Prosecute Mastermind of Activist’s Murder First Conviction for Extrajudicial Killing During Aquino Administration-AHRC

Philippines: Prosecute Mastermind of Activist’s Murder
First Conviction for Extrajudicial Killing During Aquino Administration

(Manila, May 10, 2013) – Philippine authorities should ensure that those who planned and financed the killing of an environmental activist in 2011 are arrested and prosecuted, Human Rights Watch said today.

In the first conviction for an extrajudicial killing since President Benigno S. Aquino III came to office in 2010, a court in Palawan on May 7, 2013, sentenced Marlon Recamata to 40 years in prison for the January 24, 2011, killing of Gerry Ortega. Recamata had been arrested moments after shooting Ortega and subsequently confessed to the crime, implicating others.

“The conviction of the gunman in the killing of activist Gerry Ortega is an overdue milestone for the Aquino administration,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “But the alleged mastermind is still at large and should not escape justice.”

Palparan must surrender if he's innocent - Palace

Palparan must surrender if he's innocent - Palace 
By Aurea Calica and Edith Regalado (The Philippine Star)
January 15, 2012

MANILA, Philippines - Fugitive retired Army Maj. Jovito Palparan must surrender now and defend himself before the courts if he is really innocent of the charges against him, Malacañang said yesterday.

“If he really thinks he is innocent, he should come out and face the charges against him,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said over dzRB.

The Palace was reacting to Palparan’s appealing the decision of the Malolos regional trial court to junk his bid to stop his prosecution for the disappearance of University of the Philippines student activists Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño in 2006. Valte said Palparan is assured of fair trial.

Read full article @ www.philstar.com

Aquino vows to end impunity

Aquino vows to end impunity
by Chichi Conde, InterAksyon.com
January 13, 2012

MANILA, Philippines -- President Benigno Aquino III has vowed to step up efforts in running after those "who seek to perpetuate the culture of impunity" in the country during the New Year's vin d' honneur at the Palace on Friday.

Aquino said his administration will "not relent" in its accountability efforts as he raised a toast to "stability and prosperity" during the event which was attended by members of the diplomatic community, lawmakers from both the majority and minority, the top brass of the military and the police, and several industry captains.

"I am confident that so long as we stand together and remain consistent in our services to the public, our countrymen will be behind us every step of the way," Aquino said.

Read complete article @ www.interaksyon.com

Palparan won't surrender, says lawyer

Palparan won't surrender, says lawyer
by Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, InterAksyon.com
January 13, 2012

MANILA, Philippines -- Fugitive retired general Jovito Palaran will not surrender and will continue challenging the warrant for his arrest, one of his lawyers said Friday.

Palparan’s newly hired counsel, Jesus Santos, insisted his client is "innocent" of the abduction and enforced disappearance of University of the Philippines students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan.

Santos was the lawyer of Jose Miguel Arroyo, husband of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

He said the government would be better off using the P1 million reward it has raised for Palparan’s capture for assisting the families of soldiers killed in the line of duty.

Short of advising his client to remain in hiding, Santos said that, "as a lawyer and as an individual, since there is a petition we filed in court to conduct the preliminary investigation because the arrest warrant was issued not in accordance with law, I think it is good to wait for whatever maybe the decision of the Regional Trial Court of Bulacan," where the case against Palparan has been filed.

Read full article @ www.interaksyon.com

Palparan's hearing reset for Feb. 6

Palparan's hearing reset for Feb. 6 
By Dino Balabo, The Philippine Star
January 13, 2012  

MALOLOS CITY, Philippines – Retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan’s hearing today was reset for Feb. 6, the original schedule.

Prosecutor Edre Olalia said he learned from the Department of Justice yesterday that Malolos Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 14 here will not hear Palparan’s motion for reconsideration.

The case will be heard on Feb. 6, along with other motions as per agreement of the parties on Jan. 2, he added.

Olalia said he was surprised to learn that Palparan’s counsel has filed a motion for an immediate court proceeding today.

Palparan’s counsel claimed inaction on the part of Judge Teodora Gonzales on their omnibus motion filed last Jan. 2, he added.

The motion prayed for the recall of the warrant of arrest and hold departure order against Palparan, and for the suspension of proceedings.

Palparan along with Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado, M/Sgt. Rizal Hilario and S/ Sgt. Eduardo Osorio, has been charged for kidnapping and serious illegal detention.

Palparan and Hilario remain at large, while Anotado and Osorio have surrendered.

Read complete article @ www.philstar.com

PHILIPPINES: Police fail in their obligation to investigate journalist killings — Asian Human Rights Commission

PHILIPPINES: Police fail in their obligation to investigate journalist killings — Asian Human Rights Commission

by www.humanrights.asia

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned by police investigations into the murder of journalists Christopher "Cris" Guarin and Alfredo "Dodong" Velarde, Jr. in General Santos City. Not only have the Philippines’ police failed in their duty to protect citizens from harm, but they are compounding this failure by their indifferent and casual attitude towards holding the killers accountable.

Guarin, publisher and editor-in-chief of a daily community newspaper Tatak News, was shot dead at 10pm on January 5, 2012 along Conel Road, Barangay Lagao, General Santos City. He was in his car with his wife, Lyn and nine-year-old daughter, on their way home, when they were attacked by gunmen riding on a motorcycle. His wife and daughter were not hurt, but were deeply traumatized to witness his murder.

