DAVAO CITY -- High-ranking military officers earlier named in the Davao lawyers' petition for writ of amparo failed to show up in court for the scheduled hearing on Wednesday. This was the second time that Judge Jose Manuel Castillo of the Regional Trial Court Branch 10 called a hearing on the amparo petitions of Davao-based lawyers, Carlos Isagani Zarate, Lilibeth Ladaga and Angela Librado-Trinidad. Read on.
Dr. Rogelio ?Bong? Pe?era, head of the Department of Health (DOH) epidemiological research and surveillance unit tasked to monitor and address the A (H1N1) flu cases in the region, was killed in his car while going home. He was active in political campaigns that sought government?s attention to the sordid state of the country?s health care delivery. Pi?era was also a member of the groups Alliance of Health Workers (AHW), the Rx for Peace and the Health People United for the Removal of Gloria (Purga), a group of medical practitioners and health workers calling for the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Read on.
DAVAO CITY --- Three lawyers whose names were in the military Order of Battle list filed a petition for a writ of amparo at the Regional Trial Court to preempt impending threats to their lives. Davao lawyers Carlos Isagani Zarate, Lilibeth Ladaga and Angela Librado-Trinidad filed the petition before the RTC clerk of Court on Tuesday, June 16, asking the Court to order the respondents?mostly top military and police officers in the region?to produce all documents related to the inclusion of their names in the OB list and to ?suppress? or ?destroy? these information. They also asked the military to make a public apology to rectify the damages to their reputation and to explain why their names were put in the list. Read on.
Human rights advocates wanted authorities to look beyond the fact that Monzon was killed by ski-mask wearing men on motorcycle. ?They (investigating authorities) should look into the fact that Monzon was once vilified by the military,? said Erlin Balinton, a volunteer of human rights group Karapatan who documented the circumstances of Monzon?s death. ?He had a case filed with the Commission on Human Rights in October last year about how the military harassed him. They should look into his activities when he was still alive, if only to establish who could possibly have the motive to take his life.? Balinton said that Karapatan has yet to find out about what police actions were being done in Boston. Read on.
Ludenio Monson, a Mandaya farmer and leader of Nagkahiusang Mag-uuma sa Boston (United Farmers of Boston), was shot at around 4:30 in the afternoon on Wednesday, a volunteer from the Solidarity Action Group for Indigenous Peoples (Sagip) told Davao Today in a text message.Monson was with a companion at the time of the incident. He told colleagues last month that he (Monson) was already a ?marked? man in his area. He said he got information that his name was in the military?s Order of Battle list and that he could be ?taken anytime.? He was among those strongly opposed to mining. Read on.