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Spread of Political Killings in the Philippines
From January 2001 to June 24, 2006, 690 activist, church people, farmers, workers, indigenous
peoples, journalists, lawyers, women and children have been executed.
NEWS
WCC SEEKS END TO EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS IN
THE PHILIPPINES
5 September 2006 Geneva
The
World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee today condemned extrajudicial killings in the Philippines and
called on the government of the Philippines to disband "death squads", private militias and paramilitary forces operating
with impunity in the country.
Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, 30 August to 6 September 2006, the central committee also challenged the concept
of a global war on terror as pretext for the violation of human rights in the Philippines.
Central
committee heard how the legitimacy of the 2001 election of the Philippines
government headed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo continues to be challenged. Under the pretexts of the "war on terror"
and a new emphasis on internal national security, the Philippines
has become "militarized to an alarming degree".
There are now many calls, including from the churches, for the President
to relinquish office.
Central committee heard that promises of reform have not been addressed and political power is
still exercised by a ruling elite supported by the military.
Since 2001 more than 740 people who have worked with
and for the poor in the Philippines have
been assassinated in extrajudicial killings. They include journalists, lawyers, leaders of people's organizations, human rights
activists and 21 church workers, nine of whom were pastors and priests.
Paramilitary groups armed by the military,
and even members of the military and police, have been implicated in these killings.
Over the past 12 months the situation
has worsened considerably, the central committee statement emphasized. Extrajudicial killings have been happening at the rate
of one every two days. The government has increased its military action against insurgents, resulting in an increase in the
number of "civilian" deaths.
Central committee called on the Philippines Government to hold accountable any members
of the military found to be involved in extrajudicial killings, instruct the military to cease listing churches and church
workers as "enemies of the state", and reverse the national security policy of making no distinction between combatants and
non-combatants within the current counter-insurgency campaign.
It expressed its condolences to the families of the
victims of the killings, affirmed the Filipino churches and the National Council of Churches in the Philippines "for their courageous work with and for the poor, in the face of violent
opposition," and assured the Filipino churches of ongoing support.
Central committee also asked the United Nations
Human Rights Council and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to take up the matter of extrajudicial killings
in the Philippines.
Related Links:
Full text of the "Statement
on extrajudicial killings in the Philippines" will be available later on Tuesday, 5 September, on the WCC website:
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/central-committee/geneva-2006/reports-and-documents.html
More information on the WCC Central Committee meeting is available on the WCC
website:
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/events-sections/cc2006.html
Amnesty Int'l tells RP: Shame on you
Slays traced to state of emergency, war vs Reds
By Norman Bordadora
Published on Page A1 of the August 16, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
THE UNABATED killing of leftist activists constitutes a pattern of political executions that should be a source of
"deep embarrassment" to the Philippine government, according to Amnesty International (AI).
In a 51-page report released yesterday, the London-based human rights group said the threat of more such murders had
intensified this year along with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's declaration of a state of emergency in February, the
arrest and threatened arrest of militant party-list lawmakers, and the administration's all-out war against communist insurgents.
The group raised concerns about "credible reports" that security forces were involved in the killings, or at least
tolerated or had knowledge of them.
AI documented a steep increase in the incidence of extrajudicial killings this year, recording 51 cases in the first
semester. It pointed out there were 66 such killings in the entire 2005.
"No one deserves to die for their political affiliation. It should be a deep embarrassment to the government that people
in the Philippines cannot freely exercise their rights of political expression
and association," said AI's Southeast Asia researcher Tim Parritt.
In its report that included case studies of the killings and of warrantless arrests, AI listed these key recommendations:
Reassertion of respect for human rights; guarantee of the administration of justice; compliance with the human rights agreement
in the peace process, and action by other human rights institutions.
UN mechanisms
AI called on the Philippine government to seek the expertise of the United Nations' "relevant special mechanisms" by
inviting the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions, the Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders and representatives
of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to visit the Philippines.
It also called for an independent oversight body that would ensure that all investigations of political killings --
including those by the Philippine National Police's Task Force Usig -- were backed by effective coordination between the PNP,
National Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice and Department of National Defense.
Asked yesterday to comment, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said: "Let us be very clear: These killings are appalling
and the President condemns them in the strongest possible terms. She has taken a number of actions. She has offered rewards,
brought in the police and directed the [DoJ] to stop at nothing in bringing the perpetrators to justice. She is determined
to bring these breaches under control and to mete out the harshest punishments to the offenders."
