United Church of Canada calls on Canadian gov’t, UN to help stop political killings in RP

United Church of Canada calls on Canadian gov’t, UN to help stop political killings in RP

The United Church of Canada (UCC) issued a call for an immediate United Nations investigation into the summary executions in the Philippines. Outraged by the assassination of five members and staff of its Philippine partners in a six-week period, the UCC called on the Canadian government and the United Nations “to take strong steps to end the violence.” UCC’s partners in the Philippines come from the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), the Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA) and the Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR).

This developed after Canadian members of an International Solidarity fact-finding mission and members of the UCC visited the Philippines recently and met with families of the victims. In their victim-impact statements witnesses disclosed that they recognized the assassins as members of the Philippine military and paramilitary death squads.

President Arroyo mentioned for the first time the high incidence of extra-judicial killings in her July 24 State of the Nation address in the House of Congress. Critics, however, quickly assailed her for praising General Jovito Palparan known as the country’s “butcher” for his bloody campaigns of terror on unarmed civilians suspected as communists or New People’s Army supporters.

The international outcry and protest actions were much evident on the same day President Arroyo spoke about the “State of the Nation” as scores of Filipino Canadians took to the streets in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and other major Canadian cities.

In Toronto, migrant workers, youth, women and other Filipino Canadians held a picket-rally in front of the Philippine consulate Monday July 24. This was part of the internationally-coordinated action in solidarity with the tens of thousands of people, led by national democratic organizations, who took to the streets in the Philippines during Philippine President Macapagal-Arroyo’s State of the Nation Address calling for her ouster. Arroyo has not only participated in electoral fraud, her regime is marked by anti-people, anti-national, and outright fascist policies and measures.

Chanting “Stop the killings! Justice to the victims!” and “Cha-cha, gera, diktador, Gloria!” the protesters carried pictures of the political activists, human rights defenders and progressive local politicians (Fr. William Tadena, young Cris Hugo, Eden Marcellana, Ricardo Ramos of Hacienda Luisita, Vice Mayor Juvy Magsino among others), murdered by Arroyo’s fascist goons. Gathered in front of the Philippine Consulate were members of the Philippine Women Centre, SIKLAB (Filipino migrant workers organization), the Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance (UKPC-Toronto), Philippine Network for Justice and Peace (PNJP), and the Community Alliance for Social Justice (CASJ).

Charter change or cha-cha, and all out-war against the forces of change were the main agenda of Arroyo’s SONA. Cha-cha has the twin objective of opening up the Philippine economy to foreign interests i.e., selling out the country’s natural wealth and resources to Canadian, Australian and U.S. mining corporations; and paving the way for entry of more U.S. troops and weapons on the one hand; and prolonging the Arroyo’s rule on the other.

At the same time, Diwa Marcelino of the PNJP said, “This regime wages all-out war against those who oppose imperialist globalization and plunder, against those who defend human rights and uphold civil liberties. This regime is totally against all genuine social change – against the forces for national industrialization, for genuine land reform, a truly democratic people’s government, an independent and sovereign foreign policy, and a just and lasting peace.”

For Filipino youth, the bloody record of her administration speaks for itself. According to a UKPC spokesperson, “We only have to look at the latest abduction of University of the Philippines-Diliman students Karen Empeneo and Sheryln Cadapan on June 26 in Bulacan, Central Luzon by six suspected elements of the military; the violent dispersal of a recent protest action last July 7 calling for the release of the abducted UP students, where some 40 youth and students were hurt and eight seriously injured; and the murder of Cris Hugo, 20-year-old student leader in Bicol on March 19, 2006. His only crime: fighting for truth, freedom and democracy.”

In an earlier statement, the UKPC said, “Instead of putting genuine effort and the public’s tax money in improving the situation in the Philippines, the Arroyo government is taking money away from much needed public services like education and putting it into the military. This misuse of public funds is seen in the recent release of P1 billion from the national budget to military spending. Abducting students is what the Filipino people’s tax money is being used for.”

“If Filipino-Canadians continue to cry for justice in the case of 17 year-old Jeffrey Reodica who was shot in the back and killed by Toronto police, all the more we should raise our voices in protest against the brutal slaying of 704 journalists, lawyers, church people, political and community leaders, activists and many more killed by assassins of the new dictator in Malacañang,” declared CASJ chairperson Edwin Mercurio.

“The victims are all Filipinos and they are human beings too, despite the assertions of President Arroyo’s decorated “butcher” General Jovito Palparan that “they don’t deserve to live” because they are suspected of CPP-NPA ties.”.

Canada’s role

The UCC statement issued on the day of Arroyo’s SONA points out that “Despite the killings, the Canadian government maintains that the Philippines leads in democracy and human rights relative to other countries in the region.”

Officials at the Canadian embassy in Manila say Canada is addressing the problem through programs such as “human rights education for police and military officers, and through bilateral discussions on human rights cases with the Philippine government.” Canada is ostensibly taking a “behind closed doors” approach in order “not to jeopardize its long-term human rights work.”

However, the UCC appealed to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Hon. Louise Arbour, former Supreme Court Judge and the Chair of the UN Human Rights Council, Luis Alonso de Alba, to mandate the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary and Arbitrary Executions to conduct an investigation into the killings in the Philippines.

It urges the Canadian government, through Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Peter MacKay:

• to request the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Council for an investigation into the political killings in the Philippines;

• to call on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to (1) conduct prompt, thorough, impartial, and effective investigations into the killings and prosecute and punish the perpetrators, and (2) grant immediate entry to the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary and Arbitrary Executions and other Special Rapporteurs who have requested to visit and investigate the human rights situation in the Philippines; and

• to ask the Canadian embassy in Manila to conduct a joint human rights fact-finding mission in the Philippines together with representatives from Canadian churches and NGOs.

(PRESS RELEASE, SIKLAB Ontario)