By CHERYLL D. FIEL Davao Today DAVAO CITY – A 74-year-old man, a 32-year-old mother, three farmers and two Bagobo lumads find themselves accused of the military’s trumped up charges as the government’s Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL) deadline to end the four-decades of Communist insurgency nears. For opposing...

The mother of Rebelyn Pitao, the slain 20-year-old dauhter of New People's Army leader Kumander Parago, continues to shout for justice a year after the killing. Families of victims of extrajudicial killings joined the human rights group Karapatan in a picket-rally at Camp Panacan on March 4, exactly a...

KALINAW MINDANAO REMEMBERS THE AMPATUAN MASSACRE. The interfaith peace movement Kalinaw Mindanao accompanied the relatives of Lawyers Connie Jayme-Brizuela, Pinky and Ella Balayman to commemorate the third month of the Ampatuan massacre that killed 58, among them 32 journalists. At least 50 participants...

UNDESIRABLES. Members of progressive groups in Davao City laud the resolution of the City Council declaring partylist representatives Jovito Palparan, Jr. and Jun Alcover personae non gratae for allegedly "ruining the city’s good reputation on peace and order." Palparan has earned the moniker...

Makabayan-Nacionalista senatorial bet Liza Maza slammed today the additional cases of sexualized torture, including threats of rape, against the women members of the Morong 43 recently uncovered by lawyers who conducted an independent inquiry into the allegations of sexual abuse committed to the health...

By CHERYLL D. FIEL Davao Today DAVAO CITY – “Nakasabot ko unsa ilang gibati (I understand how they feel),” Cris Tony Monzon, 18-year-old son of murdered activist leader Ludenio Monzon said when he saw the families of the victims of the Ampatuan massacre. Now a member of the group Hustisya (Justice),...

TWO MONTHS AFTER. Families of Ampatuan victims gather around the massacre site in sitio Masalay, Barangay Salman, Ampatuan town in Maguindanao. Lawyers, human rights advocates, representatives from Christian and Muslim faiths join the national Interfaith Mission for Peace and Justice to offer prayers,...

By GERMELINA LACORTE Davao Today DAVAO CITY—“Malacañang could not wash its hands off the Ampatuan massacre because the state is obliged to prevent such things,” said Lawyer Harry Roque, who represented the 13 widows of journalist victims of the Ampatuan massacre in the filing of cases before the...

Groups call for justice for killings in Ampatuan from Davao Today on...

By GRACE S. UDDIN Davao Today DAVAO CITY— If Christmas wishes could be granted, Bayan Intise, 25, wanted to see his father and mother again. His father, Federico and mother Nelly were last seen on October 26 three years ago in Purok Puting Bato in Barangay Calumpang in General Santos City, where his father...

By JOSE HERNANI and GRACE S. UDDIN Davao Today MONKAYO, COMPOSTELA VALLEY— Militant groups marched the coffin of Conrado Cañete, 57, the slain father of a commander of the New People’s Army, around the town of Monkayo on December 9 before bringing it to the cemetery for burial. Activists interpreted his...

By DAVAO TODAY DAVAO CITY– “They did not only kill my father, they brutally murdered him,” student Cristony Monzon, 17, addressed more than 7,000 activists during the 61st international human rights day rally here on December 10. It was Cristony’s first time onstage. It used to be his...

The streets are alive during the December 10 celebration of the international human rights day as people from all over Southern Mindanao call for justice for the victims of extrajudicial killings under the Arroyo administration.(davaotoday.com photo by Jose...

JUSTICE. Another family of a New People's Army leader was brutally murdered on November 28 after attending a fiesta in a nearby barrio. Family, friends and members of progressive groups marched the coffin of Conrado Cañete, the father of NPA commander Ka Jinggoy, around the town of Monkayo, demanding...

(An NDF statement on the 61st Universal Declaration of Human Rights) The National Democratic Front (NDF) of the Philippines-Southern Mindanao calls Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo a certified fascist and dictator with the martial law declaration in Maguindanao only among her latest and shameless schemes to continue...

By GRACE S. UDDIN Davao Today DAVAO CITY— A farmer and his sons said they’ve been beaten and forced to admit they were members of the New People’s Army by soldiers who picked them up near the landmine explosion site in Paquibato. “Bisan unsaon mi og kulata, wala mi ikatug-an kay dili mi NPA (No...

STOP KILLING JOURNALISTS! Davao City journalists demand justice for the 57 victims of Ampatuan massacre, while calling for an end to the 'culture of impunity' in the country. (photo by Keith Bacongco / AKP...

NO TO MARTIAL LAW! Delegates of the second Mindanao human rights summit in Davao City oppose proclamation number 1959, placing Maguindanao under martial rule. (davaotoday.com photo by Jose...

Although the basic right to life, dignity, and development are inalienable rights inherent to every human being, these rights can be suspended by the state for various reasons, political or otherwise. This is why, people need to assert these rights to enjoy them to the fullest. Listen to Lawyer Carlos...

The 4th Pulang Bagani Company of the New People’s Army (PBC-NPA) in Southern Mindanao condemns the brutal killing of Conrado Cañete, a 57-year old farmer whose sole basis for being the target for murderis that he is the father to Ka Jinggoy of the 4th PBC-NPA. He was last seen attending the fiesta...

DAVAO CITY – The death of Rebelyn Pitao early this year was followed with the killing of the father of an NPA commander last November 28, indicating that the military and its deathsquads are still at it: retaliating against the New People’s Army (NPA) by attacking the families of its...

WE ARE FARMERS! A farmer and his sons have been detained at the Mintal police station after they were picked up by members of the 69th Infantry Battalion in sitio Salagunting, Barangay Fatima in Paquibato, where they were tilling their land. Mateo Molato, father, 57, (center) and his sons Jimboy, 21,...

By Prof. Jose Maria Sison Chairperson International League of Peoples’ Struggle The International Coordinating Committee and all member-organizations of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) condemn with all their moral conviction and strength the monstrous massacre of at least 57 people,...

GOODBYE MOM. Eldest daughter Sunshine bids goodbye to her mother, Lawyer Concepcion ‘Connie’ Brizuela. Brizuela was laid down to her final rest on Monday, November 30, in their residence in Del Carmen village, President Roxas town in North Cotabato. She was one of the victims of the gruesome massacre...

LUKSANG BAYAN. Militant groups in Davao City hold a 'luksang bayan' (community mourning), an indignation rally to condemn the massacre in Ampatuan town that killed 57 persons – at least 30 of them are journalists. Among those killed in the carnage were members and supporters of the Mangundadatu...