PHILIPPINES: A man convicted and sentenced to death is now facing imminent execution 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) in Luzon that a person who was illegally arrested, detained and tortured by the military in San Narciso, Quezon, Luzon on 27 August 2003 was convicted and sentenced to death. The victim, Generoso Rolida, was charged for murder before a local court in Gumaca Quezon.

Under the Philippine Republic Act 7659 or the Death Penalty Law, murder is considered a heinous crime punishable by death. The Philippines is one of the countries in Asia that imposes capital punishment as part of its justice system. Although there is a pending bill in the Philippines Congress to repeal or abolish the death penalty, this has not yet been approved.

The death penalty, like torture, is considered a cruel, degrading and inhumane treatment or punishment. It is contrary to the customary laws on human rights under the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR), which states that it is a violation of a person’s right to life.

We request your immediate intervention by asking the Supreme Court to have Rolida’s case reviewed before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Gumaca, Quezon. Should the high court uphold the lower courts decision after its review, please appeal for Rolida’s sentence to be commuted to a jail term. Convicted persons must also be rehabilitated.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of convicted person: Generoso Rolida
Date and place of arrest: 27 August 2003, in Barangay Vigo Central, San Narciso, Quezon
Alleged perpetrators: 74th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army
Court that handed down the conviction: Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Gumaca, Quezon, Luzon

Background information:

On the morning of 27 August 2003, Generoso Rolida and his family were on their way home to Barangay Vigo Central, San Narciso, Quezon when he was arrested by elements of the 74th Infantry Battalion (IB), Philippine Army. The military tagged him as a sympathiser and a member of the New People’s Army (NPA). He was arrested without any warrant.

According to Rolida, the soldiers searched his house without showing any warrant. When the soldiers found a half sack of rice inside his house, they insinuated that the rice was for the rebels and that he was providing goods and logistics to them. Rolida was later taken to the 74th IB camp in Mulanay, Quezon.

While in detention, Rolida said he was tortured for four days. During the custodial investigation, the soldiers, who were investigating him, repeatedly punched him in different parts of his body. They threatened that he would be buried alive and then they as hogtied him to a wooden post. He was forced but refused to serve as a guide during a military operation to locate NPA camps.

It was only on 31 August 2003 that elements of the Army’s 74th IB took him to a local Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters. When they arrived at the headquarters, Rolida said a police officer on-duty asked the soldiers for a legal document to warrant his detention, but this they could not do. According to Rolida, he heard one of the soldiers say “all they knew that he (referring to Rolida) must be guilty of something.” It was on his fourth day of detention at the Quezon Provincial Jail (QPJ) in Lucena City, that Rolida learned that he had been charged with murder for an alleged killing of a member of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) in General Luna, Quezon.

Rolida’s defense was rested without any documentary evidence and only his lone testimony stood as his defense before the Court. This treatment by the court of Rolida may have violated his right for a fair trial, and may have contributed to his unwarranted conviction. Given the severity of the case, the arrest, detention and judicial errors were crucial in the final outcome.

Rolida was charged with murder, a crime punishable by death under the law (Republic Act No. 7659). Yet capital punishment repudiates the spirit of restorative justice behind the modern penal system that is to reform and rehabilitate offenders.

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