Member organization: Karapatan

No change, impunity prevails under Aquino

As the nation commemorates the 27th anniversary of the People Power 1 uprising, human rights group Karapatan today said that “the Noynoy Aquino government’s commemoration is completely an empty exercise meant as a window-dressing for the administration’s dismal human rights record.” 

Resume Peace Negotiations

Release detained peace consultants, resume NDFP-GPH peace talks

"The Aquino government should refrain from sabotaging the peace process and should immediately release detained peace consultants," Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan, said as the group staged a picket protest in front of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP).  OPAPP is tasked to “oversee, coordinate and integrate the implementation …

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Geertman’s killing is not a simple robbery with homicide, it’s MURDER

"Geertman’s death is state-perpetrated, it is a case of extrajudicial killing," said Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan, in reaction to the resolution issued by the Office of the City Prosecutor in San Fernando City, Pampanga on the killing of Dutch lay worker, Wilhelm Geertman.  The resolution on the preliminary investigation finds probable cause to …

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Karapatan challenges 2013 candidates to bring in human rights agenda into their campaigns

Human rights should be an election issue, said Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan, “because the 2013 election is happening amid increasing human rights violations under the three-year old Aquino and on the last year of Oplan Bayanihan’s first phase.”  “Let not the election ruckus drown the violations of human rights under the Aquino government. …

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4th Capion killed, B’laan families evacuate as military operations intensify in areas occupied by Xstrata-SMI mines

Karapatan calls for the immediate pull out of the Task Force KITACOM (Kiblawan, Tampakan, Columbio, Malungon) of the 39th and 27th IB-PA and the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU) from civilian communities, as it expresses its condemnation on the killing of Kitari Capion and the forcible evacuation of some 150 residents in Baranggay Kimlawis, …

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Karapatan calls on govt to immediately release Acosta, file charges vs. 34th IB

With DOJ’s Resolution to withdraw information   With the recent findings and resolution of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to withdraw information against detained poet-artist Ericson Acosta,  “it is in incumbent upon the Aquino government to file charges against the members of the 34th IB for violations of RA 7438, rights of persons arrested, detained or …

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AFP should show proof that security guard Rolly Panesa is CPP’s “Benjamin Mendoza”

Karapatan dared the Philippine Army of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to prove before the Court of Appeals that the man they arrested illegally and tortured is indeed who they claim to be in their press releases as CPP’s high ranking official ‘Benjamin Mendoza’ "because clearly, they picked the wrong man," Cristina Palabay, secretary …

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Aquino’s inconsistencies on sovereignty issues show GPH loyalty to US interests

“Pres. Noynoy Aquino’s suspiciously prudent stance on the presence of minesweeper USS Guardian inside Philippine territory pales in comparison to his hysterics on China’s claim to the disputed islands in the South China Sea. Hence, it further reveals the Aquino government’s inconsistencies in dealing with the issue of sovereignty – that its loyalties and interests …

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Ericson @airport

Detained poet gets temporary release, reunites with family and friends after first ever plane ride

“Believe it or not, it was my first time to ride an airplane!” This was how poet Ericson Acosta greeted his supporters, friends, and family who welcomed his arrival at the Terminal III of the NAIA. Acosta, 40, whose siblings now all live with their own families abroad, is a cultural worker and activist arrested …

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