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Philippine NGOa bring Morong
43 and other HRV cases to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva |
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Ecumenical Voice for Peace and Human Rights in the
Philippines
Press Release
May 27, 2010
Philippine NGO’s bring Morong 43 and other HRV cases to the attention
of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva
A group of Philippine NGO’s that comprise the Ecumenical Voice for Peace
and Human Rights in the Philippines (Ecumenical Voice for brevity), will
send a 5-member delegation to attend the 14th Session of the UN Human
Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, and which will be held on May 31-
June 18, 2010. The Philippines is presently a member of the said UN body.
The delegation is headed by the Rev. Fr. Rex Reyes, Jr., General Secretary
of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), with Marie
Hilao Enriquez, Chairperson of the human rights alliance, KARAPATAN, Atty.
Edre Olalia, Acting Secretary General of the National Union of People’s
Lawyers (NUPL), Atty. Carlos Zarate, Secretary General of the Union of
People’s Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM) and one of the lawyers for Atty.
Connie Brizuela who was among the victims of the Ampatuan massacre; Roneo
‘Jigs’ Clamor, Deputy Secretary General of KARAPATAN and husband of Dr.
Merry Mia-Clamor, one of the Morong 43, as members.
“As the curtain falls on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s 9-year rule,
it is most certain that among others, it shall be marked as the worst in
terms of adherence to human rights instrumentalities. With the
implementation of Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL), the most vicious
counterinsurgency program in recent memory, her government tops the scale
of human rights violators in the country’s history since the martial law
years,” declared Fr, Rex Reyes, Jr..
According to Ms. Marie Hilao-Enriquez of Karapatan, “under Arroyo's watch,
there are 1,991 victims of extrajudicial killings, 205 victims of enforced
disappearances, 1,028 victims of torture, and hundreds of thousands
forcibly evacuated and displaced in rural areas as a result of military
operations”. Ms. Hilao-Enriquez also stated that “these statistics
represent the scale and magnitude of the brutal impacts of OBL under a
so-called democratic rule. None in recent years, can compare to the
culture of impunity that characterized these assaults on human dignity”.
She also stressed the fact that when there is strong local and
international pressure, “the Arroyo government is forced to “de-escalate”
the number of human rights violations (HRVs). But even if the numbers
decreased, there was no let up in the violations, with impunity becoming
more brazen as in the cases of the Ampatuan massacre and the illegal
arrest and torture of the Morong 43. Whenever there is a lull in the
pressure, the number of HRVs shoots up again.”
She added that “the impunity is also characterized by the fact that not
only is it continuing but also by the fact that to this day no one has
been credibly convicted of these affronts to humanity. The victims cry out
for justice. The Arroyo government must be held accountable for these
crimes against humanity.”
Fr. Reyes said that the Ecumenical Voice for Peace and Human Rights in the
Philippines will once more travel to Geneva, Switzerland for the 14th
Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Mr. Jigs Clamor, husband of Dr. Merry Clamor of the Morong 43, for his
part said that he will bring the issue of his wife and the rest of her
co-detainees before the international community as one of the examples of
the “continuing human rights violations under Oplan Bantay Laya”. He
further stated that the delegation “will appeal to the UNHRC to listen to
the call of the Filipino people for justice and help stop further impunity
and human rights violations through mechanisms like the OBL. We will lay
our case for sustained international monitoring and pressure for the
Philippine government to comply with its commitments and pledges to
universally accepted human rights instrumentalities”.
Pertaining to the recent national elections and its relation to the trip,
Fr. Reyes said that they are hoping “that the UNHRC will help push the
Philippine government under presumptive President-apparent Benigno
“Noynoy” Aquino III to fulfill his promise to prosecute President
Macapagal-Arroyo, accord justice to the victims of human rights
violations, end political repression, discontinue the OBL as a policy and
never embark on any similar policy, and address the roots of the
insurgency, namely poverty and injustice”.