Culture of impunity
In her State of the Nation Address last month, the President said she was condemning the political killings. But she
also heaped lavish praise on Major General Jovito Palparan, who has been tagged the "butcher" of leftist activists for the
cases of extrajudicial killings and rights abuses in areas where he has been posted.
"The common features in the methodology of the attacks, the leftist profile of the victims and an apparent culture
of impunity shielding the perpetrators has led AI to believe that the killings are not an unconnected series of criminal murders,
armed robberies or other unlawful killings," the group said.
"Rather, they constitute a pattern of politically targeted extrajudicial executions taking place within the broader
context of a continuing counterinsurgency campaign," it said.
It cited motorcycle-riding death squads preying on leftist activists as well as cases of militant politicians and activists
being labeled as communist cadres.
AI called for a renewed commitment from both the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines to respect human rights, noting that the New People's Army, the armed
wing of the CPP, had announced the formation of "retaliatory hit squads" against government forces.
"With the political will necessary to revive peace negotiations currently appearing absent, [AI] believes it essential
that all sides urgently reassert respect for human rights in order to prevent the serious threat of a renewed spiral of human
rights abuses," the group said.
'Official acquiescence'
AI said there was "an increased risk that those responsible for the killings would believe that they had received a
signal of official acquiescence for these abuses."
It cited "repeated credible reports that members of the security forces have been directly involved in the attacks,
or else have tolerated, acquiesced to, or been complicit in them."
It said that as early as 2003, the UN Human Rights Committee called for government action on "the lack of appropriate
measures to investigate crimes allegedly committed by state security forces and agents and to prosecute and punish these perpetrators."
AI called on the Deputy Ombudsman for the military and other law enforcement offices to conduct "prompt, thorough,
impartial and effective" inquiries into all complaints of political killings purportedly involving military, police or other
security personnel.
It said these inquiries should, as appropriate, lead promptly to recommendations to the DoJ to file criminal charges
against those found responsible.
"Stemming this tide of killings requires genuine political will to ensure prosecution in all cases -- not only the
10 cases in 10 weeks recently called for by President Arroyo," Parritt said.
'Primary target' of gov't
AI said that in February, Ms Arroyo declared a state of emergency on the basis of a purported plot to overthrow her
administration by members of the mainstream opposition in "tactical alliance" with rightists, communist rebels, progressive
leftist groups and current and former military personnel.
"However, the primary target of government action appeared to be the CPP-NPA and the progressive leftist parties, which
were now explicitly accused by senior government officials of being front organizations for illegal communist armed groups,"
AI said.
It said that on Feb. 26, police lodged a "rebellion" complaint with government prosecutors against some 50 prominent
figures from across the spectrum of the Left, including communist leaders in exile and leaders of militant party-list groups.
"In a serious blow to prospects for reviving confidence in the peace process, the list of those accused of rebellion
was substantially composed of persons previously listed in the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees, and the
addresses of most of the suspects was cited as the Secretariat of the Joint Monitoring Committee of the [Comprehensive Agreement
on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law]," AI said.
The group said that over the subsequent months it appeared "increasingly clear" that the government had decided to
abandon its peace talks with the National Democratic Front, the CPP's political wing. With a report from Gil C.
Cabacungan Jr.
Australian church blames RP gov't for deaths of Protestants
Gabriela solon urges UN to probe rights violations
Associated Press, INQ7.net Last updated 03:05pm (Mla time) 08/16/2006
CANBERRA, Australia – (UPDATE) The Philippine government gave at least tacit approval for the murder of 14 members
of a Protestant denomination, apparently by security forces, a national Australian church group said Wednesday.
The Philippine ambassador to Australia
denied the allegations.
At the United Nations (UN), Gabriela Representative Liza Maza asked a women's conference to "immediately send an independent
body to investigate the political killings, enforced disappearances, political persecution and other forms of human rights
violations committed with impunity in the Philippines."
Maza made her appeal as she delivered a "shadow report" or alternative account of the official government report on
the situation of Filipino women before the 36th session of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW) in New York City on Tuesday, a press
statement from her office said Wednesday.
The Uniting Church in Australia, the third largest Christian denomination in Australia,
released a report in Canberra on its investigation into the deaths over the last two years
of 14 clergy and members of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines.
The report found that no one had been charged in any of the murders, and that evidence in all the deaths suggested
the involvement of the Philippine police and military.
