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“We are saddened and appalled by the ongoing violence and threats against human rights defenders in the Philippines, including the killing of two human rights defenders over the past two weeks.” — UN spokesperson

By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called on the Philippine government to ensure independent investigation to the killings of human rights defenders in the Philippines.

In a statement, UN OHCHR Spokesperson Liz Throssell said they have raised their concerns with the Philippine government and the Commission on Human Rights on the murders of Randall Echanis and Zara Alvarez.

Echanis, peace consultant and Anakpawis chairperson, was stabbed to death Aug. 10 in his rented apartment in Quezon City while Alvarez, a human rights defender and health worker, was gunned down in Bacolod City, Aug. 17.

“We are saddened and appalled by the ongoing violence and threats against human rights defenders in the Philippines, including the killing of two human rights defenders over the past two weeks,” Throssell said.

While the OHCHR has welcomed the statement from Malacañang denouncing the violence against activists, Throssel said that “effective measures must be taken to protect other at-risk human rights defenders and to halt and condemn incitement to hatred against them.”

Both Echanis and Alvarez were named in the initial “terror” list filed by the Department of Justice at the Manila Regional Trial Court in 2018. While they were excluded the following year, Alvarez continued to be vilified by alleged state forces.

“Alvarez’s photo also appeared in a publicly displayed poster purporting to depict terrorists that is cited in the High Commissioner’s report. She was pictured alongside two other human rights defenders who had been killed – Benjamin Ramos Jr. and Bernardino Patigas, both of whose murder cases remain unsolved. Alvarez had also spent two years in prison on murder charges before she was acquitted in March this year for lack of evidence,” Throssel said.

The UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, in her June 30 report to the UN Human Rights Council, called on the government to “halt dangerous rhetoric,” noting that four human rights defenders were already killed after their names appeared in posters of supposed communist personalities in Negros. 

“The [harmful] rhetoric has ranged from degrading and sexually charged comments against women human rights defenders, politicians and combatants — including rape ‘jokes’ — to statements making light of torture, calling for bombing of indigenous peoples, encouraging extreme violence against drug users and peddlers – even offering bounties, calling for beheadings of civil society actors, and warning that journalists are not immune from ‘assassination,’” Bachelet’s report said.

‘Marching orders for State forces’

Meanwhile, Karapatan is revolted by what they call as “double talk,” referring to the statement of Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.

While Roque denounced the violence against activists, he also said that the accusation that state forces were behind the killing is unfounded.

Karapatan refuted this, saying that President Duterte and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict “had been on record several times ordering and inciting violence on us.”

“This pervasive and harmful rhetoric has been so publicized that the whole world knows it,” the group said.

The group said their allegations are substantiated in the cases and complaints they filed before the local courts and the Supreme Court, the Commission on Human Rights, the joint mechanism of government with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, and international human rights mechanisms.

“These were proven in the case of butcher Jovito Palparan, who with cheerleader Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and military generals, killed, disappeared, and tortured — despite similar denials in the past,” the group said.

This is why they consider any pronouncement by Duterte and anyone from the government, especially before the public inciting harm on and killing of activists and human rights defenders as direct orders for State forces.

Thirteen Karapatan members, including Zara, had been killed under the Duterte administration.
At least seven Karapatan members were arrested and imprisoned on baseless charges, the group said. Karapatan Chairperson Tita Lubi, like Randy Malayao, Zara Alvarez, and Randy Echanis, had been included in the proscription case of the Department of Justice.

Karapatan added that they asked for protection from the Supreme Court but the Court of Appeals dismissed their petition for writ of amparo and habeas data.

“Lecturing us to keep our mouths shut, to trust this administration’s untrustworthy investigations, and to have confidence at those who ordered, incited and/or tolerated these despicable human rights violations are simply not acceptable,” the group said.

The post UN experts call for independent probe on killings of rights defenders appeared first on Bulatlat.

Forensic pathology expert Raquel Fortun, who examined Randall Echanis’s remains, said, “He was made to suffer before he was killed.”

By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – Peace consultant and Anakpawis Partylist Chairperson Randall Echanis was tortured before he was killed, the preliminary autopsy report revealed.

In an online press conference this morning, Aug. 20, forensic pathology expert Raquel Fortun of the UP College of Medicine said Echanis sustained injuries that were inflicted while he was still alive but the fatal one was the stab on the back.