The members of the delegation also stated that they will give “oral
interventions” during reports of committees and rapporteurs that are
relevant to the Philippine human rights situation###
References:
Fr. Rex Reyes, Jr, (9228141)
Ms. Marie Hilao-Enriquez (09175616800)
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Karapatan chairperson Marie Hilao-Enriquez
(second from left) presents the over-all context of the case of the Morong
43 in a side event at the 14th session of UN Human Rights
Council. Panel members included [from L-R] Mr. Roneo Clamo (Karapatan
Deputy Secretary General and husband of Morong 43 detainee), Enriquez,
Renate Bloem of CIVICUS (as moderator), Cecilia Quisumbing (CHR
commissioner), Eric Sottas of the OMCT, and Atty. Edre Olalia (of the
National Union of People’s Lawyers and legal counsel of the Morong 43). |
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Commissioner Coco Quisumbing answers questions from
the floor during
the open forum as Renate Bloem of CIVICUS looks on |
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Roneo “Jigs”
Clamor, husband of Dr. merry Mia recunts the painful ordeal his wife have
undergone in the hands of her military captors; to the obvious disdain of
Eric Sottas, from the OMCT. |
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Ecumenical Voice for Peace and Human Rights in
the Philippines
PRESS RELEASE
4 June 2010
Group insists counter-insurgency policy behind attacks on lawyers and
judges
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (3 June 2010) – Members of a Filipino civil society
delegation claimed that the counter-insurgency policy of the outgoing
Arroyo government is the culprit behind the spate of killings involving
lawyers, judges and human rights defenders in the Philippines.
“The real problem lies in the outgoing Arroyo
government’s counter-insurgency paradigm that employs polices that do not
distinguish who are the combatants and who are not; who are armed and who
are not…This is a counter-insurgency policy that just lumped together all
the critics and all those who are critical of the government’s policies
and programs as enemies of the state… and, considering that they are
enemies these people must be eliminated, one way or another,” said lawyer
Carlos Isagani Zarate, vice president of the National Union of People’s
Lawyers (NUPL) and member of the Ecumenical Voice for Peace and Human
Rights in the Philippines (Ecumenical Voice for brevity). The group sent a
five-member delegation to Geneva for the 14th Session of the UN Human
Rights Council, which is being held from May 31 to June 18.
The other members of the delegation are: Rev. Fr. Rex Reyes, Jr., general
secretary of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP),
delegation head, Marie Hilo Enriquez, chairperson of the human rights
alliance Karapatan, Edre Olalia, acting secretary general of the National
Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) and Roneo Clamor, deputy secretary
general of Karapatan and husband of Dr. Merry Mia-Clamor, one of the
health workers dubbed as the Morong 43 now illegally detained by the
Arroyo government.
Zarate made the statement during a forum attended by lawyers, jurists,
academics and other members of different civil society organizations from
the different countries at the Palais des Nations here.
The gathering -- with the theme “Attacks on lawyers, Judges, and Human
Rights Defenders: The Urgent Need for Protective Measures” -- was convened
by the Lawyers Rights Watch Canada, Dutch Lawyers for Lawyers Foundation,
Judges for Judges and the International Commission of Jurists. It was one
of the side events of the ongoing session of the UN Human Rights Council
“We believe that to effectively address the problem of attacks faced by
judges, lawyers and human rights defenders, we have to employ more long
term solutions.. long term protective measures that will have greater
impact on the persons sought to be protected,” said Zarate who was one of
the reactors of the said forum.
Since 2001, some 26 lawyers and 17 judges have already been killed in the
Philippines. Some 51 other cases of lawyers being attacked, labeled and
harassed were also recorded since 2001.
Zarate’ s statement came as a response made by Brazilian Judge Gabriela C.
Knaul de Albuquerque e Silva, the newly appointed UN Special Rapporteur on
the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, who vowed to make herself
available on a “full time “ basis. She also said she will fully use her
powers as a Special Rapporteur to work with members of the civil society
organizations “to address the root causes that creates a scenario where
threats and intimidations are happening.”
“We have to work together and do more to employ effective protective
measures to help the judges, lawyers and human rights defenders,” she
said.
“In the Philippine context, there is clear interconnection between the
culture of impunity, the counter-insurgency policy of the government and
the lack of protective measures to address the problems spawned by such a
policy,” Zarate noted.
Zarate also criticized the penchant of the Philippine government to
“misrepresent” the manner by which it addresses the problem of impunity in
the Philippines. He pointed for example the claims of an official of the
Philippine Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, who claimed
that the Arroyo government immediately acted to “swiftly bring to justice
those responsible” for the now internationally-condemned November 23, 2009
Ampatuan Massacre in Maguindanao, Mindanao. “What swift justice is he
boasting about? The Arroyo government through Acting Secretary of Justice
Agra even tried to exonerate two of the principal accused in the case
while the attention of the Filipinos was focused on the recently concluded
May national elections,” Zarate said.
