Member organization: Karapatan

Peddled as Oplan Bayanihan’s brains, Lt. Gen. Bautista’s appointment as the new AFP Chief of Staff “signals the escalation of human rights violations” under the Aquino government , Karapatan said today.  “Oplan Bayanihan, despite its ‘people-centered’ and ‘respect for human rights’ catch-phrases already resulted in 137 incidents of extrajudicial killings and 154 cases of frustrated …

Lt. Gen. Bautista’s Oplan Bayanihan resulted to 137 EJK Read More »

Rights group Karapatan today called on the Aquino government to stop the series of illegal arrests and detention of civilians whom the government “conveniently accused as members or supporters of the New People’s Army to justify its grave violations on civil and political rights.”  Cristina Palabay, Karapatan secretary general, raised the alarm as 28 people …

28 illegal arrests in less than a month: Aquino govt’s desperation shows Read More »

Rights groups and advocates, led by Karapatan and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) met with protest the first meeting of Noynoy Aquino’s "high-level inter-agency superbody" against extrajudicial killings and other rights abuses. "The victims and their loved ones have had enough of these extraneous superbodies that are mere publicity schemes but does not solve human rights …

Amidst continuing human rights violations Aquino’s ‘superbody’ vs extrajudicial killing and HR violations mere PR scheme Read More »

Karapatan today deplored the recent spate of illegal arrests, based on trumped-up charges, this December of 23 indigenous peoples, government employees and individuals. Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said their chapters and network organizations have reported the following incidents of arrests: Randy Vegas and Raul Camposano, both long-time union organizers and staff of the Confederation …

Karapatan scores Aquino, AFP on December arrests and detention of activists and individuals Read More »

Karapatan today, with relatives of desaparecidos, banged the gates of Pres. Aquino’s house at Times St., Quezon City to protest the much-delayed arrest of former General Jovito Palparan Jr.  A year ago, on December 17, the Malolos Regional Trial Court Branch 14 issued a warrant of arrest for Palparan for charges of kidnapping and illegal …

A year after, impunity icon “The Butcher” Palparan is still free Read More »

“A human rights handbook, a human rights summit, a human rights office, a human rights superbody are meaningless to the victims of human rights violations. The fact still remains: the killings continue and not one perpetrator is in jail,” said Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan on Pres. Aquino’s list of ‘initiatives to uphold human …

Palace, AFP list of HR achievements will not undo 129 EJK cases Read More »

Thousands of peasants and indigenous peoples from Mindanao and Southern Tagalog, with multi-sectoral support from the National Capital Region, today marched to Mendiola, undaunted by the unabated human rights violations under the Noynoy Aquino government and the ten-day series of grueling activities to culminate on December 10, the International Day for Human Rights.   Karapatan …

HR violations unabated, enough of Aquino’s promise of change Read More »

Dear Mr. President, I am Erita Capion, sister of Daguil Capion, a target of your armed forces. I believe you must have already known the merciless killing of my sister-in law, Juvy Capion and her two sons, Jordan and Mark John, both minor, by 13 soldiers of the 27th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army …

An open letter to Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III, from Erita Capion-Dialang Read More »

Karapatan deplores the Aquino government’s continuing attacks against human rights defenders through the recent arrests and filing of trumped-up charges against union organizers and community leaders, days before the commemoration of the International Human Rights Day on December 10.  Randy Vegas and Raul Camposano, both long-time union organizers and staff of the Confederation for Unity, …

Rights group condemns illegal arrests, trumped up charges vs union organizers Read More »

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) raised the alarm on the continuing human rights violations in the country under the Aquino government, particularly cases of extrajudicial killings of human rights defenders.     OMCT noted “the attacks …

Int’l HR org express concern for rights defenders in the Philippines Read More »