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February 8, 2010
Immediately Free the Victims!
CPA Statement on the Illegal Arrest
and Detention of Health Workers in Rizal Province
The Cordillera Peoples Alliance
condemns in the strongest terms the illegal arrest, detention,
harassment and intimidation of two
doctors, one government nurse, one midwife, three nongovernment
organization (NGO) staff members, and
36 community health workers (CHWs) in Morong,
Rizal province last February 6 by
elements of the 202 nd
Infantry Battalion. The victims were
participating
in the First Responders Training
organized by the Community Medicine Foundation Inc. (COMMED)
and hosted by Dr. Melecia Velmonte, a
respected infectious disease specialist and consultant at the
Philippine General Hospital, in her
residential compound. The arrest happened around 6 AM by at
least 300 soldiers in full battle
gear. The victims are known medical practitioners among their patients
and the communities they serve and
have served well. These communities have in fact been long
denied of adequate health and medical
services by government. The victims deserve respect and
recognition for their service and
sacrifice in practicing their profession for the people. Hence, they
should not be subjected to military
cowardice and State terrorism.
The 202nd
Infantry Brigade unjustly
accused the victims of being members of the underground New
People’s Army, frisked, handcuffed
and interrogated them while taking pictures and videos. The male
victims were also blindfolded, and
all victims’ belongings were taken. No search warrant was even
presented until later, in the name of
a certain Mario Condes charged with illegal possession of
firearms. The warrant did not exactly
indicate the Velmonte compound. Explosives were planted then
allegedly recovered in the compound.
To date, the victims are still at Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal
and not a single family member has
been allowed to see them.
What has happened in Rizal is similar
to the experience of our health workers, doctors, nurses and
dentists working with the Community
Health, Education, Training and Services in the Cordillera Region
(CHESTCORE), NGO partner of CPA, in
the interior indigenous communities in the region conducting
health and medical services to the
Cordillera communities long neglected by government. CPA
condemns these human rights
violations and calls for public support for the victims, who should
instead
be commended for unselfishly
extending to poor communities their profession and training in the
medical field. What government must
be doing is to deliver these basic social services to depressed
communities instead of deploying the
military, who in turn only cause human rights violations. If such
violations can be done to respected
professionals, what more to common people? It is shameless
how the AFP can stomach to do such,
when government, taxing the people dry, deliberately fails to
provide their medical and health
needs. The Rizal incident is a clear demonstration of heightened
State repression to the people,
including progressive partylists and candidates in the 2010 elections.
As a signatory to the United Nations
Declaration on Human Rights, Comprehensive Agreement on the
Respect of Human Rights and
International Humanitarian Law, international conventions on human
rights and humanitarian law, we call
the Arroyo government, Armed Forces of the Philippines and
Philippine National Police for the
immediate and unconditional and safe release of these medical
professionals and victims, that their
belongings be immediately be returned to them, and family
members and lawyers be allowed to
visit them in Camp Capinpin. The perpetrators must be punished
and held accountable from the top to
the lowest chain of command, including the Commander-In-
Chief Gloria Arroyo.
The militarization of communities has
escalated with the nearing elections. We challenge the
COMELEC and government to steer clear
polling precincts from military presence as early as now. The
AFP and PNP are mandated by law to be
impartial and neutral in civilian political affairs such as the
elections, yet they have constantly
violated this. We call on the public to be more vigilant and
assertive of their constitutional
rights and human rights against terrorism and human rights violations of
the AFP and PNP, vote and support
individual candidates and political parties with clear track-record
and concrete electoral agenda on the
defense of our human rights. #
End the culture of impunity and State
terrorism.
Stop Oplan Bantay Laya and all
repressive policies.
References:
Mr. Windel B. Bolinget
Chairperson, CPA
Ms. Abigail B. Anongos
Secretary General, CPA
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Dr. Alex Montes of Community
Medicine Development Foundation (COMMED) is also a known surgeon and an
elder of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP). He
received his medical degree from the University of the East College of
Medicine (Class 1976) and has since been active in community service such
that he was the UCCP national coordinator for health services for twenty
years (1986-2006)!” |
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United Church of Christ in the
Philippines
Christian Youth Fellowship
Statement on the Illegal
Abduction of Dr. Alexis Montes
The National Executive Committee of the UCCP-CYF through the Office of
its National President condemns in the strongest possible terms the
abduction, illegal arrest and detention
of Dr. Alexis Montes and forty-two other health workers
while they were conducting a First Responders Training in Morong Rizal
on 06 February 2010.
Reports had it that Dr. Montes was illegally arrested and detained by
the 202nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army and the
Rizal Philippine National Police. The youth now has been left
wondering and asking itself this question: how can a government truly
serve and protect its people when its own institutions are the very
ones committing gross violation of human rights? The illegal arrest
and subsequent disappearance of Dr. Montes and his trainees can never
be justified by just "a shoddy search warrant for a certain Mario
Condes which supposedly formed basis for their raid." Initial reports
recount that more than 300 military and police raided the retreat
center at gunpoint. Dr. Alex was then blindfolded and was taken away
in a military truck and his whereabouts are not yet confirmed up to
this time.
Further, the allegation that Dr.
Alex was involved in a bomb-making training is obviously a false
fabrication. We know Dr. Alex to be an active lay leader of the UCCP
and one who has devoted his years to serving the poor and the
marginalized through his profession as a medical doctor. The military
claim that he is involved in bomb-making is just incomprehensible to
us who know him and have watched him with admiration for his passion
to serve the poor.
We stand with our church and raise our voices in demanding for his
immediate release. Let justice be served by holding accountable the
ones truly responsible for his abduction and disappearance. Let
justice be served to the hundreds who have fallen victim to the
blatant human rights violations in our country.
We resound the call to resurface Dr. Alexis Montes and to put an end
to all forms of human rights violations and the impunity that has
taken the country with the senseless deaths and disappearances of our
sisters and brothers. Resurface Dr. Montes! Let justice be served!
