of the Philippines the criminal justice system is - Article 2

Diosdado Fortuna: “Is there anybody dead here?”
On 22 September 2005, at around 8am labour leader Diosdado
Fortuna arrived at the compound of the Nestle Philippines-
Cabuyao Plant in Barangay Niugan, Cabuyao, Laguna, where
workers were on strike. Afterwards he went to the office of the
Organised Labour in Line Industries and Agriculture located at
the Shine Land Subdivision in Cabuyao for a meeting. He arrived
at around 9am.
Around midday, two men in their 30s in an old maroon Toyota
Corolla stopped in front of the office, sounded their horn and
lowered a window. One of the men, who both had short-cropped
hair, white t-shirts and muscular builds, asked the union
president, “Is there anybody dead here?” Fortuna, who was then
presiding over the meeting, stood up and looked out to the gate.
Hermie, the president, told them, “Nobody died here.” The car
then sped off towards the exit of the subdivision.
Fortuna left in the afternoon and went back to the Nestle picket
line, where he met several students from the University of Sto.
Tomas and stayed until around 4:30pm. He then received a text
message from his wife, Luzviminda, informing him that their
grandson was ill and needed to be taken to hospital. Fortuna told
a colleague that he would leave and come back later.
During that time, an unidentified man was seen sitting on a
chair in front of a store inside the compound near the picket
line. He was seated directly in front of the entrance of the picket
line. When he was asked by a store attendant “Are you buying
something?” the man, who was writing text messages on his
mobile, stopped and placed his phone in his pocket. He stayed
there for about 15 minutes and hurriedly left just ahead of
Fortuna, who boarded his motorbike to go home.
Around 5:20pm, two men wearing helmets were seen shooting
Fortuna twice in his back outside the Sagara Factory. They sped
off on board a motorcycle heading towards Rodriguez Subdivision.
Another motorcycle came and stopped alongside Fortuna, who
was lying on the ground wounded.
A tricycle driver took Fortuna to the Calamba Doctors Hospital
but he died an hour later of wounds to his heart and liver.
Norman Bocar: Another human rights lawyer...
On the morning of 1 September 2005, human rights lawyer
Norman Bocar was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen on a
motorcycle in Borongan, Eastern Samar, Visayas. Bocar was
coming out from a meeting when he was shot in the head.
Bocar was the regional chairman of umbrella group Bayan.
He had sought help from the police for his security, after serious
threats against his life; however, he received no protection.
The police investigation into his death reached no conclusive
findings and the perpetrators were not identified. The police
formed a special task force to investigate the killing but this too
has failed to resolve the case.
68
VICTIM: Diosdado Fortuna
INCIDENT: Killing
ALLEGED PERPETRATORS:
Two unidentified gunmen
DATE: 22 September 2005
AHRC FA-027-2005
UP-009-2006
69
VICTIM: Norman Bocar
INCIDENT: Killing
ALLEGED PERPETRATORS:
Two wo unidentified gunmen
DATE: 1 September 2005
AHRC UP-106-2005
PHOTO: PCPR
article 2 • February 2007 Vol. 6, No. 1 77