PRESS RELEASE
February 12, 2010
REFERENCE: Roy Morilla, Public Information Officer (0907-418-0098)

Military fails to present 43 illegally arrested doctors and health workers:
Peasant group condemns military's rudeness to the Supreme Court

The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP, Peasant Movement of the Philippines) and Tanggol Magsasaka (Peasant Network for Land, Justice and Human Rights) condemned the latest insult by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, this time totally defying the order of Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, to present Morong 43, the illegally arrested doctors and health workers in Morong, Rizal last February 6, belonging to the Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) and its allied organizations.

"This is way beyond a country claiming to be under democracy, the military defying the order of the highest court who should it be following first and foremost as it represents the constitution of the republic, this is already a practice of martial law," Antonio Flores said, KMP Spokesperson and Co-Convenor of Tanggol Magsasaka.

"Now it is clear to everyone that the AFP has a mind of its own, it follows no civilian institution but its fascist bosses, defense Sec. Norberto Gonzales and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, " Flores added.

KMP and Tanggol Magsasaka believe that AFP, particulary 202nd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army is buying time for the symptoms and signs of torture to the victims to wane out before it present them to the high court. Moreover, the peasant group also consider that the military failed to compel most of the victims to admit with their storyline and fear of blunder afront the Supreme Court.

"We should not let this one pass, as if they could do this to the Supreme Court, they could do this virtually to anybody. They could arrest any activist or anyone they want without due process and bully civilian institutions such as the judiciary. Thus, they are " Flores said.

Alongwith this, Tanggol Magsasaka has successfully worked out the release of Pamalakaya (fisherfolk) organizer and Anakpawis leader, Ronnel Arambulo, 33 years old, who was illegally arrested in Sitio Wawa, Bgy. Libis, Binangonan, Rizal. He was detained arbitrarily and eventually charged with vagrancy. Tanggol Magsasaka reported that even employees of the fiscal's office in Taytay's Regional Trial Court that he should have not been detained as vagrancy is only charged to minors or 18 years old below and its usual penalty is only detention overnight. Pamalakaya-Pilipina s is planning to file appropriate charges to the police officials who illegally arrested him.

KMP and Tanggol Magsasaka vowed to heighten its protest against the illegal arrests and torture of Morong 43. They would be joining the multi-sectoral protest caravan led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) tomorrow towards Camp Capinpin , Tanay, Rizal.

"We are calling for all sectors to join the caravan and call for their immediate release, justice for the torture they experienced. This is not only their struggle, this is now everybody's concern as the military has become a mad dog with no recognition of the law or reason," Flores called. #
 

News- 12 February 2010
Reference: Rep. Satur C. Ocampo, 0917-8226184
For more information: Vince Borneo, Media Relations Officer, 0927.7968198

AFP violated RA 9745
Satur: officers and soldiers involved in Morong 43 liable for torture

Senatorial candidate Satur Ocampo (Makabayan-NP) today said that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) units and personnel that abducted 43 health workers in Morong, Rizal last February 6 are liable for torture and should be immediate relieved.

"There is no defending or justifying this. The AFP officers and personnel violated Republic Act 9745, the Anti-Torture Act. Regardless of the false charges the AFP are making against the 43 health workers, to subject the civilians to various forms of psychological and physical torture is barbaric, inhumane and against the law," he said.

Ocampo is the main author of RA 9745 which was enacted on November 10, 2009.

"The AFP simply violated this law, among others. Their illegal detention, blindfolding, interrogation, threatening, and other acts against the Morong 43 are clearly defined as forms of torture in Section 4 of RA 9745. Criminal cases against the AFP officials and soldiers who participated in the abduction, illegal detention and torture of the said health workers must be immediately initiated by the Department of Justice,” Ocampo said.

He also said that the Morong 43 “should be immediately released and all charges against them dropped. The AFP must admit its error and those directly involved in the incident should face penalties as proscribed in the Anti-Torture Law and the Revised Penal Code.”

Ocampo in the meantime scored Defense Sec. Norberto Gonzales for allowing the torture of the Morong 43. "Sec. Gonzales has said under his helm, the uniformed services will become human rights protectors. This is simply not true. The AFP continues to violate human rights with impunity in the belief that it can get away with it. This latest display of the AFP's complete lack recognition for human rights is certain to once more land the institution in hot water with the international human rights community," he said.

Ocampo appealed to all civil libertarians to rally behind the Morong 43. He said that the struggle to protect and uphold human rights is precisely one of the most crucial reasons why he is running for the senate. He also called on all senatorial candidates to also speak out against the torture of the Morong 43 and press for the release of the victims.

