Killings, illegal arrest and detention: BS Aquino’s kind of peace

January 03, 2014—MONTERONA, Marcelo, 41, Farmer, Indug Kautawan, Maco, Compostela Valley
January 12, 2014—PADIÑO, Arman, 33, Farmer, Aniban, Hacienda Dolores, Porac, Pampanga
January 30, 2014—ORBINA, Henry, Worker, Cabadian, Sorsogon
January 31, 2014—AMBONGAN, Datu Rolando, 39, Higaonon tribe, Katribu Partylist member, Buenavista, Agusan del Norte
February 05, 2014—LAURON, Julieto, 41, Farmer, Kasama – Bukidnon, Valencia, Bukidnon
February 06, 2014—RAYTERAN, Rosaldo, Driver, Albay People’s Org, Libon, Albay
February 06, 2014—RAYTERAN, Rasty, 18, Youth, Libon, Albay
February 18, 2014—ARCHIVAL, Noel, 53, Lawyer, Dalaguette, Cebu
February 18, 2014—MIÑOZA, Candido, 47, Archival’s aide, Dalaguette, Cebu
February 18, 2014—JAYME, Alejandro, 45, Archival’s driver, Dalaguette, Cebu
March 03, 2014—LIGIW, Fermin, 29, Binongan-Tinguian tribe, Anakbayan/Kastan (CPA provincial chapter), Baay-Licuan, Abra
March 03, 2014—LIGIW, Eddie, 45, Binongan-Tinguian tribe, Kastan, Baay-Licuan, Abra
March 03, 2014—LIGIW, Licuben, 77, Binongan-Tinguian tribe, Kastan, Baay-Licuan, Abra
March 15, 2014—CAPALLA, Romeo, 65, entrepreneur, PFTC, SELDA, Oton, Iloilo
March 22, 2014—LUBIANO, Julio, 31, Small-scale miner, Caramoan, Camarines Sur
March 22, 2014—LUBIANO, Rene, 28, Small-scale miner, Caramoan, Camarines Sur
March 22, 2014—VIRTUS, Salem, 24, Small-scale miner, Caramoan, Camarines Sur
March 22, 2014—BRONDIA, Jesse, 35, Small-scale miner, Caramoan, Camarines Sur
March 25, 2014—BUGATTI, William, 43, CHRA, CPA, BM provincial coordinator, Kiangan, Ifugao

“These are names of 19 people killed as a result of BS Aquino government’s killing frenzy in the first 13 weeks of 2014. This is the kind of peace the Aquino government pursues desperately to silence the vocal critics of his anti-people governance,” said Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay.

Palabay said, for the same period Karapatan also documented 43 victims of illegal arrests and detention based on fabricated criminal charges, “but the BS Aquino and his cohorts never ever acknowledged these human rights violations committed by the armed forces. Instead, the Aquino government continues to brag about and propagate lies that peace means people keeping mum and submitting to its policies and programs that spell death to the majority of the poor Filipinos.”

“The peace that BS Aquino knows only fires up wars as people clamour for concrete steps to address poverty and underdevelopment. Aquino’s duplicity on the issue of peace is further emphasized. On one hand, he boasts of forging peace with the MILF, while military offensives continue in Mindanao victimizing thousands of civilians. On the other hand, he lies on his administration’s interest on the peacetalks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), while his government illegally arrests peace consultants, right defenders and and individuals, kills those whom he perceives as his government’s enemies,” said Palabay.

Karapatan earlier called on BS Aquino to step down from office following the spate of killings committed by the armed forces of the BS Aquino government.

The latest victim of extrajudicial killing is William Bugatti, a human rights worker and regional council member of the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance-KARAPATAN. He also represented the Ifugao Peasant Movement in the regional council of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance. He was also provincial coordinator of Bayan Muna partylist.

Bugatti, from the Tuwali tribe, succumbed to three gun shots that pierced his heart on the evening of March 25 at Bolog, Kiangan, Ifugao. Bugatti was among the 28 people whose names appeared in a poster-target list by the 5th ID and the 86th IB Target List in Tinoc, Ifugao tagged as brains, members and supporters of the New People’s Army. ###