Fascist state on a rampage
Human rights violations intensifying

Basahin ang artikulong ito sa Pilipino

The torture and massacre of nine civilians and hors de combat on April 16 in Kananga, Leyte and the killing of the two activists Elaine "Eden" Marcellana and Eddie Gumanoy on April 22 in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro signify the further intensification of militarization and military abuses nationwide.

These killings merely add to the list of human rights violations compiled by Amnesty International since Macapagal-Arroyo became president in January 2001, until January 2003. Based on the listing, there have been 172 murder victims, 127 victims of torture, 879 persons arrested and imprisoned, 9,129 victims of bombings and shootings, 11,179 victimized by destruction of property and 17,564 victims of forcible evacuation.

In Southern Tagalog, Karapatan-TK has listed 1,072 cases of human rights violations. The merciless killings of Marcellana and Gumanoy bring to 66 the number of civilians killed by military and paramilitary forces in the region. Thirty-four of them were killed only in the last two years. Thirty cases were recorded in Oriental Mindoro.

According to the Kapulungan Para sa Lupang Ninuno, a Mangyan federation, there have been eight cases of human rights violations against Mangyans, two of them cases of "salvaging" just this March.

The following are but some of the most striking cases from March to April 2003:

April 25. William Masinid and his two-year-old son Wilmore were killed when elements of the 9th Special Forces Battalion peppered their house with bullets in Barangay Mahan-ub, Baganga, Davao Oriental. Six civilians accused of being NPA guerrillas were also arrested, said Karapatan-Mindanao.

April 16. Nine persons were tortured and massacred in Sitio Mahayahay, Barangay San Isidro, Kananga, Leyte when elements of the 19th IB besieged a suspected NPA camp. The victims were Eugenio Tazan, 54, chairman of the San Isidro Small Farmers' Association; the three months pregnant Rowena Superior, 24, member of the Bagalungon Small Farmers' Association; Rey Corpin, 13, son of the treasurer of the Alyansa sa Mag-uuma ug Mamumuo; Obet Quidlat, 16; Benjie Cabugoy, 17; Randy Potoy, 15; Teofilo Sumaya Jr., 24; Joe Cosenillo; and a certain Louie.

April 15. Three-hundred troops under Task Force Davao (a composite force of elements of the Philippine Marines and the Philippine Army Special Forces) swooped down on NHA Bangkal, Talomo, Davao City as part of the continued saturation drives and illegal searches of Muslim communities in the city conducted since the first week of April.

Muslimi Maro, a resident of Agdao District, Davao City was likewise abducted. He was the fourth Muslim to be abducted by armed men, according to the Bishops-Ulama League.

April 10. Four armed men picked up Lajmar Jumdail, also from Agdao. Two weeks before, armed men also forcibly took Datu Abdullah Sabdura Ala and Ustadz Zulkifle Alimuddin.

March 31 and 27. Soldiers abducted, on separate occasions Rizal Matri (March 27) and his nephew Dino Matri (March 31) in Puerto Galera. Both Mangyan tribesmen, they were found dead the day after their abduction.

Meanwhile, another Mangyan, Ricky Looy, has been reported missing after being used as a guide by the Philippine Army in its military operations.

March 25. Two teams from the Philippine Army Special Forces and 26 PNP troops created a disturbance during the wake for Florencio "Ka Lerry" de Castro in Barangay Tagbakin, Tiaong, Quezon. The military and police forces were supposedly looking for Red fighters. Prior to this, a Colonel Isles of the PNP forbade members of Karapatan-ST from taking photographs and video footages of Ka Lerry, who was martyred in a clash against the 1st IB in Majayjay, Laguna on March 20.

March 14 and 19. Teodoro Manongsong and Luis Aspeto, both suspected by the military as Red fighters, have not been seen since they were "summoned" by Col. Jovito Palparan to the 204th Bde's camp in Puerto Galera and are now considered "desaparecido." Manongsong was summoned on March 14 and Aspeto on March 19.

March 12. Michael Santiago, a resident of Barangay Pulong Bayabas, San Rafael, Bulacan, was abducted from his house and summarily executed ("salvaged"). The AFP has made it appear that Santiago was an NPA member killed in an encounter with the military. In fact, he was a mere barangay tanod with no links whatsoever to the revolutionary movement.

07 May 2003
English Edition

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