"In the midst of the electoral campaign and debates, none of us must forget that that the Macapagal-Arroyo regime remains in power and Oplan Bantay Laya 2 is still in effect. The climate of impunity remains under Macapagal-Arroyo. Let us not be complacent just because the supposed democratic exercise of elections is just around the corner: our rights are still under attack. The illegal arrest and the torture of the Morong 43 and their continuing detention is a chilling reminder that we should not let our guard down against the Arroyo regime," Ocampo said. #
 

PRESS RELEASE – 12 February 2010
Ref: Lovella de Castro, Secretary General (0920-918-2174)

CA hearing of habeas corpus petition
Karapatan: Free the 43 health care workers now!

Human rights alliance Karapatan today joins the relatives and different groups and organizations in support of the release of the illegally arrested 43 health workers, at the hearing of the petition for the writ of habeas corpus at the Court of Appeals.

The relatives filed a petition for the writ of habeas corpus at the Supreme Court and the high court’s First Division granted it yesterday, ordering the AFP to present all of the 43 health care workers who were forcibly taken on February 6 in Morong, Rizal, before the appellate court.

“We welcome this response of the SC,” Karapatan Secretary General Lovella de Castro said. “The arrest and detention of the health workers are illegal and they should immediately be freed.”

Karapatan, however, also expressed its outrage over the AFP’s exploitation of one of the victims, Valentin Paulino, in their extensive propaganda campaign to vilify the health workers as members of the New People’s Army.

“We strongly condemn the AFP for putting Paulino under duress and forcing him to admit that he and the other victims are members of the NPA,” exclaimed de Castro. “We believe that, along with the other victims, Paulino underwent severe physical and psychological torture to coerce him to implicate himself and the other health workers.”

Yesterday, with Commission on Human Rights chairperson Leila de Lima, lawyers and doctors were able interview the victims inside Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal. It was the first time, since they were forcibly taken and kept under illegal detention, that the victims were allowed to be visited by their legal counsel and doctors.

De Castro narrated that the AFP took Paulino from the Camp and presented him at a press conference in Tanay, Rizal yesterday, without the consent or knowledge of the lawyers who were present. “The AFP delayed the lawyers and doctors from meeting all of the victims so that they can ‘steal’ Paulino,” she said. “And this is further proof that the military is again circumventing the constitutional laws and judicial procedures, and they are utilizing all dirty means to implicate the victims of fabricated criminal charges.”

De Castro also added that under detention in the Camp, the victims were locked up in individual holding cells, isolated from one another. The victims said that they were tactically interrogated by the soldiers every night, and that they were threatened that they, and their loved ones, will be harmed if they don’t ‘cooperate.’

Karapatan reiterated that this case is another blow to the Arroyo administration’s dismal record on human rights.

“If the Ampatuan massacre is the case with the largest number of victims of extrajudicial killing, this case of the 43 health workers is of massive illegal arrest and illegal detention. And it will definitely put Mrs. Arroyo to further shame if these doctors, nurses and community health care workers will not be immediately released,” de Castro concluded. ###
 

An Open Letter to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
(On the Illegal Arrest, Detention and Torture of 43 Health Workers in Morong, Rizal, Philippines)

H.E. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President of the Republic
Malacañang Palace
JP Laurel St., San Miguel
Manila Philippines

Re: Immediate and unconditional release of the 43 illegally arrested, detained and tortured health workers in Morong, Rizal

President Arroyo,

Migrante Australia condemns the illegal arrest and detention of the 43 doctors, nurses, midwives and community health workers in Morong, Rizal on 6th February 2010.

We are appalled and angered by your inaction on this matter.

How can you allow the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to arrest, detain and torture a group of health workers who are well-respected and known for their selfless service to the impoverished communities in the Philippines?

How can you not see the value of their work in communities that do not have access to health care? How can you not appreciate the help they are giving to Filipinos who would otherwise have no means to seek medical help and health services?

How can you not appreciate the services of these health workers? They are the ones who have chosen to stay back to look after the health and medical needs of the poverty-ravaged Filipino people. You know that our country needs health workers but you and your anti-people economic policies have driven hordes of them overseas. Their skills and services are much valued in countries where they work now. You are also earning millions of dollars from their remittances. Is this the way to treat the Morong 43, they who have chosen to remain in the Philippines?

It is despicable how you continue to implement Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL) to victimise civilians such as the Morong 43 who serve the poor and are critical of your regime. We have not forgotten how under your OBL, the Maguinadanao massacre happened, killing innocent civilians, human rights lawyer and media people. We have not forgotten either the thousands of victims of human rights violation under your rule.

