This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 45, December
18-24, 2005
A Human
Rights Day photo exhibit in Bicol couldn’t help but be gruesome.
By Lino D. Interino III
Legaspi City – A Human Rights Day photo
exhibit in Bicol couldn’t help but be gruesome as it shows victims of human
rights violations, in pictures. Dubbed as “Faces of
Fascism”, the photo exhibit was held on December 13 at the Bicol University
Graduate School Building by the Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights
(Karapatan-Bicol) in coordination with the Bicol University Student Council (USC). Human rights abuses
allegedly committed by military men and members of Citizen Armed Forces
Geographical Unit (CAFGU) were exposed in pictures and stories. The display also
included the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the people’s rights
as stated in the Philippine Constitution. There were mixed reactions
from students who viewed the display. Some felt pity; others felt angry at the
torturers and the perpetrators of killings. Some only passed by with raised
eyebrows. Still, others, especially some faculty members, did not pay any
attention to the exhibit. Eric Dorente, public
information officer of Karapatan-Bicol, said the human rights situation is not
being given attention. He said the purpose of the exhibit is to show to students
and the public the rampant human rights violations in the region. A total of 71 activists in
the region have been killed from January 2001 to November this year. The most
number of abuses were in Albay, with 25 cases recorded. Twenty of the victims
were killed this year.
Number of Victims of
Killing under the Arroyo Administration Province 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 TOTAL
Albay
6
8
7
4
0
25
Camarines Norte
0
2
0
1
2
5
Camarines Sur
1
2
5
4
3
15
Catanduanes
0
0
0
0
1
1
Masbate
0
0
0
3
0
3
Sorsogon
0
8
6
3
5
22
TOTAL
7
20
18
15
11
71 Research by
Bulatlat showed there are 28 political detainees in Bicol as of Nov. 30 Gruesome
cases The Karapatan photos showed
victims of recent killings, as well as of previous years.
Bayan Muna (people first)
party-list member Ricardo Uy, 49, was killed on Nov. 18 at about 11 a.m. inside
his own rice mill in Barangay (village) Basud, Sorsogon City. Ding, as he is
fondly called, is the 67th Bayan Muna member to be killed since the
party-list won a seat in Congress. He is also the 70th murder victim
in Bicol since Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo became president. Two Saturdays before Ding’s
death, a radio program run by the Philippine Army in dzMS Sorsogon City, “Ugnayan
sa Kapayapaan” (linking for peace), maliciously tagged him as an “emerging
leader” of the New People’s Army (NPA). The most dreadful story was
that of the Golloso children. Based on reports, Melody Golloso, 18, and sister
Mylene, 13, were inside their house on May 7, 2004 in Barangay Recto, Bulan,
Sorsogon, cooking merienda (afternoon snacks). Her other siblings Raymund,
6, a special child, together with Resty, 9, were playing in the frontyard. At around 2:30 p.m., they
suddenly heard gunshots. Melody and Mylene called in their brothers, and they
all went inside their parents’ room. The shooting stopped. Mylene and Raymund
sat on the bed, as Melody and Resty peeked through the front door. The two
didn’t see anyone outside. Then, two shots were again fired. Based on Karapatan reports,
Melody checked the bedroom and saw Raymund’s head bleeding and Mylene’s left
face hit, but still alive and calling for their mother. Melody and Resty left
their wounded siblings and ran away from the house. As they left, they
reportedly heard someone said: “Pasukin natin ang bahay, baka may buhay pa!
(let’s go inside the house, there may be a survivor).” Then they heard more
gunshots. Meanwhile, some 200 meters
away from the Golloso’s residence, their mother Adelina saw elements of the
military and members of the CAFGU at the barangay hall and barangay captain’s
house. When she heard the first gunshot in the direction of her house, she
quickly ran home, thinking of her kids. When she got home, she saw
seven uniformed members of the Philippine Army, three of them hidden behind the
trees. The army tried to prevent her from approaching the house, but she ignored
them and called for her kids. When she entered the house,
she saw Raymund, his head lying on Mylene’s stomach, both bathed in blood. The
dying Raymund still managed to open his eyes, and seeing Adelina, said “Ma…”.
She went outside and saw the military men still in the yard. “Hoy! Mamamatay na ang
dalawang anak ko! Anong kasalanan ng mga anak ko! Wala silang mga
kasalananan! Humihinga pa ang isa kong anak! (Hey! My two children are
dying! What is the fault of my children! They have no fault! My child is still
breathing!),” she screamed on the top of her lungs, begging for help for her
kids. But the soldiers did nothing. “They said it was the NPA
that did this to my kids,” Adelina said in an interview. But they (military) did
not do anything to help her save her children. The armed men belonged to
the 2nd Infantry Battalion of the 902nd Infantry Brigade
of the Philippine Army. Adelina later found out that after the incident, the
military went to the barangay captain and asked for a certification that would
state that an encounter between the NPA and the army occurred, that the initial
fire came from the NPA, and that it was the NPA that killed Mylene and Raymund. But Adelina countered:
“Walang NPA sa aming bahay. Kung may palitan ng putok, tiyak may mga tama ang
aking bahay. Sa nakita ko, dadalawa lamang ang tama sa dingding, maliban sa
tig-isang tama ng dalwang bata. At wala kaming nakuhang empty shells sa
palibot ng kabahayan.(There was no NPA in our house. If there was an
exchange of gunfire, surely there would be marks on my house. From what I saw,
there were only two gunshot holes in the wall, aside from the two shots that hit
my kids. And we found no empty shells in the yard). In Barangay Tubuan,
Caramoan town, Camarines Sur, Roger Alperez Soriano, 20, was reportedly abducted
by soldiers of the 42nd Infantry Batallion on April 10, 2004. Three
days later, his body was found buried in lotus position in a two feet deep pit
in a hilltop. Meanwhile, on Feb. 9, 2003,
Henry Madrid, 31, was asleep with his 10-month old baby when suspected soldiers
and CAFGU men allegedly came to his house in Barangay Gumapia, Irosin town,
Sorsogon. The baby he was holding survived, found bathed in his father’s blood. According to Henry’s wife
Annabelle, soldiers came to their house on Jan. 24, supposedly looking for a
barangay kagawad who was renting house. A student said, “Nakakaawa
sila kasi karamihan sa kanila mga inosente lalo na ‘yung magkapatid na Golloso
(I felt sorry for them because many of them are innocent especially the
Golloso siblings.)” Bulatlat © 2005 Bulatlat
■
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Human Rights Abuses in Pictures
Bulatlat
January 20, 2001 to November 30, 2005