KARAPATAN
Monitor
January - March 2011
W
hy is it difcult to ascertain when Oplan Bantay Laya ends and Oplan Bayanihanbegins? Is it because one is no different from the other except for different namesand the latter’s use of deceptive words like “respectful of human rights,” “development-oriented activities” and “peace”? The rst quarter 2011 data gathered by Karapatanpresent a prole of human rights violations indistinguishable from that committed bythe U.S.-Arroyo regime. President Noynoy Aquino follows closely the U.S. Counter-Insurgency (COIN) Guide whereby all forms of protest are to be barred in the guise of“winning peace.”
The U.S.-Aquino regime’s supposed newInternal Peace and Security Plan, Oplan Bayanihan(OPB), officially started on January 1, 2011 soon afterthe failed Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL) which officiallyended on December 31, 2010. Oplan Bayanihan willlast until 2016.Consistent with the regime’s attempt atprojecting Aquino as the forerunner of change andthat units of the AFP as newly converted humanrights defenders, the Noynoy Oplan uses the Filipinoterm for mutual aid,
bayanihan
, as its name.Karapatan will come out with a primer onOplan Bayanihan to expose the OPB’s features whichdrag the civilian population into counter-insurgencyoperations and activities through “civil-militaryoperations,” building “peace and security” and“people-centered” approaches. OPB as a camouflagefor state terrorism will eventually be fully exposed.From January 1 to March 31, 2011 there are 14victims of extrajudicial killings (EJKs), 70 who werethreatened, harassed and intimidated and 1,427internally displaced persons due to forced evacuationof rural communities. It is alarming that for the firstthree months (January to March) of 2011 there arealready 14 EJK cases compared to the 18 victims inthe first six months (January to June) of 2010 underGloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
TABLE 1: Victims of extrajudicial killing and enforced disappearanceunder Noynoy Aquino’s government (per region)
Region
Extrajudicial KillingEnforced Disappearance
Jul – Dec 2010(updated) Jan-Mar 2011 Total(July 2010 – March 2011) Jul – Dec 2010Jan-Mar 2011 Total(July 2010 – March 2011)
Cordillera Administrative Region000000Cagayan Valley022000Ilocos202000Central Luzon101000Southern Tagalog9110202Bicol8715000NCR011000Eastern Visayas606000Central Visayas101000Western Visayas101000Northern Mindanao011000Caraga000202Socsksargen000000Western Mindanao000000Southern Mindanao325011 ARMM000000
Total 31 14 45 4 1 5
Organized207
27
01
1
Women30
3
00
0
Based on reports gathered by Karapatan
2
KARAPATAN
Monitor
Lives lost under Oplan Bayanihan
A local businessman,
Pedrito Bico
, 60, and hisson,
Christian
, 28, together with their employees,
Crispiano Gamier
, 35, and
Arman Queto
, 34, weremassacred in Bico’s house in Libmanan, CamarinesSur on February 4. Four other employees of the Bicofamily were wounded. According to the survivorsand witnesses, around seven to ten masked menwith high-powered firearms entered the residenceand fired at the victims. The paramilitary groupCivilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU)was behind the massacre. It will be remembered thatin 2009, a certain 2Lt. Obandam of the 31
st
InfantryBattalion harassed Catherine and Ryan Bico, Pedrito’sdaughter and other son. The soldiers manhandledand detained the two, and accused them of beingmembers of the New People’s Army (NPA). Catherinefiled formal charges against the military but the casedid not prosper.In Malilipot, Albay, farmer and Bayan Munamember
Rodel Estrellado
, 34
was abducted onFebruary 25 by four armed men who posed asmembers of the Philippine Drug EnforcementAgency. Estrellado was walking home from the localmarket when he was accosted and forced into a graycar. Earlier the same day, Maj. Harold Cabunoc,spokesperson of the 9th Infantry Division of the AFP,issued a statement that an alleged member of theNPA named Elmer Estrellado was killed in an armedencounter in Buluang, Bato, Camarines Sur. Thatsame afternoon, the military reported to the Batopolice that they conducted a strike operation whichresulted in the death of one Estrellado.Estrellado’s family searched for Rodel in armycamps and on February 27, based on the AFP’s newsreport, went to the funeral parlor where “ElmerEstrellado” was reportedly brought. To the family’sdismay, “Elmer” turned out to be Rodel whomthey have been searching for. The local police’sinvestigation report revealed that the military had ahand in Estrellado’s abduction and disappearance.Peasant leader,
Rudy Dejos
, 50, was killed, alongwith his son,
Rudyric
, 26. Rudy is a tribal chieftainof the B’laan tribe and Vice-Chairperson of Zone-1Farmers Association (Zofa) which is affliated withKilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP). Fatherand son were found dead on February 27 insidetheir house in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur. Mercy Dejos,Rudy’s wife, arrived home and found her husbandand son dead with signs of torture on their bodies.Since June last year, the Dejoses have been subjectedto threats and harassment by members of the 39
th
Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army. Thesoldiers have been discouraging the farmers in thevillage from forming Zofa, and got angry when thefarmers affiliated their local organization with KMP.The residents are being required to report to theBarangay Defense System organized by the military.According to the report of a fact-finding missionorganized by Karapatan and people’s organizationsin the region, the 39
th
IBPA, led by Lt. Col. OliverArtuz, and the Philippine National Police (PNP),misinformed the public that the Dejoses were killedby members of the NPA because of a personal grudge.The police has not conducted an investigation.Another peasant leader,
Bonifaco Labasan,
was shot dead on March 9. He was on his way to arelative’s house in Bgy. San Mateo, Isabela Province.Labasan and his daughter, Lani Miguel, were riding intandem on his motorcycle, when another motorcyclewith two men aboard overtook them. The men tried toforce Labasan to go with them, but the latter refused.One of the men shot Labasan on the torso with
JUSTICE! (from left to right) Rodel Estrellado, Rudy Dejos and his son Rudyric.