Reference:
Shalom Grace A. Tomas
National President
UCCP-CYF
08 February 2010
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Release Dr.
Alexis Montes and other detained health workers!
“Freedom is what we have—Christ has set us free! Stand, then as free
people and do not allow yourselves to become slaves again.” Galatians 5:1
Dr. Alexis Montes, a lay leader in the health ministry of the United
Church of Christ in the Philippines, is a victim of illegal arrest,
disappearance and detention. The United Church of Christ in the
Philippines resolutely calls for an end to de-facto martial law tactics on
the part of the Armed Forces in the Philippines and the Philippine
National Police. We call for the respect of the human
rights of Dr. Alex Montes and the 42 other detained health workers,
including their rights to legal counsel, access to visitors, and due
process. The ludicrous allegation that Dr. Alex was involved in a
bomb-making training is deplorable; Dr Alex is a respected leader in the
healing ministry of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines. We
stand united and call for his release!
In the early morning (6am) of February 6, 2010, Dr. Alexis (Alex) Montes
was illegally arrested and detained by the 202nd Infantry Battalion of the
Philippine Army and the Rizal Philippine National
Police. The Community Medical Foundation, Inc. (COMMED), where Dr. Alex
Montes is currently employed, co-sponsored a First Responders Training for
health workers in Morong, Rizal beginning February 1, 2010; Dr. Alex was
assigned in the conducting of the training. Initial reports say that more
than 300 military and police raided the retreat center at gunpoint. They
arrested the 43 participants before even searching the premises. They
later showed a shoddy search warrant for a certain Mario Condes as
supposed basis for their raid. Dr. Alex was blindfolded and taken away in
a military truck and we have not been able to confirm his whereabouts. It
is suspected that Dr. Alex and the others are being held Camp Capinpin,
Samaploc, Tanay, Rizal, but access has been denied to lawyers, family,
colleagues and pastors who have tried to visit them.
The military alleges that the training was actually on bomb making. They
claim to have found C4 explosives, a pistol, a revolver, three grenades,
three Claymor mines and an improvised landmine. (Philippine Daily
Inquirer, February 7, 2010) However, Dr. Melecia Velmonte who owns the
retreat center where the training was being conducted asserted that the
military had no witness to their search operations and would have easily
planted the ammunitions. Dr. Velmonte also gave
a lecture on infectious diseases at the training, but was not arrested
with the other participants.
Dr. Alex Montes has been a long-time staff of the United Church of Christ
in the Philippines. From 1988-2003, Dr. Montes served as the Health
Ministries Coordinator of the Christian Witness and Service program of the
UCCP. He also served as Executive Secretary of Bishop Elmer Bolocon from
2001-2002. Dr. Alex has been instrumental in the development of UCCP
hospitals, but his passion as always been providing health services to the
underprivileged.
Dr. Alex Montes has helped develop the community-based health programs of
many of our institutions. Immediately prior to his service with The
Community Medical Foundation, Dr. Montes was developing community-based
health programs of the UCCP Visayas Community Medical Center in Cebu City.
He served as Assistant to the Administrator for Internal and External
Programs and Projects from 2007-2009.
We appeal to your support through the following actions:
· Pray that Dr. Alexis Montes and the other 42 health workers will be
surfaced and released.
· Write a letter to the following addresses and appeal for due process of
the 43 detained health workers and especially for Dr. Alex Montez,
respected UCCP lay leader.
For Reference:
Bishop Eliezer M. Pascua
General Secretary
0917-8057167 |
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Ang Kinang ng Apatnapu’t Tatlo
Ni Kislap Alitaptap
09 Pebrero 2010
Mga mata’y binusalan,
Mga kamay ay sinakal.
Sa Camp Capinpin, Tanay, Rizal
Na sa kanila’y pinagtaguan;
Sila’y tinakot at pinaratangan
Ng mga unipormadong suhulan.
Ang sabi ni Heneral
“Kasapi ng NPA ang mga ‘yan!”
Ang tugon ng mga pinaratangan
“Kami ay mga manggagawang-pangkalusugan.”
“Kayo’y hindi nagsasanay manggamot,
Kayo’y nagsasanay gumawa ng mga pampasabog.
Kaya nararapat lamang na pagkaitan ng tulog,
Ipagtanggol ng abugado’y, ‘di rin dapat ihandog.”
Ang mayabang na bulyaw ni Heneral Singhot.
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“Kami’y manggagamot, sa Baya’y
naglilingkod,
Kakarampot na sahod ay ‘di hadlang na sapot,
Upang sa Baya’y ihandog ang karapatang magamot,
Karapatang malaon ng inyong ipinagdadamot.”
Ang matatag na sagot ng mga manggagamot.
Sabagay wala ng bago sa mga paratang na ganito.
‘Di na nila pinag-iiba ang Langka sa Kaymito,
‘Di na nila pinag-iiba ang Pilak sa Ginto,
‘Di na nila pinag-iiba ang Sampagita sa Dapo,
At ‘di na rin nila pinag-iiba ang Armado sa ‘di-Armado.
Kaya ‘wag na rin tayong mabibigla kung sa kanilang kampo
Ay may dumapong naliligaw na pato,
At kanila itong ratratin hanggang maging abo.
‘Wag na tayong mabibigla kung ang kawawang pato
Ay ituring nilang sugo ng mga Partisano. #
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Fascism evolves anew under Arroyo
Immediate release demanded for framed-up doctors, health workers
Kilusang Mayo Uno joins the clamor for the immediate release of the 43
health workers, including doctors, framed-up and detained for three days
now by Rizal military and police.
Around 300 soldiers and police forcibly raided on Saturday morning the
compound of Dr. Melecia Velmonte, where training is being conducted for
volunteer doctors and health practitioners for community health work. They
were accused as NPAs and guilty of illegal possession of firearms. But
before any warrant of arrest was shown to them, the training participants
were lined up, frisked, blindfolded, and hand-cuffed. After which, the
military allegedly found C4 explosives, guns, grenades and landmines in
the compound. The health workers were brought to Camp Capinpin in Laguna
and held incommunicado until present.
The charges and framed up evidences against the health workers are
obviously baseless, and were concocted to suppress health workers aligned
with the critics of the Arroyo administration. These doctors and health
workers do health service in far flung and poverty stricken communities –
areas where government’s social services are hardly felt.
The frame-up and mass arrest demonstrate how Arroyo’s fascism evolves in a
vain effort to crush the people’s movement for genuine social change. From
extra-judicial killings, abductions, and black propaganda, Arroyo’s Oplan
Bantay Laya took on a new form two years ago with the massive cases of
trumped up criminal charges filed against progressive militants, mostly
from Southern Tagalog also. Last year, some militants experienced being
harassed to death by military agents. Now, it seems that frame-up is the
newest method of the regime to quell opposition and sow terror among the
public.
The incident, an unprecedented one, also proves that no one is spared
under the regime’s bloody campaign. Since 2001, the US-Arroyo regime has
already victimized journalists, lawyers, and doctors – professions that
supposedly enjoy safety under a democracy.
From concocting criminal charges to concocting evidences as bases for
detention, the US-Arroyo regime is sending a message that it is hell-bent
in its ambition to end rebellion before its term ends in a few months. We
are sending, however, a clearer message: As long as oppression, injustice,
and poverty is perpetrated by the ruling classes of this society,
resistance and the progressive movement will only get stronger.
What the military has done to the doctors and health workers should incite
the strongest condemnation and action. They have offered their knowledge
and skills in sincere service to the masses. As they are detained and kept
from continuing their such deeds, let us enjoin more people to take action
for their immediate freedom, and for the genuine liberation of the masses
they have served. #
Reference: Elmer "Bong" Labog, KMU chairperson, 0929-629-3234 |
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Reynaldo Macabenta, health
worker |
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▼ Stills from TV 2 newscast
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February 9, 2010
PRESS STATEMENT
Free the 43 Health Workers
The National Council of Churches in the Philippines expresses extreme
alarm over the arrest and continued detention of forty three health
workers who participated in a training conducted by a non-government
organization, the Council for Health and Development. Reports say they
were arrested in Morong, Rizal on February 6 in the residence of Dr.
Melicia Velmonte. Since their arrest, they have been denied visits of
relatives and friends. It was only through the intervention this morning
of Commissioner Leila de Lima of the Commission on Human Rights that some
of the relatives were able to see their loved ones. Reports said that the
detainees were tortured. The
detained health workers include Dr. Alexis Montes, a member and former
national health program coordinator of the United Church of Christ in the
Philippines. Dr. Montes was a member of the NCCP’s Commission on Faith,
Witness and Service at one time. A news report stated the AFP accused Dr.
Montes as a member of a special unit of the New People’s Army (NPA) formed
to liquidate General Jovito Palparan.
This latest assault on human rights is a manifestation of a dysfunctional
system claiming democracy yet denying basic rights to its citizens. It is
a system where warlords are entitled their rights if not coddled by the
powers that be while members of NGOs and people's organizations are not.
It is a
system where those who cause people's pain are allowed their maximum day
in court and are even set free while those who ease the people’s pain are
labeled members of the NPA, leftists, communists, ad infinitum, arrested
and tortured then denied any right, constitutional or otherwise.
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Such is the intention of the anti-insurgency
policy of the state through Oplan Bantay Laya II. There can be no better
ingredient for more social and political dissent than the brazen affront
to human dignity like, illegal arrests and detention, extrajudicial
killings and enforced disappearances. The best ingredient to quell any
further dissent is to resolve once and for all the festering issues of
corruption, poor governance, agrarian unrest, development aggression and
political degeneration that have confined the people in this republic in a
state of misery and poverty.
We appeal to the authorities to release these health workers. With a
dwindling budget for health, the least the government could do is to
support non-government initiatives whose leaders and constituents, more
often than not, represent the ideals of genuine community service and
Christian
selflessness. We also reiterate our call for the government to adopt and
heed the recommendations of Prof. Philip Alston, the Special Rapporteur on
extra judicial, summary or arbitrary executions, particularly to review
its counter-insurgency program. Oplan Bantay Laya is an instrument for
terror.
It has no place in a democratic society.
To our partners around the world, please continue to uphold us in your
prayers and be unceasing in your solidarity with us.
REV. REX RB REYES, JR.
General Secretary
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Press Statement
The Arroyo Administration’s list of human
rights violations – crimes against the Filipino people -- gets longer by
the day, noticeably in the run-up to the May 2010 elections!
We, concerned migrant Filipinos in Europe (Austria), are appalled to learn
of the illegal raid/arrest and detention of 43 healthworkers at Camp
Capinpin, Tanay, Rizal on February 6, 2010.
According to recent statistics, seven in ten Filipinos die without
receiving medical treatment, owing to extreme poverty.
This is why even the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
recognizes that „In countries where the existing health-care system falls
short of meeting the needs of the people and lacks a community
orientation, community- based health programmes (CBHPs) could be utilized
and developed. CBHPs are critical of the traditional approaches to health
work and favor models based on empowerment and long-term solutions to
social, political and economic injustice.“
It is therefore incomprehensible why health workers who merely choose to
practice their profession in medically-underserved communities are labeled
red and considered enemies of the state.
The Arroyo Administration’s list of human rights violations – crimes
against the Filipino people -- gets longer by the day, noticeably in the
run-up to the May 2010 elections. As of 10 December 2009, its record of
human rights violations include more than 1,118 extrajudicial killings,
204 enforced disappearances, 1,026 victims of torture and the detention of
more than 200 political prisoners since 2001.
