Extra-judicial executions of six peasant leaders in the Negros Occidental

3/07/2006

Open Letter to Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, President of the Philippines

According to the information received from the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP), peasant leaders actively working for genuine land reform have been killed in an alarming frequency since the beginning of the year.

The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), in the framework of their joint programme, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, express their deepest concern about several extra-judicial executions of human rights defenders, notably in relation to land reform disputes.

Indeed, according to the information received from the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP), peasant leaders actively working for genuine land reform have been killed in an alarming frequency since the beginning of the year.

Almost all of the cases were perpetrated by unidentified men in plain clothes, riding motorcycles.

Extra-judicial killing of Mr. Wilfredo Cornea

On June 26, 2006, Mr. Wilfredo Cornea, Vice-Chairman of Task Force Mapalad (TFM), a national federation of farmers, and leader of the Mulawin Lanatan Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Association (MULARBA), an affiliate of TFM in the Negros province, was murdered in his house at the Hacienda Mulawin, Sagay by two unidentified gunmen who shot him to death. His wife rushed outside upon hearing the shots and saw two men fleeing from the site. Prior to the incident, Mr. Wilfredo Cornea had been actively advocating for the farmers' right to get the land awarded to them through the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), to which was opposed Mr. Aquiles Lopez, owner of the Hacienda Mulawin.

Extra-judicial killing of Mr. Eladio Dasi-An

On June 20, 2006, Mr. Eladio Dasi-An, volunteer of the Negros branch of the Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights (KARAPATAN) and Vice-Chairperson of the Guihulngan Anti-Mining Alliance, was assassinated by two unknown men in a car while riding back home on his motorcycle in Barangay Malusay, Guihulngan. The murderers suddenly blocked his path, and shot him at close range. Mr. Dasi-An suffered seven bullet wounds and died instantly.

To this date, the murderers have not been identified, although a police investigation is on-going.

Extra-judicial execution of Mr. Mario Domingo

On May 17, 2006, Mr. Mario Domingo, President of the Hacienda Cambuktot Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Association (HACARBA), along with four other farmer beneficiaries, went to a land that had been awarded to them by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), after having been told that 20 employees of the former landowner Mr. Farley Gustilo were occupying their land. Once arrived, they found that some of Mr. Gustilo's employees were heavily armed and began to shot at them. While Mr. Domingo and his friends were trying to escape under the shots, some of the employees identified by witnesses as Mr. Romulo Ellano and Mr. Eduardo Semillano, pursued and shot Mr. Mario Domingo, who died instantly. Other men identified as participants in the shooting incident would be Mr. Eric Fernandez, Mr. Eddie Semillano (Eduardo's father), Mr. Ramonito Osano and Mr. Gerry Menguillo.

Just before going to the land, Mr. Domingo had been to the detachment of the Regional Mobile Group (RMG) in the Hacienda Cambuktot, Brgy. Mansalanao, La Castellana, requesting to be accompanied by a police team. When the police team arrived, Mr. Gustilo's followers also fired at them before quickly withdrawing.

The contested land was awarded to the farmer beneficiaries, headed by Mr. Mario Domingo, in 1991. However, the former landowner filed a motion for injunction, effectively preventing the farmers from taking over the piece of awarded land.

According to the information received, nobody has been arrested yet for these facts, although TFM lodged a complaint against the suspects.

Extra-judicial killing of Mr. Porferio Maglasang Sr.

On April 22, 2006, Mr. Porferio Maglasang Sr., Chairperson of the Kabankalan Chapter of the National Federation of Free Farmers (Pambansang Katipunan ng Malayang Magbubukid – PKKM), was killed by three unidentified armed men in a chapel, near his house, in Sitio Caraan, Brgy. Tampalon, Kabankalan City.

According to his wife, three unidentified armed men came to their house and asked to have a short talk with her husband. Mr. Maglasang immediately went down and asked the men to identify themselves. Instead of introducing themselves, they asked him to come with them to the nearby chapel for a talk. However, upon arrival at the chapel, the men shot at him several times, resulting to his instantaneous death.

Mr. Porferio Maglasang was among the leaders of the evacuees who fled during the launching of Oplan Thunderbolt by the military in Southern Negros, especially the areas of Sipalay, Cauayan, Candoni, Ilog and Kabankalan. Prior to his death, Mr. Porferio and other PKMM members were in a long-drawn out struggle over some 2,000 hectares of cogonal land in the upland areas of Kabankalan City being tilled by almost 1,000 families.

Extra-judicial killing of Mr. Rico Adeva

On April 15, 2006, Mr. Rico Adeva, a community organiser of TFM, and his wife were attacked by three unidentified armed men on motorcycle, on their way home to Hacienda Fuego II, Brgy. Bagtic, Silay City. Two of the men shot Mr. Adeva point-blank in front of his wife, causing his instantaneous death with multiple gunshot wounds, while the third men was holding her arms. This incident followed confrontation between TFM and the Hacienda management.

The police is said to have just begun investigating the case.

Extra-judicial killing of Mr. Vicente B. Denila

On March 27, 2006, Mr. Vicente B. Denila, an active member of the Camansi Farm Workers Cooperative (CFWC), whose members were beneficiaries of land reform, was shot to death by two unidentified men while he was pasturing his cow, in Sitio Cansuy-ong, Barangay Novalla, Tanjay City.

Mr. Denila was one of the fourteen beneficiaries of the 30-hectare land previously owned by Atty. Deogracias Erac located in Cansuy-ong, Brgy Novalla, Tanjay, Negros Oriental.

His companions, who were waiting just several meters away from the place of incident, ran towards Mr. Vicente Denila, and saw two of the murderers running away towards Sitio Lamakan, Brgy. Sta. Cruz Nuevo, Tanjay City.

The initial investigation conducted by the Philippine National Police in Tanjay City disclosed that Mr. Denila was shot with the use of a homemade shotgun. Mr. Denila also sustained eleven gunshot wounds on his chest.

Mr. Vicente Denila was very active in agrarian-related campaigns. He had encouraged his co-members and other holders of the Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) from other land holdings to install themselves to their awarded land in the absence of DAR assistance. Two other companions of Mr. Denila have also recently experienced harassments by masked men who pointed their shotguns at them without actually firing.

Since Mr. Denila's murder, his family decided to transfer residence because of threats they were continuously receiving.

Mrs. President,

The Observatory expresses its deepest concern regarding all these extra-judicial killings of human rights defenders in the Philippines, and urges the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and all Non-State Armed Groups to put an immediate end to any act of reprisal against them, and to guarantee their physical and psychological integrity as well as of their relatives, and to guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to the victims' families.

The Observatory also urges the Government of the Republic of the Philippines to conduct full, independent and impartial investigations into these cases of summary executions of human rights defenders, in order to identify the authors, bring them to justice and pronounce sentences proportional to the gravity of their crime.

Furthermore, the Observatory calls upon the authorities of Philippines to ensure the implementation of the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular article 1, which states that "everyone has the right, individually or collectively, to promote the protection and fulfilment of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels", as well as article 12.2, which provides that "the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually or in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration".

More generally, the Observatory urge the authorities to guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international human rights instruments ratified by the Philippines, all the more that the Philippines was elected on May 9, 2006 as a member of the new United Nations Human Rights Council.

In the hope that you will take these considerations and requests into account,

We remain,

Sidiki KABA Eric SOTTAS
FIDH President OMCT Director