Cotabato Gov Sends Pastor, 3 Others to Jail

North Cotabato Gov. Emmanuel Piñol recently sent to jail four mass leaders for releasing a leaflet denouncing his record of human rights violations. He also vented his ire on his critics, particularly a bishop of the Catholic Church, calling them “communists and criminals.”

By TYRONE VELEZ

Bulatlat

Kalampag leaders Fely Singco (in red), Connie Brizuela (in white with sunglasses), Methodist Pastor Joy Manuales (with bandanna) are accompanied by Bp. Romulo Valles and 4,000 supporters as they march to jail

KIDAPAWAN CITY – A human rights lawyer, a lay worker, a pastor and a campus journalist were jailed from Jan. 29 to 31 here following a P5-million ($91,441.11, based on an exchange rate of P54.68 per US dollar) libel case filed against them by a high-ranking government official.

The four are affiliated with Kutabateños Alang sa Maayong Panggamhanan (Cotabato People for Good Governance or Kalampag) which has led protest actions since last year against North Cotabato Gov. Emmanuel Piñol for alleged abuses of authority he and his brothers have committed.

They are Connie Brizuela, legal counsel and spokesperson of the alliance; Fely Singco, coordinator of the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation desk of the Kidapawan Diocese; United Methodist Church Pastor Joy Manuales; and Nelson Bautista Jr., chair of the North Cotabato chapter of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP).

The libel case arose from a leaflet distributed during a Sept. 20 caravan-rally to the governor’s hometown in M’lang. The leaflet, signed by the four, called on residents to support alleged victims of Piñol’s abuses.

Kalampag organized a rally last Jan. 29 led by Kidapawan Bishop Romulo Valles.  Around 4,000 people marched through major streets in the city with the three accused women. The march ended at the Kidapawn police station where three of the four – Brizuela, Singco and Manuales - presented themselves to Supt. Danny Reyes.

The four decided to waive their preliminary investigation and not wait for their warrants of arrest to be served on them. Brizuela stressed that their surrender shows their readiness to face Piñol’s charges. “If this is the price for telling the truth and for preaching justice, I am willing to undergo imprisonment a thousand times,” one of them said.

The three women advocates were detained at the Youth Custodial Center. The following day, campus journalist Bautista arrived from Cebu and went straight to the police station to join the three.

Keeping vigil

Kalampag staged a vigil at the station’s grounds. Bishop Valles celebrated mass and campaigned for a “Piso-piso Para sa Piniriso” (A Peso for the Prisoners) to raise the P40,000 bail bond for the four. He also praised them for fighting for the church’s principles of justice and democracy. “The (case) filed against the four is a case against the church.”

 “The outpouring of support to our struggle is a challenge for us to continue fighting,” Manuales said. Bautista, on the other hand, said he was overwhelmed with the support he got from friends, classmates and his friends’ parents who sent him a barrage of text messages.

During the vigil, the crowd watched various cultural activities like film showing and listened to speeches about Piñol’s tendencies to harass people critical of his governance.

A speaker from the Liga ng Kabataang Moro (League of Moro Youth) said the governor could be jailed for supporting ousted President Estrada’s all-out war in Mindanao that killed “hundreds of Bangsamoro people and (destroyed) their precious belongings.”

Piñol is under fire from the church and people’s organizations for many cases of human rights violations.

Kalampag was formed after 26 junior police officers issued a manifesto condemning Piñol’s relieving of Kidapawan police chief Alexander Tagum and three other officers after arresting criminals who were allegedly working for the governor.

Charges that included mauling, physical injuries and threats were also filed against Piñol’s younger brothers Ferdinand, Joselito and Bernardo Piñol Jr.

In their hometown, M’lang, 30 residents said that armed men, led by the governor’s brother Ferdinand, mauled them on Sept. 4. Ten of the victims filed charges against him. Another case involving murder was charged against the governor’s brother Bernardo who serves as provincial administrator.

Other cases of abuse allegedly marked Piñol’s term. During the all-out war campaign, the governor reportedly went to the point of calling for armed war against Moro people.

In April 2002, Piñol was quoted in a press conference as saying that slain human rights advocate, Karapatan deputy secretary Benjaline Hernandez, was a member of the New People’s Army (NPA). But he failed to call for an investigation on elements of the Philippine Army’s 12th Special Forces and Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) who are responsible for her death. 

Communists and criminals?

Piñol has dismissed the accusations as lies. He charged his critics, particularly Bishop Valles, as “communists and criminals.”

Meanwhile, 15 members of the Mindanao Lawyers for Peace issued a Statement of Solidarity stating that the four accused were “jailed for standing on their principles and for exercising their constitutionally guaranteed rights.”

They slammed the governor’s libel case as “a form of harassment ex cathedra, albeit, discriminatory” for being selective on who among his critics are to be charged.

The four were later released after posting bail last Jan. 31. The money for the bond came mainly from donations. Clad in black shirts to signify their intent to continue their struggle, the four were brought out from the detention center in a caravan and were showered with flowers.

For Kalampag and the four accused, the battle against a strongman continues. Bulatlat

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