of the Philippines the criminal justice system is - Article 2

the local government as chief of village security. The men started
beating Hilario until blood came out from his nose and they
thought he was unconscious; they tied him up. Then some of
them ordered their companions to take Virgilio and tied him up
on the second floor of the hut. Marilou was also tied to a post.
Hilario managed to untie his hands. One of the armed men
approached his wife and shot her. He also heard gunshots from
upstairs. Hilario immediately got up and ran off, with the
attackers shooting at him. He stayed in the forest until daytime.
Marilou died from gunshot wounds to her head while Virgilio
had wounds to his chest. The armed men also ransacked and
stole items from the house.
Marilou was a member of the Bayan Muna party, while Hilario
is as he said, chief of the Barangay Tanod (security force) of
Barangay Magsikap and also a Bayan Muna member.
49
VICTIM: Rico Adeva
INCIDENT: Killing
ALLEGED PERPETRATORS:
Ronald Europa,
Revolutionary Proletarian
Army–Alex Boncayao
Brigade member, , “Boy
Negro” & unidentified man
DATE: 15 April 2006
AHRC UA-130-2006
UP-175-2006
64
Rico Adeva: Shot face down in river basin
On 15 April 2006 Rico Adeva (39) and his wife Nenita were on
their way to Talisay town in Negros Occidental when they were
stopped by armed men. It was around 4pm as the couple passed
through the Imbang River when three men wearing jackets and
armed with .45-calibre pistols blocked their way. Rico was shot
after they were told to turn their backs and lie down with their
faces to the ground. He suffered ten gunshot wounds in the head,
ears, hands and torso.
Rico’s wife Nenita said that his murder was prompted by his
involvement in the struggle for agrarian reform. He was a staff
member of Task Force Mapalad, an agrarian organisation
assisting peasant beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Programme to claim lands awarded to them.
In a sworn statement on April 24 Nenita identified two of the
gunmen as Ronald Europa, a distant relative of her husband,
and another person known as Boy Negro. Ronald Europa has been
confirmed to be a member of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army–
Alex Boncayao Brigade rebel group. Nenita recounted having met
with Ronald in 1997 and 1998, when he and his companions
visited their house. Nenita had not seen him again since.
However, some Task Force Mapalad leaders had reportedly been
approached by the three gunmen on April 9, who had asked what
day Adeva usually came that way. Since then, Ronald and his
group had been seen passing through Barangay San Antonio each
day.
Although the rebel group’s leadership has reportedly confirmed
that Ronald Europa is their member in the Silay area, no arrest
has been made. They have also insisted that since 2000 Ronald
has been based in an area far from the barangay where the killing
took place. Ronald’s unnamed brother, alleged to have been the
other person involved in the killing, has just recently joined the
group and is based in Central Region, Himamaylan. However the
group has reportedly denied knowing the other gunman, Boy
Negro.
article 2 • February 2007 Vol. 6, No. 1