Save Ma. Luisa Posa-Dominado, Nilo Arado, and other victims of political repression and extrajudicial killings

Below is the account of the most recent cased of political repression in the country. Attached is the statement of May Wan and Tamara Dominado, the daughters of Ma. Luisa Posa-Dominado on the forcible disappearance of their mother.

I have known, Ma. Luisa or Luing during the Marcos dictatorship period when we were both imprisoned in Iloilo in July 1973 and then transferred to Cebu and finally to Ipil Detention Center. She was I think only 18 years old at that time but was already committed to the struggle to end the dictatorship and to fight for a better life for the majority of our people.

She was imprisoned several times after being released in 1974, the last time I think during the Aquino administration. I remember seeing a poster of her and her daughter May Wan, who was only a young girl at that time asking for her release. May Wan is now a law graduate and was supposed to start her bar review classes at the UP Law Center this summer when her mother was abducted. She won't be able to review this summer as she and her daughter join other relatives of victims of human rights violation in the country in seeking justice for their loved ones.

Luing has been in the forefront of organizing former political detainees in Iloilo and Panay through SELDA and has been one of those who successfully lobbied the city government to have a memorial containing the names of those who were killed or have disappeared during the martial law years erected in one of Iloilo City's plazas.

It is with heavy heart that I learned of her abduction together with Nilo Arado of Anak Pawis Panay and the attempted murder of Liboy Garachico of KARAPATAN last April 12. Luing , Nilo and Liboy who survived the long dark years of the Marcos dictatorship are the latest victims of the present administration Oplan Bantay Laya policy.

The Macapagal-Arroyo regime continues to trample on people's rights in spite of widespread local and international condemnation of the extrajudicial killings and forceable disappearance of activists in the country. Her public commendation in her 2006 State of the Nation Address of Former General Jovito Palparan who has been implicated in many cases of political killings and disappearances in Mindoro, Samar, Leyte, Bulacan and Pampanga gave official blessings to the military to continue with the extermination of activists, personalities and citizens considered "enemies of the state".

I join May Wan and Tamara Dominado and the relatives of Nilo Arado in their appeal to surface Ma. Luisa Posa-Dominado and Nilo Arado. Please write letters to the following calling on the release of Luing and Nilo.

H.E. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President of the Republic
Malacanang Palace,
JP Laurel St., San Miguel
Manila Philippines
Voice: (+632) 564 1451 to 80
Fax: (+632) 742-1641 / 929-3968
Cell#: (+ 63) 919 898 4622 / (+63) 917 839 8462
E-mail: corres@op.gov.ph, opnet@ops.gov.ph

Sec. Jesus D. Dureza
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process
*Office of the Peace Process
7th Floor Agustin Building I
Emerald Avenue
Pasig City 1605
Voice: +63 (2) 636 0701 to 066
Mobile:
Fax: +63 (2) 635 9579
Email: osec@opapp.gov.ph

Gen. Hermogenes Ebdane, (Ret.)
Secretary, Department of National Defense
Room 301 DND Building, Camp Emilio Aguinaldo,
E. de los Santos Avenue
Quezon City
Voice: +63(2) 911-9281 / 911-0488
Fax: +63(2) 911 6213
Email: osnd@philonline.com

Sec. Raul M. Gonzalez
Secretary of Justice
Padre Faura Street, Manila
Direct Line 521-8344; 5213721
Trunkline 523-84-81 loc.214
Telefax 521-1614
Email: sad@doj.gov.ph
or log on to http://www.doj.gov.ph/contact.html

Hon. Purificacion V. Quisumbing
Chairperson, Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., UP Complex
Commonwealth Avenue
Dilim Quezon City
Philippines
Fax: (+632) 929 0102
Email: drpvq@chr.gov.ph

Thank you.

Prof. Judy M. Taguiwalo
Former Political Prisoner
Associate Professor
College of Social Work and Community Development
University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City
Philippines


At around 9:30 PM, April 12, 2007, Ma. Luisa Posa-Dominado of SELDA-Panay, Jose Ely "Liboy" Garachico of KARAPATAN, and Nilo Arado of BAYAN-Panay and ANAKPAWIS were on their way to Iloilo City from Antique when they were ambushed at Brgy. Cabanbanan, Oton, Iloilo, hlippines. Their vehicle, a Mitsubishi L200 pick-up, was overtaken by two vans. Two armed men got off from one of the vans, shot the driver, Liboy Garachico, who was then grabbed and thrown to the street. Witnesses saw that an unconscious Nilo Arado was carried off to an L300 van while a resisting Ma. Luisa Posa-Dominado was dragged to a Starex van. One of the suspects then took the victims' vehicle and sped off to an unknown destination along with the two other vans.

The witnesses immediately rushed to the wounded Liboy Garachico and brought him to Iloilo Doctor's Hospital. At around 4 AM of the next day, the victims' burned vehicle was found at Brgy. Guadalupe, Janiuay, Iloilo.