We reiterate our continued commitment to genuine democracy and our
solidarity with all those securing and protecting civil and political
freedoms.
We demand
1. That the health workers who are illegally arrested and illegally
detained at Camp Capinpin, Tanay, Rizal be immediately released, safe and
unharmed.
2. That the confiscated personal belongings of the victims be returned
immediately to them.
3. That an independent fact-finding and investigation team be immediately
formed, to carry out immediate, impartial and thorough investigation into
the above case, with a view to publishing the findings and bringing those
responsible to justice in accordance with international standards;
4. That the military stop the labeling and targeting of human rights
defenders as “members of front organizations of the communists” and
“enemies of the state.”
5. That the Philippine Government live up to the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and to all the major Human Rights instruments of which it is
a signatory # # #
Reference:
Manuel Sarmiento
Chairperson, Pinoy in Austrian Society For Integrity, Reforms and Social
Transformation (PINAS FIRST)
Phone # +43 699 122 778 35
http://migrantecampaign.ning.com
#10 Banuyo St.Brgy.Amihan, Project 3, Quezon
City
Telefax: 9114910
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Romeo Clamor, KARAPATAN Deputy
Secretary General,
husband of Dr. Merry Clamor |
Dr. Merry Mia-Clamor
health and education
training services coordinator
for the Council for Health and
Development (CHD) |
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League of Filipino Students
Vinzons Hall, University of the Philippines, Diliman,
Quezon City
09158513904
PRESS RELEASE
February 10, 2010
AFP Personnel
Liable as War Criminals Under International Humanitarian Law for the
Illegal Arrest of 43 Health Workers
The League of Filipino Students
warned that the Armed Forces of the Philippines shall be liable under
International Humanitarian Law for the illegal arrest and detention of 43
health workers who were engaged in a community health seminar in Morong,
Rizal.
“The Geneva Convention had always
been unequivocal in the protection of medical personnel during times of
armed conflict - Medical personnel exclusively engaged in the prevention
of disease shall be respected and protected in all circumstances. The
community health seminar was organized precisely for the prevention of
disease in far-flung communities.” This was the statement of Terry Ridon,
National Chairperson of the League of Filipino Students, as the LFS
trooped to the General Headquarters of the AFP in Camp Aguinaldo to press
for the immediate release of the forty-three health workers.
Ridon also said that with the illegal
search, arrest and continuing detention of the Morong 43, the AFP is in
absolute violation of International Humanitarian Law because it is in no
way protecting and respecting medical personnel engaged in a medical
seminar as required by the Geneva Convention.
“Moreover, with the reports on
torture and forced confessions being confirmed by the day, the military
handlers and their chiefs may even be labeled as war criminals under
International Humanitarian Law.” Ridon said.
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He said that the AFP is also
separately liable under international law for violating the Morong 43’s
rights as civilians in the middle of an armed conflict. Civilians,
including medical personnel, are protected under international
humanitarian law from armed attacks and harassment even in
non-international armed conflicts such as the ongoing communist
insurgency.
“Clearly, there is no escape from
liability for their atrocities against community health workers whose
rights are violated as we speak. This appears to be the reward of the
Arroyo regime for health workers trooping to the most underserved
barangays precisely because of her failures in healthcare delivery.”
Ridon said that by labeling the
Morong 43 as NPA rebels, the AFP is foolishly seeking to undo their own
ignorant brazenness and complete disrespect for human life and dignity.
“The status of the Morong 43 is
unquestionable. They are all part of legitimate non-government community
health organizations. On the other hand, the position of the AFP is
nothing but dubious conjecture, and the illegality of their acts are as
clear as day.”
The LFS vowed to vigorously campaign
for the release of the Morong 43 in the next few weeks.
Reference:
Terry Ridon, National Chairperson,
League of Filipino Students
09158513904,
teridon18@gmail.com
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"the development of each is the development of all."
teridon.blospot.com
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CBCP NEWS
http://www.cbcpnews.com/?q=node/12123
Colleagues of arrested health workers to file Writ of Habeas Corpus
MANILA, February 7, 2010—The Council for Health and Development (CHD),
Inc., the Community Medicine Development (COMMED) Foundation, Inc., the
Health Action for Human Rights (HAHR) and the human rights’ group
Karapatan, will file a petition for the Writ of Habeas Corpus before the
Supreme Court tomorrow to force the members of the 202nd Infantry Brigade
(IB) of the Philippine Army (PA) to surface the 43 health workers who were
“arrested” in the middle of their training in Morong, Rizal.
Dr. Eleanor Jara, a general physician and currently the executive director
of the CHD said that contrary to the claims of Col. Aurelio Baladad,
commander of the 202nd IB-PA the abducted health and medical professionals
were all volunteer of different non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and
not by any means, connected with the communist rebels.
Karapatan has issued the partial list of the 42 health personnel, who are
now in the custody of the military in Camp Mateo Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal
that includes: Dr. Merry Mia-Clamor, health and education training
services coordinator for CHD; Dr. Alexis Montes; Gary Liberal, R.N. a
nurse for the Jose Reyes Medical Memorial Center in Manila; Teresa
Quinawayan, RMW; community health workers Lydia Ubera, Reynaldo Makabenta,
Delia Ocasia, Jane Balleta, Janice Javier, Franco Remoroso, Ailene
Monasteryo, Pearl Irene Martinez, Elen Carandang, Dany Panero, Rayom Among
and Emily Marquez.
Balleta, this reporter learned, was the granddaughter of the late
Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran who is now working as health volunteer for
an NGO while Mia-Clamor is the wife of Karapatan’s deputy
secretary-general Roneo “Jigs” Clamor.
Jara disclosed that the abducted health workers were on their sixth day of
their advance community health training at the farm of Dr. Melecia
Velmonte, an expert on infectious disease and currently a consultant for
the Philippine General Hospital.