Fortun, who conducted the autopsy after Echanis’s remains were released to the family, said there was a deliberate intent not to kill him outright.

“He was made to suffer before he was killed,” Fortun said.

While torture is not an official finding in forensic reports, Fortun said she found insinuations of torture. She also found little indication of struggle as Echanis was already in his senior years.

Fortun said at least three weapons, all for stabbing, were used by the attackers. One blunt weapon was used on his head, one bladed weapon, and a pointed weapon, long enough to reach the organ which is the aorta, heart and esophagus.

Echanis, one of the publicly known peace consultants of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines Negotiating Panel, was found dead in his rented apartment on Aug. 10. A former political prisoner, he had been facing threats of arrest since President Duterte unilaterally terminated the peace talks.

Various human rights groups have accused state agents as perpetrators of the brutal murder.

No gunshot wound

Fortun belied the cause of death indicated in Echanis’s death certificate, a gunshot wound in the head. Her autopsy revealed one round laceration, which might have looked like a gunshot wound.

Fortun said there is blunt force trauma in some portions of Echanis’s head, including fractures in the left side of his skull but these were not as fatal as stab wound below the seventh rib where vital organs can be found.

Fortun said she is hoping that there is a detailed and exhaustive crime scene investigation.

The SOCO (scene of the crime operatives) who first went to the crime scene have not coordinated yet with the family, said lawyer Rachel Pastores in the same online press briefing.

Politically motivated

Echanis’s wife Erlinda said that there is no doubt that the killing of her husband was politically motivated.

“This is connected to his work as consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines and as chairperson of Anakpawis,” she said in a statement read by former Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao.

“There is no one that has the motive and the capacity to do this but the armed forces of this regime,” she said in a statement.

She said no words can describe the pain and anger the family is feeling with how Echanis was made to suffer before he was killed.

Pastores, managing counsel of the Public Interest Law Center (PILC), also said that Echanis reported that he was facing security threats following the unilateral termination of the peace talks between the Philippine government and the NDFP.

“He said that he was being tailed. He had since stopped attending the hearing of the Hilongos case,” said Pastores referring to the multiple murder case filed against Echanis and others.

Pastores said they are ready to assist the family in pursuing legal charges not only for the murder of Echanis but also for the emotional trauma brought by the snatching of his remains.

“We cannot just let this pass, especially for a person like Ka Randy who only wanted peace for the country,” Pastores said.

The post ‘Randall Echanis was made to suffer before he was killed’ – forensic expert appeared first on Bulatlat.

On a rainy night, 39-year-old health worker and human rights defender Zara Alvarez in Bacolod City was shot and killed.

A few days before her fatal shooting, 71-year-old Randall Echanis was stabbed to death by men who, according to witnesses, had been surveilling him for a month.

State security forces are said to be responsible for both crimes.

In the case of Echanis, the actions of the Philippine National Police (PNP) fueled suspicion that the murder was the handiwork of men in uniform. Instead of going after the perpetrators, the police seized the body from the family and issued statements contrary to witnesses’ accounts

The Palace was quick to absolve state security forces. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said, “Blaming state forces as the people behind these murders is unfounded as investigation on the killings of Randall Echanis and Zara Alvarez is now underway.”

Is the accusation really unfounded?

Both Echanis and Alvarez were labeled as “communist-terrorists” and were in fact included in the Department of Justice’s petition to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People’s Army as terrorist organizations. Their names were eventually removed with the justice department admitting it relied solely on reports from intelligence agencies and did not verify the information.

They were arrested and detained for trumped-up criminal charges. Echanis was arrested on Jan. 28, 2008 on charges of multiple murder in relation to the alleged Leyte mass graves. The Supreme Court granted him temporary freedom in August 2009. Alvarez, on the other hand, was arrested on Oct. 30, 2012 and was accused of killing a soldier. She was released on bail in 2014. Their incarceration aimed at stopping them from pursuing their advocacy and the charges were clearly politically-motivated.

Both of them had been highly visible doing development work. Echanis was chairperson of Anakpawis Party-list and a consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) while Alvarez was a Church worker and volunteer for community-based health program in Negros. Both were civilians and unarmed.