It was released a day after Amnesty International (AI) issued its own report saying the growing number of political
killings in the Philippines could lead to spiraling violence as the government wages an all-out war against communist rebels.
There were 51 political killings in the first six months of this year compared with 66 for all of 2005, the London-based
human rights group said in a report.
AI said the methodology of the assaults, the left-wing profile of the victims and the "climate of impunity" that has
shielded the perpetrators led it to conclude "that the attacks are not an unconnected series of criminal murders but constitute
a politically motivated pattern of killings."
The group also called for an independent body to investigate the killings.
The Philippine government has called the AI report unfair.
"The 14 cases of murder and summary execution outlined in this report suggest the use of serial killings and systematic
violence by the Philippine military and the police to create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation," the Uniting Church report said.
"That faithful and nonviolent Christians are the target of such sustained violence amounts to an organized regime of
Christian persecution with, at the very least, the tacit approval of the Philippine government," the report concluded.
The Philippine ambassador, Ernesto De Leon, denied his government gave tacit support to the killers and said the report
would be investigated. The Philippines
is predominantly Roman Catholic.
The statement from Maza's office said the solon challenged "the Philippine government's initiative, or lack thereof,
and culpability in the dire conditions of Filipinas," citing "the killing of 78 women activists and community organizers in
the last five years under (President) Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo."
Her alternative report said "Filipino women who individually and collectively advance the CEDAW ideals of women's empowerment
and participation in the political, economic, social and cultural well-being of the country, have become the targets of human
rights violations."
She also offered herself as an example of the "unfettered political persecution and repression in the Philippines."
"I am a victim of political persecution," Maza said. "For standing firmly against the government's policies and programs
that threaten the rights and welfare of women and the people, Gabriela and I were implicated in the baseless charge of rebellion
which aims to muffle our opposition."
But Maza claimed the rise in human rights violations was the handiwork of a "beleaguered presidency, whose administration
continues to face unresolved political and humanitarian issues, including the charge of election fraud and the lack of credible,
independent investigation into more than 700 politically-motivated killings."
Gunmen kill United Methodist local pastor in Philippines
United Methodist News Service
8 August 2006
A United Methodist in the Philippines who had served as a local pastor was shot dead by gunmen outside his
home.
According to a story in the Aug. 6 edition of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Isaias Sta. Rosa was found dead in Malabago,
Daraga, Albay, on Aug. 3. He was near a creek, alongside another dead man with gunshot wounds who was identified as an army
corporal, according to the newspaper.
Police said that soldier was believed to be one of about 10 masked gunmen who forced their way into the pastor's home,
and neighbors of Sta. Rosa speculated that the corporal might have been killed by mistake and his body left with the pastor's
to make it appear that the slaying was the work of a rebel group, according to the Manila Bulletin Online.
Sta. Rosa's brother's home nearby also had been entered and the case was listed by police as a "robbery with homicide."
The brother, Jonathan Rosa, said he had been asked where Isaias was and ordered to knock at the door of his house. He said
Isaias was beaten up and taken from the house to the creek.
Sta. Rosa, in his mid-40s, was a freelance writer and project consultant for nongovernmental organizations and a member
of Legazpi City United Methodist Church.
United Methodist Bishop Leo A. Soriano, who leads the church's Davao Area, condemned the killing and urged civil and
military authorities to bring the guilty parties to justice.
"While we grieve and express sympathy to the bereaved family, we also express outrage over this diabolical act," the
bishop said. "Therefore, I urge all United Methodists and all God-fearing people to be vigilant and fight all forms of injustice,
and condemn these acts in the strongest possible term."
The National Council of Churches in the Philippines
issued a statement Aug. 7, noting that Sta. Rosa was the 21st church worker killed since May 2001.
" Sta. Rosa's killing came after three activists were killed in a span of 24 hours in the regions of Northern and Central Luzon and Sorsogon province," the statement said. "One of those killed, Rei Mon Guran, spokesperson
of (the) League of Filipino Students in Aquinas University
in Legazpi City, was also an active member
of the Christian Youth Fellowship of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines.
" It is interesting to note that these murders continue even after the announcement by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
of a 10-week deadline to investigate the spate of extra-judicial killings among activists and journalists.
" Clearly the situation is getting worse every day. The impunity of how these killings are carried out is an affront
to God's gift of life."
