 |
LIGHT AND ROSES. A
girl holds a candle beside the picture of missing student Sherlyn
Cadapan.
PHOTO BY AUBREY MAKILAN |
Relatives of
desaparecidos, or those who were abducted and missing, paid tribute to
their loved ones and vowed to fight for justice on the International Day
of the Disappeared today, even as human rights workers fear there will be
more victims of abduction and killings under the Arroyo administration.
Some 2,000 activists
and relatives of desaparecidos and victims of political killings
filled Plaza Miranda in Quiapo, Manila for an interfaith mass led by
religious leaders of Catholic, Protestant and Muslim faiths. Red and white
candles were lit and roses were placed beside the pictures of
desaparecidos and martyrs of political killings.
At the program before
the mass, a human rights worker read the names of all 181 desaparecidos
under the Arroyo administration, to which the crowd shouted “Ilitaw!”
(Surface him!) to each name read.
Jigs Clamor, deputy
secretary general of Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of Human
Rights) said the human rights violations continue in spite the formation
of the Melo commission which was tasked to investigate the political
killings.
Clamor said that
Karapatan had recorded some 7,000 cases of human rights violations under
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He added that the only way for the
rights abuses to stop is with the ouster of the Arroyo administration.
Erlinda Cadapan,
mother of missing student Sherlyn Cadapan, decried the junking of the
impeachment and vowed to take her cause to the streets. She also called
Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, Army’s 7th Infantry Division
commander, “a coward” because he never showed up at the hearings of the
habeas corpus petition which she filed with another family.
Sherlyn was abducted
early morning of June 26 with Karen Empeño and Manuel Merino in Hagonoy
town, Bulacan province by suspected military men.
Father Joe Dizon,
convenor of Kairos Philippines and an activist since Martial Law, said
that the disappearances and killings under the Arroyo administration are
meant to eliminate a generation of leaders, just like what the Marcos
Dictatorship did during Martial law.
“Kasalanan
ni Marcos kaya wala tayong lider ngayon na matino, at ito rin ang
kasalanan ni Gloria Arroyo, henerasyon ng mga lider ang pinapatay niya.”
(It was Marcos’ fault that we have no righteous leaders today, and it
is also what Gloria Arroyo is doing, she is killing a generation of
leaders.)
Dizon said that the
Melo commission can show its sincerity by summoning President Arroyo and
Palparan first in the investigation.
Former Vice President
Teofisto Guingona also honored the victims of killings. “I salute the 743
unsung martyrs, and we will not stop until justice is met…. I promise I
will fight all the way!”
Cadapan said that
with the continued abductions and killings, the government clearly does
not protect the people.”Tayo ang magbibigay ng proteksyon sa isa’t isa,
at sana di tayo mawalan ng
pag-asa.” (Only we can protect
each other, and we should not lose hope.) Bulatlat
BACK TO
TOP ■
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION ■
COMMENT
© 2006 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Media Center
Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided
its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.
