MAKIBAKA!

Laban sa pasistang teror!

A video on the political killings in Central Luzon

produced by POKUS-GL, January 2006

Posted at Arkibong Bayan: August 15, 2006

Stills from the Video

For more photos and articles on the human rights situation in Central Luzon,

please visit:   http://gitnangluson.com/

Mothers

by Edel Garcellano

We gave them names,

because we are our own children –

why should they vanish into thin air:

alone & unmarked in a watery yard?

“All mothers want

their children to come back.”

Thin-slice

by Edel Garcellano

The clean, well-lighted coffee shop

is heavy with chatter of fatty liver,

Paris collection, microsoft –

somewhere, kids are getting killed.

Blog

by Edel Garcellano

It’s like a lottery.

My men draw lots & he who gets the shortest straw,for instance, gets to lead the pack. It’s his decision what to do with the target.

Nah, they don’t know the guys they’ll round up. We only see to it that these felons are identified: they’re such troublemakers; they make things so difficult.

If they knew them, my guys would flinch. I don’t like that. They should treat the whole job as a purely business proposition. No pain, no gain. In business there are risks. Spread the guilt so everyone feels good? Haha! That’s cute.

My guys are not animals! They believe in God, pray the rosary, too. They are obedient, loyal – virtues Jehovah instills in His flock. If everything is treated, say, as a raffle, then destiny – not me – should be blamed. Would you curse your fate?

You cannot spit on your own face. Of course, they have choices: but God demanded of Abraham the sacrifice of Isaac. He was willing to do that – slit him up. But God backed out. & that’s the difference between me & the Lord. I pursue everything to its logical conclusion.

They just do it – I hate to use the word kill, it’s not true. We sleep soundly at night because we have done nothing wrong. God has commanded us not to spare the sword in battling evil.

Old story

by Edel Garcellano

Tonight, the stars will fall.

He will dig up his own grave;

she will be ransacked like a drawer.

The men in black jackets with hoods

will troop back safely to their house,

clean their guns,

wipe their knives & booze.

There will be a rosary of lights

winding around the city

& old men & women

will assault the heavens

with their human cry.

Windows & doors will be shut tight

lest the voices from the cemetery

deafen their ears

& they go mad.

Dogs will not bark, however:

they were silent witnesses.

Tomorrow night,

the men in black jackets with hoods

will troop out of the house –

this time promising to perfect their craft:

there should be no remembering.

O but the telltale heart

beating in the wind

speaks the secret languages

of the dead!

Sumpa o Dasal? Itanong sa Inihahandang Supermaid ni Ate Gloria
 ni E. San Juan, Jr.

Payo mo’y mas mabuting magsindi ng kandila sa halip na isumpa
Ang nakapanghihilakbot na dilim

Itanong natin kay Rafael Markus Bangit, pinaslang ng militar
Nakasubsob sa sinusong lupa ng Cordillera

Mungkahi mo’y magparaya, patawarin ang nabubulagan o nagbubulag-bulagan
Mga sundalo’t pulis na sinuhulan o binayaran

Itanong natin kay Alice Omengan Claver, binaril ng militar
Sinikap niyang ilawan ang landas ng mga naliligaw

Panukala mong humagilap ng batong kiskisan at titis
Upang magliyab ang apoy sa lambong ng karimlan sa tinubuang lupa

Itanong natin kina Fernando Batul at Ricardo Uy
Kung anong titis anong kislap ang inagaw sa paghagilap ng katarungan

Sinong ipagdarasal sa tanglaw ng kandilang naupos ang mitsa?
Nakaluklok sa dilim ang mga medalya ng heneral at kakutsabang kriminal
Naghahasik ng lagim ang mga pulitikong nakakubli sa altar ng simbahan

Mungkahi ni Ricardo Ramos: mas maiging isumpa
Ang mga mandarambong kaysa magsindi ng ilanlibong kandila sa altar
Payo ni Eden Marcellana: mas mabuting isumpa
Ang kabuktutang hayag at ipukol ang batong kiskisan sa mga kriminal

Sa gayo’y masisinag natin ang nakasisilaw na ngiti
Sa bunganga ni Alice Claver, titis na inihagis sa pangil ng kadiliman

Sa gayo’y maaaninaw natin ang galit na sumabog sa matang
Nakamulagat ni Rafael Bangit, apoy na tutupok sa isinumpang kasamaan.

