Second Session on the Philippines

Permanent People's Tribunal (PPT)

at The Hague, Netherlands

Parallel activity in the Philippines

UP Film Center

Oct. 30, 2006  Updated Nov. 5, 2006

What is the Permanent People's Tribunal (PPT)?

The PPT  is an international opinion tribunal, independent from any State authority. It examines and judges complaints regarding violations of human rights and rights of peoples that are submitted by the victims themselves or groups representing them.

The Tribunal was founded in June 1979 in Italy by law experts, writers and other intellectuals. It succeeded the Russell Tribunals I and II or the International War Crimes Tribunal, which held two sessions in 1967 to expose the war crimes committed against the Vietnamese people.

In 1980, the Permanent People's Tribunal convened a Session on the Philippines to hear the case against the dictator  Marcos, at the suit of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

In recognition of the urgency of the appeal of the Initiating Group of Philippine organizations, the PPT has decided to convene the Second Session on the Philippines. It shall hear and deliberate on the indictment against the Arroyo regime, the US government and multilateral agencies acting as their accomplices, in violating the Filipino people's individual and collective rights, and for crimes under international law.

Atty. Romeo Capulong, former UN ad litem Judge, is the Chief Prosecutor of the 2nd Session on the Philippines of the Permanent People's Tribunal

For more articles and news

on the Permanent People's Tribunal, go to:

http://www.philippinetribunal.org/

Panel of speakers during the 30 October 2006 program to convene the Permanent People's Tribunal Second Session on the Philippines, in the Hague, The Netherlands. From left, Wim Vugts, a Dutch citizen residing in the Philippines; Congressman Teddy Casiño and Senator Jamby Madrigal of the Philippine Congress; Dr. Gianni Tognoni, General Secretary of the PPT; Senator Tiny Kox of the Netherlands Parliament; and Atty. Jan Fermon of the Progress Law Network of Belgium. Not in photo: Dr. Edelina de la Paz, KARAPATAN Chairperson; Antonio Tujan, Jr, of Ibon Foundation; and Ms. Carmencita Karagdag, of the Peace for Life

Photos of the convening program at The Hague courtesy of the PPT Secretariat

Dr. Gianni Tognoni, General Secretary of the Permanent People's Tribunal answers a question from a reporter during the program to convene the Tribunal's Second Session on the Philippines, 30 Oct 2006, in the Hague. Congressman Teddy Casiño (left) and Senator Jamby Madrigal (2nd from left), members of Philippine Parliament, delivered reports on the worsening human rights situation in the Philippines. At right is Senator Tiny Kox who delivered a message from the Dutch Parliament supporting the convening of the PPT's Second Session on the Philippines. Philippine organizations led by BAYAN, KARAPATAN, Hustisya!, SELDA and Desaparecidos filed a case with the PPT to "indict the US-Backed Arroyo Regime for human rights violations, economic plunder and transgression of the Filipino people's sovereignty. The hearings are scheduled on March 21-25, 2007, in the Hague, The Netherlands. [PPT-ICS]

Senator Jamby Madrigal reads her report on the worsening human rights situation in the country during the program to convene the Permanent People's Tribunal Second Session on the Philippines in the Hague, 30 October 2006. Also present during the convening program were Dr. Gianni Tognoni, General Secretary of the Permanent People's Tribunal, Senator Tiny Kox of the Dutch Parliament, Rep. Teddy Casiño of Bayan Muna, and Dr. Edelina dela Paz, Chairperson of the human rights group KARAPATAN. Philippine organizations led by BAYAN, KARAPATAN, Hustisya!, SELDA and Desaparecidos filed a case with the PPT to "indict the US-Backed Arroyo Regime for human rights violations, economic plunder and transgression of the Filipino people's sovereignty”. The hearings are set on 21-25 March 2007, in the Hague, The Netherlands. [PPT-ICS]

Click here for the press release of the International Coordinating Secretariat

Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño (left) and Ms. Carmencita Karagdag of Peace for Life (right) address the tribunal. Rep. Teddy Casiño welcomed the global court's acceptance of the case against the hated national leader in view of the Manila government's acts that make justice elusive for Filipinos demanding that she be held accountable for violations of national and international laws..