“We belie the statement by the military that the abducted health workers
were there to learn how to make bombs and firearms. That is absolutely not
true! The truth is the evidence allegedly recovered from the area such as
handguns, grenades, and other explosives and the Bayan Muna campaign
paraphernalia were all planted,” says Jara in a press conference held in
Treehouse Restaurant in Quezon City.
Too many violations
Meanwhile, Dr. Edelina de la Paz, vice president of the HAHR said that
there are arresting team had committed too many violations.
“First of all, there was no clear search warrant. Though they have
presented a search warrant, whose name is under Mario Condes, and it is
written here, that he lives in Brgy. Maybangcal, Morong, Rizal. Who is
Mario Condes? Nobody knows. Dr. Velmonte doesn’t know him, nobody knows
him in the property of Dr. Velmonte, which was forcibly entered,” says de
la Paz in Filipino, showing the media the photocopy of the said search
warrant issued by Judge Cesar A. Mangroban of the Branch 22 of the Imus,
Cavite Regional Trial Court.
De la Paz said the military asked the Velmonte farm’s caretakers to open
the gate at gun point.
“Dr. Velmonte was at the gate, demanding the intruders an explanation.
Nobody was talking with her. They have just forced their way in, asked the
participants to go out from the place, and when they have left the
property they are now carrying grenades and other explosives. There are no
witnesses in the seizure of these explosives and guns, which the military
claims that have been found out inside the farm,” she added.
What makes the evidence more dubious, the doctor said, is where a hand
grenade was found.
“They said they found the grenade in one of the bed’s headboard. Who will
put a grenade under your pillow? This is a terrible lie,” she said.
In the fact sheet provided by Karapatan it says that the military had
recovered C4 explosives, a pistol loaded with seven bullets, three hand
grenades—one was allegedly found under a pillow, and some improvised land
mines.
However, the military did not issue a receipt of inventory of the said
firearms and explosives, which is an SOP in raids.
Meanwhile, de la Paz further said, the door of the farm was destroyed
because the military kicked it as well as the doors of the warehouses
inside.
De la Paz also said that there is overkill as 300 military and police
operatives came just to arrest the 43, who, she insists, were unarmed.
“There are about 100 soldiers, who have entered the compound, and when
they got out [together with the victims]—there are 200 more in the
periphery of the area. What do they think of the place? And the men were
blindfolded and forced to board 6 x 6 trucks. This again, is an outright
violation of human rights! You don’t blindfold people and you won’t force
them board into trucks without telling them where are going!” de la Paz
said.
The doctor further said: “In fact, Dr. Velmonte did not know where the 43
were taken, they are asking the captors, where are they are taking the
victims, and she even shouted, “Don’t carry them away!” You don’t have
warrant of arrest! Your search warrant is already flawed; you don’t have
any warrant of arrest, and they you will forcibly take them away!”
De la Paz revealed that some of victims were on their pajamas, wearing
towels on their heads because they have just came out of the bathroom, and
most of them have not taken their breakfast when the arresting team came.
Moreover, the doctor said, they only learn the whereabouts of the victim
around 12:00 noon.
“We hurriedly went there, together with the victims’ families and their
lawyers but the soldiers have denied us entry. And this is again, a
violation of human rights—the denial of rights to counsel, the denial of
the rights for families to see them, and the denial of the rights to see a
doctor. I, myself, is a doctor and I want to ensure that they are in good
health, that they are not—in anyway—tortured, or free from any physical
injuries, and even from mental torture,” de la Paz explained.
De la Paz further told the media that they were outside Camp Capinpin
until 7:00 PM but fail to see the victims. Even the ABS-CBN News team, who
is also there, was prohibited to see the 43.
Not an isolated case
“However, this incident is not new; every time that we are in a medical
mission, the members of the military and their paid cohorts continue to
harass our doctors and nurses. They will photograph us and some will stage
a mock rally. Some of them pretend to participate, especially in our
health trainings, but their true intention is to harass us. In fact, there
are incidents that the military will erect their detachments near the
houses of our Community Health Workers (CHWs) to intimidate them. Isn’t it
saddening that our doctors are now becoming nurses just to go abroad and
here, the members of the military are arresting this handful of medical
practitioners and health workers, who have decided to dedicate themselves
in servicing the poor, those people that the government failed to serve?”
Jara lamented.
Moreover, Karapatan deputy secretary-general Roneo “Jigs” Clamor believes
that the latest incident of arbitrary arrest, that included his wife, was
a part of the hurried efforts by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)
and the Department of National Defense (DND) to dismantle the four-decade
Maoist insurgency in the country.
“Oplan Bantay Laya is still working… and the State forces is very much
willing to do everything, even if it will result to gross human rights
violations of those who are suspected as enemy of the state or those who
are critical with this government,” he said.
Nevertheless, Jara was saddened by the fact that those who are sincerely
working for the good of the people are being harassed, thus hampering
their noble cause of bringing free health and medical services to the
communities in far flung areas, especially to the poor. (Noel Sales
Barcelona)
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▼ Various news and
commentaries▼ |
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x Tribune
Military hit for unlawful arrest of health workers
The military is under fire for refusing to grant the Commission
on Human Rights (CHR) access to 43 h.. more»
Dumarami ang mga grupong humihiling ng kagyat na pagpapalaya sa 43health
workers na kasalukuyang nakadetine sa Camp Capinpin sa Tanay, Rizal,
matapos ang isang mass arrest o maramihang pag-aresto na
tinataguriang“unprecedented” o wala pang katulad simula noong batas
militar.
Kapuso, GMANews.TV is the official news website of GMA-7, the Philippines'
no. 1 television network. It contains the latest breaking news and rss
feeds from GMA News and Public Affairs, and video from GMA News programs
24 Oras and Saksi. ...
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x
“The arrest of doctors and health workers, most of them women health
workers including midwives, violates the right of women as enshrined in
the Magna Carta to be provided with maternal and child care in the
communities of Rizal. ...