3
January - March 2011
a gun covered with a handkerchief. Lani’s appealto spare her father was ignored. Labasan was onceagain shot, this time in the head, thus ensuring hisdeath. Labasan was the chairperson of DanggayanDagiti Mannalon iti Isabela (Dagami), a farmers’organization in Isabela. It is a local affiliate of KMP.
Intensied harassment and intimidationof human rights defenders
Members of the
Community Health Education,Services and Training in the Cordillera Region(Chestcore)
continue to be targets of militarysurveillance. Threats have been made against theirlives. Like the Morong 43 health workers, the Chestcorevolunteers have been vilified as members of the NPA,since 2007, because of the health services they renderto far-flung communities in the Cordilleras.Chestcore social worker and Health ProgramsDesk Coordinator
Milagros Ao-wat
, 57, receivedthreatening text messages on her cellphone on January 26. One of the messages said, “
Tsak tsak tsak obang bang bang… Hahaha! Ingat kads … O ping ping pingka Ja?
” (Tsak tsak tsak or bang bang bang… Hahaha!Take care…” and “
Gusto mo bang sa kutson o sa malamigna lupa. Sabagay kads andyan sina Charlie, Daniel, Liyapat marami pa. Tsek tsek tsek
” (Do you prefer a cushionedcoffin or cold soil. Anyway, Charlie, Daniel, Liyapand many others are also there). According to theCordillera Human Rights Alliance, the namesmentioned in the text message were those of victimsof extrajudicial killings by state security forces. Inaddition, Milagros felt that her house and familywere under surveillance.
Rodwena Quilop
, 41, Administrative Officer ofthe Center for People’s Resources and Services wasarrested at the new Bacolod-Silay Airport, NegrosOccidental, on March 1. She had just arrived from atraining seminar on the use of Quick Books Account-ing Software in Bohol. She was accosted by some 20members of the Police Intelligence Unit and the AFP.She was falsely accused of being a member of anNPA unit which allegedly burned down a transload-ing station owned by the Victorias Milling Companyin Toboso, Negros Occidental in 2008.Her belongings, including a laptop computer,two USB flashdrives and cash, were taken from her.All were later returned except the cash. Rodwenais currently detained in the Bacolod City Provincial Jail.
Families were not spared
On January 5, soldiers and members of theCivilian Armed Geographical Unit (CAFGU) bargedinto
Manuelito and Annabelle Loreno
’s house inBgy. Binulusan Grande, Calinog, Iloilo. The soldierspointed their M-14 rifles at
Annabelle and her fivedaughters,
whose ages range from 3 to 14 years. Theyordered the family not to move or they would be shot.The eldest daughter scampered away crying and hither head against the wall.Annabelle demanded that the soldiers pointtheir guns away from her and the children. She askedwhat they were after. The soldiers, led by a certainOpeña, said that they were after NPAs.
TABLE 2: Victims of extrajudicial killing and enforceddisappearance under Noynoy Aquino’sgovernment (per sector)
SectorEJK ED
Total
(July 2010 – March 2011)
Total
(July 2010 – March 2011)
Peasant253Worker41Indigenous People40Government Employee30 Teacher10 Youth and student21Environmentalist20Entrepreneur20Urban poor10Minor10
Total 45 5
Organized
27 1
Women
3 0
TABLE 3: Victims of extrajudicial killing and enforceddisappearance under the Noynoy Aquino’sgovernment (per organization)
OrganizationEJK ED
Total
(July 2010 – March 2011)
Total
(July 2010 – March 2011)
Kilusang Magbubukidng Pilipinas (KMP)
120
Bayan Muna
50
Anakpawis Partylist
10
Katribu Partylist
30
ACT Teachers Partylist
10
Kabataan Partylist
01
COURAGE
10
Others
40
Total
271
Women
30
Based on reports gathered by Karapatan
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