At the moment, both Ma. Luisa Posa-Dominado and Nilo Arado are still missing and Garachico is still in the ICU.

The Posa Family condemns this brutal act. We hope that our relatives, friends and the sympathetic public will persistently support our call for the release of Ma.Luisa Posa-Dominado and Nilo Arado and pressure their abductors to bring them back alive and unharmed. We pray for the complete recovery of Liboy Garachico. We demand that the perpetrators be brought into the open to face the full force of the law.

Let us fight to stop all political repression and extrajudicial killings!

Join the SAVE MA. LUISA POSA-DOMINADO AND NILO ARADO MOVEMENT!

Related link: http://www.freewebs.com/saveluisaandnilomovement

Is Cebu safe?

Sunday, April 15, 2007
Soldiers grab party-list staff
By Mia E. Abellana
Sun.Star Staff Reporter

TWO coordinators for different party-list groups were allegedly abducted by armed men who they claimed were members of the Military Intelligence Group.

Beethoven Avila and Preciousa Daño, who are coordinators for Kabataan and Bayan Muna party-list groups, respectively, claimed “psychological torture” after agents allegedly grabbed them in broad daylight and forced them inside a gray Delica van.

They were handcuffed, blindfolded and interrogated over and over from Thursday until Friday, they added. They were later released to the Regional Intelligence and Investigation Division (RIID) Friday night.

The two were presented to reporters by Bayan Muna provincial coordinator Arman Perez in a press conference yesterday.

Calls to RIID Chief Augusto Marquez were unanswered.

However, Central Command spokesperson Lt. Col. Jefferson Omandam said the two were arrested because the authorities thought they had a legitimate warrant of arrest against the two.

Omandam said Avila was arrested right after he got off the boat from Cagayan de Oro City last Thursday morning.

Avila said he was shocked when armed men shoved him into a van and handcuffed him.

When he asked what he was being arrested for, they allegedly told him to stop asking questions and that they were from the government.

Omandam’s version was that Avila was arrested for his alleged involvement in an encounter with military and communist insurgents in Tabuelan, Cebu last year, leading to the death of two “rebel leaders” and a soldier.

They reportedly had a warrant of arrest for this involving 20 to 30 people and that Avila was one of them.

Omandam identified Avila as a staff member of the slain Central Visayas Regional Party Committee (CVRPC) Front 2 secretary, Jerry Badayos. Front 2 covers Cebu’s mid-north area.

When he was told that this was his offense, Avila then reportedly claimed he was not the only one and named Daño as one of those involved.

Omandam said Avila named Daño as the secretary of the CVRPC’s finance group and told the operatives that they were going to a meeting that afternoon.

Avila and Daño denied they were linked to any armed group.

At 3 p.m. that day, the same gray van allegedly pulled up beside Daño and arrested her.

The two claimed that they did not know where they were taken because they were blindfolded.

They said their abductors kept repeating the same questions.

“They did not take the handcuffs off, even when I was eating. I had to eat because it was the only thing that kept me going. The handcuffs were very tight,” said Avila, who shed a few tears when asked to narrate his ordeal.

Daño, for her part, said they did not physically harm her, but the uncertainty of her situation made her more afraid.

“They would not believe I was a Bayan Muna coordinator. They kept asking me about my personal life, my family, my work..Different people kept asking me the same questions,” she said.

They claimed operatives took their pictures, fingerprints and video footage with labels claiming they were members of the New People’s Army.

The two met each other at the courthouse in Toledo City, where Omandam said the warrant was issued.

Omandam said Avila and Daño were presented to the court but the soldiers were ordered to release them due to a technicality.

Asked what this was, Omandam admitted that he could not say because he was not familiar with the workings of law enforcement.

The operating team told Omandam that the warrant was “not fully consummated.” As to why, Omandam could not say.

Perez, after listening to the testimonies of the two coordinators, said that they approached Acting Cebu City Police Office Director Patrocinio Comendador to seek assistance about their missing members.

Comendador said that when he called the RIID, he was told that the two were already set for release, which was why he told Perez to just pick them up from the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7.

“This incident contradicts (PRO 7 Director Silverio) Alarcio’s statement that Cebu is safe. Even innocent civilians are not safe,” Perez said.

Perez said Alarcio assured him that Cebu is still safe and that he will look into the circumstances of the arrest. (MEA)

Ang mayayaman lalong yumaman, ang mahihirap lalong naghirap

April 12, 2007

INCOME GAP WIDENS: RP’S WEALTHIEST GREW RICHER UNDER ARROYO TERM

The gap between the unimaginable wealth of the country’s richest families and the poorest households highlights the yawning income inequalities that further widened under the Arroyo administration, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation.

