance of her son.
Jonas, son of press freedom icon Jose “Joe” Burgos Jr., was abducted on April 28, 2007 at the Ever Gotesco mall in Commonwealth, Quezon City by elements of the Philippine Army.
Mrs. Burgos told Bulatlat.com that for three consecutive nights, a van with tinted windows parked in front of their house in Quezon City for 15 minutes. In all three occasions, no one boarded or stepped out of the van. Mrs. Burgos said she also noticed motorcycle-riding men tailing her several times.
“I have learned to be alert,” Mrs. Burgos said. “I am ready to hit them with my bag,” she added.
The surveillance and harassment she has been experiencing are not new. At one time, Mrs. Burgos’s car was taken. Reliable sources told her that anti-carnapping syndicates were not the ones who did it.
In a media briefing on May 4, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima announced that steps are being taken in relation to the recommendations submitted by the CHR to the Supreme Court.
The CHR recommended the filing of kidnapping charges against Lt. Harry Baliaga, commander of the 56th Infantry Battalion’s Bravo Company, 7th Infantry Division, based in Bulacan. Baliaga was identified by two witnesses as one of those who abducted Jonas. The Commission also urged the Supreme Court to grant the petition for writ of amparo filed by Mrs. Burgos.
The CHR was tasked by the Supreme Court to investigate the abduction of Jonas Burgos. In its resolution, the High Court noted that there were “significant lapses” in the police investigation. The Burgos family filed a petition seeking the reversal of the Court of Appeals’s decision denying their petition for writ of amparo and absolving police and military officials implicated in the Burgos case.
On April 29, Mrs. Burgos met with Prosecutor General Claro Arellano to discuss the filing of formal charges against Baliaga.
De Lima said they hope to start the preliminary investigation on Baliaga soon.
Mrs. Burgos called for the suspension of Baliaga. “He must be detained in the barracks so that any time, he can be summoned by the courts,” she said.
Mrs. Burgos said she is set to meet with a panel of prosecutors next week.
As for the threats, Mrs. Burgos said: “I am ready to see God any time. My only fear is that they would go after my children.” She is determined to pursue the family’s search for Jonas and their struggle for justice.
Friday, May 06, 2011
Philippines pledges to end enforced disappearances
Philippines pledges to end enforced disappearances
Thursday, 05 May 2011 04:22
Source: THE PENINSULA
MANILA: The Philippines pledged yesterday to end enforced disappearances of left-wing activists, community organisers and suspected Maoist rebels and sign and ratify an international treaty.
More than 2,000 such cases have been documented in the Philippines, about 40 percent of which were reported during the iron-fisted regime of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos from 1965 to 1986.
Dozens were also reported missing during the nine-year rule of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo which ended last year. Her government was also blamed for hundreds of political killings in 2006-2007.
Philippine security forces also promised to cooperate in the investigation and prosecution of military and police officers implicated in disappearances, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told a forum.
“You have our commitment to drive this practice to extinction,” de Lima said.
The international convention for the protection of people from enforced disappearances came into force in December 2010, four years after it was adopted by the United Nations.
Eighty-eight states have signed the treaty, but only 25 have ratified it. The Philippines had yet to sign because of resistance under the previous administration, de Lima said.
“I will talk to the president and ask him to sign the convention at the soonest,” de Lima said, adding there had been a shift in the military’s orientation in respecting human rights under the new government.
She said an army captain implicated in the 2007 disappearance of Jonas Burgos, a leader of a left-wing farmers’ group and son of a journalist and freedom fighter, had been taken into “protective custody” while charges against him were being prepared in the Justice department.
Renato Reyes, spokesman for the left-wing New Patriotic Alliance, said his group welcomed the commitment. “We are calling on the president to make a stand on the issue and show his political will,” Reyes said, adding the security forces would probably oppose any action that could hold soldiers accountable for rights abuses.
Reyes said his group had also met de Lima.
“She appeared sincere in assuring us the killings and the disappearance will stop, but we’re more interested in punishing those who have been identified to have been involved in the killings and disappearances.”
REUTERS
Thursday, 05 May 2011 04:22
Source: THE PENINSULA
MANILA: The Philippines pledged yesterday to end enforced disappearances of left-wing activists, community organisers and suspected Maoist rebels and sign and ratify an international treaty.
More than 2,000 such cases have been documented in the Philippines, about 40 percent of which were reported during the iron-fisted regime of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos from 1965 to 1986.