The statement - signed by Sharon Rose Joy Ruiz-Duremdes, the council's chief executive - calls for an end to the killings,
an independent investigation and "a thorough inquiry by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United
Nations Human Rights Council and other international courts of justice to ferret out the truth and to hold accountable those
responsible for such wrongdoings."
The Rev. R. Randy Day, chief executive, United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, said he supported her call for
an inquiry by the United Nations, noting that any real investigation by the Philippine government is clearly not being done.
"I really think the international community is going to have to weigh in more vigorously than we have," he told United Methodist
News Service.
In an Aug. 8 letter of condolence to Soriano, Day called the murder "senseless" and "diabolical."
"The directors and staff of the General Board of Global Ministries join you in standing firm against the unjust policies
of the current government in the Philippines,"
he said. "I fully support your demand that the killers of Mr. Sta. Rosa be brought to justice. I have also joined my voice
to that of those calling for a full investigation in the ongoing murders of Christians working for better futures for the
rural poor in the Philippines."
The Manila Bulletin Online noted that the first person to die in the series of slayings since 2001 was another United
Methodist minister, Marcelino de la Cruz of Central Luzon. He was shot to death May 28, 2001.
Jim Winkler, top staff executive of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, said his agency has been monitoring
the situation in the Philippines closely
and is in contact with church leaders there.
" We are deeply concerned that the human rights conditions there are spiraling out of control," he said.
"There has frequently been evidence of Filipino military involvement in the assassination of pastors and church workers.
I urge United Methodists throughout the world to pray for the safety of Filipinos of all faiths.
" Since the United States has great influence in the Philippines, United Methodists here can play a role in ending this violence by contacting their
members of Congress and President Bush to ask that all U.S. influence be
brought to bear on the government of the Philippines,"
Winkler added. "The the persecution and murder of Christians must stop."
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646)
369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org .
Activist-pastor
shot dead in Albay
By Ephraim Aguilar
August 6, 2006
Philippine Daily Inquirer
DARAGA,
ALBAY—A pastor of the United Methodist Church who was also a member of a leftist farmers' group was shot dead by about
10 masked gunmen outside his home in Barangay Malobago here Thursday night, Daraga police said.
The
victim, identified as Isaias Sta. Rosa, 47, was found dead beside a creek with another dead man who also had gunshot wounds
lying beside him, they added.
The
police identified the other fatality as Cpl. Lordger Pastrana of the Philippine Army who was believed to be one of the men
who had earlier forced their way into Sta. Rosa's house, according to PO2 Alona Gallanero of the Bicol regional police public
information office.
Found
on Pastrana were two .45-cal. pistols, a mobile phone and a wrist watch, Gallanero said.
Investigators
said the suspects first entered the house of Jonathan Sta. Rosa, 26, the pastor's younger brother, before going to the victim's
house located in the same compound.
Robbery-homicide
Police
entered the case as a "robbery with homicide" in the blotter and disclosed that Jonathan was robbed of P700 in cash and some
cell phones, while Isaias was robbed of one laptop computer and five cell phones.
Isaias
was a member of the farmers' group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Bicol (Farmers' Movement in Bicol) under the Kilusang Magbubukid
ng Pilipinas (Farmers' Movement of the Philippines),
Carl Ala, KMP spokesperson, said.
With
Sta. Rosa's death, the number of militants killed since 2001 had reached 245, by the Inquirer's own count. Karapatan, a human
rights group, put the number at 720.
Jonathan
said the gunman found dead beside his slain brother was among those who entered their house at about 8:30 p.m.
He
said he was puzzled why the gunman, who was still holding a .45-cal. pistol, was also killed.
By creek
Jonathan
added that the bodies of the pastor and the soldier were found beside a creek several minutes after gunshots were heard and
the gunmen had left.
Still
shaken by the experience, Jonathan narrated that he was preparing supper when the gunmen entered his house, which was beside
the pastor's. He said another brother, Ray, arrived from work at the same time.
"I
thought they were robbers because they asked me to give them my cell phone. Then I saw Ray, who was about to enter the house.
The intruders ordered him to lie down on the ground and someone barked at me to do the same," Jonathan said.
Other residents robbed
He
said he found out later that the men also took away the cell phones of residents of several houses in the neighborhood before
coming to his house.
He
said the armed men brought them outside the house and asked about the whereabouts of Isaias. They were hit with the butt of
a gun as they were being questioned, he said.
