of the Philippines the criminal justice system is - Article 2

More documents

Recommendations

Info

In October 2006 we in fact called upon you to order a fresh investigation into this incident. We are unaware of any impartial or independent investigation since that time. Therefore, the statement of January 12 through the official government mouthpiece amounts to nothing more than an attempt by the former commander of the accused to exonerate his own men and whitewash the case. We take this opportunity to remind you of just some of the irregularities surrounding the incident, none of which were ever addressed in the Philippine Information Agency’s release: 1. Incorrect search warrant The Regional Trial Court, Branch 66 in Iloilo issued a search warrant for “Herman Baria”, not Hernando Baria, the deceased victim. Under the rules of criminal procedure, valid warrants must carry the correct names of persons concerned. In this case the “legitimate police operation” was carried out on an invalid warrant, making it illegal. 2. Terms of warrant breached The court granted the warrant to search the house of “Herman Baria” but the police used it to search a farmers’ training centre, entering around midnight and allegedly failing to identify themselves properly. A copy of the warrant also was not given to the concerned parties until 9am the following morning, although colleagues of the victims had arrived on the scene some six hours earlier. 3. False claim against victims In his statement, Barias maintains that, “This police operation was a response to the request for protection by local residents against harassment by armed groups of land owner Susan Bedio [sic].” In fact, the victims were members of the Asao Farmers and Residents Association, which has been lobbying for Bedro’s landholdings to be turned over to peasants under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. The claim that they could have been working for Bedro is wholly inconsistent with reality. 4. No protection given to victims Baria and Catalan had reportedly been requesting police protection prior to the incident, without success. The failure to respond to their requests constitutes a serious violation of the Memorandum of Agreement of 3 May 1995 between the police, Department of Interior and Local Government, and the Department of Agrarian Reform, which obliges the police to render assistance to maintain peace and order in land reform cases (reiterated in Joint Circular No. 05-02). 180 article 2 • February 2007 Vol. 6, No. 1
5. Questionable evidence The police claim to have recovered firearms and ammunitions from the two victims, but have not produced any independent and verifiable evidence to counter claims that they planted the weapons themselves. Nor are we aware of any other substantive evidence that would demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of either of the two men. 6. Inconsistent reports According to the information received by the AHRC, the police seizure report states that Catalan was “not around” when the initial search was conducted. But the January 12 press release acknowledges that the operation resulted in the “wounding of Romeo Catalan”. Furthermore, it states that he is now “facing charges for illegal possession of firearms and armed resistance”. However, Catalan has never received any summons informing him of these or other charges. If charges have been laid, why has the respondent not been informed? The Asian Human Rights Commission stands by our original demand that you order an impartial and independent investigation into this case and see its findings submitted to a judicial authority. It furthermore calls upon you to take disciplinary action against Chief Superintendent Geary Barias for his premature public defence of his subordinates, which amounts to a completely unacceptable breach of police conduct, and demands that his statement be retracted and an apology issued. The unrelenting extrajudicial killings in the Philippines and lack of effective independent investigations where police are allegedly to have been involved are a cause for growing international alarm. Greater scrutiny is leading to more and more questions about the actual intentions of the authorities to address these killings. Your action is needed to prevent whitewashing and ensure that the families of victims, survivors and witnesses obtain the justice that they deserve, as well as to protect the credibility and reputation of your agency and the government of the Philippines. Yours sincerely Basil Fernando Executive Director Asian Human Rights Commission [Note: Since this letter was published the AHRC was made aware that Chief Superintendent Geary Barias is now head of Task Force Usig, the unit responsible for investigating alleged extrajudicial killings.] article 2 • February 2007 Vol. 6, No. 1 181
Page 1 and 2:
Vol. 6, No. 1 February 2007 ISSN 18
Page 3 and 4:
Contents SPECIAL REPORT: THE CRIMIN
Page 5 and 6:
Burma. But where are these laws fou
