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Hong Kong Mission for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines July 23-28, 2006

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Hong Kong Mission for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines July 23-28, 2006 Hong Kong Mission for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines July 23-28, 2006 Mission Report on the extrajudicial killings and other human rights abuses in the Philippines November 14, 2006 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 On Lawyers and Judges 4 Human Rights Defenders and the Human Rights Dimension 9 On Journalists 21 On Church Workers 23 On the Human Rights Commission, Ka Bel and Migrant Workers 27 On Students 31 Conclusions and Recommendations 33 Endnotes 38 Annex 1: List of Victims of Extrajudicial Killings 39 iii iv (from left to right) Fr. Dwight dela Torre of the Philippine Independent Church and St. John’s Cathedral, Debby Chan of Hong Kong Christian Institute, Jackie Hung of the Justice and Peace Commission of the HK Catholic Diocese, Michael Anthony of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Serenade Woo of the HK Journalists Association, Dolores Balladares of the United Filipinos in Hong Kong, Ho Wai-Yang of the Hong Kong Bar Association and Mary Ann Benitez of the South China Morning Post. INTRODUCTION ollowing reports of widespread and continuing killings of persons in the Philippines, concerns have been growing around the world, including in Hong Kong. The information reaching Fthe international community concerning these events alleges that the killings, which appear to specifically target left-leaning political activists, human rights defenders, members of the clergy, students, lawyers and journalists, have caused hundreds of casualties in recent years, with the problem continuing unabated at present. These reports have given rise to increasing concern on the part of individuals and organizations in Hong Kong, leading to a desire to better understand the problem and to inform Hong Kong society about these events, in order to lend a hand in doing whatever is possible to bring about an end to these killings. To gain an improved understanding of the problems, the underlying causes and ongoing realities in this human rights crisis, it was decided that a fact finding mission should be conducted by members of Hong Kong’s civil society. The fact-finding mission, which was held on July 23rd to 28th, 2006, and was entitled the Hong Kong Mission for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines, was designed to be multi-sectoral – comprising representatives from the various sectors that are being targeted by the killings, as listed above. The mission was organized in order to add to efforts already being made by the growing global campaign to stop the extra-judicial killings in the Philippines. The mission was organized by the Hong Kong Campaign for the Advancement of Human Rights in the Philippines (HKCAHRPP1), in cooperation with the secretariat of the International Campaign to Stop the Killings in the Philippines (STK). The mission had as its primary aims to: a) Conduct an independent fact-finding mission to gain first-hand knowledge concerning the 1 HONG KONG MISSION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND PEACE IN THE PHILIPPINES allegations of widespread extra-judicial killings and other related human rights violations in the Philippines; b) Establish the identities of the victims of the allegedly politically-motivated killings, and gain understanding about why they are being targeted, when and where these actions have taken place, and who is responsible for perpetrating these acts; c) Forge links with the relevant sectors and organizations in the Philippines, in order to share information and concerns and to coordinate and conduct advocacy at the local, regional and international levels concerning the problems in question; d) Inform the Hong Kong public about the situation of human rights in the Philippines, notably the killings and related abuses; e) Carry out follow-up activities in Hong Kong in order to ensure that continuing attention is paid to the situation of human rights in the Philippines. The organizations that participated in the mission are as follows: i. Asian Human Rights Commission; ii. Asian Students Association; iii. Hong Kong Bar Association; iv. Hong Kong Christian Institute; v. Hong Kong Journalists Association; vi. Justice and Peace Commission of the HK Catholic Diocese; vii. St. John’s Cathedral; viii. English-language South China Morning Post newspaper; ix. United Filipinos in Hong Kong; and x. Chinese-language Yazhou Zhoukan magazine. Ten participants representing the various sectors conducted a five-day fact-finding mission in the Philippines, in order to investigate and document the current human rights situation there. They met with and interviewed numerous family-members of victims of extra-judicial killings and forced disappearance, as well as witnesses of these acts. The mission concentrated on the Central Luzon region, north of the capital Manila, which has been the source of one of the largest numbers of reports of extra-judicial killings and other human rights abuses in the Philippines over recent months. Here, the mission visited a refuge for victims and their family-members, attended the wake of one victim of alleged political killing and visited the Hacienda Luisita, where the infamous killing of seven and wounding of two hundred demonstrators took place in late-2004. The mission also met with various organizations involved in the campaign to stop the killings in the Philippines, including: human rights group KARAPATAN, the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (New HK Mission’s participants put up slogans bearing “Stop the Killings!” in traditional Chinese to the Philippine media in a press conference concluding the five-day fact-finding mission. 