Later,
Jonathan said, he was ordered to knock at the door of the pastor's house. Once inside, he and Ray along with his sister-in-law
and four nephews and nieces, were herded into a room.
He
said the gunmen found Isaias in an adjoining room. He was asked to identify himself, beaten up and taken out of the house
and brought to the nearby creek, he said.
Military men?
Jonathan
said several minutes after the masked armed men left with his brother, two sets of gunfire were heard from the direction of
the creek.
Jonathan
said he believed the gunmen were from the military, because of their bearing, the fatigues they were wearing, the high-powered
arms they carried and their combat boots.
He
said that on two occasions men in military uniform, with their nameplates hidden from view, had searched the house of the
victim.
Brig.
Gen. Arsenio Arugay, 901st Infantry Brigade commander based in Villahermosa,
Daraga, Albay, said officers were still investigating why Pastrana was in the area at the time.
He
said Pastrana was assigned to the Public Affairs Office of the 9th Infantry Division based in Pili, Camarines Sur, but was
told that the soldier had not yet reported to the unit.
He
said it was unfair that some people claimed that the killers were military men, just because Pastrana's body was found near
that of Sta. Rosa's.
3 activists killed in 24 Hours
1 missing since July 28
Three
activists were killed in the last 24 hours in the regions of Northern and Central Luzon and
Sorsogon province, the three priority areas of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's all-out-war policy.
Dr.
Chandu Claver,49, Bayan Muna-Kalinga Chapter chair, and his wife, Alice, 42, were ambushed at around 7 a.m. today, July 31,
in front of St. Toni's College by two unidentified gunmen on board a black van. The couple was dropping off their daughter
Samantha to school. At 1 p.m. Alice was pronounced dead at the Kalinga Provincial Hospital
while Claver is in
critical condition. Samantha was unhurt.
Earlier
at around 6 a.m., Rie Mon Guran, 21, spokesperson of League of Filipino Students in Aquinas
University in Legazpi
City was shot to death in Bulan, Sorsogon by an unidentified gunman.
Guran was shot four times and sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
At
4 a.m. yesterday, July 30, Mario Florendo, 56 was killed inside his home in Barangay (village) Parista in the town of
Lupao, province of Nueva
Ecija, according to Karapatan-Nueva Ecija (Alliance
for the Advancement of People's Rights) secretary general Beatriz Perido.
The
murder of the three brings to 121 the total of civilians killed since January 2006 alone.
Also
in Lupao, Dionisio Malapit, a peasant leader of Balbalungao village was abducted on July 28. Perido said the abductors also
beat up Malapit's son then burned his house before leaving. Perido said they were also confirming reports of two other peasants
killed in the villages of Salvacion and Bagong Flores, also in Lupao.
In its counter-insurgency program Oplan Bantay Laya, the president named the regions of Ilocos-Cordillera, Central
Luzon and the province of Sorsogon
as three of its priority areas.
BY BULATLAT
Posted 2:10 p.m., July 31, 2006
Forty Days Death Commemoration for Noli Capulong
INSPIRATIONAL MESSAGE
July 5, 2006
Introduction
On
the day that Malacanang declared the death of the death penalty, Bishop Pedro Quitorio, Spokesperson of the Catholic Bishops
Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) went on national television to say that the President’s declaration was a victory
for life. I rebelled against that statement for I was still, at that time, nursing
a wounded spirit from the murder of Noli – the 17th victim of State repression against church persons. Of late, almost one Filipino is felled by an assasin’s bullet everyday. The death penalty no longer exists – under the aegeis of President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo. What exists in the Philippines
is the death of those who struggle for genuine freedom and democracy. In the
words of Bishop Teodoro Bacani, “we may have abolished the death penalty but not the death squads.”
Transition
We
will only be desecrating Noli’s memory by our redundancy for no words can ever describe his heroism. Besides, Noli was a quiet and unassuming person. He was most
eloquent in his silence for he gifted us, more than anything else, with his physical presence.
And we may pack this time with beautiful prose and poetry. That will never
bring Noli back to life. And maybe, it is just as well that he will not come
back to life for if he were alive today, he would make us uncomfortable. His
presence would expose the inadequacy of our own commitment to the movement for social transformation.
Maybe
I just want to approach this painful occurrence with a numbness in order to avoid the feeling of fear and foreboding but I
want to call back to memory the last time I saw Noli. At that time, he was selling
eggs. I even bought a tray from him. Perhaps,
it would seem that being an activist and peddling eggs do not really match… like tubig at langis. Whether he was aware of it or not – it was just like Noli, the activist, that he would be selling
eggs. It really was consistent with how he perceived life.
