"Leave our fellow human rights
defender Sherwin de Vera alone!" Karapatan demanded from the Armed Forces
of the Philippines (AFP) for threatening and harassing De Vera, former
secretary general of Ilocos Human Rights Alliance (IHRA), a regional chapter of
Karapatan. De Vera is the regional coordinator of Bayan Muna Partylist and a
researcher-activist against large-scale and destructive mining in Ilocos,
particularly of black sand mining corporations.
"Leave our fellow human rights
defender Sherwin de Vera alone!" Karapatan demanded from the Armed Forces
of the Philippines (AFP) for threatening and harassing De Vera, former
secretary general of Ilocos Human Rights Alliance (IHRA), a regional chapter of
Karapatan. De Vera is the regional coordinator of Bayan Muna Partylist and a
researcher-activist against large-scale and destructive mining in Ilocos,
particularly of black sand mining corporations.
De Vera has been receiving text messages (SMS),
as early as 2011, recruiting him to be an informant of the AFP and at the same
time imputing on his so-called involvement in the underground movement. AFP personnel are reportedly harassing even
De Vera’s relatives.
On June 20, 2014, de Vera’s uncle
Benjamin Pacris received a call from an unidentified number. When he answered,
a male voice introduced himself as a member of a certain National Intelligence
Service Agency (NISA). The caller wanted a personal meeting with Pacris, who in
turn acceded to meet the man at the Provincial Capitol. The male caller came
with a certain "Milo" and "Joey" who were members of "NISA."
Milo said he is in-charge of “NISA’s” operations in Ilocos Norte and Abra.
“Milo” and “Joey” asked about Sherwin de
Vera and his activities such as his involvement with the Communist Party of the
Philippines (CPP), and with organizations opposed to the mining operations in
the region. “Milo” convinced Pacris to arrange a meeting between him and De
Vera, and provided a contact number.
On June 29, de Vera got messages (SMS)
from “Larry” with cellphone number 09395919363. “Larry” offered De Vera P10,
000.00 a month for “monitoring work on sectoral organizations”. The offer may increase
“depnde s cooperatn at level ng position (depending on your cooperation
and level of position).
In one of the messages sent by “Larry”,
he implied that De Vera is a member of a “Party”, “Alam ko mlalim ng
kamulatan mo s Partido, im nt attempting to break that, pagisipan mo lang offer
ko (I know your deep
involvement in the Party, I am not attempting to break that, just think about
my offer). De Vera did not reply to this
message and to the others that followed.
As early as February 2011, De Vera has
been haunted with similar text messages: “kamusta kan kabsat? ASIDEG KAN”
(How are you brother? Are you near?); “Awagam amin nga santon! Kumpay ni
patay umayen” (Call all the saints! The shadow of death is near.); and, “pagyamanam
no makastrek ka pay no bigat” (Be thankful if
you’ll be able to come to work tomorrow).
In 2010, while De Vera worked at the
University of Northern Philippines, the military ordered the Campus Security
Division (CSSD) Chief Nolito Ragunjan to monitor closely De Vera’s activities.
As early as 2004, the AFP has labelled De Vera of being a member of the CPP-NPA
when he was a researcher and community educator for Save Abra River Movement.
"The AFP is not only recruiting Sherwin
but also harassing and intimidating him. The intelligence group wants to tell Sherwin
that he is being suspected as a member of the CPP and that he is under
surveillance. This is a cause of alarm for human rights defenders, especially
with the Aquino administration’s Oplan Bayanihan. Many of those who were
victims of extrajudicial killings were once subjects of threat, harassments and
red tagging," Palabay said.
Karapatan said these threats and
harassment should stop, as the organization also called for the passage of House
Bill 1472 “Human Rights Defenders’ Protection Act of 2013” filed by Bayan Muna
Reps. Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate, which seeks to recognize the role of
human rights defenders and provide protection mechanisms especially to those
who are at risk. This bill has been pending since 2013. ###