Anne Marxze D. Umil was Bulatlat’s first intern turned into its investigative reporter. She takes most things seriously, except praises about her. Sometimes, she cracks jokes that make everyone in the newsroom giggly.
Anne Marxze D. Umil was Bulatlat’s first intern turned into its investigative reporter. She takes most things seriously, except praises about her. Sometimes, she cracks jokes that make everyone in the newsroom giggly.
“The Operation Pinta and Operation Dikit are unique because the message it carries is serious; issues and appeals that reflect the real situation of the masses such as 'Land for the peasantry'; 'Fair employment for the workers'. For most Filipinos, this is not difficult to understand."
“All these and more only make the calls to end Duterte's murderous regime and to prosecute him for his atrocities even more urgent. One more year of Duterte is too long. We cannot let another dead body be added to this regime's death toll."
Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan said that the police narrative of nanlaban and that weapons recovered from the two are not only ludicrously false but “unbelievable tall tales because both unarmed activists and they surely do not bear arms while doing graffiti.”
Under the Duterte administration, Karapatan has noted a pattern of using search warrants issued by executive judges in Quezon City and Manila regional trial courts to conduct police and military raids on homes and offices of the progressive leaders and activists which led to the killings or if not, end up arrested after supposed “evidence” were gathered by the authorities.
Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan, said that in implementing counterinsurgency policies, state forces have made no distinction between legitimate dissent and armed struggles, and wrongly equated such to terrorism.
“True enough, the dismissal of the case is a step forward, but there is much to be done that necessitates our collective action and continuing calls for accountability and justice."
Karapatan-Caraga said that Julieta Gomez and Niezel Velasco are both engaged humanitarian work over the years. In fact, the group said that “officers and personnel of some of government agencies in the region know them personally as they have coordinated activities particularly with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and local government units in the Surigao and Agusan provinces and several municipalities.”
A local court said that two Aeta farmers charged with terrorism were just running at the moment of their arrest, and thus, their warrantless arrest was unlawful.
"The State itself is directly involved in planning, implementing and sanctioning widespread human rights violations.”
The groups are firm that the filing of charges against them and their members are pure harassment as these charges were later dismissed by the courts.
“Release your incontrovertible evidence in public.”
“It is terrifying to see so much state power wielded with impunity against the powerless, defenseless and innocent. Yet it is also tragicomic that the high and mighty would plunge into such a squalid abyss for such puny gains, and ultimately counterproductive outcomes."
“The UCCP, along with other churches, have already sacrificed many of its fine sons and daughters, those who champion the rights of the disadvantaged. Despite the attacks, the UCCP and other churches and church organizations have never wavered in accompanying the poor and the oppressed."
In his reinvestigation report dated May 24, Prosecution Attorney James Noel V. Morente stated, “After a careful perusal of the records of this case, this office is constrained to dismiss the instant complaint for lack of probable cause against the aforementioned accused-movants.”
“We shall continue to work in all possible venues to seek justice, make this regime accountable for its crimes, and put a stop to the killings or else, this will go on and on as long as Duterte remains in power and beyond."
Human rights group Karapatan said that this would only lead to more human rights violations in the context of the numerous reported cases of extrajudicial killings especially with the police and military’s repeated use of the ‘nanlaban’ (fought back) narrative, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture and other grave violations.
FARDEC denounces to the highest degree this series of attacks that harks back to Negros Island's Synchronized Enhanced Managing of Police Operations (SEMPO) that massacred innocent farmers in 2018 and 2019. Tabada is a barangay councilor and leader of esteemed commitment that greatly helped (in the) implementation of our projects for peasant communities in Bohol.
In a statement, Karapatan said at least 22 families in sitios Panukmoan and Manluy-a of barangay Diatagon in Lianga left their village on June 23 because they “no longer feel safe staying in their communities due to the constant harassment and threats made by troops of the 3rd Special Forces Battalion.”
“He was not only a senior citizen but (he was) gravely sick long before he died. The repeated call for his and his wife Moreta’s immediate release based on humanitarian grounds along with other elderly and sick political prisoners were also ignored."
With the death of another political prisoner in jail, Kapatid reiterated their call for the promulgation of the writ of kalayaan – a legal remedy proposed by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen in his separate opinion to the SC ruling on political prisoners' petition.
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