PHILIPPINES: Female peasant leader killed in front of her family 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you that another peasant leader, Ofelia Rodriguez (61), was killed allegedly by gunmen believed to be military agents in Pampanga, Luzon on 16 January 2006. She was killed inside her house while attending to her granddaughter and elderly mother.

A report by the Ecumenical Movement for Justice and Peace (EMJP), a human rights organisation based in Manila, alleged that 2nd Lieutenant John Paul Nicolas, head of the 69th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army, may have been involved in Rodriguez’s murder. It is alleged that Nicolas had previously threatened to murder Rodriguez. Nicolas also allegedly ordered a neighbour of Rodriguez’s to kill her but he refused to do so. On one occasion, Nicolas allegedly forced Rodriguez to admit to being a leader of communist rebels when invited for questioning.

Prior to Rodriguez’s murder, two other activists, namely Noli Villalon and Armando Leabres were also murdered on 7 and 10 January respectively. Villalon was murdered in his house in San Miguel, Bulacan while Leabres was found dead a day after he was abducted. This is yet another instance of the unrestrained killings of human rights and political activists in the Philippines.

The AHRC has previously issued a number of appeals to the Philippine government, in particular the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), but efforts to prosecute the alleged perpetrators and ensure protection to witnesses and families of the dead have been highly inadequate, if indeed they have occurred at all. Please see our previous appeals: UP-28-2005; UA-219-2005; UP-75-2005; UP-156-2005. Most cases have not been filed in Court due to inadequate police investigations and the gathering of evidence.

We urge your immediate intervention to request the CHR and the Office of the Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices to place 2nd Lieutenant John Paul Nicolas under investigation. Nicolas must be suspended from his duties once the investigation commences. If the allegations are found to be true, appropriate criminal and administrative charges must be laid against him. The PNP must also provide protection and security to witnesses and the victim’s family.

Additionally, please request the Philippine National Police (PNP) to ensure that an impartial and effective investigation is conducted into Noli Villalon and Armando Leabres’ case. The PNP must exhaust all means of investigation in order to identify the perpetrators in order to effectively prosecute them.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victim: Ofelia “Nanay Perla” Rodriguez (61), a resident of Barangay Divisoria, Mexico, Pampanga, Luzon. She was a member of the Divisoria Farmers Association.
Alleged perpetrators: Two gunmen believed to be military agents and 2nd Lt. John Paul Nicolas, head of the 69th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army.
Date and place of the incident: 16 January 2006 at around 5.30-6pm in Barangay (village) Divisoria, Mexico, Pampanga, Luzon.

Case details:

At around 5.30-6pm on 6 January 2006, Rodriguez and her family had just finished having their dinner. Rodriguez was carrying her granddaughter Eliza. She was about to serve her ailing mother, Amalia de la Peña, a glass of water when a gunman came inside their house and shot her in the head.  Rodriguez died on the spot.

Rodriguez’s granddaughter, Michelle (14), who was at the back of their house together with her younger brother, heard the gunshot. She saw a tall, stocky man wearing civilian clothes and a baseball cap exit the house and calmly walk towards another companion waiting outside. The two left together on a motorcycle.

Earlier that day, Michelle said her grandmother had told her that she had seen a man standing near a tree outside of their house. A neighbour had likewise come that day and informed Rodriguez that there was a man looking for her. The man was reportedly carrying a gun. Rodriguez’s neighbour, however, was unable to warn her that the man was armed because he was in a hurry and was frightened.

Prior to the incident, Rodriguez and her family had been constantly harassed and threatened by 2nd Lt. John Paul Nicolas, head of the 69th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army and his men.

On 25 October 2005, during a convenors’ meeting in Quezon City of the STOP PALPARAN Alliance, a group were calling for the discharge from service of Major General Jovito Palparan Jr., head of the Philippine Army’s 7th Infantry Division. Palparan’s jurisdiction covers the provinces of Central Luzon, including Pampanga. He has been accused of allegedly orchestrating human rights violations.

During that meeting Rodriguez testified that she was invited to a military camp for questioning. She claimed that 2nd Lt. John Paul Nicolas forced her to admit that she was a top-ranking leader of the New Peoples Army (NPA). On another occasion, her daughter confronted Nicolas regarding this threat to murder her mother.

In her testimony, Rodriguez was quoted as saying: “They invited me to go to the camp, I thought it was for some other reason, but when I arrived there, they told me this ‘admit it, we already know all important events happening in the town of Mexico, you alone know. All those we have asked from your town have high regard for you.’ I wasn’t doing anything. I was only there to look after my sick mother.”

After the meeting in Quezon City, harassment and threats against Rodriguez and her family allegedly intensified. On one occasion, a neighbour reportedly approached Rodriguez and said to her that Nicolas had approached him, gave him a gun and ordered him to murder her but he refused.

The Barangay (village) of Divisoria, Mexico, Pampanga, where Rodriguez’s family live, is one of the villages wherein the military has deployed their Reengineered Special Operations Team (RSOT).  RSOT is reportedly a counter-insurgency programme of the military. Part of the programme is the deployment of military men to “integrate” themselves into communities.  It is reported that there has been military abuse.

Meanwhile, two activists, namely Noli Villalon and Armando Leabres were also killed prior to the murder of Rodriguez. Villalon, a peasant was shot in front of his house in San Miguel, Bulacan on January 7 while Leabres, a member of Bayan Muna was found dead after he was abducted on January 10.

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SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send letters to the relevant agencies listed below requesting them to commence an effective investigation into the Rodriguez’s case. The Office of the Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices must place 2nd Lt. John Paul Nicolas under investigation over his alleged involvement in Rodriguez’s murder. If the allegations are found true, criminal and administrative charges must be laid against him.

 

 

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