Third World Relief Fund, a Belgian development NGO, and intal, a
solidarity movement with people's movements in the Philippines and other
countries, condemns the brazen arrest of 43 doctors and health workers
in the Philippines...
MANILA, Philippines – Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chair Leila de Lima
was finally allowed to enter Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal to look into
the
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Written by
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Tuesday, 09 February 2010 20:42
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BAYAN-USA,
GABRIELA-USA and NAFCON-US hold
protest rally to free Morong 43
San Francisco
Photos courtesy of NAFCON
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 7, 2010
Contact: Rhonda Ramiro, BAYAN-USA, secgen@bayanusa.org
BAYAN-USA Condemns Illegal Abduction and
Detention of Health Workers in Rizal
Mass Arrest of Innocent Health Workers Adds to Arroyo’s Tally of Human
Rights Abuses
The alliance of 14 Filipino American organizations known as BAYAN-USA
strongly condemns the Philippine police and military’s illegal raid and
abduction of 43 community health workers and doctors who were conducting
health skills training in Morong, Rizal, Philippines on Saturday, February
6. The health workers and doctors administer health services to poor
communities, and were participating in a First Responders Training,
sponsored by the Community Medicine Foundation, Inc. (COMMED) and Council
for Health and Development (CHD). Their personal belongings, as well the
training materials used, were all confiscated by the military.
According to reports by the media and the human rights alliance KARAPATAN,
approximately 300 soldiers and police of the Southern Luzon Command of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Rizal Philippine National
Police (PNP) forcibly entered the farmhouse of Dr. Melecia Velmonte at
6:15 AM. The training participants were then lined up, violently frisked,
blindfolded, and taken to Camp Capinpin, headquarters of the 202nd
Infantry Brigade, AFP. The health workers have been held incommunicado
since then, and have been denied their right to legal counsel. A team from
the Commission on Human Rights was also blocked from seeing the detainees.
“We denounce the PNP and AFP’s illegal abduction and detention of health
professionals,” stated Bernadette Ellorin, BAYAN-USA Chair. “It is
contemptible that the government arrested these health care providers
while they were undergoing training in ‘first response,’ especially in
light of the government’s failure to provide this type of critical care
during disasters like typhoon Ondoy.”
KARAPATAN reported that the AFP
and PNP illegally used a search warrant naming a person who was not the
owner of the home, nor specifying an exact address. Moreover, the military
declared that the victims were members of the New People’s Army because of
explosives allegedly found inside the compound, even though witnesses said
that the military conducted the search of the compound’s premises only
after all of the victims and residents were already outside the buildings.
Witnesses also said that the military brought in with them plastic bags
with the GMA Kapuso logo printed on it.
“The government is sending the
message that Filipino doctors and nurses are heroes when they go abroad to
work, but they are labeled rebels if they stay in the Philippines to serve
the poor,” said Ellorin. “This falls right in line with President Arroyo’s
bloody counter-insurgency program Operation Plan Bantay Laya 2, which has
terrorized innocent people with extra-judicial killings, abductions,
disappearances, torture and mass arrests.”
BAYAN-USA makes the following demands:
1. The immediate release of the health workers who are illegally arrested
and illegally detained at Camp Capinpin, Tanay, Rizal.
2. The government to ensure the safety of the victims and that they are
not harmed; their belongings be returned immediately to them.
3. The immediate formation of an
independent fact-finding and investigation team composed of
representatives from human rights groups, the Church, local government,
and the Commission on Human Rights that will look into raid and illegal
arrest of the health workers conducting health skills training in Morong,
Rizal.
4. The military to stop the labeling
and targeting of human rights defenders as “members of front organizations
of the communists” and “enemies of the state.”
5. The Philippine Government to be
reminded that it is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and that it is also a party to all the major Human Rights
instruments, thus it is bound to observe all of these instruments’
provisions.
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8 February 2010
Reference: NAFCON National Office
info@nafconusa.org 718-565-8862 718-565-8856 (fax)
The National Alliance for Filipino Concerns-US (NAFCON-US) Demands the
Immediate Release of 43 Health Workers Illegally Arrested and Illegally
Detained in a Military Raid, Rizal Province, Philippines
San Francisco—NAFCON-US, an alliance of Filipino American organizations
based in 23 cities, condemns the Philippine police and military’s illegal
raid and abduction of 43 health workers and doctors who were conducting
health skills training in Morong, Rizal, Philippines on Saturday, February
6. The health workers and doctors administer health services to poor
communities, and were participating in a First Responders Training,
sponsored by the Community Medicine Foundation, Inc. (COMMED) and Council
for Health and Development (CHD). Their personal belongings, as well the
training materials used, were all confiscated by the military.
The human rights alliance KARAPATAN reports approximately 300 soldiers and
police of the Southern Luzon Command of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) and the Rizal Philippine National Police (PNP) forcibly
entered the farmhouse of Dr. Melecia Velmonte at 6:15 AM. At gunpoint, the
military forced the caretaker to open the gates. Inside, the soldiers
fanned out to different directions. They also kicked the main door to get
into the building.
When Dr. Velmonte and her son, Bob demanded for a search warrant, they
were merely brushed aside by the military. All medical practitioners and
health workers, were ordered to line up at the garage, frisked, and
handcuffed. The victims were also questioned and photographed by the
military, while another took a video recording of the interrogation. The
male victims were then blindfolded with old shirts brought in by the
soldiers and secured with packaging tape.
