“This year’s International Working Women’s Day is a challenge for us to push these issues front and center, to confront the Marcos administration to address our demands as working women.”
Women’s group Gabriela condemned the recent reports of violence against women, including the death of another overseas Filipino worker in Kuwait.
“Truth and justice prevailed today against liars and butcher such as former National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon and National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.”
“She dedicated her life to helping and serving women who are victims of abuse. She also actively led in the 80’s the cases of women victims of sex trafficking. She became active in campaigns against giant mining companies, and ran for council in her hometown in Mindanao.”
“The perjury case brought by the government may also be a form of retaliation for the human rights activities of these local human rights defenders. We have seen in recent years that many defenders have been dragged before the courts, smeared, red tagged and murdered in the Philippines. This intimidation should stop immediately.”
“We all have our own sphere of influence: our friends, families, colleagues. No one else can connect with those people in such an intimate way we can.”
Both are being charged with double murder in relation to an alleged ambush by the New People’s Army which resulted in the killing of two soldiers in Ragay, Camarines Sur on May 13, 2018. According to Karapatan-Bicol, both have filed their respective counter-affidavits denying their participation in the alleged ambush in December 2019. By ANNE…
Most of the breadwinners in their village earn a living either as construction workers or market vendors.
Gabriela condemned the arrest and called for the immediate release of Agovida and Bartolome.
It should be pointed out that these organizations are being targeted for the invaluable work they do – the defense of human rights of the poor and marginalized.
“National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr.’s actions show that this government is indeed hell-bent on silencing its critics using the entire extent of its resources and through deliberately magnifying technicalities to veer the conversation away from the core issue of state-sponsored attacks by the Duterte government. ”