It is appalling, the human rights alliance Karapatan said, that the forced disappearance of political activists and suspected NPA sympathizers – an atrocity that began under Marcos during the 1970s – continues to this day. Under the three years of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, at least 30 incidents of disappearances involving 38 individuals were recorded. Ten…
Category: Human Rights
Human Rights Watch: NPA Treats POWs Well ¾ AFP Judge
A ranking official of the Armed Forces’ Judge Advocate General’ s Office (Jago) is singing a tune different from that of the AFP spokesperson with regards allegations of human rights violations by the New People’ s Army (NPA). “Mas liberal pa nga ang mga NPA, inaalagaan nila ang kanilang mga bihag” (The NPAs are more…
Soldiers Maul Journalists, 7 Others in Batangas
Melvin Mamis, 27, a correspondent of the alternative multi-media group Southern Tagalog Exposure, was choked as a soldier of the 20th Special Forces grabbed his camera. He was forcibly brought inside the camp where he was repeatedly punched at the stomach. Willy Solis, a volunteer of the human rights group Karapatan-Southern Tagalog, was slapped, punched…
Soldiers Maul Journalist, 7 Others in Batangas
Melvin Mamis, 27, a correspondent of the alternative multi-media group Southern Tagalog Exposure, was choked as a soldier of the 20th Special Forces grabbed his camera. He was forcibly brought inside the camp where he was repeatedly punched at the stomach. Willy Solis, a volunteer of the human rights group Karapatan-Southern Tagalog, was slapped, punched…
NEWS AT A GLANCE
Court denies mother’s plea for sick child Zenaida Llesis, the 46-year old political detainee who gave birth to a girl at the Bukidnon Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center last year, went on hunger strike last Jan. 20. Llesis, who has been detained since Aug. 2002 for being an New People’s Army (NPA) suspect, took the…
On the 3rd anniversary of People Power 2: Militants Decry Militarization, Arroyo’s ‘Treachery’
Militants who helped sweep Joseph Estrada out of power and install Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo into the presidency marched toward Edsa Shrine to mark the third anniversary of People Power 2 Jan. 20. Blocked by contingents of police, they rallied in front of Camp Aguinaldo to decry the growing fascism and militarization under the present administration. By…
Nestle Workers Condemn Two Years of Injustice and Violence
“Good food, good life”— thus goes the tag line of the food giant Nestlé Philippines Inc. in its advertisements. Apparently, these words are not for the company’s own workers, as more than 300 of them continue to decry making do with “bad food” and suffering a “bad life” since they went on strike two years…
‘Walk of Shame’ in Cagayan de Oro Assailed
Davao is not the only city in southern Philippines that has earned notoriety for the summary execution of suspected criminals many of them minors. Fast catching up is Cagayan de Oro City which recently paraded for public view a group of crime suspects – three of them minors. By Grace Cantal-Albasin Bulatlat.com Minadano Bureau CAGAYAN…
Remembering the Mendiola Massacre: ‘Amid the Assault, We Were Undaunted’
When gunfire raged and blood soaked Mendiola bridge on the afternoon of Jan. 22, 1987, killing at least 13 peasant protesters, Marianito “Itoy” Dimapilis thought he would never get out of that scene alive. By DENNIS ESPADA Bulatlat.com It was nearly dusk. And despite having two bullets lodged on his left foot, Marianito “Itoy” Dimapilis…
Compensation Bill for Mendiola Massacre Victims Sought, Party-list Anakpawis to revive 1987 massacre case
Seventeen years ago last week in Mendiola at the approach of the presidential palace, Marines and police opened fire at some 30,000 peasant protesters. After the smoke cleared, 13 of the marchers lay dead. Today, organizers of that tragic rally want the massacre case reopened for justice and a bill filed in Congress for the…
Pictures of Terror in Mindoro
Nineteen families fleeing their homes, a farmer missing, a number of residents picked up and reportedly tortured and human rights activists investigating the reports of violations robbed and harassed. These disturbing pictures came from Occidental Mindoro, showing – human rights volunteers say – an even clearer picture of government forces out to sow terror. By…