Main
Theses
- Noli sold eggs. That in itself
was a profound political statement. Like human dignity, an egg is fragile. You hold it with great care. Noli believed
that human dignity must be given our utmost care. That is why he gave his life
for the preservation of human dignity. He challenged the arrogant - the high and mighty and worked hard to remove the barriers to experiencing human dignity. He was most uncomfortable with people who used their position to make others feel very small. He took care of the victims, perhaps, unaware that one day, he too, would fall a victim. But we all know that his “fall” dignified human life even more.
II.
Noli sold eggs.
That in itself was a profound political statement. Like life, an egg has
endless possibilities: as main dish, as sahog, as garnishings, as accompanying
ingredient for delicious pastries and cakes. Noli believed that repression and
exploitation were not the final words about life. I remember his big argument
with an NCCP General Secretary who told the NCCP staff that peace was an impossible project.
Noli did not take that sitting down. He questioned the NCCP’s peace
program if the staff doubted the possibility that some day, people shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears
into pruning hooks. (Isaiah 2:4) Noli
loved that verse because he held with certitude that the peasants with their plowshares and the workers with their pruning
hooks will one day inherit the earth. Noli did not allow himself to be limited
by the repressive and exploitative situation. Armed with a strong optimism that
the sun would shed its red orange rays upon the people, he gave his whole being to the dawning of peace and justice.
III.
Noli sold eggs.
That in itself was a profound political statement. Like life, an egg has
to be broken in order for it to be useful. The cook has to beat (bati) the eggs
before placing them over the fire. Noli was aware of the brokenness of society
and his heart and soul blended with the brokenness. But he knew that if he only
looked after his personal wholeness, society would forever be enveloped in the state of fragmentation. Societal wholeness and the unity of the Filipino people demand a sense of brokenness. As he went about his tasks as a peace activist, I have no doubt that he was conscious of the clear and
present danger of brokenness that would meet him… sooner or later. His
broken body as he yielded to the terrorist’s bullets has become, for all of us, a sterling clear symbol of what serving
the people is about. As the Bible says, those who lose their lives (for the sake
of the people, if I may add) shall find it. In Noli’s brokenness, he has
glorified all of life.
Conclusion
By
the way, Noli SOLD eggs. He did not pass them out for free. Noli’s ashes today – forty days after he was murdered, are telling us that peace and justice
are not given away free on a silver platter. Peace and justice have to be fought
for. And at a price.
Noli,
please help us never to lose sight of these salient lessons.
MS.
SHARON ROSE JOY RUIZ-DUREMDES
General
Secretary
National
Council of Churches in the Philippines
US Presbyterian Church wants Philippines to catch pastors' killers
ENI-06-0512, Ecumenical News International, Daily
News Service
27 June 2006
By Maurice Malanes
Manila, 27 June (ENI)--The Presbyterian Church (USA) is alarmed at the killings of pastors
and church workers in the Philippines, some of them from its sister church,
the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, and has asked the Manila government to bring to justice the killers.
"We
call upon the Philippine government to bring to justice the killers of pastors, church workers and other Filipinos similarly
executed or tortured by paramilitary forces and support the request of our sister church, the UCCP, for a full inquiry into
these murders, which terrorise local populations and dishonour the reputation of the Philippines," the denomination's 15-22
June general assembly said in a resolution.
The resolution was forwarded to Ecumenical News International by Lei Garcia,
executive director of the Church Office for International Network in the Philippines, a church-based human rights watch group
also known as CONTAK.
The church asked the US government, through its ambassador, Kristie A. Kenney, to communicate
to the Philippine government the "grave concern" of US citizens for these "egregious abuses" and "to insist on the maintenance
of the rule of law and to provide for an open, civil society in the Philippines".
The US denomination cited 18 killings of pastors and church workers, but CONTAK Philippines
updated the figure to 22, eight of them killed in 2006. Of those killed since 2003, 14 belonged to the UCCP.
The latest
victims were Tito Marata, the provincial officer of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines
and a member of the Farmers for Agrarian Reform Movement, and couple George and Maricel Vigo, both connected with church-based
media and humanitarian organizations dealing with victims of armed conflicts in southern Philippines.
