UPDATE (Philippines): Four years after his murder a widow is still waiting for the investigation report of her activist husband’s death

Dear Friends,
 
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes with deep regrets with regard to the lack of substantial progress in the investigation of the murder of an activist we reported to have been killed on November 28, 2005. His wife has yet to obtain a copy of the official reinvestigation report into his murder. Her inquiries into the inclusion of her husband’s name to the military’s document regarding the extrajudicial killings in the country also remain unanswered.
 
UPDATED INFORMATION:
 
On September 4, 2007, we issued an open letter (AHRC-OL-029-2007) regarding the failure by the Task Force Usig, a special investigating body of the Philippine National Police (PNP), to provide the family of the murdered activist Jose Manegdeg III a copy of the result of their reinvestigation they had conducted.
 
Apart from the PNP, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), a special investigating body of the Department of Justice (DoJ), had also intervened by conducting their own separate reinvestigation into the case following the AHRC’s appeal. But like Task Force Usig, they too failed to provide Manegdeg’s family, particularly his wife Florence, a copy of the result of the reinvestigation they had done.
 
The prosecution of one of Manegdeg’s gunman, Captain Joel Castro, who was formerly attached to the 50th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army, was halted when the prosecution office dismissed the charge after an eyewitness retracted his earlier testimony. Strangely though, the witness’ statement of retraction had been notarized by the lawyer of the accused.
 
As mentioned in our appeal in March 2007 (UP-116-2007), there were also delays into the conclusion of the prosecutor’s investigation of the case. It took the Ilocos Sur Provincial Prosecutor’s Office over a year to resolve whether or not to file the case in court, which should have been done 30 days from the time the complaint is filed, as stipulated by the Rule 112, Sections 3 and 4 of the Rules of Court.
 
In Florence’s letter of appeal dated October 13, 2009 to Leila de Lima, chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights in the Philippines, she also sought the CHR’s intervention into finding answers to her questions surrounding her husband’s murder. Read the full text of her letter. On October 29, after Florence’s dialogue with De Lima she was told that they would review her husband’s case. 
 
In her email sent to the AHRC, Florence said of her meeting with De Lima: 
 
“While they will review the case, I specifically requested  assistance  for  dialogue  with  the  Armed  Forces  of  the  Philippines  for  clarification  of  report  they  released  on  “The  Truth  About  the  Extrajudicial  Killings” particular to  my  husband  and  another  government employee  killed  9  hrs  after  him.”
 
Florence was referring to a document reportedly released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Northern Luzon (AFP-NolCom), entitled “The Truth Behind the Extrajudicial Killings”, where they included her husband’s name and another government employee, in explaining regarding the phenomenon of the killing of activist in the country. The document was reported to have been sent to a local human rights organization, the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA). 
 
Florence, however, was not aware of its justification and has not obtained its copy. Florence has sought the CHR’s intervention to facilitate a dialogue with the AFP into the inclusion of her husband’s name in the document.
 
In March 2009, the Committee on Human Rights of the House of Representatives (Philippine Congress) has conducted a public inquiry in Baguio City into the extrajudicial killings of human rights and political activists in aid of legislation. It is during this public inquiry that the Committee had come to know of the said military document. Florence took part in the public inquiry and read her statement regarding her husband’s case (AHRC-FST-022-2009). 
 
She has also sought their intervention over the possibility of affording her assistance, like legal aid, in seeking judicial remedy–a petition for writ of habeas data–to compel the military establishment in providing rational explanation to the inclusion of her husband’s name in a military document. This writ of habeas data is a judicial remedy available to any persons, including the families of the dead, should they seek for the reproduction of documents they found violating the person’s right to life, liberty and security.
 
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the authorities listed below asking for their intervention in this case.
 
The AHRC has also written letters to the United Nation Special Rapporteurs on extra-judicial, summary, or arbitrary executions and on the situation of human rights defenders.

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