MANILA — French flagship FNS Var, headed by Commander Paul Massart is paying a goodwill visit to the Philippines from…
Jing Cardino
Gilbert Rey “Jing” Cardino was abducted at around 11 a.m. today at Crossing, Barrio 2, Koronadal City. At 27, he is the youngest member of Bayan Muna’s national council. House Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo quickly denounced the abduction and demanded that the military, whom he suspected of being behind the kidnapping, surface Cardino. Joel Virador, also a Bayan Muna congressman, urged Arroyo to order the military and the police to stop these enforced disappearances. “Without such an explicit, publicly stated order, more activists will either be killed or abducted,” Virador said.
According to Senator Joker Arroyo, the military has lobbied for the junking in the House of Representatives of a bill that seeks to compensate victims of human rights violations during the Marcos dictatorship. The military, Arroyo said, fears that the money would just go to insurgents and rebel groups.
In a privilege speech Monday, Arroyo said the military’s lobbying “demeans and mocks the legislative process” because it shows that the “military can throw a monkey wrench even at the tail-end of congressional work.”
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At last week’s 6th IISS Asian Security Summit in Singapore, top officials from Asian and Southeast Asian nations discussed maritime security. Defense secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. represented the Philippines. The summit was crucial for Mindanao because of its proximity to maritime areas that have been facing threats from terrorists and pirates. Read Ebdane’s paper here, Sri Lanka’s paper here, and Indonesia’s paper here. You can also read a Q&A on the subject.
They’re urging for independent autopsy of Grecil’s remains, particularly since there were traces of powder burns on the child’s head — an indication that she may have been shot at close range, the groups said.
The CHR, according to Kabiba, is passing the burden of proof to the victim and is trying to vindicate human-rights violators. It added that the CHRs conclusion — that Grecil died in a crossfire during a legitimate encounter — “is actually inconclusive because the CHR did not actually employ scientific and defensible probing methods like the conduct of autopsy.
Lack of Merit? Grecil’s parents, shown here during a press conference in Manila in April, have also filed charges against the soldiers before the courts and the ombudsman. (Photo by arkibongbayan.org)
Helping Hands. Members of the Philippine and US navies load food and supplies onto a truck for delivery to a Mindanao orphanage. The donation by the US military was part of the 13th annual bilateral maritime training exercise called Carat (Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training) that began last week in Zamboanga and Basilan. (Photo courtesy of the US Navy/US Embassy)
Without the intervention by the AHJAG — which investigates incidents of violence or disturbance that, on many occasions in the past, complicated the negotiations — elements from the military and the MILF could easily engage in confrontation, given the often unknown or unclear origins of violent conflicts, particularly in the MILF areas in Central Mindanao. Criminal syndicates operate in that area and their activities have often been blamed on the MILF, thus complicating the peace process and the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.
In a May 21 decision, the Commission on Human Rights in Southern Mindanao said Grecil Buya was killed in a legitimate crossfire between soldiers and rebels, and that there was no evidence that the soldiers violated the rights of Grecil. It also said that there was no evidence to suggest that she was a communist guerrilla, as earlier alleged by the military.
Grecil Buya’s parents had sued the soldiers before the CHR, alleging that the troops summarily executed the girl. (Photo courtesy of MindaNews)
Below is a statement released by Pastor Berlin Guerrero, the UCCP priest abducted by government agents last week: What does…
The Philippine Supreme Court today dismissed the rebellion cases against six leftist congressmen known as the “Batasan 6,” among them Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran who has been detained in the past 15 months. “We are vindicated. This is a triumph of truth and justice over the Arroyo government’s invented and unfair charge against duly elected people’s representatives,” Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo said.