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One of Morong 43's counsels, Edre Olalia, enumerates
a long list of every possible human rights violations committed against
his clients from zero hour till the present time. |
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OMCT's Eric Sottas reacts to the presentations of his
co-panel of speakers |
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Philippine NGO delegation
conducts side event during 14th UNHRC Session |
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PRESS RELEASE – June 3, 2010
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Philippine NGO delegation conducts side event during 14th UNHRC Session
“Impunity a serious issue that characterized extrajudicial killings and
enforced disappearances in the Philippines” – Prof. Alston
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - "It is very important, in my experience, to try to
think strategically and to have a vision of how one really wants to look
forward and I wouldn't for the moment, downplay the importance of
prosecution, which I have emphasized consistently and I wouldn't
de-emphasize the extent of the problem of impunity which sends a
continuing signal to the military that they can do what they want." Thus
did Professor Philip Alston, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial,
summary or arbitrary executions, state emphatically during yesterday’s
side event entitled, "THE POLITICAL KILLINGS AND OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS
VIOLATIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES: IMPUNITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY AT A CROSSROADS
BETWEEN TWO ADMINISTRATIONS?" at the ongoing 14th Session of the United
Nations Human Rights Council.
Professor Alston was reacting to the call echoed by the Ecumenical Voice
for Peace and Human Rights in the Philippines for the prosecution of
President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo for the extrajudicial killings that
claimed the lives of 1,191 victims and all other violations of human
rights during her nine years watch. Alston also said that impunity was the
most serious issue that characterized the extrajudicial killings and
enforced disappearances in the Philippines.
It will be recalled that Professor Alston visited the Philippines in 2007.
A year later, he submitted his formal report to the UN Human Rights
Council. The Alston Report as it is known in the Philippines is a detailed
narrative on the extradjudicial killings that peaked in 2005-2006 in the
country. The Alston report cited the counter-insurgency program of the
government and the failure to prosecute perpetrators as the main reasons
behind the killings. The report also proposed some recommendations for the
government to undertake. The government, however, maligned Professor
Alston and ignored the report.
Prof. Alston also warned that the newly elected president is most likely
to be advised by some other state actors to go slow on his campaign
promise to prosecute the perpetrators of these killings and other human
rights violations in the Philippines. "The President-elect will likely be
reminded that he is heavily dependent on the Armed Forces of the
Philippines, not to cause problems and that any prosecution will alienate
the military," Alston said. Turning to human rights defenders in the
Philippines, Alston suggested that focus be given on the role of the
judiciary and the human rights commission. He lauded the strong leadership
of NGOs saying that among the countries he visited, the civil society in
the Philippines was by far the most active in terms of providing him the
data he needed.
During the side event, Ms. Marie Hilao-Enriquez, Chairperson of KARAPATAN,
said that the Oplan Bantay Laya counter-insurgency program being
implemented by the Arroyo administration is the most vicious and brutal
program unleashed by any Philippine president against the Filipino people
as this is targeting civilians and civil society organization leaders and
members rather than the armed rebels. In the same vein, Rev. Rex Reyes,
Jr. General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in the
Philippines (NCCP) and President of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA)
thanked Prof. Alston for the report which is constantly referred to in
putting the government to task for its continuing violations of human
rights. He also thanked the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World
Federation and the churches in North America for accompanying the
Philippines in "bringing before the international community the brazen
assault on human dignity in the Philippines". Reyes reported that in view
of the brazenness and impunity, some churches are seriously considering a
class suit against the President when she steps down from office on June
30, 2010.
Prof. Alston, whose term as Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary
or arbitrary executions ends in July 2010, presented his final report to
the UN HRC. In his remarks at the side event, he said he had "always
retained great interest in the Philippines and will continue to be
interested".
CHR Commissioner Cecilia "Coco" Quisumbing, who also attended the side
event, bewailed the military's and police's non-cooperation with the
Commission during hearings or inquiries called by the latter. She also
shared with the audience the promises that the presumptive president
Noynoy Aquino declared when the Commission interviewed him on his plans as
incoming president.
