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Press Release
September 8, 2011

Child rights groups seek justice for killed 7 year-old girl in Pantukan

Davao City – Kabiba Alliance for Children’s Concerns, Inc. demands justice for the killing of 7 year–old Sunshine Jabinez from Pantukan, Compostella Valley Province, while condemning the 71st Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (IBPA) on September 2, 2011.
 

The group believes that the death of Sunshine was not a result of accidental firing. “This incident is a vicious consequence of military encampment in civilian communities in which children become the most vulnerable targets,” Morales said.

Initial investigations conducted by Kabiba together with other child rights advocates found out that last September 2, 2011 at around 11:30 pm at Biasong 3, Brgy. Napnapan, Private First Class Baltazar Ramos, an element of the 71st IBPA went amok in a videoke store after getting heavily drunk.

Because of this, PFC Ramos’ commanding officer tried to remove the bullets of his firearm, a mini-machine gun. But PFC. Ramos insisted in pulling the trigger, and fired in the direction of the Jabinez residence. The Jabinez family was asleep at that time until they heard two (2) gunshots and found out that their daughter Sunshine was hit. Mrs. Adelina Jabinez, saw from outside the house, PFC Ramos holding a firearm who again fired towards the ground.

Mrs. Jabinez showed Sunshine to PFC Ramos, “Natamaan mo ang anak ko sir!”
The father tried to save his daughter’s life by bringing her to the hospital, but she declared dead on arrival.

“What happened to Sunshine is one of the six (6) grave violations of children’s rights – to murder a child. The state is responsible in upholding children’s rights for having signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,” said Morales.

Kabiba demands the prosecution of PFC Ramos and others who may be responsible for Sunshine’s death. “The state is responsible in upholding the children’s rights to survival, development, protection and participation. The presence of the military in the communities put the children’s life at risk. Sunshine’s life was sacrificed because of the massive Re-Engineered Special Operations or Peace and Development Teams deployed in farmer and lumad communities,” said Morales.

The childs’ rights advocate added, “We urge the government to uphold children’s rights immediately pulling out of military detachments in the communities. Let us not allow another Sunshine to die, let us not allow another child’s dream to end.”


For Reference:
Humeira Morales
Executive Secretary
Kabiba Alliance for Children’s Concerns

Attachment:
 

Chronology: PFC Ramos in Amok
 

- PFC Ramos went amok, shouting “Sino ang matigas dito?” The costumers did not answer him back knowing that he is a soldier but still he continued to dare the customers, until one customer answered him back and confrontations began.
 

- PFC Ramos then went to his detachment located 20-30 meters away from the videoke store and got his firearm. When he went back, the store was already closed.
 

- Ramos shouted to the store owner to open her store or else, he will fire at the store. Because of fear, the store owner did not open, it but went inside and hide.
 

- A certain Dalipog, Ramos’ commanding officer, who was sleeping in the chair outside the videoke store han who was very drunk at that time tried to get the fire arm from Ramos. Dalipog thought that he was able to remove the bullet from Ramos’ gun.
 

- Ramos continues to his gun until he fired it going to the direction of the house of the Jabinez which is few meters infront of the videokehan. (gikasa-kasa niya ang iyang baril hangtud nga nibuto padulong sa direction sa balay sa mga Jabinez)
 

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Press Release:
September 07, 2011

Children’s group condemns 71st IB-10th ID for killing 7 year-old girl

DAVAO CITY – The Children’s Rehabilitation Center (CRC) is condemning the 71st Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for killing a seven year-old girl Sunshine Jabinez in Pantukan, Compostela Valley.

Sunshine Jabinez, Grade 2 pupil of Biasong Elementary School, was killed on September 2 after PFC. Baltazar Ramos of the Philippine Army’s 71st IB went amok and indiscriminately fired his gun while reportedly being drunk.

“The incident happened while Sunshine was asleep at their house, her parents only learned that their daughter was hit from the indiscriminate by Pfc. Baltazar Ramos when they heard her cry “agay,” said Edessa Sandra A. Campos, advocacy officer of Children’s Rehabilitation Center-Southern Mindanao Region (CRC-SMR).

Campos said the military would always claim they are in civilian communities on peace and development programs, “but as how it’s happening, these peace and development teams of the 10th Infantry Division are not different from its Re-enginered Special Operations Teams deployed in communities.”

“This is the real face of the military’s “Peace and Development Teams” in the communities; the lives of the children are put to risk. If not killed, children are used in counter-insurgency operations, either as guides to track down the members of the New People’s Army (NPA) or they are branded as ‘child soldiers’,” Campos said.

In 2007, elements of the 67th Infantry Battalion killed Grecil Buya, a Grade 2 student of Simsimen Elementary School, in an encounter with the New People’s Army. The military asserted that Grecil, a supposed NPA child soldier, was carrying an M-16 rifle and was firing at them. Investigations and documentation showed otherwise. “Unfortunately, the perpetrators remain unpunished,” Campos added.

In September last year, CRC handled the case of “Amanda”, then a minor, who was presented to the media as a “child soldier” by the 84th Infantry Battalion under 10th Infantry Division. Amanda was also included in the military’s top 3 list of “child soldiers” in the Philippines. Investigations also proved military allegations wrong.

“Military presence, however they justify it, is indeed a threat to civilian populace, specially to the children,” Campos said.

“We urge then, the Aquino government to enforce international and local laws and agreements that protect the basic rights of children. These include the Comprehensive Agreement for the Respect of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL), the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), among others. The Aquino government should order for the immediate pull out of military troops in the community and prosecute immediately the military perpetrators of the atrocities,” Campos said.#

For reference:
Edessa Sandra Campos
Advocacy officer
Children’s Rehabilitation Center - SMR
222-5191

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Press Release
September 7, 2011

Farmers group supports SP reso on pullout of mil detachment near Paquibato school; dismayed over Mayor Duterte’s hesitant stand

Davao City --- Progressive farmers group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) – Southern Mindanao expressed support to the Sangguniang Panglungsod resolution calling for the pull-out of the 69th IBPA’s detachment currently installed near a school in Brgy. Paradise Embac Paquibato District.

The group is however dismayed over Mayor Inday Sara Duterte’s opposition to said SP reso.

In an interview, the lady mayor gave a categorical “no” when asked about her comment on the resolution proposed by Councilors Leah Librado – Yap and Jimmy Dureza which calls for the pull out of the 69th IB from Paradise Embac in order to safeguard the school children from the dangers posed by the military detachment which is located just 10 to 15 meters from the primary school.

“It is dismal to hear Mayor Sara Duterte issue such statement attuned to the military’s claims that the detachment in question has been in the area ‘by history and that there were no complaints from the residents,’ when instead she is expected to hear first what her constituents have to say about these lies by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP),” said Pedro Arnado, chairperson of KMP-SMR.

Arnado is challenging Mayor Duterte to check on the complaints against the 69th IB. He said it was the Paradise Embac Parent-Teacher’s Association of the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) program in the area that appealed for the pull-out of the detachment.

The said appeal served as the basis for the resolution sponsored by Councilors Librado-Yap and Dureza. The group also filed their petition to the regional offices of the Department of Education (DepEd), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).

Arnado added that in the said petition the parents and teachers clearly stated that the 69th IB’s detachment was only constructed in their community sometime in July this year. “It’s the military operations that’s been there for some time now, and the Paquibato lumads and farmers have always resisted these and condemned human rights abuses in their area,” Arnado said.

“The resolution aims to uphold the basic human rights of the Paquibato residents, especially the rights of children to be free from dangers posed by military detachments which use civilian communities as shields. The AFP’s Re-engineered Special Operations Team (RSOT), otherwise tagged as the Peace and Development Teams (PDT) are rampantly holding lumad and farmer communities hostage, encamping within their communities, to the point of imposing food blockades and curfews which all affect the peoples’ livelihood,” said Arnado.

The Geneva Conventions which enumerate the protocols of war that should be respected by government and contending belligerent force, prohibit the installation of military detachments, even the use by armed groups of public places for military actions.

Arnado urged Mayor Duterte to personally attend the onsite committee hearing on September 12. #

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PRESS RELEASE
September 6, 2011

Children’s group appeals to Sara to pull-out army installation in Paquibato

Davao City - Kabiba Alliance for Children’s Concerns, Inc. was saddened by negative statement of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte on the petition to pullout the detachment of the 69th Infantry Battalion-10th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army in Sitio Guinobatan, Brgy. Paradise Embac.

“We appeal to Mayor Duterte to reconsider her position and try to look into what the military’s presence has caused the children in the communities,” said Humeira Morales Executive Secretary of Kabiba.

“The mere presence of the military in schools and in any civilian-populated area poses vulnerability and endangerment to civilians, especially to children,“ Morales said.

Last July 28, representatives of the parent teachers association of the BEAM program along with community leaders from Paquibato and children’s rights groups held a dialogue with the Department of Education and Department of Social Welfare and Development and demanded for the pull-out of the military troops and their facilities from the school and the community.

“It is not true that there were no human rights violations perpetrated by the 69th IB, in fact the community leaders of Paradise Embac who experienced harassment filed a complaint on human rights violations to the Commission on Human Rights last July 28, 2011,” Morales added.

The group believes that the mayor should immediately conduct an area investigation on the establishment of a detachment in Paradise Embac which is near the annex primary school and to deepen their investigation into issues of encampment by the military in other areas of Davao City.

“We challenge our city mayor to spare children from the threats of military operations by not supporting any counter-insurgency programs that assert military presence via deceptive civilian military operations and to uphold children’s rights to survival, protection, development and participation,” Morales said.


FOR REFERENCE:
HUMEIRA R. MORALES
Kabiba Alliance for Children’s Concerns, Inc.
Tel. No. 222-5191