The richest 20% of the population account for 53% of the income pie while the bottom 20% get only 4.63.

The poorest 30% of the country’s families, some 4.9 million, had a combined income of P177 billion, according to the 2003 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES). This was half of the total net worth of the Philippines ’ richest: Jaime Zobel and his family, Lucio Tan and Henry Sy. According to Forbes magazine, as of Feb. 2007 the three had a total net worth of $7.5 billion or P360 billion (at P48:$1).

From 1985, the share of the poorest 60% of the population of the population fell by 1.8 percentage points while the richest 20% were able to increase their share by another 1.2 percentage points.

“This is a vivid example of the skewed income distribution prevailing in the country, which has worsened since 1985,” said IBON executive editor Rosario Bella Guzman. She added that the income of the richest 10% of the country’s households is 21 times that of the poorest 10 percent.

Guzman said the reason for such inequality was the not the failure of so-called economic growth to ‘trickle down’ to the poor, but the monopoly of ownership of the country’s productive assets, such as land and capital, in the hands of a relative few families. This denies the poor the ability to improve their lot even as the rich continue to get richer.

This is illustrated by looking at the country’s poorest sectors– marginal peasants, small fisherfolk, the urban poor– who all suffer from extreme marginalization and exclusion from economic resources and the common goods.

Unless there is more equitable access to economic assets, the poverty situation in the country will not improve, and indeed, can only get worse, Guzman said.

Matigas ang ulo ng Lacosta Shipping and Lighterage Company

Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR)
Rm. 702 Culmat Building 127 E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue , Brgy. Mariana, Quezon City
Telefax: 4110256 email address: ctuhr at ctuhr.org

NEWS RELEASE
April 11, 2007

Shipping company refuses to recognize DOLE registered union, forcing employees to become contractual workers for a manning agency

Employees of Lacosta Shipping and Lighterage Co Inc, based in Surigao province in Mindanao are protesting against the management's violations of their rights. The company's union Lacosta Shipping & Lighterage Labor Union affiliated to the National Federation of Labor Unions of Kilusang Mayo Uno (LCSLLU-NAFLU-KMU) decries the refusal of the management to negotiate and the forcible turnover of its employees to a manning agency as contractual workers.

Fifty (50) employees are manning the three vessels of the company such as the Lacosta Primero, Segundo, Tercero and a newly built Quenta. Each of the vessels carry a capacity of 1,000 metric tons of nickel ore. The company is owned by Mr. Salavador Zamora II and managed by Atty. Joseph S. Lacaste.

The employees are serving the company in an average of more than ten years in length of service who suffer from various violations of labor standards such as below minimum wages, forced overtime with no overtime pay, lack of safety devices and failure to observe holiday pay, no Sunday holiday, hospitalization and other benefits. This condition prompted them to establish a union so that irregularities will be addressed and their rights defended.

Employees organized LCSLLU in the second quarter of 2006. They registered the union to the Department of Labor and Employment in CARAGA region which granted them as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent in Lacosta Shipping and Lighterage in February this year. After few weeks, they submitted their collective bargaining proposal to the management but the latter refused to negotiate and did not recognize the newly registered union.

Instead, the employees were forced to report to UNLAD Ship Manning and Management Corporation, a manning agency which Atty. Lacaste contracted as their new employer. He tricked the workers by showing them a comparative study between their present salaries which is lower than compared to the UNLAD's offered salary if they will agree to join this agency. Atty. Lacaste and UNLAD Ship Manning and Management Corporation president Mr. Dante Jimenez of Volunteers against Crimes and Corruption also aggressively tried to convince workers to accept the new employment arrangement.

Meanwhile, a memorandum from the management of Lacosta Shipping on March 1, 2007 was given to all employees stating that their services was terminated effectively upon receiving the memorandum with a certain condition that they can continue working for the company if they will agree to work for UNLAD Ship Manning Agency as their new employer.

Two union members agreed on the arrangement. They immediately received a cash amount of P5, 000 per year length of service as their separation pay and simultaneously signed the five (5) month employment contract facilitated by the UNLAD Ship Manning Agency, while the rest refused to the said condition. As of the present, the management is forcing others to submit to their rule and declares that the situation will be back to normal if they agree to sign the new contract with the manning agency.

The harassment began. Also in March, four employees received a memo with penalty of fifteen (15) days suspension accusing them of their fault in loading procedure, insubordination, disobedience, and abandonment of works violating company rules & regulation which allegedly they committed more or less than a year before and without proper investigation. At the same time, Mr. Gregorio Lerin, the union president received a memorandum from the office of Manila that he will be transferred to the other vessel in Surigao that will cause him to abandon his loyal members.

