The National Democratic Front in Negros (NDF-Negros) said peace consultant and poet Ericson Acosta and peasant organizer Joseph Jimenez were stabbed and hacked, belying claims of the military that the two died during gun fight in Kabankalan City last Nov. 30.
Local residents have come out to dispute these claims, stating that the casualty was actually local farmer Maximino Digno. According to Digno’s neighbors, he was last spotted going to his field in barangay Cahil when elements of the 59th IBPA found and killed him. His remains were spotted sometime after.
Sa buktot na pagtingin, inaakala ng mga nasa kapangyarihan na ang pagsikil sa pagkalat ng teksto ay sapat na para tuldukan ang mga ideyang nais nilang pigilan. Subalit kasaysayan na rin ang magtuturo, gaya sa mga halimbawang nailahad sa itaas, na ang mga “subersibong ideya” ay hindi lang kalipunan ng mga salita kundi produkto ng kolektibong pagkilos ng mga taong naninindigan.
From December 2020 to December 2021, there have been at least 29,782 human rights violations, or an average of 82 per day, committed by state forces of the Rodrigo Duterte administration.
“Under International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention, Raca is a prisoner of war and hors de combat, by virtue of her being under the custody of the Marines,” Karapatan-ST said in a statement. “She has rights that should be ensured by the authorities that currently have her.”
By DEE AYROSO
“The appalling inhumanity of the State does not end with their gruesome, extrajudicial killings: they continue to deny the remains of their victims from death to funeral while putting their families to the torturous experience and misery of having to beg on their knees for the remains of their own loved ones.”
Karapatan ST is calling for the release of all remains to give them “justice and a decent burial, in accordance with the international humanitarian law.”
Karapatan ST was approached by relatives of the said guerrillas seeking help in recovering the remains after they were informed that they were in the custody of the police in Camp Vicente Lim, Calamba, Laguna. As of August 16, the team managed to secure the release of Mario Caraig’s remains to his sister, exhume Rey Macinas’ remains, and locate Perdeguera’s, which were both buried in Antipolo, Rizal.
Under the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, Caraig’s rights as hors de combat were violated.
On November 27, at 12 noon, Padilla was taken from CIDG-NCR to an unknown location. According to Padilla’s lawyer Kristina Conti, officers from the San Juan Municipal Police Station refused to give Padilla’s whereabouts and were similarly unwilling to divulge information on who is handling Padilla’s case.