Marata was killed on 17 June, a day after President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo committed one billion pesos (US$19 million) for an "all-out war" to end in two years the 37-year communist
insurgency in the country. The Vigo couple were killed on
19 June.
The PCUSA further asked the US ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, to request the UN human rights
body to investigate the "deteriorating human rights situation and the murders of all church people from April 2003 to the
present". [374 words]
All articles (c) Ecumenical News International
Reproduction permitted only by media subscribers
and
provided ENI is acknowledged as the source.
Words
of War Do Not Provide Peace
The National
Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) is committed to peace neither on the basis of the practicalities of political
adjustments nor of the vagaries of military strategy but on the basis of our being as Christians and in our calling as Churches.
We believe in the vision of a society and a world where people no longer need to learn or teach the ways of war (NCCP Statement,
December 1986).
The NCCP
maintains that the best way to address conflict and violence is to root out the causes of our problems of poverty, landlessness,
unemployment, and the general feeling of helplessness in the country. As long as the broad section of our people do
not enjoy the blessings of justice, peace, abundant life and human dignity, social unrest and civil strife will continue to
hound those who rule. History has taught us that militarist approach will never succeed in resolving the civil strife.
Thus, the
NCCP expresses its deep concern and alarm over President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's announcement allocating one billion pesos
for the military to crush the communist insurgency. This is an open declaration of war and completely disregards the gains
that resulted from the formal peace process.
One billion
pesos can go a long way in helping our people. It can be used to build additional classrooms and low-cost housing, procure
medicines for health centers, and buy modern agricultural equipment and other such services that can help the poor and the
marginalized so that they may live lives worthy of human dignity.
We also
take issue with the careless way in which the government associates political dissenters to armed insurgents. And we denounce
the irresponsible labeling of the brutal and unabated killings of unarmed civilians-journalists, pastors and priests, church
workers, peasants and workers as "collateral damage".
We reiterate
our long held position that peace can be pursued through meeting at the table where the warring factions are engaged in principled
talks and rising from there to mutually agreed principles. The peace talks must be resumed, but first an environment conducive
to peace building must be pursued.
It has
been said by David of old: "A king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war
horse is a vain hope for victory, and by its might it cannot save" (Psalms 33:16-17).
MS. SHARON
ROSE JOY RUIZ-DUREMDES
General Secretary, NCCP
THE MOST
REV. IGNACIO C. SOLIBA
Chairperson, NCCP
Prime Bishop, Episcopal Church in the Philippines
Religious leaders condemn killing of Church worker
By Michael Sarcauga
PAGADIAN
CITY -- A bishop, senior member of the Christian clergy, and a co-priest condemned the latest killing of a Kilusang Magbubukid
ng Pilipinas media officer who was said to be closely working with Church missionaries in Misamis Occidental.
Bishop
Benjamin Barloso, Northwestern Mindanao jurisdictional bishop of UCCP based in Cagayan de
Oro, "condemned in highest form of language" the killing of Tito Jayme Marata, a 26-year-old peasant leader of KMP working
closely with Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP).
Contrary to earlier reports, Marata is not a member of RMP
but he is the missionaries' contact person to deliver the services given by KMP, said Carl Ala of KMP.
Father Rolly
Decena, a catholic priest who worked with Marata, also condemned the killing of Marata.
Fatal warning
Marata was killed by a lone assassin while riding a tricycle for work around 10:00 a.m.
Saturday. The gunman flagged the tricycle driver and ordered him to leave.
Relatives of Marata said that witnesses
overheard the gunman as telling Marata before shooting: "Giingnan na ta ka ug hunong na sa imong trabaho (I already told you
to stop with what you're doing)."
"Tito was a peasant leader and member of the church who, along with missionaries,
was working to uplift the conditions of peasants and farmer in rural areas. It saddened me why people, like him, are persecuted.
Tito is working as what the gospel is telling us to help the poor," Decena, parish priest of Dimaluna town in Misamis Occidental,
told Sun.Star.
Church's role
Bishop Barloso told Sun.Star the killing
of Marata appears is government's failure to understand the role of the Church to help the poor, particularly in rural areas.
"In the spirit of genuine faith and faith-based work to the poor, those working with the church and the poor must
not be killed. These senseless killings are high condemnable as it is a sin against God, the source of life, and humanity,"
said Barloso.
Decena said the death of Marata "could be related to his work as KMP member, working in rural and remote
areas."