Suddenly, on March 28, through radio communication, all of them received a final notice, informing them that the Lacosta Shipping management has concluded with UNLAD Ship Manning agency to handle all the ship manning services over the three vessels namely LCT Lacosta I, LCT Lacosta Segundo and LCT Lacosta Tercero. They are obliged to report to the UNLAD Ship Manning & Management Corp for processing their employment papers and qualified document certificate (QDC).

The union filed a case on unfair labor practices of the management in the National Conciliation and Mediation Board, DOLE-CARAGA and is planning to organize concerted actions.#

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CTUHR is an independent, non-government organization engaged in documentation and monitoring of trade union and human rights violation as well as public information and advocacy forworkers' rights. For more information, please visit www.ctuhr.org

Tagapaggawa ng mga Bandera ng Bayan

Source: http://www.bayan.ph/pr/07/nr%20mar28-Parangal.htm

March 28, 2007

Parangal para kay Gene Abenes, Tagapaggawa ng mga Bandera ng Bayan


Taos pusong pakikiramay ang pinapaabot ng Bagong Alyansang Makabayan sa mga kamag anak at kaibigan ni Gene Abenes, dating bilanggong pulitikal at maliit na manggagawang-negosyante, na pumanaw sa edad 65 noong Marso 25, sa karamdamang empysema at iba pang komplikasyon dala ng sakit na ito.

Si Mang Gene, na nakagawiang naming tawagin, ay mas kilala sa mga kasaping organisasyon ng Bayan, bilang tagapaggawa ng mga bandera ng Bayan, Kmp, Pamalakaya, Selda, pati na rin ang NDF.

Ngunit kakaibang tagapaggawa ng mga bandera si Mang Gene.

Hindi siya yung klase ng tagapaggawa ng bandera na pagkatapos gawin ito ay kokolektahin ang sinisingil niyang pera bilang kabayaran sa kanyang serbisyo, kasama na rin dito ang mga nagastos niya sa pagbili ng tela at pinta.

Una sa lahat, pinaniwalaan niya ang mga prinsipyo na ipinaglalaban ng Bayan at mga kasaping organisasyon na ito.

Lumahok siya sa o sinuportahan niya ang mga pakikibaka ng mga ito sa iba't ibang rehimen na nagdaan mula kay Marcos hanggang kay Presidente Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Ayon sa kanya noong nabubuhay pa siya, sa pamamagitan ng paggawa niya ng mga banner at istrimer ng Bayan at iba pa, ay nalalaman niya ang mga isyu at kampanya na inilunsad, kagaya ng cha cha ni Ramos, ang pagpapatalsik sa baseng militar ng mga Kano, ang VFA, presyo ng langis, at marami pang iba mula dekada 80.

Noong 2005, ika-20 anibersaryo ng Bayan na idinaos namin sa UP Diliman, binigyan namin ng parangal ang mga martir ng Bayan at mga kasamang matagal nang nagtataguyod sa Bayan. Dumalo si Mang Gene sa anibersaryo.

Tuwang tuwa siya sa parangal na ibinigay sa kanya, at ipinagmalaki niya na nakagawa siya ng mahigit 800 bandera ng Bayan. Banggit din niya na may rekord nito ng eksaktong bilang ng bawat bandera ng bawat organisasyon na nagpagawa ng mga bandera.

Para sa Bayan, lumikha si Mang Gene ng isang espesyal na pormula ng pinta na nagpapatagal ng buhay ng kulay ng mga bandera ng Bayan laban sa init ng araw, ulan at malakas na hangin.

Sa tingin ng kanyang mga kaibigan, ang pagpipinta niya ng mga bandera ay magiging sanhi din ng pagkahina ng kanyang baga.

Ngunit hindi niya ito ininda sapagkat hilig niyang talaga ang gumawa ng mga bandera, at para sa kanya ang paggawa ng bandera ng Bayan at ibang organisasyon sa ilalim nito ay paglahok na rin niya sa mga pakikibaka nila sa lansangan laban sa mga krisis pangekonomiya at pulitikal na dulot ng mga rehimen na naglingkod at patuloy na naglilingkod sa mga dayuhan, malalaking panginoong maylupa at mga komprador sa ating bansa.

Si Mang Gene ay isa sa mga kasapi ng Selda sa sumama sa sinasabing class suit laban kay Marcos, at namatay siya na hindi niya nakuha ang danyos na dapat bahagi niya. Ang mga kagaya ni Mang Gene ay dapat nating ipaglaban kahit siya ay sumakabilang buhay na, sapagkat kailangan niya ng katarungan lalong lalo na sa ilalim ng rehimen na ito ni Presidente Gloria Macapagal Arroyo na hinihinalang ang kanyang rehimen ay nagastos na ang salapi na dapat ay napunta sa mga biktima ni Marcos.

Si Mang Gene ay namatay bunga ng isang karamdaman na resulta ng kanyang direktang paglahok sa pakikibaka ng sambayanang Pilipino.

Mabubuhay ka aming alaala, Mang Gene!