UPDATE (Philippines): Several protesters, including four priest, beaten by police during a peaceful demonstration in Malate Church, Manila 

[RE: UP-29-2005: PHILIPPINES: Two more leaders from the Bayan Muna party are killed in Baguio and Tacloban City, UA-34-2005: Killing of a labor rights activist for the Hacienda Luisita farm workers in Tarlac City, UP-26-2005: Priest supporting for the Hacienda Luisita farm workers in La Paz, Tarlac killed and two others wounded, UP-28-2005: Attempt on the life of a human rights lawyer working for the Hacienda Luisita farm workers]

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR) regarding a violent dispersal by police operatives of several protesters, including four priests, during a peaceful demonstration beside Malate Church in Manila, on 7 April 2005 at 11:00a.m. They had gathered to demand for justice to the victims of killings and violence against activist, and protesting the government’s inaction to address the problem.

The policemen hit several protesters with truncheons, seriously wounding four priests and slightly wounding others. The four priests, one of them Rev. Fr. Allan Jose Arcebuche, PCPR’s chairman, were arrested and briefly detained. The police broke into the protester’s line before they could get into the meeting venue of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). They intended to air their grievances before the IPU foreign delegates.

The protest was the people’s reaction to the government’s failure to solve, identify and arrest the perpetrators of killings and violence of human rights activist.  Since January 2005, at least 18 activists have been killed, disappeared, abducted or summarily executed but none of those cases have been solved. Four of the cases, involving victims Atty. Abelardo Ladera (UA-34-2005), Romeo Sanchez (UP-29-2005), Fr. William Tadena (UP-26-2005), and Atty. Felidito Dacut (UP-29-2005), have already been reported on by us although our Urgent Appeals program, with letter having been sent to the government.

Of the four cases, only the suspects in the killing of Fr. Tadena have so far been identified and charged by the police before the Court, according to reports. The suspects, however, remain at large.

We urge you to intervene in this incident. This is a clear violation of the provisions of Article III of the 1987 Philippine Constitution of freedom to ‘peaceful assembly and expression’ and to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which the Philippine government is a signatory.

Urgent Appeals Desk
8 April 2005

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victims:
Seriously wounded and detained;
1.) Rev. Fr. Allan Jose Arcebuche, PCPR National
2.) Bro. Benedicto Zaragosa
3.) Bro. Sam Salazar
4.) Edwin Egan, a lay worker of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP)
Slightly wounded;
1.) Rev. Fr. Pedro Dulnuan
2.) Ms. Norma Dollaga, a deaconess of the United Methodist Church
3.)  Several Carmelite seminarians who suffered wounds and bruises during the dispersal
Date of incident: 7 April 2005 at 11:00a.m.
Place of incident: at the vicinity of Malate Church, Manila, Philippines
Perpetrators: Elements of the Western Police District (WPD) under Chief Supt. Pedro Bulaong

Account of the incident: (based on the victim’s testimony)

Four seriously wounded priests were briefly detained while several others who peacefully gathered at the Malate Church, Manila, on the morning of 7 April 2005, were slightly wounded when policemen belonging to the Western Police District (WDP) severely assaulted them with truncheons in an effort to drive them away and prevent them from holding a protest to the unabated killings and violence against human rights activists in the country near the venue of the Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting, a conference attended by foreign parliamentary delegates.

The  four victims were Rev. Fr. Allan Jose Arcebuche, Chairperson of the Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR), Bro. Benedicto Zaragosa, Bro. Sam Salazar and Edwin Egan, a lay worker of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP). Rev. Fr. Pedro Dulnuan and Carmelite seminarians suffered wounds and bruises while Ms. Norma Dollaga, a deaconess of the United Methodist Church, had her upper right lip ruptured.

According to Rev. Fr. Arcebuche the police forces demonstrated total disrespect to the priests and religious sisters who were deliberately attacked. The police pushed and started hitting them even though they were just peacefully gathering in the area. No one among the protesters provoked any violence or hostilities to justify the police actions. Arcebuche said he was assisting Zaragosa who was repeatedly beaten on his head by truncheons. Arcebuche and Egan were kicked, dragged and mauled by the policemen towards two taxi cabs.

They were taken to the Western Police District office in United Nations Avenue under Col. Jamias, where they were detained for more than three hours instead of taking them to hospital for treatment. They were only released at around 3:00 pm due to the pressure of other protesters who converged in front of the police headquarters. However, Fr. Arcebuche said the police earlier offered to release them immediately if they promise not to file any charges against them.

Prior to the confrontation, the priests, pastors, seminarians, religious sisters, deaconesses and lay church workers started to arrive at the Malate Church supposedly to assemble in preparation for a multi-sectoral march towards the venue of the International Parliamentarians Union (IPU) assembly in an effort to bring to international attention of the worsening human rights violations and political repression in the
Philippines.

Before the arrival of the church delegation, the multi-sectoral group led by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) and Bayan Muna had already suffered violent dispersal at the Raja Soliman, which is nearby the Malate Church. The church groups were confined to maintain their formations beside the Malate Church.  Between 11:00 am – 11:30 am, the protesters were already displaying placards which read: “Stop the Killing of Activists; Defend Civil Liberties; Uphold Press Freedom; and other basic demands on respect for human rights. But the groups were dispersed before they were able to access the IPU meeting venue.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Suggested action:

Please send a letter, fax or e-mail to the concerned government agencies demanding for immediate action into the incident of physical assault and violent dispersal of religious leaders on protest.

 

 

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER