Dear Friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you about the killing of three brothers, one of whom was a minor, on the pretext of a ‘legitimate encounter’. The police claimed that the victims had exchanged fire with them. Thus, the police claim their deaths to be justifiable. However, this is questionable as none of the victims either owned or knew how to use a gun.
CASE NARRATIVE: (According to information received from the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) – Luzon)
On June 2, 2010, the three brothers–Eric Miraflores, 27; Raymond, 23; and Rosmil, 16; were on their way to their farm in Sitio (a sub-section of the village) Hobol, Masinloc town, Zambales onboard their three-wheeled motorcycle. Their father, Roosevelt, had asked the three to help him on the farm that day.
While his three sons went to their farm on a motorcycle, Roosevelt rode their improvised motor vehicle called ‘kuliglig’ (a motorised hand cart) to go to their farm. Roosevelt last saw his three sons alive overtaking him on the road on their way to their farm. Upon arriving at the farm at 8am, he did not see his sons but nevertheless carried on doing his own chores presuming that his sons had already started doing their respective tasks.
Shortly after, Roosevelt was stunned to hear extended gunfire from a place close to where he was farming. At that point, he was concerned about the safety of his three sons and wanted to check on them; however, he was scared that something might happen to him. He decided to take a shelter at the guard house of a mining firm nearby and after the gunfire stopped he went home.
After less than an hour, Roosevelt and his wife, Mila, saw the dead bodies of their three sons, Eric, Raymond, and Rosmil, on a hearse. The couple broke down in tears after seeing their corpses. The faces of their sons were barely recognizable because they were badly bruised and had suffered numerous gunshot wounds. The bodies of the victims showed visible signs of torture. When the corpses were presented, they were already wearing camouflage uniforms; clothes which the three were not wearing when they were last seen alive. It is believed that the corpses were dressed in camouflage uniforms to create the impression that they were members of an illegal armed group.
The Miraflores couple had later been told that their three sons were killed by the policemen attached to the Zambales Provincial Mobile Group (ZPMG) of the Philippine National Police (PMG-PNP). It was Inspector Rolando Delizo of the PMG-PNP who had said that the three victims were killed supposedly in an ‘encounter’ during a police operation.
The Miraflores couple argued that their sons could not be members of an illegal armed group. The three, according to their mother Mila, never affiliated themselves with any organizations. The family also stressed that none of their sons had ever owned a gun and did not know how to use one. They have submitted the bodies of the victims to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for autopsies and have asked for an investigation by the Commission on Human Rights Region (CHR) region 3. The CHR found a bag full of bullet cartridges allegedly fired against the Miraflores brothers. The PMG-PNP also confiscated the Miraflores’ three-wheeler and a hand gun allegedly being used by the victims. The remains of Eric, Raymond and Rosmil were buried on June 10, 2010.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The AHRC has documented numerous cases in which the killing of farmers; villagers and human rights activists has been justified as a result of a ‘legitimate encounter’. This terminology is used by the police and the military in justifying their action of killing persons because according to them the persons opened fire at them.
However, in most cases, the claims by the police and the military cannot be independently verified; nevertheless, once this is announced the possibility of making the complaint that the victims were summarily executed is negligible.
In February 2005, three people were also killed and three others were wounded, all belong to the B’laan Tribe, in Barangay Abnate, Kiblawan, Davao del Sur. When the soldiers opened fire at them they were on a foot patrol. The soldiers claimed that victims’ death and wounding were a result of a legitimate encounter; however, an investigation later revealed that the victims had been summarily executed. (UP-62-2005)
In November 2005, nine farmers and several others were wounded when soldiers in Palo, Leyte, Visayas opened fire on a group of people holding a protest vigil. The soldiers claimed the shooting was also a result of a legitimate encounter; however, an investigation later revealed it was not the case and led to the prosecution of the soldiers. (UA-216-2005)
On May 21, 2006, the killing of Reverend Andy Pawican, a human rights defender, had been justified as a result of ‘legitimate encounter’. He was forcibly taken, allegedly by military agents after concluding a mass in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija. His body, which bore visible signs of torture, was found six hours later. (UA-175-2006)
In February 2008, eight people, including a four year old girl and a pregnant woman, were killed by soldiers on the pretext of a legitimate encounter in a coastal village in Maimbong, Sulu. The soldiers claimed the shooting was supposedly exchanged with an illegal armed group holding a kidnap victim. (AHRC-UAC-027-2008)
On March 2009, two persons, a man and a woman, were killed under the pretext of a legitimate encounter that took place between rebels and government soldiers. The victims were farming villagers living in Maramag, Bukidnon. The body of one of the victims bore evidence that he could have been tortured and summarily executed. (AHRC-UAC-023-2009)
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the authorities below requesting them to ensure that the investigation regarding the victims’ death is conducted thoroughly.
The AHRC has also written letters to the Special Rapporteurs on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions for their intervention.