When the participants were already handcuffed, it was only then that
Police Superintendent Marion P. Balonglong showed Bob a search warrant for
a certain Mario Condes of Bgy. Maybangcal, Morong, Rizal, charged with
illegal possession of firearms. The search warrant dated February 5, 2010
and issued by Judge Cesar A. Mangrobang of Branch 22 of the Imus, Cavite
Regional Trial Court, did not indicate the exact address of the Velmonte
compound. Bob asserted that the warrant did not specify their address, and
that Mario Condes, who is subject of the warrant, is not even the owner of
the house, but he was ignored by the authorities.
The health workers were forced into the military trucks and were brought
to Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal, headquarters of the 202nd Infantry
Brigade of Philippine Army. The health workers have been held
incommunicado since then, and have been denied their right to legal
counsel. A team from the Commission on Human Rights was also blocked from
seeing the detainees.
“The PNP and AFP’s illegal abduction and detention of health professionals
is reprehensible and again highlights the Arroyo regime’s disregard for
human rights,” states Father Benjamin Alforque, NAFCON-US President. “We
condemn the government for arresting these health care providers while
they were undergoing ‘First Response Training,’ to serve the poor who are
in most need of critical healthcare.”
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“If the Philippine government was truly concerned with the welfare of the
Filipino people, especially in light of the recent devastation caused by
natural disasters such as Ondoy and Pepeng, it would be supporting, not
arresting, health professionals who are trained in emergency response and
who seek to serve communities,” adds Julia Camagong, NAFCON Vice President
of Programs.
Karapatan Recommended Action endorsed by NAFCON-US:
Send letters, emails or fax messages calling for:
1. The immediate release of the health workers who are illegally arrested
and illegally detained at Camp Capinpin, Tanay, Rizal.
2. The government to ensure the safety of the victims and that they are
not harmed; their belongings be returned immediately to them.
3. The immediate formation of an independent fact-finding and
investigation team composed of representatives from human rights groups,
the Church, local government, and the Commission on Human Rights that will
look into raid and illegal arrest of the health workers conducting health
skills training in Morong, Rizal.
4. The military to stop the labeling and targeting of human rights
defenders as “members of front organizations of the communists” and
“enemies of the state.”
5. The Philippine Government to be reminded that it is a signatory to the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and that it is also a party to all
the major Human Rights instruments, thus it is bound to observe all of
these instruments’ provisions.
You may send your communications to:
H.E.Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President of the Republic
Malacañang Palace,
JP Laurel St., San Miguel
Manila Philippines
Voice: (+632) 564 1451 to 80
Fax: (+632) 742-1641 / 929-3968
Cell#: (+ 63) 919 898 4622 / (+63) 917 839 8462
E-mail: corres@op.gov.ph / opnet@ops.gov.ph |
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News Release
February 7, 2009
BAYAN Canada condemns the illegal arrest of 43 health workers in Rizal,
Philippines; calls on Canadians to demand for their immediate release
BAYAN- Canada, an alliance of Filipino progressive organizations across
the country, strongly condemns the illegal arrest of 43 community health
workers and professionals in the province of Rizal, Philippines. The
community health workers, nurses and doctors were attending a training
course as part of an initiative by the non-government organization Council
for Health and Development (CHD). The CHD has been at the forefront of
relief efforts during the typhoons that devastated many parts of the
Philippines, deploying doctors and health volunteers in flood-stricken
areas.
Initial reports say that about 300 security forces, military and police,
swooped down on the home of Dr. Melicia Velmonte, a consultant for the
Philippine General Hospital. Dr. Velmonte was hosting the training course
that started on February 1st and was supposed to end this Sunday. Dr.
Velmonte is a renowned and respected infectious disease specialist who
regularly opened up her farmhouse as a venue for health training with
participants coming from both the communities and the academe.
The arresting officials used bogus arrest warrants and are continuing to
hold in detention the 43 health workers and professionals. Dr. Velmonte is
adamant that her guests did nothing wrong and that the so called evidence
(grenade, fire arms, etc...) found on her premises were planted by the
military to justify the illegal arrest. While military officials are
falsely charging that the arrested group were known New People’s Army (NPA)
rebels, they also pointed to the Bayan Muna (a progressive party-list
running in the May 2010 elections) literature found at the farmhouse. This
is pure red-baiting and propaganda meant to discredit popularly supported
party-list groups critical of the current regime. President Arroyo (whose
term ends this year), together with her military and state agents, must be
held accountable for these violations of civil and political rights.
President Arroyo stands to profit from the silencing of opposition with no
less than 100 days before the May presidential elections.
This affair is reminiscent of the abduction, torture and interrogation of
US citizen, Melissa Roxas, early last year. Melissa and her companions
were on a medical mission in the Philippines when they were abducted in
May 2009. While Melissa was released after six days, she can attest to the
cruel interrogation tactics that may await the detained medical team.
Melissa was also accused of being a member of the NPA in an effort to
discredit her while she valiantly campaigned for justice against the cruel
state that victimized her and many others. While the climate of impunity
reigns supreme under the Arroyo administration, the perpetrators remain
untouched and the human rights violations against the people continue.
BAYAN-Canada demands the immediate and unconditional release of the 43
health workers and professionals. We ask all our Canadian allies in
government positions, unions, health associations and churches to apply
pressure on the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa and to raise their concerns
in order to ensure that the 43 individuals are safe and their rights are
upheld. We are also directing our member organizations across Canada to
take necessary actions on behalf of the 43 arrested in the Philippines and
to hold protests where they can against the Philippine consulates and the
Embassy in Ottawa.
-30-
Send letters of concern and your protest to:
Jose Brillantes, Philippine Ambassador to Canada
130 Albert Street, Suite 606
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4
Phone: 1-(613)-233-1121
Fax: 1-(613)-233-4165
E-mail: ambassador@philippineembassy.ca
H.E. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President of the Republic
Malacañang Palace,
JP Laurel St., San Miguel
Manila Philippines
Voice: (+632) 564 1451 to 80
Fax: (+632) 742-1641 / 929-3968
Cell#: (+ 63) 919 898 4622 / (+63) 917 839 8462
E-mail: corres@op.gov.ph / opnet@ops.gov.ph
Partial list of illegally detained community health workers and
professionals
• Dr. Merry Mia, Health Education and Training Services coordinator for
Council for Health and Development (CHD)
• Dr. Alexis Montes
• Gary Liberal, Registered Nurse (Jose Reyes Medical Memorial Center)
• Teresa Quinawayan, Midwife
• Lydia Ubera, health worker
• Reynaldo Makabenta, health worker
• Delia Ocasla, health worker
• Jane Balleta, health worker
• Janice Javier, health worker
• Franco Remoroso, health worker
• Ailene Monasteryo, health worker
• Pearl Irene Martinez, health worker
• Elen Carandang, health worker
• Dany Panero, health worker
• Rayom Among, health worker
• Emily Marquez, health worker
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INTERNAIONAL SOLIDARITY GROUP: the attack
on the 43 health workers is an attack against the Filipino People
Third World Relief Fund, a Belgian development NGO, and intal, a
solidarity movement with people's movements in the Philippines and other
countries, condemns the brazen arrest of 43 doctors and health workers in
the Philippines. We consider it an attack on the Council for Health and
Development (CHD), our long-time partner organization in the Philippines,
and on the right to health of the Philippine people.
Yesterday, Saturday February 6, we were informed that in the early morning
of the same day a training seminar of CHD in the municipality of Morong,
Rizal province, was raided by a group of about 300 military and police.
All 43 training participants were arrested and brought to Camp Capinpin in
the same province. Among them is also Dr. Merry Mia, a staff member of CHD
and the wife of human rights activist Roneo Clamor.
According to the Philippine press, the military later declared that they
had arrested “ranking leaders of the New People's Army”, a Philippine
guerrilla group, who were attending a bomb making seminar. The military
claims they have found a number of guns, landmines and hand grenades in
the building.
We cannot but conclude that these accusations are ludicrous. We have met
Dr. Merry Mia on different occasions in the context of our joint efforts
to uplift the health status of the poor in the Philippines and know her as
a soft-spoken health professional with a remarkable dedication to her work
with the community based health programs. We have also attended several
activities and trainings of CHD and know for a fact that weapons and bombs
are never around when they conduct health trainings. Moreover, the venue
of the training was the house of Dra. Melecia Velmonte, one of the
country's foremost experts on infectious diseases and a professor emeritus
of the University of the Philippines. She herself was present in the
compound and even conducted one of the lectures on the eve of the raid.
The initial investigation by human rights organization Karapatan points to
a number of irregularities in this case. The search warrant did not
mention the address of Dra. Velmonte's residence, the search of the
compound was conducted without any witnesses and the owners of the house
were not issued a receipt of the inventory of the items that were
confiscated. This raises suspicion that these items were planted by the
military. Most alarmingly, as of this writing (36 hours after the raid)
the arrested health workers were not allowed visits by their relatives nor
legal counsels in the military camp where they are detained.
The past few years, the Philippines' human rights record has been
compromised by the continuing political killings, abductions and
harassments and its military's involvement in these human rights
violations. This case confirms once more that the climate of fear targets
those people and organizations that are standing for the rights of the
poor and marginalized. An attack on health workers and organizations that
are training to serve their communities is an attack on the right to
health of the poor.
Therefore, we strongly denounce the illegal arrest and detention of these
43 doctors and health workers, urge the Philippine government to ensure
their safety and their immediate release. The Philippine military has to
stop the black propaganda against human rights defenders and health
workers. As a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and a
party to all major Human Rights instruments, the Philippine Government is
bound to ensure the rights of its citizens, including their right to
health, are respected.
Wim De Ceukelaire
Brussels, February 7, 2010 |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
8 February 2010
New Zealanders Denounce Abduction of 43 Doctors, Health Workers
Wellington Kiwi Pinoy, a group of New Zealanders supporting campaigns
against human rights abuses in the Philippines , denounces in strongest
terms the abduction of 43 doctors and community health workers by around
300 soldiers and police in Morong, Rizal. On 6th February, the victims
were robbed of their personal belongings, blindfolded, and forcibly
brought to Camp Capinpin , headquarters of the 202nd Infantry Brigade, AFP.
This shameless attack on medical personnel who were gathered in training
in the house of Dr. Melecia Velmonte again exposes the wanton disregard of
civil liberties by military and police forces. Dr. Velmonte, a renowned
infectious disease specialist, and her colleagues deserve the greatest
respect for serving the poor communities of Morong, Rizal in the face of
government failure to deliver the most basic health services for the poor.
Wellington Kiwi Pinoy joins the families and colleagues of the victims in
demanding their freedom. We likewise support the call to end
militarization in the communities of Rizal and other provinces where
similar cases of military abuses have been committed against civilians.
After the brutal massacre of scores of journalists, lawyers and other
civilians in Maguindanao, the Morong incident adds to the long list of
large-scale human rights violations under the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
administration. It’s not surprising that the heads of the raiding team,
Colonel Aurelio Baladad and Police Superintendent Balonglong, based the
raid and abduction on phoney “intelligence reports” that the medical
personnel were members of the New People’s Army (NPA). How many more
brutal killings, torture and detention of ordinary peasants, laborers,
journalists, clergy, doctors and others will be justified by the
government’s counter-insurgency campaign?
It is deplorable that the Philippine government continues to enjoy
millions of dollars in foreign aid from the US , Australia and even New
Zealand for its corrupt military and police forces. The Morong incident is
yet another compelling reason for New Zealanders to join concerned groups
around the globe in supporting the Filipino people’s demands for
government to use taxpayers’ money to improve access to healthcare,
housing and education rather than fund escalating militarization and
political persecution.
Reference:
Rod Prosser
Spokesperson - Wellington Kiwi Pinoy
communitymedia@paradise.net.nz
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