Jun Pala?s Ghost Still Haunts Duterte
?Ah, patay na diay? Kanus-a? Kinsa nagpatay? (Ah, he is dead? Since when? Who killed him?)? the Davao City mayor mockingly asked a crowd in Bankerohan during a campaign rally this week.
?Ah, patay na diay? Kanus-a? Kinsa nagpatay? (Ah, he is dead? Since when? Who killed him?)? the Davao City mayor mockingly asked a crowd in Bankerohan during a campaign rally this week.
Taken. Clarita Alia is hysterical as her son, Fernando, is laid to rest in Davao City today. Fernando was the fourth and last son of Alia who was killed in the last five years. “I no longer have anybody with me. They took all my children,” Alia wailed during the burial. She believes that the so-called Davao Death Squad was behind the murders of her sons, as well as countless other people, many of them minors who had trouble with the law. The extrajudicial killings, which Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has tacitly approved, are seen as the city’s way of dealing with crime. Government and tourism officials have praised the city for its low crime rate, which is ironically attributed to these killings. Duterte has likewise earned kudos for his toughness on crime and for his statements warning people that they would be killed if they commit crimes in his city. (davaotoday.com photos by Barry Ohaylan)
HRN Fact finding team in Philippine April 2007
1 Human Rights Now, Tokyo Based international human rights NGO has conducted the investigation on extrajudicial killing and enforced disappearance in the Philippines on 14-21 April, 2007. As Asian friend, Japanese civil society is very concerned the fact that substantial numbers of Filipino people have targeted of extrajudicial killing and enforced disappearance. Human Rights Now shares this very concern and decides to send fact finding mission to the Philippines.
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Dear kababayan,
The May 14 elections is an opportunity for Filipinos to say NO to
extrajudicial killings. The government must respect and uphold human
rights and civil liberties, including those of critics and activists.
Genuine democracy demands respect for oppositionist and critical
voices.
As of today, 838 civilians have been slain. Among them are 130 members
of Bayan Muna, one of the groups critical of the Arroyo government,
and which champions the Politics of Change vis-a-vis traditional
politics. International and independent probes have pointed at the
Arroyo government and the military for the failure to stop the
violence and for having the motive to kill the activists.
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BRUSSELS — The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) demands the Philippines president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo act immediately to protect media safety, following this week?s distressing news of the murder of journalist Carmelo Palacios, and attempted murder of journalist Delfin Mallari Jr.