2 INTRODUCTION Patriotic Alliance), the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP), the Counsels for the Defense of Liberties (CODAL) lawyers group, and the Philippine Independent Church, amongst others. The mission was also able to meet with the so-called “Batasan 6” – a group of six legislators from progressive parties within the House of Representatives, who are currently facing difficulties, including judicial attacks, allegedly for their opposition to the government of the Philippines. In addition, the mission sought to meet with the authorities of the Philippines, and was able to engage in dialogue with officials from the local government in Tarlac, where Hacienda Luisita is situated. Furthermore, members of the mission were able to meet with officials from the Philippine National Police, notably the head of “Task Force Usig”, a task force created within the police to investigate the killings. The mission was also able to interview members of the Philippine Commission on Human Rights. Unfortunately, requests to meet with members of the Department of Justice, Department of Agrarian Reform as well as the Armed Forces of the Philippines received no reply. The members of the fact-finding mission held a press conference on the morning of July 28, 2006 in Manila, where they reported on their findings to the local press. Upon returning to Hong Kong a press conference was also held in the Foreign Correspondence Club, on August 2, 2006, which was attended by the local and international media. Several radio and television interviews have also been conducted by members of the fact-finding mission. In addition, a petition signing campaign has been ongoing in Hong Kong – the online petition can be found here: http://www.pinoyhr.net/ . Furthermore, an event to commemorate the victims of the killings and disappearances was held at St. John’s Cathedral on Sunday October 22, 2006. Other such events are being organised in order to continue to mobilise public opinion concerning the human rights crisis in the Philippines. This report is being produced in order to document the findings of the Hong Kong Mission for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines and as the basis for continuing advocacy and other follow-up activities that will be conducted by the various sector-representatives that participated in the mission. Each participating sector has written a section in this report to reflect how the situation in the Philippines affects their sector-members. As a result of this approach, each section varies in its concerns, focus and views. There may, however, be some repetition of information, although this has been avoided where possible. In conducting a multi-sectoral mission, the Hong Kong Mission for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines hoped to enable a broad understanding of the situation in the Philippines from the view-point of different sectors, which could then be communicated back to the people of Hong Kong and elsewhere, in order to inform a wide range of persons about the ongoing crisis. It is hoped that, as a result of this report, persons from different sectors will be motivated to conduct a range of different activities to support the victims of the alleged political killings in the Philippines, to press for all killings to stop in the country, for these abuses to be investigated and prosecuted effectively, impartially and without delay, in order for justice to be done. The members of the Hong Kong Mission for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines wish to give particular thanks to the organisers of the mission and all of the persons with whom the mission was able to meet and conduct interviews in the country during the mission. This report is dedicated to all the victims of extra-judicial killings and forced disappearance and their family members, in the hope that these grave human rights violations will cease and that justice for past violations will be achieved. 3 HONG KONG MISSION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND PEACE IN THE PHILIPPINES ON LAWYERS AND JUDGES Report compiled by Miss Ho Wai Yang (Representative of the Hong Kong Bar Association) Introduction The fact-finding mission in the Philippines (“the Hong Kong Mission”) was organized by the Hong Kong Campaign for the Advancement of Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines (HKCAHRPP). The Philippines co-organizer was the International Campaign to Stop the Killings in the Philippines.
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