State Terror under the US-Arroyo Regime

State Terror under the US-Arroyo Regime KARAPATAN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT FOR T HE PERMANENT PEOPLE’S TRIBUNAL, 2007

A People Power President who rules by force, suppression, and deception…

Human Rights VIolations 194have been forcibly abducted and remain missing till this day. 839 victims, all unarmed civilians have been killed. (January 21, 2001-March 21, 2007)

839documented killings • 444 not affiliated with any political organization

839 documented killings • 395 from “Left” organizations, including: • 129 from Bayan Muna • 42 from Anakpawis • 2 from Gabriela Women’s Party • 222 sectoral and community leaders

Massacre 839documented killings 35cases of massacre 193victims

The Victims

All sectors including human rights and church workers are targets

Even children are not spared! 50 children have died at the hands of suspected military death squads Children victims of Kanangga Massacre in Leyte, 2002 This child survived the attack while one of his siblings and his father Jericho Barbas, died.

National in scope, with focus on OBL priority areas

Frustrated Extra-judicial Killings there are also victims who survived but will forever suffer from serious physical injuries and/or emotional and psychological trauma… Alden Ambida, Bayan Muna provincial coordinator, Eastern Samar Survivor, frustrated assassination April 9, 2005

Enforced Disappearances Karen Cadapan, UP student Abducted on June 26, 2006 Sherlyn Empeno, UP student Abducted on June 26, 2006

194documented enforced disappearances 41belongs to organization identified with the “left”

Topographic Presentation of Killings and Disappearances under Arroyo Regime from January, 2001 to August, 2006

There is a pattern • The victims are either leaders or active members of militant parties or organizations or ordinary folk in areas where the AFP conducts internal security operations.

There is a pattern • Prior to the attacks, victims are usually subject to a vilification campaign by the military or anti-communist vigilante groups. They are demonized as members of the CPP/NPA or its “front organizations”.

There is a pattern • Victims are usually subject to surveillance by the military, CAFGU or Barangay Intelligence Network (BIN) and told to stop their political activities “or else...” Many were warned that they were in the military’s “order of battle”.

There is a pattern • Killers are either uniformed men with no nametags, wearing bonnets or ski-masks and riding on motorcycles or vehicles with no plate numbers.

There is a pattern • Even the most brutal atrocities hardly elicit any decisive action or even condemnation from the government. All cases remain unsolved, with authorities seemingly helpless in or are not going after the perpetrators.

There is a pattern • The foregoing pattern results in a climate of IMPUNITY, with the killings and abductions getting more brazen by the day.

Why the widespread and systematic killings? • AFP’s Oplan Bantay Laya (2002-2006) • Aims to destroy the CPP-NPA’s “political infrastructure” (read: “front organizations”) • No distinction between armed rebels and unarmed civilians working within the legal framework = ?

Why the widespread and systematic killings? • Bayan Muna’s triumphant entry into the parliamentary arena in 2001 • Followed by Anakpawis and Gabriela in 2004 • Despite liberal posturing, the Left’s phenomenal entry in the political mainstream is seen as a threat by the military and the ruling elite

Why the widespread and systematic killings? • AFP’s Oplan Bantay Laya (2002-2006) • The range of personalities subject to “target research” and “neutralization” are ranking officials of “front organizations” and even those who merely attend their activities = ?

PPW Framework SECTOR SUB-SECTOR NUFC Party Bldg Party Bldg Party Bldg Party Bldg Gen Uprising Industrial Laborers Transport & Service Sector Public Sector (gov’t employees) Agri-Workers (urban-rural) Community Labor (urban poor) KMU PISTON COURAGE KMU KADAMAY LABOR PEASANT Agri-Workers(wood, mining, agro-industrial) Fisherfolks Small Farmers Indigenous Peoples (IP) KMP KMP CPA ROL, Lumad/ KAMP Support Bldg Support Bldg Support Bldg Base & Army Building MIDDLE FORCES UF Building UF Building UF Building UF Building Broad UF Broad UF Youth & Students Religious Professionals (doctors, lawyers, bankers) Teachers Local Politicians Small Entrepreneurs ANAKBAYAN CEGP LFS NUSP SCMP PCPR KARAPATAN GOMBURZA (Priest) SAMIN (Nuns) AMRSP CBCP EMJP PIC UCCP FLAG PLLP HEAD HEAL IBON Databank AGHAM NUJP PETA ACT CONTEND Politicians Big Business Big Compradors Broad UF Broad UF Broad UF NATIONAL BOURGEOISIE AFP "intelligence" briefing materials SPECIFIC CHARACTER OF THE PROTRACTED PEOPLE'S WAR

CPP/NPA AND SECTORAL FRONT PERSONALITIES AFP "intelligence" briefing materials Taken from a PowerPoint presentation of the NOLCOM

Torture 799documented victims In most areas, torture cases are difficult to document for the victim’s fear for reprisal Angie Ipong, Gabriela member, tortured and detained

Reign of terror in rural areas • A state of martial rule is imposed in areas with counter-insurgency operations • The military conducts illegal census, profiling and house to house searches • Members of progressive parties and organizations forced to “surrender” as NPAs

Attacks on communities 263, 598victims of Forced Evacuation/Displacement 21, 506victims of Hamletting/Zoning 14, 502victims of Food and Economic Blockades

Attacks on communities From January 21, 2001 to December 31, 2006 GMA committed 7,450 documented cases of human rights violations victimizing 480, 099individuals

‘Legal offensive’ vs. gov’t critics • IALAG formed under the office of the National Security Adviser to manufacture cases vs. gov’t critics, especially from the Left • Six members of Congress charged with rebellion, other members of the Opposition and the media swamped with harassment cases

Intensified trade union repression • The CTUHR recorded 89 incidents and documented 163 cases affecting 1,043 victims • Cases of intimidation and surveillance increased by 73%

Whitewashing gov’t role in HRVs • Task Force Usig appears more intent in proving the NPA purge theory than in a genuine investigation of the cases

Increased US intervention • Subic rape case highlights the continuing presence of US troops in the country since 2002 • The Arroyo regimes stepped up counter-insurgency operations is part of the US global war vs. ‘terrorism’ • RP state security forces receive massive US military aid, equipment and advice

…and the world is taking notice. UNHRC Inter-Parliamentary Union World Council of Churches

Philip Alston Statement “The AFP remains in a state of almost total denial (as its official response to the Melo Report amply demonstrates) of its need to respond effectively and authentically to the significant number of killings which have been convincingly attributed to them. The President needs to persuade the military that its reputation and effectiveness will be considerably enhanced, rather than undermined, by acknowledging the facts and taking genuine steps to investigate.” Professor Philip Alston, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. MANILA, PHILIPPINES 21 February 2007

Melo Commission Report The Melo report confirmed what KARAPATAN have pointed out in its previous pronouncements – that state security forces are responsible in the political killings. Mantaring Melo Bp. Pueblos Teodoro-Gonzales

US Senate Inquiry “… we take the problem of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines seriously, and are committed to helping our Philippine allies as they bring those responsible to justice," Eric John, US deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, told a US Senate sub-committee probing political murders in the Philippines Washington DC, 15 March 2007

State Terror under the US-Arroyo Regime