Amnesty International Report 1994 - Philippines

At least 65 people were reported to have been extrajudicially executed and at least 14 people reportedly "disappeared" in police or military custody. Some political prisoners were released, but more than 300 remained in prison, among them possible prisoners of conscience, and there were new arrests. Some of those detained were reported to have been tortured or ill-treated. Legislation restoring the death penalty was signed into law in December. The government continued to face armed opposition from the communist New People's Army (NPA), the Moro National Liberation Front (mnlf), and other groups seeking independence for predominantly Muslim areas of Mindanao. Armed opposition groups committed grave human rights abuses, including deliberate and arbitrary killings and hostage-taking. Despite a stated commitment to peace by both parties, talks between the government and the National Democratic Front, an umbrella opposition organization including the npa, were repeatedly stalled over the question of venue and no talks had been held by the end of the year. The government held talks with mnlf leaders in October and these resulted in a provisional cease-fire. In September the chief of the armed forces said that military counter-insurgency activities would be stepped up and the government announced that responsibility for the counter-insurgency campaign would not be handed over to the Philippine National Police (PNP), formally under civilian authority, until the end of 1994. The official militia, the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU), engaged in counter-insurgency operations and continued to recruit members from unofficial vigilante groups. CAFGU members were implicated in numerous reports of extrajudicial killing and other human rights violations. Despite mounting national and international pressure for the CAFGU to be dismantled, President Fidel Ramos said in June that the CAFGU was still needed in "critical areas" where the NPA remained active. In October the President approved an armed forces proposal to demobilize 11,000 CAFGU members over the next two years. In February President Ramos issued Administrative Order 40, specifying that military or police commanders would be held responsible for disciplinary or criminal offences by their subordinates. The order states that security force members accused of criminal offences must be immediately discharged from service and the case referred to a civilian court. Nevertheless, effective investigation of alleged human rights violations and related prosecutions continued to be obstructed by the security forces. This included intimidation of judges, lawyers, witnesses and complainants; and refusal of access to information, personnel and military premises. In April church leaders publicly protested that a police officer convicted in August 1992 of murdering Domingo Peralta, a farmer, and his three children, remained at large. The officer, who was sentenced to double life imprisonment, was allegedly being protected by police officials. Investigations by the official Commission on Human Rights (CHR) continued to be impeded by cumbersome and lengthy procedures, and by the CHR's practice of placing the burden of proof on complainants, despite the risk of reprisals or their lack of resources. At least 65 people were victims of apparent extrajudicial execution by government and government-backed forces. Among those killed were members of farmers' and peasants' organizations, and human rights advocates. Environmental activists and members of tribal communities were particularly targeted. In the heavily militarized regions of northern Luzon, several people were reported to have been extrajudicially executed, including 18-year-old Boy Gonzalez in June and Jovito Tuldog in September. Both men were residents of Calabigan, Kalinga-Apayao, and were reportedly killed while in the custody of the 50th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army. Jovito Tuldog was stabbed and his body bore marks of torture. He was shot in the face at point-blank range. Chris Batan, a human rights worker and tribal activist, was shot dead in February in Sadanga, Mountain province, also in northern Luzon. Eye-witnesses identified the killers as members of a local CAFGU unit and filed a complaint with the provincial prosecutor. By September two of the suspected perpetrators were held under "technical arrest" in Tococan, Bontoc Province, but no court proceedings had been initiated. One of the suspects was, however, released in December. In Butuan City on the southern island of Mindanao, another tribal activist, William Rom, was hacked to death with machetes in July by armed men also identified as CAFGU members. Harassment, including death threats, beatings and interrogation by military and military-backed forces, was widespread. The victims included human rights advocates and others critical of government policy. In June Sonny Boy de la Peña and Edwina Bodozo Joromo, both peasant organizers in Cebu, received death threats they believed were sent by CAFGU members. In July the two reported being fired at by CAFGU members; they subsequently left their homes in fear of their lives. Clovis Nazareno, a journalist in Bohol province