From the Office of Anakpawis Representative Crispin B. Beltran
Lisa Ito, Media Officer (+63)927.796.7006
Tel. # (+632) 931-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com
URL: http:// www.geocities.com/ap_news

NEWS RELEASE
August 14, 2006

More reason to junk Anti-Terror Bill:
AFP abuses, 'cedula campaign' in Central Luzon a sneak preview of what ATB could bring

The continuing breakdown of civil government in Central Luzon and the human rights abuses committed by Jovito Palparan's troops could be a sneak preview of what could happen if the Anti-Terror Bill is passed into law, detained Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran said today.

"The 'cedula campaign' being waged by Palparan's forces, and the illegal arrests, arbitrary detentions, tortures, military surveillance and harassment documented throughout Central Luzon gives us a chilling sneak preview of what the Anti-Terror Bill (ATB) could bring if it is passed as a law and enforced by the AFP," Beltran said.

"All these reported human rights abuses by the AFP in Central Luzon should give the Senate more reason to junk the Anti-Terror Bill. The ATB will only serve as a legal buffer for the military's perpetuation of civil, political, and human rights abuses against civilians and people they erroneously label as 'terrorists'," Beltran said.

"The ATB legitimizes all sorts of human rights violations, such as surveillance systems, prolonged periods of interrogations, and arrests based on flimsy evidence," Beltran said.

Earlier this morning, Bulacan folk affiliated with the urban poor organization KADAMAY and Anakpawis sought a dialogue with San Jose del Monte City Mayor Lito Sarmiento on the human rights violations committed by the AFP troops under Gen. Palparan's jurisdiction.

Beltran cited the cases of the AFP's harassment and psychological torture against KADAMAY-San Jose del Monte Bulacan (SJMB) chapter officers Celestina Nantes, Dennis Francisco, Ogie Rebusi, and Baby Rebusi last July 30, 2006. Soldiers reportedly from the 56th IB under the command of a certain Lt. Magallanes sent a message through Brgy. Capt. Danilo Rogelio, ordering Nantes to go to the 56th IB camp for questioning. The KADAMAY-SJMB have also reported increased military surveillance of their offices and homes.

More cases of harassment have been documented among the urban poor folk in Bulacan, such as the harassment and psychological torture against six (6) Pamahay 2000-SJDM members Eva Bugtong, Dolores, Deogracia, Edwin Reyes, Rudy Aquino, Benjie Oquinto, and Ronald Lauden. Similar to Nantes' case, the six were summoned to the barangay hall of Muzon, where elements of the 56th IBPA interogated them and ordered them to appear before Palparan's office on August 4. The six refused to go for fear of their lives.

Beltran was arrested without a warrant by CIDG elements while in Muzon, San Jose del Monte on February 25, 2006.
###
Cong. Crispin Beltran is confined under police custody at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City. Today is the 170th day of his arbitrary detention by the Arroyo administration.

Amnesty International Report, Aug. 15, 2006

1. Press Release      

2. Report Coversheet

3. Report Summary

4. Complete Report

EU envoy to RP condemns killing of Cordillera leader

Palparan's Counterinsurgency campaign spawns internal refugees in Central Luzom-(From Bulatlat)

NDFP Monitoring Committee reiterates proposal

SC orders military to present NDF negotiator, 2 others

Cedula campaign spurs military abuses in N. Ecija

Two more abducted by government agents

Gabriela solon to report on political killings at UN meet

A Declaration of Solidarity and Protest from World Church Leaders

“Military abuses in Nueva Ecija just the tip of an iceberg!”-KMP

KARAPATAN's Reaction to Amnesty International Report on the Philippines

Privilege speech of Rep. Rafael Mariano on the "cedula" incidents in Nueva Ecija

Quick Facts on Human Rights

Violations Nationwide

(as of August 15, 2006)

725        - civilians killed arbitrarily
307        - of them them activists belonging to 

                 various cause-oriented groups

                 and progressive organizations
262,908 - internally displaced persons

                (IDPs) in
221       - cases of forcible evacuation,

               displacement and demolition

Source: KARAPATAN