In the case of Echanis, forensic expert Raquel Fortun who did the autopsy revealed that there was little indication of struggle, that Echanis was “made to suffer before he was killed.”

Alvarez was one of the human rights defenders who sought protection from the Supreme Court by filing writs of amparo and habeas corpus last year. The Court of Appeals junked the petition without conducting hearings.

Taking all these into consideration, and in the context of Duterte’s counterinsurgency policy Oplan Kapanatagan, there is reason to argue that the primary suspects are state security forces.

In February 2018, Duterte ordered his troops to kill communists “to save on counterinsurgency costs,” and went as far as offering US $500 bounty for each communist killed.

Duterte publicly labeled the communists as the number one threat to national security in his speech on June 22. He also declared communists as terrorists on July 8. Are these not treated as orders from the Armed Forces of the Philippines commander-in-chief? Are these statements aiming to justify the attacks on so-called communist-terrorists?

It is not enough for Malacañang to condemn the killings and wait for an investigation. Duterte himself must retract his earlier statements and declare unequivocally that there is no policy to kill activists. He must, at the very least, allow United Nations experts to conduct their own independent investigation.

At this point, mere promises of investigation from the justice department do not offer hope as hundreds of previous cases of extrajudicial killings have not been resolved.

The fight for justice, clearly, cannot be left to the police and the courts, as these institutions play a role in the perpetuation of the culture of impunity. The bloodshed in the Philippines calls for international condemnation and action.

The post State-perpetrated killings must stop appeared first on Bulatlat.

By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – Zara Alvarez had always known that she might face a bitter end with the path she chose – a life of service to the oppressed. But her optimism and determination never faltered despite being one of the most attacked and vilified human rights defenders in the country.

Her cold-blooded killing on Monday evening, the very same day that progressives gave a hero’s burial to peace consultant Randall Echanis, brought to mind the extrajudicial killings during the administration of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. It was, after all, the very same political climate that opened Zara’s eyes to the dire reality, where full-time activists are called to fight and defend hard-earned human rights.

In the past weeks before her death, Zara learned that she was being tailed by suspected state agents. She continued her work nonetheless, even carrying out relief operations to pandemic-hit communities only to be questioned by village officials. On the night she was killed, Zara was preparing for the arraignment of a political prisoner, coordinating and relaying important messages for the family and their lawyer.

Initial reports from Karapatan Negros showed she was shot at least six times, two of which were fatal. The bullet that may have drawn her last breath – the one that pierced through her heart and lungs – appeared to have been fired while she was already lying down.

Determination

Zara’s political awakening began early. She grew up embodying Christian values and teachings on social justice and preferential option for the poor as her parents were active church workers. During her college days, she joined exposure trips to peasant communities in Cadiz, Negros, until she joined Anakbayan’s local chapter, where she was eventually elected as its secretary general sometime in 2000 or 2001.

When Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo implemented one of the bloodiest counterinsurgency programs Oplan Bantay Laya 1 and 2, Zara witnessed the need to be further involved in the human rights advocacy. The Negros island, particularly the municipality of Guihulngan, was among those tagged as “center of gravity” of the revolutionary movement, resulting in grave human rights violations, including the killings of fellow human rights workers.

After graduating and becoming a licensed teacher, she chose to pursue her advocacy work as a full-time staff for various people’s organizations in Negros. Hardworking and determined activist that she was, Zara was given big responsibilities, such as serving as deputy secretary general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and as campaign officer of Karapatan.

Zara had lived with vilification and red-tagging since her political awakening. While in detention for about two years and even after her release, the red-tagging against her never ceased.

Among the most recent was when she was named, along with more than 600 hundred individuals, in the infamous terror list that the Department of Justice submitted to a Manila court in a bid to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army, as terrorist organizations.

Two months before she was included in the terror list, Zara’s name and photo already appeared in a poster pinned up by police officers in the town center of Moises Padilla in Negros as one of the so-called “CNN Personalities.” CNN is the military’s abbreviation for Communist Party of the Philippines, New People’s Army and National Democratic Front.

Of the people whose names and photos appeared, Zara is the third to be killed. The two others are human rights lawyer Benjamin Ramos and former local official Bernardino “Toto” Patigas, who were killed in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Amid the attacks against her, Zara never blinked from her commitment. In 2019, she was among the human rights defenders who sought a protection order from the Court of Appeals. This was later dismissed by the appellate court.