Page 7 and 8:
The ALRC is acutely aware that thes
Page 9 and 10:
The criminal justice system of the
Page 11 and 12:
When Alberto Yadan (story 12) was m
Page 13 and 14:
A Statement by the Asian Human Righ
Page 15 and 16:
the policemen who killed Baria afte
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19 and 20:
In his 21 February 2007 comments on
Page 21 and 22:
sufficiently adept at creating lawl
Page 23 and 24:
In his letter, Chief Superintendent
Page 25 and 26:
cannot excuse themselves of their f
Page 27 and 28:
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
Rotten to the core: Unaddressed kil
Page 33 and 34:
Prof. Jose Ma Cui: Shot dead in cla
Page 35 and 36:
Later, the village chief, Carlito C
Page 37 and 38:
Jesus Servida: Killed for the union
Page 39 and 40:
Roderick Aspili: Shot dead watching
Page 41 and 42:
professors at the Eastern Samar Sta
Page 43 and 44:
a fresh investigation for this purp
Page 45 and 46:
Badilla, Palawan.... jurisdiction,
Page 47 and 48:
Bishop Ramento also openly opposed
Page 49 and 50:
Napoleon Bautista: Abducted, tortur
Page 51 and 52:
The perpetrators questioned Pastor
Page 53 and 54:
Eladio Dasi-an: Gunned down on way
Page 55 and 56:
However, Fr. Geremia was informed t
Page 57 and 58:
Noel Capulong: Shot and killed afte
Page 59 and 60:
Jose Doton: Tailed and shot on moto
Page 61 and 62:
one of the gunmen came close to the
Page 63 and 64:
Enrico had just finished a meeting
Page 65 and 66:
After several questions, the police
Page 67 and 68:
Elpidio de la Victoria: No empty th
Page 69 and 70:
Amante hid behind a tree some 70 me
Page 71 and 72:
Melanio Evangelista: Murdered in be
Page 73 and 74:
found surrounding the house. That e
Page 75 and 76:
Jose Manegdeg: Same job, new victim
Page 77 and 78:
the spot. Those who were seriously
Page 79 and 80:
Diosdado Fortuna: “Is there anybo
Page 81 and 82:
Dacut and a companion were on their
Page 83 and 84:
On October 1, 2004, 327 farm-worker
Page 85 and 86:
The AHRC highlighted the case in a
Page 87 and 88:
The couple had left Padre Burgos at
Page 89 and 90:
It has also been learned that altho
Page 91 and 92:
with rifles and the others had .45-
Page 93 and 94:
They warned that they would be shot
Page 95 and 96:
of the 7th Infantry Division, gave
Page 97 and 98:
unnecessarily delayed. Like other l
Page 99 and 100:
wore civilian clothes. The men’s
Page 101 and 102:
companion, Rahim, after Ed’l Fit
Page 103 and 104:
that the remaining equipment of the
Page 105 and 106:
esidents about the noise from the c
Page 107 and 108:
following us?” He replied, “Ban
Page 109 and 110:
The victims, represented by six law
Page 111 and 112:
The absence of a law on torture mea
Page 113 and 114:
to the detachment, where he was fur
Page 115 and 116:
While it is acknowledged that there
Page 117 and 118:
Fr. Rolando de Leon: Church service
Page 119 and 120:
suggestions from the victims’ fam
Page 121 and 122:
police who initially conducted the
Page 123 and 124:
While the constitution guarantees t
Page 125 and 126:
Take the case of 11 persons, two of
Page 127 and 128:
The Philippines is a signatory to t
Page 129 and 130:
3. The strengthening of agencies fo
Page 131 and 132: permit outside scrutiny, and a very
Page 133 and 134: conviction before one can conclude
Page 135 and 136: (c) The need to restore accountabil
Page 137 and 138: Appendix II: The Melo Commission Re
Page 139 and 140: More importantly, it is also undisp
Page 141 and 142: 5. TFU did not investigate Gen. Pal
Page 143 and 144: 5. Reaction to Gen. Palparan’s st
Page 145 and 146: ... 21. Summary/Notable Matters: a.
Page 147 and 148: My order to my soldiers is that, if
Page 149 and 150: No witness came forward to testify
Page 151 and 152: It being well-nigh obvious that som
Page 153 and 154: (b) With respect to superior and su
Page 155 and 156: Likewise, the utterance of statemen
Page 157 and 158: towards the greater ideals of democ
Page 159 and 160: There should be no requirement that
Page 161 and 162: Even assuming that these victims an
Page 163 and 164: esponding to ensure their protectio
Page 165 and 166: provided in all cases where require
Page 167 and 168: homicide against Buisan. We were in
Page 169 and 170: uniformed policemen, reportedly fro
Page 171 and 172: for fear of the lives due to contin
Page 173 and 174: members of the armed forces, police
Page 175 and 176: For the time being we must withhold
Page 177 and 178: The activists and leaders facing th
Page 179 and 180: 7. The national information agency
Page 181: 8. Retract statement justifying kil
Page 185 and 186: knowledge or information on the com
Page 187 and 188: (f) he has not at any time been con
Page 189 and 190: Appendix V: Online Petition— Stop
Page 191 and 192: article 2 • February 2007 Vol. 6,
Page 193 and 194: The State party should ensure that
Page 195 and 196: Other special reports published in
show all

of the Philippines the criminal justice system is - Article 2

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?