whose writings are frequently critical of government policies, was subjected to threats and ill-treatment by military and police officials. In June he filed a complaint with the provincial prosecutor after being beaten by a police officer. The complaint was dismissed in July after witnesses failed to testify, reportedly for fear of violent reprisals. At least 14 people reportedly "disappeared" after being abducted by government or government-backed security forces. Among them was Romeo Legaspi, a journalist and publisher in Olangapo City, Zambales province. He was abducted in January by armed men believed to be linked to the police force. Romeo Legaspi had previously been threatened by local police, about whom he had written a critical article in a local newspaper. A habeas corpus petition was filed with the Supreme Court, but the fate and whereabouts of Romeo Legaspi remained unknown at the end of the year. Three others, Andrea Basabe Espra, Teofanes Areja and Cresencio Caburnay, who "disappeared" in February, were found in April in the custody of the PNP in Bogo, Cebu. An estimated 350 political prisoners, including possible prisoners of conscience, remained in detention. Most were accused of supporting the armed opposition and charged with illegal possession of firearms or other criminal offences. Among the possible prisoners of conscience was Leonardo Belleza. A former prisoner of conscience, he was released on 15 January and rearrested on 22 January in Leyte province on a murder charge. It appeared that the real reason for his arrest, however, was his human rights activism. Leonardo Belleza was one of a group of farmers from Leyte who were charged with rebellion in 1988 after publicizing human rights violations (see previous Amnesty International Reports). Another possible prisoner of conscience was Divine Grace Castillon, daughter of a peasant organizer, who remained in detention more than three years after being arrested without warrant by soldiers in Lapu-lapu City, Cebu, in October 1990. She was accused of belonging to an NPA assassination squad and charged with robbery with homicide but no date had apparently been set for her trial. Jaime Tadeo, a possible prisoner of conscience, was released on parole in August 1993, after more than three years in prison. Chairman of the Peasant Movement of the Philippines, he had been convicted in 1987 on a charge of misappropriation of funds originally brought against him under the administration of former President Ferdinand Marcos. He had been taken into custody in May 1990. Jaime Tadeo had been an outspoken critic of government policy and had been threatened by men believed to be linked to the security forces a day before his arrest. There were new reports of torture or ill-treatment of political detainees. Suspected NPA sympathizers in rural areas were beaten after being apprehended by soldiers or paramilitaries at their homes or while working in their fields. In August Emily Absalon, the 13-year-old daughter of a suspected NPA member, was reportedly raped by two CAFGU members in Rizal, Occidental Mindoro. The suspected perpetrators were subsequently arrested and remained in detention at the end of the year pending a court hearing. The death penalty, abolished by the 1987 Constitution, was restored in December. The legislation provided for capital punishment for "heinous crimes", including murder, drug-trafficking, kidnapping or serious illegal detention, rape and arson. Deliberate and arbitrary killings of civilians by NPA members continued to be reported. The victims included five men in Negros Occidental province, who were reportedly shot in front of their families in May. In August an NPA representative in the Manila area said that NPA "hit squads" would execute up to 10 known criminals and kidnap others in the ensuing months, although it was not known whether the plan was implemented. In Mindanao, mnlf separatists were allegedly responsible for bomb attacks in several cities, including Zamboanga and Cagayan de Oro, resulting in dozens of people being injured. The mnlf also claimed responsibility for taking 22 people hostage for two weeks on Basilan Island in August. Throughout the year, Amnesty International appealed to the government to conduct independent and impartial investigations into all reports of extrajudicial executions and "disappearances" and called for those responsible for such abuses to be brought to justice. Amnesty International called for the release of all prisoners of conscience and for all other political prisoners to be tried promptly and fairly, or released. It urged the government to dismantle militia forces widely alleged to be responsible for human rights violations and to prohibit the use of vigilante groups in counter-insurgency operations. It appealed to the government and to members of Congress not to reinstate the death penalty. Amnesty International condemned hostage-taking and deliberate and arbitrary killings by armed opposition groups and called for them to cease such abuses and respect basic humane standards as required by international law. In an oral statement to the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations in July, Amnesty International included reference to its concerns in the Philippines.