Guarin's murder followed the murder of another journalist, Velarde, in November 2011. Circulation manager of another daily community newspaper, Brigada News, Velarde was shot dead on November 11 in front of his office. Although the AHRC have learned that the motives for Velarde and Guarin's murder were related, the police have been more focused on dispelling public expectations and any sense of urgency, rather than ensuring proper investigations into the deaths.

Torture, extra-judicial killings (EJKs), and enforced disappearance in the Philippines and the UN HRC Universal Periodic Review

IN 1997, and again in 2002, reforms in the United Nations gained ground in Geneva and New York, respectively. These reforms came in the heels of then-Secretary General Kofi Annan’s challenge to the UN’s “continued significance” in the face of 21st century realities. He called for improvements in how the UN conducts its work, implements its mandate and manages the funds entrusted to it by its Member States in order to bring human rights to all peoples of the world.

These reforms took a significant turn during the General Assembly’s 60th session. The world’s leaders adopted UNGA Resolution 60/251 on the 15th of March 2006, which created the Human Rights Council (HRC). The HR Council is now a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly, taking over the role of the Commission on Human Rights, which was created under article 68 of the UN Charter on Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The HRC was mandated to conduct a Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a mechanism to evaluate each member state’s human rights commitments. The said review shall be a cooperative mechanism, based on an interactive dialog, with the full involvement of the country concerned and with consideration given to its capacity-building needs. The UPR is intended to complement and not duplicate the work of treaty bodies.

Read more about UPR @ Renato Mabunga, PhD's Blog Free Zone

Excerpts from Joint Civil Society Report for the 2nd Cycle

Universal Periodic Review (UPR)

This submission was prepared through facilitation of the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) with assistance of the Philippine Human Rights Information Center (PhilRights) in coordination with sixty-three (63) civil society organizations (see annex 1).

Four (4) national workshops and consultations1 including one with Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHRP) were conducted to gather inputs and recommendations for this report.

Read and access the complete report @ www.philippinehumanrights.org

Torture, extra-judicial killings (EJKs), and enforced disappearance

From 2008-2011, Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) documented 23 cases of EJKs claiming 30 victims; and 105 cases of torture with 163 victims while Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) documented 79 victims - 50 surfaced alive; 24 still missing; and 5 found dead.

Atty. Al Parreno, in recent study10 documented 31 cases of EJKs from 2008 to August 15, 2010 with 8 incidences under Aquino administration. The same research unearthed 305 cases from 2001-August 2010 of which 32% of victims were human rights defenders (HRDs). From same 305 EJK cases, 56.29% were filed before prosecutors, 33.22% prosecuted, 32.52% tried in court, and only 1.05% had convictions. In short, 99% of 305 cases surveyed remain unsolved.

EDITORIAL - Manhunt for Palparan

EDITORIAL - Manhunt for Palparan
(The Philippine Star) Updated December 29, 2011

How hard is it to find a prominent fugitive in this country? Hard enough for the government to dangle a reward of P500,000 for information leading to the capture of retired Army Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan. The man who reinvented himself as a party-list representative upon his retirement from the military has disappeared since his arrest was ordered by the Bulacan Regional Trial Court shortly before Christmas Day.

Palparan is wanted in connection with the disappearance of University of the Philippines student activists Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño in 2006. The two, who remain missing, were reportedly tortured and detained at an Army camp in Central Luzon when Palparan was the Army’s commander in the area. Palparan has denied involvement in the disappearance of the students.

The last time Palparan was seen, according to the National Bureau of Investigation, he was in the company of heavily armed men. Palparan owns a security agency. He had tried to fly to Singapore on Dec. 19 through the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Pampanga, shortly after the Department of Justice ordered his indictment for kidnapping and serious illegal detention. After being barred from leaving, he disappeared.

Read more @ www.philstar.com

UN to receive Philippine human rights situation report | Sun.Star

UN to receive Philippine human rights situation report | Sun.Star

A GROUP of human rights advocates will visit the Switzerland-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) next week to reveal the ongoing rights violations under the Aquino administration.
Represented by the Ecumenical Voice for Peace and Human Rights in the Philippines (Ecumenical Voice), the seven-man delegation will also notify the council of cases of threats and attacks against human rights defenders, internally displaced persons, among others.
“The continuing violation of the rights of the Filipino people by state agents is a reason for us to be alarmed,” Karapatan chairperson Marie Hilao-Enriquez said in a statement.
“Until now, many of the recommendations of former UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, Prof. Philip Alston have not and are not being implemented, and impunity still prevails in the country,” she added.
Since President Benigno Aquino III’s ascent to power last year, Karapatan has documented 40 victims of extrajudicial killings.

Extra legal killings, enforced disappearances rampant | Sun.Star

Extra legal killings, enforced disappearances rampant | Sun.Star

EXTRA legal killings and enforced disappearances are rampant and remain unsolved in Eastern Visayas, according to a federation of human rights organizations working directly on the issue of involuntary disappearances in Asia.

Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (Afad) research and documentation officer Darwin B. Mendiola said Thursday that from November 1985 to September 2010, at least 118 victims of extra legal killings and enforced disappearances have been documented in the region.

“The real number of extra-legal killings in the region and in other parts of the country escapes exact determination. Regardless, however, of the true body count, the mere fact that there are so many extra legal killings is by itself a cause for alarm,” Mendiola said in a forum sponsored by the University of the Philippines Visayas Tacloban College (UPVTC) in partnership with the Ateneo Human Rights Center.