FINAL REPORT - Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism

Marcos, which was heard by the Hawaii Federal Court. She also formally submitted
SELDA’s opposition to the settlement agreement proposed by the Marcos family.
She is currently the secretary-general of the Alliance for the Advancement of
People’s Rights (KARAPATAN) which was established in 1995. As a human rights
watchdog in the country, KARAPATAN, with its 15 regional chapters, undertakes
painstaking investigation and documentation of all human rights violations
perpetrated by the military, police and paramilitary forces for the purpose of exposing
these abuses and demanding justice for the victims. KARAPATAN provides paralegal
services and other forms of assistance to victims, actively participates in legislative
sessions with regard to matters concerning human rights issues including pushing for
legislation that advances human rights protection, and prepares human rights reports
to the Philippine Commission on Human Rights and to the United Nations. functions.
Through a video presentation, Ms. Enriquez showed the worsening state of
human rights under the Arroyo administration in just a span of more than four years.
From January 21, 2001 to September 30, 2005, KARAPATAN had documented 4,692
cases of human rights violations. Individual victims already numbered 262,036.
28,699 families and 460 communities also fell victim to these violations. In so short a
time, 411 victims of summary execution, 130 victims of abduction and involuntary
disappearance, 245 victims of torture, 1,563 victims of illegal arrest, and 1137 victims
of arbitrary detention have been recorded. Thousands others are victims of threats,
harassment, intimidation, forcible evacuation and displacement due to continuing
military operations as part of the government’s counter-insurgency campaign.
The Arroyo administration’s human rights record shows that the victims are
human rights workers and lawyers, journalists, priests, church workers, even local
government officials, peasant and trade union leaders, and leaders and members of
people’s organizations. What is common to all of them is that they are either leaders,
members or supporters of progressive mass/people’s organizations opposed to the
political and economic policies of the government. Moreover, witnesses point to the
military, police and paramilitary forces and death squads suspected of being under the
direction of these state forces, as the perpetrators of human rights violations. In most
cases, the assassins are motorcycle-riding men wearing bonnets and ski masks; the
get-away vehicles used such as motorcycles bear no license plate number.
Ms. Enriquez pointed out that the violations are centrally directed and manifest
a clear and systematic pattern, showing a state policy of deliberately sowing terror on
the civilian population. In extrajudicial killings, for instance, a victim is first placed
under heavy surveillance. Then he or she is intimidated or harassed. In most cases,
the victim is subjected to campaign of vilification and is demonized and tagged as an
“enemy of the state” or a “terrorist.” A concrete illustration of demonization is the
release by the military of a power point presentation entitled Knowing the Enemy and
of the book entitled Trinity of War. The first, wherein the ISAFP labels certain
progressive groups and organizations, church institutions, journalist groups and
individuals as “enemies of the state,” was initially distributed to the media by the AFP-
Northern Luzon Command (AFP-NOLCOM) on 22 January 2005. The second contains
a list of leaders, members and supporters of mass organizations and progressive
party-list groups tagged as “communist.” One of those named is Tarlac City Councilor
Abelardo Ladera, a Bayan Muna member, who was assassinated on 3 March 2005.
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