This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VI, No. 13, May 11, 2006
3 Activist Leaders
Killed, 1 Wounded, 1 Missing in 3 Days
BY BULATLAT
Posted 3:30 p.m. May 11,
2006 In the latest spate of
attacks on activists, three leaders were killed, one wounded and another
abducted in three separate places in three days. The human rights alliance
KARAPATAN condemned the attacks, blaming it on “state agents.” Elena Mendiola, 52,
secretary general of Bayan Muna-Isabela and her live-in
partner Ricardo Balauag, 61 were shot dead at 10:30 last night, as they were
leaving Garit Sur village in Echague town, Isabela, Region 2 police said.
Police said the assailants used M14 rifles and wore bonnets. Balauag is a Bayan
Muna municipal coordinator in Echague. On May 9, four
motorcycle-riding gunmen ambushed and killed Jemias Tinambacan, 49, and wounded
his wife Marilou, 50, while the two were riding a KIA van in Oroquieta City at
5:30 p.m. The couple were both pastors
of the United Church of Christ in the
Philippines and active members of the Promotion of Church People’s Response in
Misamis Occidental. On May 8, Philip Limjoco,
a businessman and one of the 50 persons charged with rebellion by the Philippine
National Police, was reported missing by his family. Limjoco’s name appeared 23
rd on the PNP's list of persons charged with rebellion. Ruth Cervantes of Karapatan
said: “We are outraged that disappearances and extrajudicial killings committed
by state agents exacerbate and is continuously tolerated by the Arroyo
government." Cervantes said Philip's son
Glenn contacted KARAPATAN for help as his father failed to meet him on the day
he was to accompany him to the doctor on May 8. The Limjoco family suspects the
military could be behind his disappearance because they have filed a harassment
case against the ISAFP last year. Glenn made an appeal to the AFP to "surface
him and give him due process." Cervantes said from January
to May this year, KARAPATAN has recorded 65 victims of extra-judicial killings
and 16 victims of enforced disappearance . Bagong Alyansang Makabayan
secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr. said that they are holding the Arroyo
administration directly responsible for the latest killings. Bayan pointed to
the defense establishment, the AFP and PNP hierarchy as well as the cabinet
security cluster as having done nothing to stop the killing rampage. “It is a tragic irony that
these killings happened on the same day the Philippines got a seat in the UN
council. How can a country aspire for a seat in the UN Human Rights Council when
its own human rights record is utterly shameful and tarnished?” Reyes said.
Bayan Muna deputy secretary
general Roberto de Castro said in a telephone interview that Mendiola survived
an assassination attempt on March 10 this year. De Castro said that
Mendiola and Balauag are the 12th and 13th activist killed this year
and the 90th and 91st killed since 2001 in what they called “systematic killings
against members of left-leaning © 2006 Bulatlat
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Alipato Publications Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.
organizations.”
The latest attacks bring to 563 the number of victims under the Arroyo
administration, De Castro said. With
reports from Ace Alegre/Bulatlat