Elizabeth Principe, currently detained on charges of rebellion, wants a reinvestigation of her case. Her husband, meanwhile, remains missing after being abducted in February 2007.

BY JOAN GARCIA
HUMAN RIGHTS
Bulatlat
Vol. VIII, No. 22, July 6-12, 2008

Candon City, Ilocos Sur (347 kms from Manila) – The Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 23 is expected to hear the Motion for Reinvestigation filed by Elizabeth Principe through her lawyers belonging to the Public Interest Law Center (PILC) and DINTEG Cordillera Indigenous People’s Law Center.

The reinvestigation aims to determine the probable cause on the charges filed against her. Principe, 58, is currently charged with rebellion and is also implicated in a 1991 strafing incident in Sta. Cruz, Ilocos Sur.

She is a consultant involved in the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). She was abducted on November 28, 2007 and was presented to the media by the Philippine Army days after being kept incommunicado, tortured and illegally detained by the Intelligence Service Group. As of this writing, she is detained at the Custodial Center in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

Principe was a volunteer for the Roman Catholic Church in Isabela where she lived with the poor. It was also in Isabela where Principe trained community health workers in villages and taught preventive medicine and sanitation. Together with her colleagues, Principe educated residents on scientific bases of diseases and provided simple methods of treatment to those who needed medical attention.

According to her daughter Lorena Santos, Principe was attracted to missionary work when she was still a high school student at the St. Theresa’s College (STC) in Quezon City. At STC, Principe read about the lives of the saints who, by strength of will, prevailed over hardships and sufferings for the sake of their faith. She then joined catechist workers and went to squatters’ areas to spread the faith.

However, it was only after studying at the University of the Philippines (UP) that she became exposed to social realities, particularly after reading La Loba Negra and the Recto Reader. Principe started joining protest actions on national issues during her college years.

When her classmate Pastor Mesina Jr. was shot dead at a rally, Principe became more active and joined the Nationalist Corps and then later the Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan (SDK, Democratic Alliance of the Youth). Principe then founded the Progresibong Kilusang Medikal (PKM, Medical Progressive Movement), an organization of medicine and pre-medicine students at UP Diliman which later branched out to other schools.

Principe’s husband Leo Velasco was also abducted on February 19, 2007 in Cagayan de Oro City, allegedly by elements of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG). He remains missing to this day. Velasco is also named as an accused in the rebellion case.

In a statement released by the human rights group Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights), Santos explains that “not only did this government deprive me of my parents by abducting and illegally arresting them, but this government will be depriving this country committed and patriotic servants. As long as the government does not free my parents and all victims of political persecution and enforced disappearance, my family and I, together with other patriotic individuals and organizations will never stop calling for their freedom and justice.” (Bulatlat.com)

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