This latest work of your fascist regime proves that you will not stop at anything to preserve the last days of your dictatorship. You feel so threatened that you have to accuse the Morong 43 of everything you are afraid of – linking them with the New People’s Army and to progressive partylists and their candidates.

President Arroyo, enough is enough.

We call for the immediate and unconditional release of the Morong 43.

We call for the prosecution of those who carried out this injustice.

Contact person: Lina Cabaero, Mobile: +61407 841 010

Migrante Australia
PO Box 212, Altona North 3025, Australia
Email: migrante.aussie@optusnet.com.au
 

12 February 2010

HON. CHIEF JUSTICE REYNATO PUNO
Supreme Court

ATTY. AGNES DEVANADERA
Secretary, Department of Justice

Not Another Day of Torture!
URGENT APPEAL FOR SUPREME COURT AND DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO DISMISS
FALSE CHARGES, RELEASE 43 ILLEGALY DETAINED AND TORTURED MEDICAL
PERSONNEL

We concerned New Zealanders, join the Filipino people in appealing for
the Philippine Supreme Court and Department of Justice to dismiss the
fabricated charges and rule for immediate release of the 43 illegally
detained and tortured medical personnel in Morong, Rizal.

It appears that the case of ‘HEALTH 43’ will be the first test on the
effectivity of the Phillippines’ new anti-torture law.

We are aware that on 10th November 2009, after more than two decades
of horrific human rights abuses since the Marcos dictatorship,
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Republic Act 9745 or the
Anti-Torture Act of 2009, which criminalizes “torture and other cruel,
inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.” The law defines
torture as acts constituting physical torture such as systematic
beating, food deprivation, electric shock, cigarette burning, rape,
among others. Mental and psychological torture, meanwhile, refers to
acts such as blindfolding, prolonged interrogation, maltreating a
member or members of a person's family, and denial of sleep, among
others.

We are shocked and outraged over the mental, physical and
psychological torture suffered by the 43 doctors and health workers
who have been illegally detained and forced to admit that they are
members of the New People’s Army (NPA). We hope that justice will
prevail and that they will not be further detained with fabricated
charges as suffered by many persecuted activists under the Arroyo
administration.

The case of ‘HEALTH 43’ reminds us of the case of UCCP Pastor Berlin
Guerrero in May 2007 who was held incommunicado for more than 12 hours
while tortured and forced by his captors to admit that he was a leader
of the communist movement. As Arroyo was visiting New Zealand at that
time, New Zealanders have protested over the human rights crisis in
the Philippines and criticised Arroyo’s hypocrisy in coming here to
promote interfaith dialogue while church workers critical of
government corruption have been brutally persecuted.

We urge the Supreme Court and Department of Justice to dismiss the
false charges against HEALTH 43. It would be another betrayal of
justice if they will suffer the same fate of Pastor Berlin who was
imprisoned for more than one year on fabricated murder charges until
the Court of Appeals ordered his release and dismissed the case. Until
now, Pastor Berlin and scores of ordinary civilians remain targets of
state-sponsored repression. Let it be known that we, freedom-loving
people of Aotearoa New Zealand join the victims’ families in crying
out:

FREE THE HEALTH 43 NOW.
STOP TORTURE AND ALL FORMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES.
PROSECUTE THE ABDUCTORS AND TORTURERS.

In solidarity with the victims,

Murray Horton, Philippines Solidarity Network of Aotearoa (PSNA),
Christchurch, NZ
Gillian Southey, Campaigns Coordinator, Christian World Service - New Zealand
Mike Treen, National Director, Unite Union
Kay Weir, Editor, Pacific Ecologist, Pacific Institute of Resource Management
Cameron Walker, Auckland Philippines Solidarity
Maire Leadbeater, Indonesia Human Rights Committee
Becky Horton, Philippines Solidarity Network of Aotearoa (PSNA),
Christchurch, NZ

CHRP Letter to Arroyo on Morong 43
 

H.E. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President of the Republic
Malacanang Palace,
JP Laurel St., San Miguel
Manila Philippines

10 February 2010

Dear Madame President,

We are gravely concerned that despite a succession of investigations and reports from the UN bodies concerned with extrajudicial killings and the use of torture; despite the horrendous massacre last November in Maguindanao, perpetrated by a private army approved by your government, the climate of impunity in the Philippines continues.

On 6 February 42 health workers and doctors involved in a training seminar in Morong, Rizal were arrested by the Rizal PNP. We are informed that these arrests were made using bogus warrants, that the arrested health workers and doctors were blindfolded and taken to a military camp, Camp Pinpin, headquarters of the 202 Infantry Brigade of the AFP.

