Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) would like to share brief profiles of those listed as targets in a recently a leaked document, allegedly belonging to the Philippine military. Many are human rights defenders, and knowledge of their work and backgrounds may help give some insight into why members of their government may like to see them harmed.
UPDATED INFORMATION: (according to local NGOs and lawyers groups)
As mentioned in our previous appeal (AHRC-UAG-001-2009), the names of about more than 100 persons–among them lawyers, journalists, human rights and political activists, physicians, union leaders and religious leaders–in Davao City have been listed as in a PowerPoint presentation that is reported to have originated from the 10th Infantry Division (ID) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). These are brief profiles of some of those on the list:
Romualdo Basilio (a.k.a. Dodong), is 46-years-old married with two children. He used to work with Lapanday Corporation, a banana plantation, in the late 80s. He was a former union president of the Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa Osmiguel (NAMAOS), which is a labour alliance, largely for banana plantations but later resigned to chair the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) in Southern Mindanao, a labour rights and welfare group, and the National Federation of Labor Union (NAFLU). He is also a national council member of the KMU.
Omar Bantayan is 30-years-old, married and has one child. He is the spokesperson for the KMU-SMR (a regional arm of KMU). He is also the vice president for Mindanao of the Anakpawis Partylist, a political party. On December 15, 2006, he openly spoke out against the attack made on his fellow union leader, Vicente Barrios, president of the Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa Suyapa Farms (NAMASUFA), who had been ambushed and injured by armed men together with four other workers in Compostela, Compostela Valley.
Kelly Delgado, 31-years-old, is the secretary general for the Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples Rights (KARAPATAN-SMR). He has lead various quick reaction teams in response to reports of human rights violations and is openly critical of the abuses committed by members of the military. On May 16, 2008, he was informed that three threatening SMS (Short Messaging System) messages had been sent to him via a radio program, after an interview with a local radio station in Kidapawan City about the extrajudicial killing of peasant activist Celso Pojas in Davao City. For details about this case (AHRC-UAC-106-2008). Though Kelly asked the radio station to forward these messages to him they refused, invoking reasons of listener confidentiality.
Bishop Guillermo Afable was involved in a campaign against the extrajudicial killings of activists and others in Davao City, in October 2006. In one report he supported other leaders of the Davao Archdioceses and its suffrages dioceses of Digos, Tagum and Mati (DADITAMA), who agreed on four proposals of prayer and action as part of the campaign. They also asked their parishioners in four dioceses to include a special petition to end the spate of killings in the region.
Father Pedro Lamata is a Catholic priest who has been involved in campaigning against extrajudicial killings of activist and vigilante killings. Fr. Pedro is attached to the Office of Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue of the Davao Archdiocese, which had in the past helped craft a joint pastoral statement expressing concern about extrajudicial killings. This pastoral letter was read to all 93 parishes of the sub regions during one of the Mindanao Weeks of Peace, scheduled every November 28 to December 4.
Edilberto Gonzaga (a.k.a. Edil) is 35 years old and has three children. He is the spokesperson of TRANSMISSION-Mindanao, a transport group advocating for the rights and welfare of drivers and public utility vehicles. Prior to becoming a transport leader and a human rights defender for the group of drivers, he was a driver of a jeepney (a public utility vehicle) for five years in Davao City for 10 years.
Corazon Espinosa is 53-years-old. She has one child and an adopted daughter. She is an activist and chairs an organisation of urban poor women called Samahan ng Maralitang Kababaihang Nagkakaissa (SAMAKANA) in Davao City, which she has been a part of since 2002.
Emma Villegas is 46-years-old and has two children. She is a human rights defender formerly attached with KARAPATAN, a human rights group. She is now presently working for the Nonoy Librado Development Foundation (NLDF), an organization which looks after the rights and welfare of labour workers and closely monitors and provides assistance to labour leaders experiencing threats.
Rudy Aranjuez and Greg Cagula, were president and vice president respectively of the Nagkakaisang Manggagawa ng Davao City Water District (NAMADACWAD), a labour union of government employees working in a government-owned firm Davao City. In April 2008, the AHRC issued an appeal (AHRC-UAC-067-2008) on them and several other members of their union after they were fired for holding a protest against their firm demanding benefits which were due the workers. Those who were suspended have already been accepted back to at work.
SUGGESTED ACTION
You can help by responding to our original appeal on the target list (AHRC-UAG-001-2009), either by clicking the appeal button below, or sending our sample letter to the concerned Philippine authorities listed in the letter.
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
