September, 2008

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) should make haste to comply with the Court of Appeals (CA) order.  They MUST immediately release UP students Sherlyn Cadapan, Karen Empeño and farmer Manuel Merino, who were abducted and kept missing more than two years ago.

When the CA accepted the testimony of witness Raymond Manalo, it has affirmed all our allegations that indeed IT IS the military that have caused the enforced disappearance of the three and that the camps are being used as safe houses and torture places.

On the eve of the 36th anniversary of the declaration of martial law, victims of the Marcos dictatorship and victims of human rights violations under Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo remind the nation that we must say never again to martial law!  There is a new dictator and kleptocrat in Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her cohorts under an undeclared martial law.  And like the hated dictator Marcos, she must be made to answer for her transgressions on the rights of the Filipino people.

On the morning of September 17, 2008 at 7 AM James Balao left his residence in Fairvew, Baguio City, intending to go to his family residence in La Trinidad, Benguet.  He informed his family that he was going home that day through a text message at about 6:45 am.  He was not able to reach home and has not been in contact with his family or friends since, nor have they been able to contact him.

The redoubtable Court of Appeals has done it again – dismissing another amparo petition which in effect condones impunity, says the human rights umbrella Karapatan.

"The dismissal of the petition for the writ of amparo for NBN-ZTE star witness Jun Lozada is unjust," said Ruth Cervantes, Public Information Officer of Karapatan.

"What made it despicable is the CA justices' glaring omission of the fact that the threat on Mr. Lozada's life stems from the other fact that he is a thorn on the side of this corrupt government," said Cervantes.
Karapatan reiterated that Mr. Lozada is not merely a victim of kidnapping. His case falls into what the United Nations refers to as an enforced disappearance, "the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which place such a person outside the protection of the law."

Determined to obtain justice
Survivor of enforced disappearance files criminal case vs. perpetrators

After escaping from his military abductors, having been granted protection under the writ of amparo and all the more encouraged by two positive developments in human rights cases, namely the release of the Tagaytay 5 on August 28, 2008 and Pastor Berlin Guerrero yesterday, a survivor of military atrocity will take his chance at obtaining justice.

Raymond Manalo, who escaped his military captors after more than a year of torment, is fighting back by filing administrative, civil and criminal charges against soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Arkibong Bayan http://www.arkibongbayan.org/

At about 3:10 in the morning of 31 August 2008, eight peasant organizers left Tartaria, Silang, Cavite where they had previously attended a consultation of peasants in preparation for the annual Peasant Month of October.

They have boarded a yellow utility vehicle called "multicab" (short for multi-purpose cab) that is driven by Mario Joson. They were traveling from Brgy. Tartaria, Silang, Cavite towards Nasugbu, Batangas.