The military has claimed that these health workers and doctors are part of the communist New People’s Army. This follows a pattern familiar to anyone who observes the current wave of human rights abuses by the security forces in the Philippines, in which people are labeled as being communist rebels before being imprisoned, tortured or even killed.

The security forces appear to be expanding their targets of professional groups, perhaps because many of these groups have been critical of corruption and abuse of power by your government. Journalists, lawyers, human rights workers and now health professionals have all been targeted.

We call for:

* the immediate release of all those who have been unlawfully detained
* their safety to be ensured by the Government
* their confiscated property to be restored to them
* an investigation by the Commission on Human Rights Group and independent human rights groups into the conduct of this police raid
* a cessation of this pattern of “red labeling” leading to abuses by the military

Yours sincerely

Rev Canon Barry Naylor

Urban Canon and Parish Priest of the Abbey and Holy Spirit Team Ministries, Leicester
President – CHRP Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines
 

Free All The 43 Health Workers Now!

We, condemn 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, 2010. 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 condemn the government for sending the message that Filipino doctors and nurses are welcome to go abroad to work, but they are unjustly targeted and arrested if they stay in the Philippines to serve the poor and the underserved. These illegally arrested and detained health workers are the first responders that have tirelessly served the communities affected by the flooding and landslides in the aftermath of Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng last year.

We are deeply concerned for the safety of these healthcare professionals who have committed their lives to serve the underserved communities in the Philippines. We are equally concerned that it is our tax dollars that are being sent to finance the Philippine government and its' military in on-going operations that are clear violations of basic human rights. We support the following demands so that they can immediately return to their families and the communities that they serve without further violations of their human rights.

1. The immediate release of the health workers who are illegally arrested and illegally detained at Camp Capinpin, Tanay, Rizal.

2. The government must 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 investigate the 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.



Artists and Friends of Neil and Angela Doloricon
Photos from Free All The 43 Health Workers Now!/Emil Yap

PRESS STATEMENT
11 February 2010

PEOPLES’ LAWYERS DENOUNCE GESTAPO-LIKE RAID ON HEALTH WORKERS TRAINING
Vows to Make the Perpetrators Accountable Before Various Local and International Fora

The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers denounces the illegal arrest, continued illegal detention, torture and cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment of forty-three (43) health workers abducted by the military in the morning of February 6, 2010.

This act of the military shows a blatant disregard and disrespect not only of proper legal procedures but also of basic human dignity, and is replete with human rights violations left and right.

From the very beginning, the search itself was illegal, because it proceeded from a search warrant that was invalid on its face. But the indubitable fact is that the “evidence” that was presented were routinarily planted to justify and cover-up the illegality of this blunder. The arrested health workers were also denied their basic constitutional rights which every civilized society should follow. They were purposely uninformed of the nature of their arrest, and they were simply blindfolded and led away like cattle. Also, all the health workers were denied visit by counsel, doctors, and family, in clear contravention of their rights. Up to now, despite our protestations and assertions as members of the court sworn to perform our duties, we have been denied access to our clients in utter disregard and contempt of the basic right to counsel.

We have also received the latest reports from the detained health workers that they have been subjected to acts of torture, both physical and mental, by their military abductors. It is deplorable that the military was determined to showcase their brute force and superior strength by sending eight (8) military trucks, two (2) armored personnel carriers, and at least three hundred (300) heavily-armed soldiers and policemen to arrest forty-three (43) unarmed health workers.

By the way, these health workers, according to the military, are members of the New Peoples’ Army. In fact, the military does not suspect it; the military is 101% sure that these workers have Communist ties. But they are legitimate health workers, doing legitimate health outreach projects. Among them are doctors, nurses, and medical aides, who have chosen to devote themselves to helping the local community by bringing the medical missions to them, since the government is unable or refuses to do it.

The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, together with the Public Interest Law Center (PILC), will defend to the fore our clients and ensure that civil, administrative, and criminal cases will be filed both in the local and international fora against each and every one accountable for this latest affront to human rights We have also closed ranks with our colleagues in the profession in the international community to expose this barbaric and unmitigated travesty that happens under this government that has no qualms and sense of decency. We further challenge those running in the coming elections to unequivocally state where they stand on this basic question of the so-called rule of law and human rights. #

Reference:

Atty. Edre U. Olalia
Acting Secretary General
0917-5113373
 

Atty. Julius Garcia Matibag
Spokesperson
0927-9293089

VIDEO CLIPS