Dear__________,
Re: PHILIPPINES: Torture and filing of questionable charges against three peasant community organisers
Name of victims:
1. Billy Batrina, 29 years old, community organiser for Samahan ng Magbubukid ng Batangas (SAMBAT), a local peassant group
2.Sonny Rogelio, 26 years old, community organisers for SAMBAT
3.Charity Diño, 29 years old, community organisers for SAMBAT
All of them are presently detained in Batangas Provincial Jail in Lipa City, Batangas.
Place of incident: Marquez St., Zone 3, Talisay, Batangas
Date of incident: At 8am on November 23, 2009
Alleged perpetrators: Security forces attached to the 730th Combat group, Philippine Air Force (PAF) and the 301st Intelligence Group, all based in Palico, Nasugbu, Batangas.
Status of the case: The charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosive is pending at the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 6, in Tanauan, Batangas; and the illegal posession of drugs are filed against Diño at the Municipal Trial Court (MTC) in Talisay, Batangas.
I am writing to draw your attention to the case of these three peasant community organisers, one of whom is a woman that the military in the municipality of Talisay, Batangas illegally arrested, tortured and laid with questionable charges on November 23, 2009.
The three organisers were on field work in a community in Talisay, Batangas to invite villagers to join their activities for Urban Poor week when armed men, traveling in three separate vans, wearing plain clothes, blocked their path and took custody of them. The three were at first reported to have been abducted by unknown persons, however, it was later known that those who had taken them were members of the 730th Combat group of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) in the area.
After the military took custody of the three, they were taken to the camp in Palico, Batangas, where they were tortured, subjected to questioning and held for 17 days, before being turned over to Batangas Provincial Jail in Lipa City where they are presently detained.
On their first day at the camp, the military assaulted two of the victims, Batrina and Rogelio, by hitting their heads against the wall while their other companion, Diño, had her fingers squeezed hard with bullets inserted in between them. The military men investigating them were forcing them to admit that they are members of a rebel group, the New Peoples’ Army (NPA). The following day, November 24, the three were subjected to inquest proceedings at the prosecutor’s office in Batangas where they were charged with illegal posession of firearms, explosives and drugs.
I am deeply concerned by the manner of arrest, detention and the subsequent filing of charges against the three victims.
Firstly, under Rule 113, section 5 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, an arrest without a warrant could only be lawful when a person to be arrested was attempting to, actually committing or had just committed a crime. And, should a person arrested without a warrant, although he could be subjected to an inquest proceeding; however, the arresting officer and the prosecutor should able able to produced the evidence to establish a ‘probable cause’ to proceed with the prosecution.
In this case, however, none of the conditions laid out by the Rules on warrantless arrest exist that could justify the arrest of the three without warrants. There were allegations that the evidence obtained from the victims had been planted to justify the arrest and the filing of charges. None of the victims had also been properly informed of the nature of charges laid on them.
I have also known that prior to the incident, one of the three vans that the military had used, had already been seen roaming the area, which suggest that the three had been the object of surveillance.
Secondly, I am aware of similar questionable charges laid upon human rights defenders and political activists in the past in the same region. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) have already documented the case of around 72 human rights and political activists who had been laid with fabricated charges in three separate cases. These cases, namely, for murder in connection with the ambush of a policeman in Calapan City in March 2006; arson and conspiracy to commit rebellion for burning a cell site in Lemery, Batangas on August 2008; and the murder for the killing of a militiaman in Rodriquez, Rizal province in July 2008, have all been dismissed by the courts.
I am deeply concerned that the arrest and subsequent filing of charges against these three community organizers is once again a sequel to this phenomenon of subverting legal processes to procute human rights defenders and political activists. I therefore urge you to ensure that the victims allegations of torture and the filing of questionable charges against them are thoroughly investigated. The charges must be dropped without further delay should there be no sufficient evidence to proceed with the prosecution of the case.
Also, the Philippine government has already enacted the Anti-Torture Act of 2009, a law in which the use torture is a criminal offense. Under this law also, the evidence and confession taken as a result of investigation by way of torture could not be admitted in court. Thus, any evidence being used and submitted in court against the three victims must not be admitted in court and that their allegations of torture against the military be investigated.
Yours sincerely,
——————–
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President
Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace
JP Laurel Street, San Miguel
Manila 1005
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 736 1010
Tel: +63 2 735 6201 / 564 1451 to 80
2. Ms. Leila De Lima
Commissioner
Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., Commonwealth Avenue
U.P. Complex, Diliman
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 929 0102
Tel: +63 2 928 5655 / 926 6188
E-mail: mtm_rodulfo@yahoo.com
3. Deputy Director General Jesus A. Verzosa
Chief, Philippine National Police (PNP)
Camp General Rafael Crame
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2724 8763
Tel: +63 2 726 4361/4366/8763
E-mail: ruth_cossid@yahoo.com
4. Ms. Agnes Devanadera
Secretary
Department of Justice (DoJ)
DOJ Bldg., Padre Faura
1004 Manila
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 521 1614
E-mail: raulgonzalez_doj@yahoo.com
5. Mr. Emilio Gonzalez
Deputy Ombudsman
Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for the Military
and Other Law Enforcement Offices
3rd Floor, Ombudsman Bldg., Agham Road, Diliman
1104 Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 926 8747
Tel: +63 2 926 9032
6. Lieutenant General Victor S. Ibrado
Chief of Staff
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)
AFP-GHQ Offices, Camp Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 911 6436
Tel: +63 2 911 6001 to 50
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