The side event was co-sponsored by the Commission of Churches on
International Affairs of the World Council of Churches (CCIA/ WCC), the
United Methodist Church – General Board on Church and Society (UMC-GBCS),
Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) and endorsed by the International
Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL).###
References:
Rev.Fr. Rex Reyes, General Secretary, NCCP (mobile no.+639267048249)
Marie Hilao-Enriquez, Chairperson, Karapatan(mobile no.+639175616800)
Members of the Delegation: Fr. Rex Reyes, Jr. (General Secretary, NCCP),
Ms. Marie Hilao-Enriquez (Chairperson, Karapatan), Atty. Edre Olalia
(Acting Secretary General, National Union of People's Lawyers), Mr. Jigs
Clamor (Deputy Secretary General, Karapatan and husband of Dr. Merry
Clamor of the Morong 43), Atty. Carlos Zarate (Secretary General, Union of
Peoples' Lawyers in Mindanao).
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Ecumenical Voice for Peace and Human Rights in the
Philippines
Press Statement
May 27, 2010
That the world may know again
As the curtain falls on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s 9-year rule,
it is most certain that among others, it shall be marked as the worst in
terms of adherence to human rights instrumentalities. With the
implementation of Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL), the most vicious
counterinsurgency program in recent memory, her government tops the scale
of human rights violators in the country’s history since the martial law
years.
According to Karapatan, there were 1,191 victims of extrajudicial
killings, 205 victims of enforced disappearances, 1,028 victims of torture
and hundreds of thousands of people forcibly evacuated and displaced in
rural areas as a result of military operations – all committed during
President Arroyo’s watch. These represent the scale and magnitude of the
brutal impact of the OBL under a so-called democratic rule. The culture of
impunity that characterized this assault on human dignity is second to
none in recent years. When there is strong local and international
pressure the Arroyo government is forced to “de-escalate” the number of
human rights violations. But even if the numbers decreased there was no
let-up in the violations, with impunity becoming more brazen as in the
cases of the Ampatuan massacre and the illegal arrest and torture of the
Morong 43. Whenever there is a lull in the pressure the number of
violations shoots up again.
The impunity is also characterized by the fact that not only is it
continuing but also by the fact that to this day no one has been credibly
convicted of these affront to humanity. The victims cry out for justice.
The Arroyo government must be held accountable for these crimes against
humanity.
Moved by faith and aware that in our refusal to speak “even the stones
will cry out”, the Ecumenical Voice for Peace and Human Rights in the
Philippines will once more travel to Geneva, Switzerland for the 14th
Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. There, we will again
bring to the attention of the international community the persistent and
continuing violations to human rights under Oplan Bantay Laya. We will lay
before the international community the story of the continuing detention
of the Morong 43. We will appeal to the UNHRC to listen to the call of the
Filipino people for justice and help stop further impunity and human
rights violations through mechanisms like the OBL. We will lay our case
for sustained international monitoring and pressure for the Philippine
government to comply with its commitments and pledges to universally
accepted human rights instrumentalities.
Having gone through a recent national election, it is also our hope that
the UNHRC will help push the new Philippine government under presumptive
President-apparent Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to : fulfill his promise to
prosecute President Macapagal-Arroyo, accord justice to the victims of
human rights violations, end political repression, discontinue the OBL as
a policy and never embark on any similar policy, and address the roots of
the insurgency, namely poverty and injustice.
In the end, there can be no substitute to the vigilance of the people.
From all walks of life in this Republic, we must be watchful by keeping to
mind lessons of the past - of how our forebears resisted oppression
thereby showing us that it is possible for just and peaceful times to dawn
upon us.##
Members of the Delegation: Fr. Rex Reyes, Jr. (General Secretary, NCCP),
Ms. Marie Hilao-Enriquez (Chairperson, Karapatan), Atty. Edre Olalia
(Acting Secretary General, National Union of People's Lawyers), Mr. Jigs
Clamor (Deputy Secretary General, Karapatan and husband of Dr. Merry
Clamor of the Morong 43), Atty. Carlos Zarate (Secretary General, Union of
Peoples' Lawyers in Mindanao).
Reference: Fr. Rex Reyes, Jr., General Secretary, NCCP
Tel: 9228141, email: library@nccphilippines.org, ecumenicalvoice@gmail.com
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Panel of Phil NGO delegation to the 14th UNHRC (Fr Rex Reyes, Marie Hilao
Enriquez and Roneo Clamor) |
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Rights advocates stamps Gloria Arroyo-AFP-PNP as certified human rights
violators |
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Roneo Clamor, husband of detained Dr Merry Mia Clamor, to bring case of
Morong 43 to Geneva |
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PRESS RELEASE – 07 JUNE 2010
World Council of Churches to continue monitoring the HR situation in
the Philippines; expresses deep concern and solidarity with Morong 43
Health Workers
GENEVA, JUNE 7 – In a clear signal of continuing solidarity with the
churches and human rights defenders in the Philippines, the World Council
of Churches through its Commission of the Churches on International
Affairs (CCIA-WCC) invited the delegation of the Ecumenical Voice for
Peace and Human Rights in the Philippines (EVPHRP) to speak before an
audience at the WCC headquarters here.
