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ut the procedures and burden of proof and documentary<br />
requirements discourages applicants.<br />
4.16. For example, in the case of murder of siblings Francisco<br />
Bulane, Padilla Bulane and Prumencio Bulane and the<br />
wounding of Richard and Rogelio by soldiers in matanao,<br />
Davao del Sur in February 8, 2005, 16 the DoJ’s board<br />
of claims were requiring from the victims’ families that<br />
belong to an indigenous tribe, marriage certificates from<br />
their respective wives before it could process the claims for<br />
compensation. This requirement discouraged the claimants<br />
from pursuing the claim, as indigenous marriages have had<br />
no marriage certificates. The Commission on Human Rights<br />
(ChR) in Davao City, which had conducted investigations<br />
into the incident recommended that compensation be<br />
provided to the victims’ families. however, no compensation<br />
has so far been given to date.<br />
4.17. In another case, a man who had been released from detention<br />
after having been arrested and subsequently detained by the<br />
security forces in Compostela Valley in 1999 has also had<br />
his application for compensation refused. In a letter from the<br />
DoJ’s Board of Claims the group helping him was informed<br />
that he could only qualify for compensation had he been<br />
released from a detention center as a result of the court’s<br />
order exonerating him from the charges concerning which<br />
he had been convicted and detained. In his case, however,<br />
although he had been detained for months his release was<br />
due to the dismissal of his case at the prosecutor’s level.<br />
4.18. In most cases, the Board of Claims has not been able to<br />
resolve the application for claims, either due to stringent<br />
requirements and refusal, “within thirty (30) working days<br />
after the filing of the application” as required under section<br />
7 of RA no. 7309, even though they have claimed that they<br />
“shall adopt an expeditious and inexpensive procedure for<br />
the claimants to follow in order to secure their claims under<br />
this Act”.<br />
5. Article 15:<br />
5.1. Arrested persons are forced or misled into signing<br />
waivers: under section 2 (d, e) of the RA 7438, it is clearly<br />
stipulated that:<br />
(d) Any extrajudicial confession made by a person arrested,<br />
detained or under custodial investigation shall be in writing<br />
and signed by such person in the presence of his counsel<br />
or in the latter’s absence, upon a valid waiver, and in the<br />
16 AHRC Urgent Appeals: FA-06-2005: Three people killed and three others<br />
wounded by military forces in Matanao, Davao del Sur, Mindanao<br />
article 2 � June-Sept 2012 Vol. 11, No. 2-3<br />
173
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