Statement against ongoing, intensifying human rights violations in the Philippines

Statement against ongoing, intensifying human rights violations in the Philippines

PHILIPPINE NETWORK FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE

The numbers alone are stunning. KARAPATAN, a national human rights organization, recorded 874 cases of human rights violations in the Philippines, victimizing 99,011 individuals, 14,302 families in 288 communities for the period of January to November 30 of this year, making 2005 possibly the worst year for human rights in the post-Marcos era. Front-page headlines detailing targeted assassination, massacre, torture, and gang rape have become a common occurrence.

Violations committed by members of the military are carried out with impunity. The task forces the regime props up as looking into any allegations of human rights violations yield no results, resolving none of the cases. Not coincidentally, the rise in human rights violations in the Central Luzon region coincide with the reassignment of Major General Jovito “The Butcher of Mindoro” Palparan, Jr. to the Armed Forces of the Philippines command of the Central Luzon region. Since his reassignment, at least 17 activists have been killed – not including other violations such as rape, disappearances, etc. Instead of being put on trial, Palparan has been promoted by President Macapagal-Arroyo – twice.
Particularly targeted are the regime’s critics including members of legal militant organizations, progressive parties, journalists, church leaders, and any local officials accused of being supportive of rebel groups. Even entire communities have been displaced and branded “terrorists”. Since the beginning of 2005, at least 60 members of BAYAN, a national alliance of progressive people’s organizations, have been summarily executed. 23 human rights defenders have been killed, more than during the Marcos dictatorship. The Philippines is now second only to Iraq as the most dangerous country in the world to be a journalist.

All of these events come in the wake of the US-supported Macapagal-Arroyo regime’s imposition of an undeclared state of martial law. There is overwhelming evidence of infringements on human rights both in the violations and the passing of oppressive laws and orders by the regime that clamp down on peaceful protest and freedom of expression, interfere with the separation of powers, and further impoverish the Filipino people.

In total under the Macapagal-Arroyo regime 4,207 human rights violations have been documented. The failure of the regime to effectively investigate and bring to justice the perpetrators implicates the regime in the violations.

We call on the Philippine Government to:

• Conduct a full and independent investigation into the extrajudicial killings and all cases of human rights violations in the Philippines

• Bring the perpetrators of human rights violations to justice

• Indemnify the families of human rights victims

• Resume peace talks with the National Democratic Front and fully implement the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL)
In addition, we call on the Canadian government to freeze foreign aid to the Macapagal-Arroyo regime, pass a resolution denouncing these abuses and push the government of the Philippines to launch an immediate, independent investigation into these cases.

Write, fax or email the following …

In Canada:
Hon. Pierre Pettigrew
Minister of Foreign Affairs
125 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, ON
Tel:(613) 995-1851
Fax:(613) 996-3443
E-mail: pettigrew.p@parl.gc.ca

Hon. Navdeep Bains, Chair
Parliamentary Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Development
House of Commons, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Tel: (613) 995-7784
Fax: (613) 996-9817
E-mail: bains.n@parl.gc.ca

Consul General Alejandro Mosquera
Office of the Philippine Consul General in Toronto
161 Eglinton Avenue East
Toronto, Ontario M4P 1J5
Telephone: (416) 922-7181 ext 221
Email: abmosquera@philcongen-toronto.com

Office of the Philippine Ambassador to Canada
Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines
130 Albert Street, Suite 606
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4
Telephone: (613) 233-1121
Email: embassyofthephilippines@rogers.com

In the Philippines:
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Malacanang Palace
Manila, Philippines
Fax: 011-632-736-2495
E-mail: corres@op.gov.ph

Hon. Avelino Cruz, Secretary
Department of National Defense
Camp Emilio Aguinaldo
EDSA, Quezon City, Philippines
Tel: (632) 929-0102
Fax: 632) 911-6213

Canadian Embassy in the Philippines
Level 6-8, Tower 2
RCBC Plaza
6819 Ayala Avenue
Makati City, Philippines 1200
PO Box 2098
Tel: 632 857-9000

December 9, 2005