In welcoming the delegation, Dr. Mathews George Chunakara, Director of
CCIA-WCC said the WCC has supported the human rights work in the
Philippines “for as long as I can remember” and will continue to do so for
as long as human rights violations go on. He said the WCC, through its
General Secretary, is one of the international organizations that issued
statements in support of the call for the release of forty three health
workers who were arrested on February 6. He noted the strong partnership
between the churches in the Philippines and non-government organizations
that take a principled stand on human rights protection. Also, lending
support was Ms. Christina Papazoglou, WCC’s Programe Executive for Human
Rights.
A highlight of the presentation of the EVPHRP was the case of the illegal
arrest, torture and continuing detention of the 43 health workers, more
popularly known as the Morong 43. Mr. Jigs Clamor, a member of the
delegation and husband of one of the medical doctors of the Morong 43,
narrated how his family suffered and continues to suffer while his wife is
under detention. He said his wife was told by the military officers of
reprisals to her family unless she admits that she and the others are
members of the New People’s Army. “This is the same story with the
families of the other detainees,” Clamor said. For six days following
their arrest, the Philippine Army denied them visitorial rights by their
families and legal counsel. He thanked the WCC for calling for the release
of the health workers.
Ms. Marie Hilao-Enriquez, Chairperson of the Philippine human rights
watchdog, KARAPATAN, and a victim of torture during the Martial Law years,
said that international pressure is important for human rights work in the
Philippines. The number of victims shoots up, each time nobody is
watching, she said. Atty. Edre Olalia, acting Secretary General of the
National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) and a legal counsel of the
Morong 43 discussed briefly the legal twist and turns they are confronted
with amidst the impunity. All kinds of human rights violations at every
juncture were heaped on the Morong 43 , he said as he enumerated the
extensive grounds for citing the arrest and detention as illegal.
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For his part, Fr. Rex Reyes, Jr., General
Secretary of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines,
underscored the necessity of living out the words of Jesus Christ who said
“I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly”. He said the
defense of human rights goes beyond political boundaries as, in the
process, one speaks and declares hope where it seems not to exist. He
underscored the need to affirm the church’s self-understanding as being
for and with people. “We do our best to preserve human dignity in that
part of the world, conscious of the fact that we are your representatives
there. It is an ecumenical task”, Reyes said as he reiterated the WCC’s
definition of ecumenism. He thanked the WCC for its unwavering
accompaniment to the churches in the Philippines.
Following the session, the delegation paid a call on WCC General Secretary
Dr. Olav Fykes Tveit. In welcoming the delegation, Dr. Tveit expressed the
WCC’s support to the work of the churches for the defense of human dignity
and assured the delegation of his continuing interest on the case of the
Morong 43. The delegation is in Geneva to attend the 14th Session of the
UN Human Rights Council. ###
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ATTENTION: NEWS DESKS
MEDIA ADVISORY
May 26, 2010
Reference:
DJ Acierto, Media Liaison
09189790580
Telefax: 435-4146
Press conference of Delegation of Human rights defenders going to Geneva,
Switzerland to bring to the attention of the international community the
issue of the 43 health workers during the 14th Session of the UN Human
Rights Council.
The delegation of the Ecumenical Voice for Peace and Human Rights in the
Philippines composed of Fr. Rex Reyes, Jr. (General Secretary, NCCP), Ms.
Marie Hilao-Enriquez (Chairperson, Karapatan), Atty. Edre Olalia (Acting
Secretary General, National Union of People's Lawyers), Mr. Jigs Clamor
(Deputy Secretary General, Karapatan), Atty. Carlos Zarate (Secretary
General, Union of Peoples' Lawyers in Mindanao) will travel to Geneva,
Switzerland for the 14th Session of the United Nations Human Rights
Council (UNHRC). They will talk about the continuing violations under
Oplan Bantay Laya and will urge the Council to push the new Philippine
government to render justice to victims and resolve cases of human rights
violations
May 27, Thursday, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. at the National Council of Churches in
the Philippines (NCCP)
Conference Room (879 EDSA, Quezon City).
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