"He might be suspected of helping the New People's Army (NPA) as it is being the trend here. The military and
police authorities always suspect people as members or sympathizers of NPA when they are seen helping the poor farmers in
rural communities."
"That is always the pattern, and his death could be related to his work," said Decena.
A
former guidance counselor, Allan Molde, who knows of Marata in the school where he graduated in Pagadian, said: "He is a fine
man, of very strong commitment and principle. His death saddened me and to all who knew him in school."
Barloso and
Decena expressed alarm that even those working with the church are not exempted from the ongoing persecution of leaders who
are actively working with the people identified as anti-Arroyo.
Barloso said that since Arroyo became the president
in 2001, there were already 15 UCCP church members who were killed.
Church
persecution
UCCP pastor Rev. Jemias Tinambacan and Marata were the latest victims of Church persecution, said Barloso.
"Church
people are upholding the lives of people, especially small people, by working with them to improve their lives," said Barloso.
The
bishop said the works of these people are not against the government, and they should not be killed.
"We are helping
the government improve the lives of the poor, why is it that we are being killed? We are actually trying to cooperate with
the state and they should not consider us as their enemies -- to be liquidated," said Barloso, referring to members of the
Church being target of assassinations and suspected of being members of the New People's Army (NPA).
Barloso said:
"It appears that the church and its workers have now become the target of liquidation. And there is a pattern that the killings
are done in systematic manner, leaving no trace of evidence."
Barloso said President Arroyo and the authorities, like
the AFP and the police, should be held accountable even if they deny having a hand on the killings. "They are the ones tasked
to provide security to the people, to give us peaceful place to live."
Decena criticized the P1 billion budget of President
Arroyo aimed at crushing insurgency in two years time.
"Even if the government could physically crush down the rebels,
it wouldn't die. There would be another group that will take arms against the government if it fails to address the root cause
of insurgency. That P1 billion budget for military to crush down the NPA should instead be given to improve the lives of the
poor just like what we are doing," said Decena.
Decena said the Church and other people's organization are very active
in community work, because there are no social services given to them by the government.
"We are persecuted by helping
the poor and yet there are lesser social services given to the poor. That P1 billion money should instead be added to give
us better education, health, and livelihood projects," said Decena.
Decena said that Marata was among those who would
want to improve the lives of the poor but he was killed helping the poor.
End
to killings
Both Decena and Barloso urged the President to end the killings.
"The value of human life must
be respected. Life is a gift from God and whoever takes it has sinned against God and humanity. These killings must be stopped
by the government," said Barloso.
Decena said: "The Church and its members preach for the advancement of life and their
work should not be the reason why they should be killed. Killing is the work of evil and it must be stopped.
They urged
the government to act on the killings through "concrete actions and not merely words."
"The President should act and
convince us that it is doing seriously to stop the killings by results and not sweet talks," Decena said.
(June 20,
2006 issue)
(c) Copyright 2002 - 2006 Sun.Star Publishing, Inc.
Solon's aide, activist husband slain in Kidapawan
KIDAPAWAN CITY – Unidentified men shot dead a female staff worker of North
Cotabato Rep. Lala Talinio-Santos and her activist husband while they were heading home at around 5 p.m. on Monday.
Mazel Vigo, 38, Santos'
media liaison officer and member of the Leftist Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), and her husband George, 40, a non-governmental
organization worker, died at the Kidapawan Doctor's Hospital minutes after they were shot in the Apo Sandawa housing project.
The couple was also involved in media work.
George, project director of Community Family Services Incorporated, an international
NGO working with displaced families in North Cotabato, was also a contributor to the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN) agency,
according to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines.
Mazel hosted a weekly radio program of Rep. Santos
aired over Church-run Radio dxND here.
Citing initial investigation reports, Kidapawan
City police chief, Superintendent Danny Reyes, said the Vigos were on
their way home from the city's public market when two men on board a motorcycle shot them.
The couple's murder came two days after activist Tito Marata was killed, also
by motorcycle-riding men, in Oroquieta City,
Misamis Occidental on Saturday.
Human rights organizations say more than 600 activists have been murdered in
the five years since President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo came to power. The government and military have denied responsibility
for the rash of killings, blaming instead either an internal "purge" within the communist underground or fighting between
Leftist factions.
George had worked with the diocese of Kidapawan in the past and had been seen in anti-government
protests here.
Edwin O. Fernandez, PDI Mindanao
Bureau
June 19, 2006
Philippine Daily Inquirer
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