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By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com MANILA – Marking the International Day of the Disappeared, more than a hundred relatives and colleagues of missing activists gathered today in front of a mall in Quezon City where Jonas Burgos was taken. Protesters put up a signage...
Ni RON MAGBUHOS Hinahanap ko sa mga dahong nananalamin sa araw ang iyong larawan, sa tangang mga piraso nito’y pilit na inaaninag ang bawat kahulugan ng iyong pakikipag-diinang kamay sa Masa, bawat talakayan, bawat martsa, hinahabing paunti-unti sa pag-asang ito ay...
By RONALYN V. OLEA
While victims and their families continue to suffer, torturers walk free. So how can I be at ease in the world when human rights violations and torture exist? – Melissa Roxas
By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com MANILA – The soldier who has been implicated by one of the witnesses in the abduction of University of the Philippines (UP) students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan and farmer Manuel Merino remains unidentified. During the fourth...
By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com MANILA – Peasant group Unyon ng mga Mangggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) urged the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to investigate the abduction of three farmers by suspected paramilitary agents in Canlusong village, Enrique B. Magalona...
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Human Rights Watch noted that while the public rhetoric of senior military officers has changed somewhat since Aquino took office, the change in language “has not yet been reflected in action.”
By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com MANILA – It has been five years but Wilfredo Ramos could still remember the face of one of those who took Karen Empeño, Sherlyn Cadapan and Manuel Merino on June 26, 2006. During the second hearing of the preliminary investigation on...
By RONALYN V. OLEA
In her speech after the hearing, Mrs. Erlinda Cadapan called on President Benigno S. Aquino III, the commander in chief of the AFP, to pay attention to the cases of enforced disappearances. “These are serious crimes committed by the armed forces.”
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“Aquino would know what to do. Now is the opportunity to act on the cases of enforced disappearances. I hope he grants this opportunity to show the world he is sincere in helping victims of human rights violations find justice.” -- Mrs. Edita Burgos
By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com MANILA – Tension filled the room as the Department of Justice (DOJ) started its preliminary investigation on the complaints filed in by the relatives of two missing University of the Philippines (UP) students and a farmer against...
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“It’s good news but it [the decision] took so long. Unfortunately, the decisions of the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court have not resulted in the surfacing of the disappeared.” – Mrs. Concepcion Empeño, mother of missing UP student Karen Empeño
"We have done everything. This is the last bastion. If nothing happens to this, the whole justice system is not working at all. If they will continue to cover up [the crime], then there is no hope for the Philippines."
By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com MANILA -- With the filing of charges against state security forces in relation to the enforced disappearances of University of the Philippines (UP) students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan and the update on the case of another...
By SHARMAINE ANNE B. VILLANUEVA and RONALYN V. OLEA
“We will not stop seeking for justice. We will not stop until the perpetrators are punished. I cannot settle with the fact that I can only embrace my daughter in my dreams,” Erlinda Cadapan, mother of Sherlyn, said.
Sidebar: Rights groups, Justice Secretary push for bill to criminalize enforced disappearance
Watch video of the press conference held after the filing here.
“Harry, listen to the innermost voice of your heart and correct the wrong done to this mother. Tell me where I can find my son.”
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...
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“After almost four years of waiting, we finally see a glimmer of hope…While we seem to have won this battle, the real measure of success is the recovery of my son. We shall continue the fight until Jonas is returned to us, alive and well and justice is served.” – Edita Burgos
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“Today, as the whole nation remembers the lives of the departed, we commemorate the missing. We light a candle not for their souls to rest in peace but to shed light on their way home. We offer flowers not because we believe they are no longer with us but because they are deeply missed,” Mary Guy “Ghay” Portajada, daughter of a missing labor leader, said.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“I had hoped that my father’s case would be the first and the last case of extrajudicial killing but the culture of impunity is still here. There has been no effort from the President to stop the killings. His inaction has allowed the killings to go on,” Ernan, son of Fernando Baldomero, first victim of extrajudicial killing under the Aquino government, said.
Agustito “Tito” Ladera, 38, and Renato Deliguer, 21, were last seen by their relatives tending their farms before they went missing. Witnesses point to soldiers of the 36th Infantry Battalion who were seen arresting two farmers.
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