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“Sorry doesn’t cut it. The soldiers of the Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom) involved in the killing of a 1-year old baby girl, Moro leader Hadji Billamin Hassan and Nuruddin Musaddul Muhlis should be prosecuted and punished. Firing on and killing of civilians in the course of the so-called “crossfire” is a heinous crime under international humanitarian law and they should be accountable,” said Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay, in reaction to the statement of Maj. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., WestMinCom commander, on the killing of the two children, in the course of the military operations against so-called Abu Sayyaf in Tabuan Lasa, Basilan on March 8, 2017. 

“While the Duterte administration still fails to release all political prisoners, including the sick and the elderly, arrests and illegal detention continue,” said Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan.

Karapatan welcomes the March 11 Joint Statement of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) on the continuation of the formal peace talks on April and June 2017and the reaffirmation of all bilateral agreements and statements in the peace negotiations, including the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) and the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG). 

“Karapatan supports the occupy movement of the urban poor in Bulacan who, since March 8, 2017, has started occupation of 5,208 idle housing units in five separate sites in Pandi and San Jose del Monte, Bulacan,” said Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay on the “Occupy Bulacan” campaign led by the Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (KADAMAY).

Karapatan deplores the harassment against Atty. Vj Topacio, one of the legal counsels of detained political activist Ferdinand Castillo, as a brazen act of intimidation by the Armed Forces of the Philippines against human rights lawyers.