2015 KARAPATAN YEAR-END REPORT on the Human Rights Situation in the Philippines 2015 KARAPATAN YEAR-END REPORT on the Human Rights Situation in the Philippines CONTENTS TABLE 1: Violation of Civil and Political Rights vi Introduction 1 TABLE 2: Victims of Extrajudicial Killing and Enforced Disappearance (by Region) 5 The Human Rights Situation under the Aquino Presidency 6 TABLE 3: Victims of EJK and ED (by Sector) 11 INFOGRAPHIC: Children 15 INFOGRAPHIC: Massacre 16 Massacre 17 Brutally Killed 19 Violations of International Humanitarian Law 24 TABLE 4: Victims of EJK and ED (by Affiliation) 26 INFOGRAPHIC: Political Prisoners 28 Political Prisoners 29 TABLE 5: Political Prisoners 34 Crimes vs. communities: communities suffer 2015 KARAPATAN YEar-END REPOrt from the AFP’s maelstrom of war 35 ON THE HUMan RIGHTS SITUatION IN THE PHILIppINES Bombing 36 The role of paramilitary groups: AFP’s surrogates 43 Torture 46 INFOGRAPHIC: Rape 48 Photo Credits: Rape 49 anakbayansv.org, bulatlat.com, humanrightsphilippines.net Desaparecidos 51 Acronyms 54 Violation of Civil and Political Rights TABLE 1 under the Noynoy Aquino Government July 2010 to December 2015 No. of VIOLATIONS Victims Extrajudicial killing 307 Enforced disappearance 30 fter Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s nine-year rule Torture 215 characterized by state Rape 11 terror, political repression, corruption andA economic exploitation, Benigno Frustrated extrajudicial killing 566 Simeon Aquino III was catapulted to Illegal arrest without detention 903 power buoyed by his parents’ laurels and by giving false hopes to a people Illegal arrest and detention 501 hankering for change. Illegal search and seizure 272 By December 2015, five years and six months after, Aquino leaves a legacy Physical assault and injury 556 of unbridled crimes of repression, of Forced eviction and demolition 11,734 fascist attacks, of plunder, of corruption, of exploitation of the poor, of criminal Violation of domicile 1,011 negligence, of puppetry to imperialist dictates, Destruction of property 3,956 of treachery and the subversion of the will of the nation, cloaked in deceptive trimmings of 934 Divestment of property “tuwid na daan” (righteous path), “bayanihan” Forced evacuation 105,616 (mutual help) and so-called development acceleration. Threat/harassment/intimidation 198,214 Indiscriminate firing 89,417 Enough of the Atrocious Regime Forced/fake surrender 317 In his inaugural speech on June 30, 2010, BS Aquino said, “There can be no reconciliation without justice. When we Forced labor/involuntary servitude 69 allow crimes to go unpunished, we give content to their occurring over and Use of civilians in police and/or military operations over again.” 1,830 as guides and/or shield Yet, all through his five and a half years as president, atrocities were committed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines against the people “over Use of schools, medical, religious 75,137 and over again” under Oplan Bayanihan, without let-up, and with gross and other public places for military purpose brazenness, ferocity and impunity. Sadly, the onslaught became predict- Restriction or violent dispersal of mass actions, able. From Aquino’s fifth day in power, when Fernando Baldomero fell, the 24,015 public assemblies and gatherings victims of political killings rose to 307; with 566 other victims who survived the killings. 2015 KARAPATAN YEAR-END REPORT on the Human Rights Situation in the Philippines No one has been convicted and relatives of the victims, and not only miserably in uplifting the lives of BS Aquino’s regime bred enor- brought to justice. did the Aquino government fail to the poor majority of the people, mous and appalling corruption in In the first six months of the BS implement the law, it continued to pushing them deeper in abject government for the congressional Aquino presidency, it registered 41 disregard it as cases of enforced dis- poverty. Landlessness continues as and presidential pork that was used victims of extrajudicial killings, four appearances persisted. epitomized by the situation of the to oil its killing machine by spending victims of enforced disappearance, In the case of the law on the farm-workers in the Cojuangco- billions of pesos to fund paramilitary 46 victims of torture, 73 arbitrary recognition and indemnification of Aquino owned Hacienda Luisita. groups, and engage in psy-war proj- arrests and detention, and four inci- martial law victims, the beneficia- Despite the Supreme Court deci- ects such as the PAMANA and the dents of massacre. ries, old and dying, still await the sion of distributing the hacienda Conditional Cash Transfer program BS Aquino will always be realization of their laborious efforts lands to the farmers, BS Aquino’s in a bid to coopt and silence the remembered for the gross violations for the full implementation of the family