PHILIPPINES: Police take no action against fleeing gunmen who shot and killed a human rights activist

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you of yet another killing of a peasant activist. Witnesses to the incident reported that when the shooting took place, local police had no men deployed there and the police who responded did not pursue the fleeing attackers.

CASE DETAILS: (According to information from the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP-Mindanao))

On 22 November 2008 at 5:30pm, the victim, Vicente T. Paglinawan, was talking to a colleague at a place in the Poblacion (the center of the village) Malabog, Paquibato District, Davao City when a lone gunman approached and shot him dead. The gunman was seen together with another man, wearing a helmet and driving a motorcycle when they arrived at the scene.

According to a witness, the gunman alighted from the motorcycle and walked towards Vicente shooting him from a distance of about one meter. Vicente died on the spot.

Vicente suffered gunshot wounds to his right forehead that exited at the back portion of his head and to the left lower portion of his ear that exited to his right eye. After the shooting, the gunman walked casually to the get- away motorcycle where his companion was waiting. They were seen fleeing to an unknown destination.

However, according to witnesses, the police in the area failed to take immediate action to pursue the attackers. At the local police outpost, located just three meters from where the shooting took place, no police officers were actually deployed at the time.

Had the villagers not informed the police of the shooting incident they would not have responded; and it then took them about 15 minutes to respond.

When the shooting took place, people were busy roaming around the village for their feast or Araw ng Barangay. No one noticed the approach of the gunmen riding on a motorcycle.

According to Aida, the victim’s wife, a neighbor, two weeks prior to the murder of her husband, informed her of having seen two persons on a motorcycle. They were asking about the whereabouts of the victim’s family. This happened on two occasions. They suspected that those looking for Vicente and his family could be the same persons responsible for his murder.

Although it was not immediately known whether the attack on the victim was directly connected to his work, there have been a pattern of targeted attacks against political and human rights activists in the country. In the Philippines in recent years, having an affiliation with activists groups or persons had become a justification for murder.

Like other victims of activists’ extrajudicial killings, Vicente, at the time of his death, was regional vice president in Mindanao of the Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA) for six years. He was also the section chair of a political party, Akbayan, in Paquibato District in Davao City.

Being a farmer since the1980s, he had become a board member of the Malabog Integrated Enterprises Development Cooperative. While carrying on his activist’s duties, he was also a member of the Lupong Tagapamaya (which is part of the Barangay (Village) justice System) which mediates and settles disputes among villagers. He was a church lay-leader and active officer of the Parents-Teachers’ Association (PTA) in his  childrens’ schools.

It was learned that prior to his murder, Vicente had applied for a certificate of stewardship under the Integrated Social Forestry (ISF) Program of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR.) He sought an aggregate area of five hectares of forested land in his area. Together with his wife, he cultivated his farmland to provide for the growing needs of his family. He used diversified upland farming techniques, planting fruit trees, coconut, cacao, banana, root crops and vegetables.

Those who knew him, some of whom are close to the AHRC, described him as a good and committed person. He had no known enemies. This actually made it difficult for both his family and his colleagues to comprehend the reason why he had been targeted for assassination.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the concerned authorities, in particular the Philippine National Police (PNP), requesting them to take action in this case. The failure of the local police to pursue the attackers at the time of the shooting should also be investigated. They should be held to account if found guilty of wrong-doing.

The AHRC has also written letters to the UN Special Rapporteurs on Extra-judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions and for the Human Rights Defenders calling for intervention in this case.

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