Dr. Bien Lumbera

Evangeline Hernandez and Orly Marcellana, spokepersons of HUSTISYA

Atty. Romeo Capulong

Dr. Bien Lumbera, National Artist, delivers a poem

Click here for poem

Rey Claro Casambre, Executive Director of the Philippine Peace Center, introduces the Permanent People's Tribunal

Click here for the power point on Tribunal

Click here for : Pagpapakilala sa PPT (Word format)

L-R: Jose Torres of NUJP/media; Atty. Edre Olalia, president of the International Association of Peoples' Lawyers, representing lawyers; Bishop Eliezer Pascua, representing church people; and Dr. Carol Araullo, BAYAN chair

Marie Hilao-Enriquez and Atty. Rachel Pastores

Marie Hilao-Enriquez of KARAPATAN

and Atty. Rachel Pastores of the Public Interest Law Center (PILC)

Members of the Norwegian Ecumenical Peace Platform:

Inger Anne Naterstad and  Michel Beckers

n Programme of the Opening Session

n Remarks of Rep. Teddy Casiño at the opening of the Permanent People's Tribunal Second Session on the Philippines

n CPP: Message to the Permanent People's Tribunal's Second Session on the Philippines

n Message of support for the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal second session on the Philippines-NDFP/Jalandoni

n Casiño tells int'l court: Justice elusive in RP

n The PPT's second session on the Philippines

n Message of support to the permanent peoples’ tribunal - by the International Association of People's Lawyers (IAPL)

n Video clip of the convening program

n Press statement of the International Coordinating Secretariat

n Statement of BAYAN

n Indicting the Arroyo regime by Dr. Carol Araullo

n Message of Bishop Arturo Bastes of Sorsogon

n Murder of Bishop Ramento and the PPT

n Arroyo faces trial for war crimes in The Hague by CenPEG

n Inquirer: Arroyo to be ‘tried’ before ‘int’l tribunal

n Arroyo to be tried before people's tribunal for violating Filipinos' ecoomic rights - IBON

CALL FOR SUPPORT
PERMANENT PEOPLES’ TRIBUNAL SECOND SESSION ON THE PHILIPPINES
INDICTING THE US-BACKED ARROYO REGIME FOR HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, ECONOMIC PLUNDER AND TRANSGRESSION OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE’S SOVEREIGNTY

Warmest greetings from a people yearning for just peace!

The growing number of extrajudicial killings and other gross human rights violations committed by the Arroyo government’s military and police forces in the Philippines today cry out for justice. KARAPATAN (Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples’ Rights) reports that since 2001 – when Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed the presidency -- there have been more than 750 documented victims of extra-judicial killings. More than 180 have been abducted and forcibly disappeared. More than 200 have survived assassination attempts. Tens of thousands have also become internal refugees as a result of military operations, which include indiscriminate bombings and strafing of rural communities.

The Arroyo government’s intensified attacks on the people, marked by the cold-blooded murder of unarmed political activists, church people, journalists, lawyers, teachers and human rights defenders multiply with impunity. These are motivated by Arroyo’s drive for political survival and are inline with the US government’s “war on terror” and the economic interest of multinational corporations in the Philippines.

Well-documented cases of human rights violations have already been brought to the attention of the United Nations through its offices in New York and Geneva. A number ofinternational entities have also conducted fact-finding missions and have issued reports, recommendations and condemnations of the regime’s lack of resolute action to stop the killings. Among these international groups are the Amnesty International, Asian Human Rights Commission, the International Labor Solidarity Mission, the International Peasants Fact Finding Mission, the Hong Kong Fact-Finding Mission to the Philippines, Reporters Sans Frontiers, Lawyers without Borders and Lawyers for Lawyers from the Netherlands, International Association of Democratic Lawyers, and four women lawyers from the United States.

Various church organizations like the World Council of Churches, Christian Conference of Asia, World Alliance of Reformed Churches, United Church of Canada, United Methodist Church of the USA, United Evangelical Mission of Germany and the National Council of Churches in Japan have likewise issued their statements and resolutions calling on the Manila government to bring an end to the killings. Notably, a number of Members of Parliament from Europe and a number of officials from other countries have also expressed their concerns over the deteriorating human rights situation in the Philippines. The list continues to lengthen.

In response to this growing international pressure, Mrs. Arroyo has belatedly seen the need to take a pro-forma official action by creating the Melo Commission to look into the killings. But this was clearly intended to merely deflect and diffuse the continuing barrage of criticisms against her government. Even before this could start its investigation, Mrs. Arroyo issued a blanket statement absolving her military and police forces of any wrongdoing, despite testimonies from survivors and witnesses to the contrary.

The Filipino people are not cowed by terror nor duped by the Arroyo regime. They continue to find avenues to make this despicable situation known throughout the world and gather the widest support for the Filipino people’s just and legitimate struggle for national self determination and social transformation.

GROUP OF INITIATORS: HUSTISYA! (Victims of the US-Arroyo Regime United for Justice), SELDA (organization of political prisoners), Desaparacidos (organization of victims, relatives and friends of the disappeared), Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN, New Patriotic Alliance), KARAPATAN (Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights), Public Interest Law Center, Peace for Life, Philippine Peace Center, IBON Foundation, United Church of Christ in the Philippines and the Ecumenical Bishops Forum.

Office of the Chairperson

ILPS WELCOMES AND SUPPORTS
SECOND SESSION ON THE PHILIPPINES
BY THE PERMANENT PEOPLE'S TRIBUNAL

By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chairperson, International Coordinating Committee
International League of Peoples' Struggle
30 October 2006

 

We, the International League of Peoples" Struggle (ILPS), welcome and support the convening of the Second Session on the Philippines under the auspices of the Permanent People's Tribunal (PPT) of the Rome-based Lelio Basso International Foundation for the Rights and Liberation of Peoples.

We are deeply pleased with the related proceedings which are organized by the International Coordinating Secretariat in The Hague , Netherlands and by the Philippine initiating organizations through the Philippine Coordinating Secretariat in Metro Manila, Philippines for the purpose of convening the session on 30 October 2006.

We stand in solidarity with the PPT, the Philippine initiating organizations, members of the jury, the complainants, prosecutors, witnesses, experts, amici curiae, the sponsors, supporters, the Philippine Coordinating Secretariat and International Coordinating Secretariat in the case of the Filipino people against the Arroyo regime and its foreign accomplices headed by the US and US-controlled agencies.

We agree that the cause of justice is served by charging and trying the accused for the following three grave criminal offenses:

1. Extra-judicial killings, massacres, abductions and enforced disappearances, torture, arson, bombings, mass intimidation, forced mass evacuation and other gross human rights violations against individuals, organizations and communities. (Most brazen of these crimes against civil and political rights are those victimizing unarmed political activists, workers, peasants, women, youth, church people, journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders and peace advocates).

2. Economic plunder, including the imposition of the US policy of neoliberal globalization", the violation of Philippine economic sovereignty by foreign monopoly capitalism, the sell-out of the national patrimony, unscrupulous superprofit-taking by the US and other multinational firms, debt bondage to the imperialist banks and bureaucratic corruption of the Arroyo regime.

3. Transgression of Philippine national sovereignty, including treason by the Arroyo regime, all-out war policy and use of state terrorism to keep the Arroyo puppet clique in power and to align with the US global war of terror and aggression, the culpability of the Arroyo regime and the US for war crimes and crimes of humanity, the encroachment on Philippine territory by US military interventionist forces and surrender of jurisdiction to the US over criminal cases in the Philippines.

The above three charges are closely and necessarily interrelated. The violations of the human rights of specific individuals, groups and communities under charge No. 1 constitute the bulk of the concrete and vivid cases against the Arroyo regime and its foreign accomplices. At the same time, the motive of greed for the attacks on civil and political rights must be exposed. Economic plunder on its own account is a colossal crime and thus charge No. 2 is leveled against the accused. Under charge No. 3, the use of state terrorism to serve the political survival of the Arroyo regime and the hegemony of US imperialism involves the transgression of Philippine national sovereignty and the commission of crimes under international law.

We wish all the various participants in the Second Session of the PPT on the Philippines the utmost success in preparing for their respective parts in the public trial to be held in The Hague , The Netherlands in March 2007. They have a highly important responsibility in upholding, defending and promoting the rights and liberation of the Filipino people in accordance with the Algiers Declaration and international law on human rights and the rights of nations. We hope that the PPT Second Session will be a resounding success as a result of conscientious hard work dedicated to the extremely and intolerably oppressed and exploited Filipino people.

The First Session of the PPT on the Philippines , which tried in 1980 in Antwerp the case of the Filipino people at the suit of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines and the Moro National Liberation Front against the Marcos fascist regime and its foreign accomplices headed by the US , was a signal event. It was a nodal point not only in the struggle against the US-propped Marcos fascist dictatorship but also in the long-term struggle against the rotten semicolonial and semifeudal ruling system in the Philippines .

We hope that the Second Session of the Permanent People's Tribunal on the Philippines attains the utmost success in exposing and opposing the colossal crimes of the Arroyo regime and its foreign accomplices against the Filipino people, in illuminating the road for achieving national liberation, democracy, social justice, progress and peace and in inspiring the Filipino people to fight ever more resolutely and militantly for their rights not only against the current regime but also against the US-dominated system of the comprador big bourgeoisie and landlord class in the Philippines.###

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March of support to the second session on the Philippines of the PPT

The participants marched around the UP campus and held a brief program at the Oblation area.