of the Philippines the criminal justice system is - Article 2

Eladio Dasi-an: Gunned down on way home
On 20 June 2006, Eladio Dasi-an (37) was riding his motorcycle
back to his home in Sitio Tuminhao, Barangay Malusay,
Guihulngan, Negros Oriental about 3 kilometres away from the
town proper when three hooded men armed with .45-calibre
pistols blocked his way. The gunmen shot him several times in
head and chest. After making sure that he was dead, they boarded
a vehicle and fled the scene.
Several days prior to the incident, Dasi-an had reportedly
received information from neighbours and reliable sources that
men riding on motorcycles had been asking for his whereabouts.
Dasi-an was a government employee and worked as a
messenger for the Local Government Unit of Guihulngan, Negros
Oriental.
George & Maricel Vigo:
“Facing a blank wall as to the identity of the suspects”
On 19 June 2006, George Vigo (33) and his wife Maricel (36)
were riding on their motorcycle when two armed men shot at
them, hitting George four times and Maricel twice, killing both.
Both of them had reportedly received threats via SMS from a
sender identified as “AralSaMasa” two weeks before their killing.
Subsequently, other persons in General Santos City received
similar messages (see case below).
George was a project officer of the Mindanao Youth Leadership
Program of the Community and Family Services International,
based in Cotabato City. The group works for internally displaced
persons. Maricel worked as a communications consultant for a
local public official and was area coordinator for the Solar Power
Technology System of the Department of Agrarian Reform, a
project funded by British Petroleum. Both were former journalists
and cofounders of the Federation of Reporters for Empowerment
and Equality. They had continued doing occasional media work.
The local police created a task force to investigate the killing
comprised of the Police Regional Office (PRO 12), Criminal
Investigation Detection Group and National Bureau of
Investigation. Although the task force attributed the killing to a
rebel liquidation squad, the victims’ families have said that the
manner of its investigation was not thorough and its findings
different from those of the police who conducted the initial
investigation, who were uncertain about the identity of the killers.
In a memorandum of June 19, Superintendent Danny Reyes,
Kidapawan City Police Office chief, wrote that:
As of this moment, this station is still facing a blank wall as to the
identity of the suspects, since, the witnesses could not identify the
perpetrators because the driver was wearing a safety helmet that covered
his face while his back rider used face towel to cover his head and face.
Nonetheless, without further evidence the task force has
conclusively attributed the incident to insurgents.
33
VICTIM: Eladio Dasi-an
INCIDENT: Killing
ALLEGED PERPETRATORS:
Three unidentified gunmen
DATE: 20 June 2006
AHRC UA-205-2006
34
VICTIMS:
1. George Vigo
2. Maricel Vigo
INCIDENT: Killing
ALLEGED PERPETRATORS:
Two wo unidentified gunmen
DATE: 19 June 2006
AHRC UA-205-2006
article 2 • February 2007 Vol. 6, No. 1 51