Message to My Desaparecido

by JL Burgos

Families of the disappeared remember their missing loved ones during the International Day of the Disappeared at Plaza Miranda, Manila, Philippines. August 30, 2012.

Families of desaparecidos mark international day of the missing

Maui A. Hermitanio | Philippine Online Chronicles

As the world commemorates the International Day of the Disappeared, families of desaparecidos and human rights groups marched to Plaza Miranda to call on President Benigno Aquino III to “stop enforced disappearances and to demand justice for all those who disappeared since Martial Law”.

According to human rights group Karapatan, “disappearances have continued to this day, with 11 victims under the Aquino administration.”

The government’s counter-insurgency program, Oplan Bayanihan is regarded as the culprit of unabated human rights violations and rising cases of enforced disappearances in the country.

“We hold the Aquino government responsible for all the disappearances that happened under his regime. We also hold the government answerable to the continuing impunity and injustice such as the continuing disappearance of many victims and the non-arrest of the Ret. Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr.,” said Lorena Santos, Deputy Secretary General of Karapatan.

In Negros Occidental, four farmers already became victims of enforced disappearances namely Jully Devero, Michael Celeste, Gerard Abale and Novito Gabriel. Another farmer from Quezon, Felix Balaston is still missing up to this day. Balaston was allegedly abducted by suspected state security forces on March 27, 2011 and believed to be detained at the 85th Infantry Batallion detachment in San Miguel Dao, Lopez, Quezon.

The groups also challenged the Chief Executive to sign into law the long-pending legislation criminalizing the act of enforced or involuntary disappearances and penalizing state security forces and government officials involved in the perpetuation of such violations.

House Bill 98, the consolidated bill titled “An Act Defining and Penalizing Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance and for Other Purposes was passed on third and final reading by the Lower House last March 21, 2012. The measure is scheduled for bicameral deliberation by the Lower House and the Senate.

The solidarity campaign for victims of enforced disappearances has also spread to social networking sites. Karapatan posted an appeal on its Facebook page asking netizens to take down profile picture “in solidarity with the friends and family of the missing from the Martial Law days up to the present, who continue to seek justice.”

From 2001 to June 2010 under the administration of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, there were at least 206 documented cases of enforced disappearances. Among the victims are Jonas Burgos who had been missing since April 2007, University of the Philippines (UP) students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno, Luisa Posa-Dominado and Nilo Arado.

Missing activist remembered, advocates join call for arrest of “butcher” general

For the fifth year, the family, friends and fellow activists of Nilo Arado will celebrate his birthday without him. On January 8, 2012, Nilo is 44 years old. He was 39 when abducted along with Maria Luisa Dominado by men believed to be military agents on April 12, 2007 in Oton, Iloilo.

Human rights advocates under Panay Alliance-KARAPATAN, Save Luisa and Nilo Movement (SLNM), Samahan ng mga Ex-detainee Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA) and National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), together with Nilo’s and Luisa’s kin will hold a simple birthday party on January 9.

Nilo was then chairman of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN-Panay) and a peasant leader for Panay and Guimaras, while Luisa was spokesperson of SELDA.

The occasion also serves as a venue for the call to end impunity and to stop all human rights violations. At present, this call is focused on the arrest of retired general Jovito Palparan Jr., notoriously called “the butcher” for a bloody trail of killings and enforced disappearances against activists during his active duty as military officer.

“Wanted” posters with Palparan’s picture will be disseminated during the birthday celebration.

Afterwards, a delegation of advocates will meet with Iloilo City Police Director Marieto Valerio at the Iloilo City Police Office to request his permission to post “wanted” posters of Palparan at police precincts in Iloilo City.

Palparan was issued an arrest warrant for the crimes of kidnapping and serious illegal detention. However, he remains a fugitive and authorities have so far failed to arrest him. The Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior and Local government have posted a P1,000,000 reward for information that can lead to his arrest.

The cases filed against Palparan were very much welcomed by human rights advocates.

“For a long time, the family, friends and colleagues of victims, together with human rights advocates struggled to achieve justice,” said Reylan Vergara of Panay Alliance-KARAPATAN. Yet, justice will be elusive to the victims as long as perpetrators are not brought before the courts and meted due punishment.

Vergara challenged the Aquino Administration to direct all concerned government agencies to conduct a manhunt for Palparan. The seriousness of this administration to capture him is a measure of his sincerity in giving justice to victims of human rights violations, said Vergara.

Human rights advocates believe the successful prosecution of Palparan could serve as a warning to military and other public officials against committing human rights violations, and a big step towards ending impunity. ####

 

Reference:      Reylan Vergara, Mobile No. 09398300744

Email: panaykarapatan@yahoo.com, Website: www.panayalliance-karapatan.tk