“We both have reached this point in our life that there is no turning back. We cannot turn our backs from the toiling masses. Zara had a big heart filled with selfless love and unwavering commitment to the people,” fellow human rights worker Clarissa Singson told Bulatlat in an online interview.

A warm, caring colleague

Though Zara was despised by state security forces, her friends and colleagues can attest how much she was loved and cared for by the people she served. Everywhere she went in the Negros island, Singson said people opened their doors for her, ready to prepare her favorite seafood dishes or make sure she had a biscuit in her bag to quell the growling of an empty stomach.

Nuns, who constantly egged her to gain weight, would buy chocolate milk drinks for Zara. They would at times hand over canned goods or bags of rice, too, but Zara would always bring these either to the political prisoners in the Negros island or to their families.

In one of the many fact-finding missions they carried out together, Singson recalled being so dead tired that she could no longer lift a finger to eat despite the hunger. Zara quickly scooped rice and fried fish to feed Singson like a child, much to the amusement of villagers.

“Eh di ba ang laki ko tapos ang liit niya,” (I’m big and she was petite) she jested.

When Singson was sent to the intensive care in 2019 and clinically died for 35 minutes before she was revived, Zara was so worried that she had asked her friends in the religious community in Negros to hold the Sacrament of the Annointing of the Sick to her ailing friend and colleague.

Zara loved a good laugh, even at her expense, like dancing in public to the theme song of Dora the Explorer.

She was also very generous when it comes to sharing her knowledge on the situation on the ground. When journalist Anne Krueger first moved to Negros as a human rights worker, it was Zara who showed her the ropes.

She then co-founded alternative news agency Paghimutad, which has been covering the human rights situation in Negros island, especially during the 2019 killing spree under Oplan Sauron. This allowed her to work closely with Zara, whom she grew fond of and treated like a big sister.

Months later, however, she found herself needing the help of human rights advocates as she was among those arrested along with 61 others in the series of raids in Negros on Oct. 31, 2019. Zara did not fail her and Krueger was later released on bail.

Tireless, selfless

Even in the face of threats and intimidation, Zara remained cool and calm. Instead of panicking, she remained composed even in the face of threats and intimidation. At times, she would even crack a joke despite the tense situation they were in.

During the killing spree in Negros back in 2019, Zara played a crucial role in organizing and in seeking help. Her movements were under surveillance that those detained like Krueger often find themselves worried over her safety than theirs.

Known for being tireless and selfless, she pushed her limits, even carrying out tasks that was beyond her or even missing meals. Even when she, too, was in utter exhaustion from all the human rights work, she would offer words of comfort to her arrested colleagues, telling them to remain steadfast in their cause.

“Malalagpasan din natin ito,” (We will overcome this, too.) she would always tell them.

She also tirelessly maximized her platform online by posting and reposting news articles about the human rights violations not just in Negros but also in other parts of the country. Among her last Facebook posts included the burial of Echanis and the third year since the killing of 17-year-old Kian delos Santos.

She would also post statements of various people’s organizations and staunchly supported the granting of franchise of media giant ABS-CBN, where she led and joined protest actions.

At times, she would also gamely accept internet challenges, like when she posted her black and white portrait of her tagging three of her friends to do the same, or repost funny political memes.

Zara’s inspiration

Among her inspiration was her now 11-year-old daughter, whom she had always had in mind even during her two-year detention.

“Her daughter would always ask me how her mother is doing. How am I going to answer that question now?” Singson, also the godmother of Zara’s daughter, said.

With her busy schedule as a full time activist and also for security considerations, her daughter has been left to the care of Zara’s father. Whenever time permits, Zara would visit her and spend days bonding with her daughter.

Zara was always proud of her daughter’s achievements. Still, she was never an overparent and talked to her daughter like an adult, explaining the risks of her advocacy and to a certain degree, preparing her for the inevitable.

“Her daughter inspires her,” Krueger said.

Zara, who loved the sea, who loved to eat seafood and their local rice cake dipped in chocolate sauce, who worked tirelessly and selflessly, was murdered in one rainy evening. Yet, her fire burns eternal.

The post Cheerful and caring, Zara Alvarez was an activist who never backed down appeared first on Bulatlat.