continues to circumvent the people. of human rights, for the 15 incidents law. Justice is indeed so elusive in the ruling through a stock certificate The Filipino people saw a of massacre under his regime, all time of Aquino. scheme, and through unending calloused unrepentant president commited with impunity. While the delays in the implementation of and commander-in-chief who led Maguindanao massacre was com- An end to Aquino’s ‘righteous the SC’s ruling. his forces to death as a result of mitted during the Arroyo regime, it path’ Meanwhile, urban poor an ill-planned and US-directed continues to be the symbol of how The events in 2015 speak dwellers, like those in San Roque in Mamasapano operations. Then, he unjust the justice system is in the volumes of Aquino’s brand of gover- Quezon City, are driven out of the washed his hands of the responsibil- country and how those in power nance in the past six years. city’s public places to some remote ity and resorted to the blame-game. make a travesty of it. He will always be As his term ends, BS Aquino resettlement sites without sources But for an American soldier Joseph remembered for his benevolence to will be remembered for his mockery of livelihood so that high rise Scott Pemberton who murdered the accused by rewarding them with of the poor by hosting an extrava- condominiums, business centers, a transgender whom he dated, BS higher ranks and positions while the gant APEC leaders’ meeting using malls and other projects under the Aquino would be accommodating victims unceasingly cry for justice a huge number of state forces as Public-Private Partnership are built and subservient to the Visiting Forces in unending trials. Jonas Burgos and security to prevent the Filipino for the rich and privileged. Agreement (VFA) and the Enhanced the Morong 43 cases against Generals people from showing the real situ- Indigenous people are dis- Defence Cooperation Agreement Eduardo Año and Aurelio Baladad ation in the country. He even hid placed from their ancestral lands (EDCA) which he signed without are still pending in the courts, while the beggars and street-dwellers as they are made targets of the BS the Senate ratifying the so-called both Año and Baladad are enjoying from view of the international del- Aquino regime’s counterinsurgency treaty - Pemberton, meanwhile, is in their promotion and better lives in egates and media by temporarily program that give way to govern- a US facility inside Camp Bonifacio their retirement. carting them away to some resorts ment-sponsored transnational and pending the resolution of a reduced Former General “The Butcher” and orphanages. During the Papal multinational mining corporations, case of homicide. Jovito Palparan, who is on trial for visit in the country, the poor or the agri-business and other “develop- BS Aquino’s regime was a sabo- kidnapping of two missing UP stu- so-called favored flock, were also ment” projects that cater to the teur of and a double-crosser in the dents Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen hidden from the Pope. needs of foreign big business. peace talks between the GPH and Empeño, remains in his army bar- As his term ends, he will be 2015 also underscored govern- the National Democratic Front – his racks, well-guarded and protected remembered for the unending price ment neglect of overseas Filipino government blatantly violated the in contrast to his victims. He ran hike of basic commodities, for the workers as exemplified in the case terms of signed agreements between as a senatorial candidate for the travails of the working classes from of Mary Jane Veloso, who almost the two parties by arresting peace 2016 elections. The Reyes broth- kilometric queues at the MRT/LRT lost her life from capital punish- consultants, charging them with ers Joel and Mario, both detained stations only to crash at track’s end, ment in Indonesia had the Filipino criminal offenses. He himself held in for the murder of broadcaster and for the “parking lot” that is EDSA people and the solidarity groups in contempt the ways of finding solu- environmentalist Dr. Gerry Ortega depicting the worst traffic situation Indonesia not interfered and took up tions through the peace process by were even allowed to seek govern- in the world, for his criminal neglect her cause. Workers who died in a fire refusing to look into the roots of the ment posts in Palawan in the 2016 of the victims of typhoons Pablo and at the Kentex factory showed how armed conflict in the country. elections. Yolanda. the BS Aquino regime was more con- An anti-enforced disappear- Desensitized by his own class cerned with the profits of capitalists Jail Aquino ance law was finally enacted after interests and that of his imperi- than with the right of workers to safe The words pahirap, korap, papet, years of arduous lobbying by the alist masters, BS Aquino failed working conditions.