Dozens were also reported missing during the nine-year rule of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo which ended last year. Her government was also blamed for hundreds of political killings in 2006-2007.
Philippine security forces also promised to cooperate in the investigation and prosecution of military and police officers implicated in disappearances, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told a forum.
“You have our commitment to drive this practice to extinction,” de Lima said.
The international convention for the protection of people from enforced disappearances came into force in December 2010, four years after it was adopted by the United Nations.
Eighty-eight states have signed the treaty, but only 25 have ratified it. The Philippines had yet to sign because of resistance under the previous administration, de Lima said.
“I will talk to the president and ask him to sign the convention at the soonest,” de Lima said, adding there had been a shift in the military’s orientation in respecting human rights under the new government.
She said an army captain implicated in the 2007 disappearance of Jonas Burgos, a leader of a left-wing farmers’ group and son of a journalist and freedom fighter, had been taken into “protective custody” while charges against him were being prepared in the Justice department.
Renato Reyes, spokesman for the left-wing New Patriotic Alliance, said his group welcomed the commitment. “We are calling on the president to make a stand on the issue and show his political will,” Reyes said, adding the security forces would probably oppose any action that could hold soldiers accountable for rights abuses.
Reyes said his group had also met de Lima.
“She appeared sincere in assuring us the killings and the disappearance will stop, but we’re more interested in punishing those who have been identified to have been involved in the killings and disappearances.”
REUTERS
More human rights cases vs Arroyo regime: group
More human rights cases vs Arroyo regime: group
Thursday, May 5, 2011-05-08
Source: SUN STAR MANILA
EXPECT more cases to be filed against top civilian, military and police officials allegedly involved in human rights violations in the past decade, a militant lawyers group said Thursday.
Ephraim Cortez of the National Union of People's Lawyers (NUPL) told Sun.Star it will continue to pursue all avenues to prosecute human rights violators, especially those who have committed murder, rape and other crimes.
In the drawing board are criminal cases concerning the disappearance of agriculturist Jonas Burgos in 2007 and the illegal arrest and detention of the so-called "Morong 43" health workers last year, Cortez said.
Respondents would likely include former President now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, former executive secretary Eduardo Ermita and other military officials.
"We will file it in the next few weeks," Cortez said.
Burgos, who taught organic farming among peasants in Bulacan, was allegedly abducted by suspected military men on April 28, 2007 in a mall along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.
The "Morong 43", meanwhile, were suspected communist rebels after they were allegedly caught making explosives at a farm house in Morong, Rizal in February 2010. They were released in December that year.
Mothers of missing University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño filed a criminal complaint on Wednesday against retired General Jovito Palparan Jr. for rape, serious physical injuries, arbitrary detention, among other offenses.
Erlinda Cadapan and Concepcion Empeño, alleging conspiracy within the military unit, filed the cases at the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Attached to the complaint were eight detailed affidavits that established Sherlyn and Karen were in military custody. Both were missing since June 2006.
NUPL also cited violations of international treaties, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)
Thursday, May 5, 2011-05-08
Source: SUN STAR MANILA
EXPECT more cases to be filed against top civilian, military and police officials allegedly involved in human rights violations in the past decade, a militant lawyers group said Thursday.
Ephraim Cortez of the National Union of People's Lawyers (NUPL) told Sun.Star it will continue to pursue all avenues to prosecute human rights violators, especially those who have committed murder, rape and other crimes.
In the drawing board are criminal cases concerning the disappearance of agriculturist Jonas Burgos in 2007 and the illegal arrest and detention of the so-called "Morong 43" health workers last year, Cortez said.
Respondents would likely include former President now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, former executive secretary Eduardo Ermita and other military officials.
"We will file it in the next few weeks," Cortez said.
Burgos, who taught organic farming among peasants in Bulacan, was allegedly abducted by suspected military men on April 28, 2007 in a mall along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.
The "Morong 43", meanwhile, were suspected communist rebels after they were allegedly caught making explosives at a farm house in Morong, Rizal in February 2010. They were released in December that year.
Mothers of missing University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño filed a criminal complaint on Wednesday against retired General Jovito Palparan Jr. for rape, serious physical injuries, arbitrary detention, among other offenses.
Erlinda Cadapan and Concepcion Empeño, alleging conspiracy within the military unit, filed the cases at the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Attached to the complaint were eight detailed affidavits that established Sherlyn and Karen were in military custody. Both were missing since June 2006.
NUPL also cited violations of international treaties, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)