CLICK HERE to read more about their report in their website
Click here to know updates on selected cases of enforced disappearances in the Philippines as compiled by the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project.
The Philippines has been ranked 5th out of the world’s worst countries for prosecuting journalists’ killers. Click here to read a new report into impunity by the Committee to Protect Journalists
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We wish to extend our deepest sympathies to the relatives of all those
abducted and killed in Maguindanao on Monday November 23. Much is said
and claimed by those in power about an improving human rights record:
However, such an atrocity and the climate of impunity that surrounds it
is surely the most accurate measure of the reality behind all the
official words.
It has been said that President Arroyo has been searching
around recently for the best legacy and mark of her 9 years in power.
The Maguindanao massacre is most surely it.
Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project
Partners: IWPR, CCJD, MindaNews, NUJP
The Heart of Darkness
Welcome to the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project website
Developed by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) in partnership with national media development and support organizations, the Project platforms and promotes human rights coverage in the Philippine media and aims to root better awareness of and adherence to human rights in society for the benefit and protection of all. READ MORE
NEWS: Sadly the Project is now out
of funds and all activities have now ended. The website will however remain
open and very occasionally updated. We very much hope to be back in some capacity
working to support human rights when conditions allow. Contact us here.
We are delighted to announce that the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project has been nominated Best New Media in the 2009 One World Media Awards. READ MORE.
Journalists Abducted and Killed in Ampatuan, Maguindanao
23 November 2009
Ian Subang, Socsargen Today,
General Santos City
Lea Dalmacio, Socsargen News,
General Santos City
Gina De la Cruz, Saksi News,
General Santos City
Maritess Cablitas, News Focus,
General Santos City
Rosell Morales, News Focus,
General Santos City
Henry Araneta, DZRH,
General Santos City
Marife “Neneng" Montaño, Saksi News, General Santos City
Alejandro "Bong" Reblando, Manila Bulletin, General Santos City
Victor Nuñez, UNTV,
General Santos City
Mark Gilbert "Mac-Mac" Arriola, UNTV, General Santos City
Eugene Dohillo, UNTV,
General Santos City
Hannibal Cachuela, Punto News,
Koronadal City
Ernesto "Bart" Maravilla, Bombo Radyo, Koronadal City
Benjie Adolfo, Gold Star Daily,
Koronadal City
Rubello Bataluna, Gold Star Daily,
Koronadal City
Jhoy Duhay, Gold Star Daily,
Tacurong City
Ronie Perante, Gold Star Daily correspondent, Koronadal City
Joel Parcon, Prontiera News,
Koronadal City
Bienvenido Legarte Jr., Prontiera News, Koronadal City
Rey Merisco, Periodico Ini,
Koronadal City
John Caniban, Periodico Ini,
Koronadal City
Arturo Betia, Periodico Ini,
Koronadal City
Noel Decina, Periodico Ini,
Koronadal City
Fernando"Rani" Razon, Periodico Ini, Koronadal City
Andres "Andy" Teodoro, Central Mindanao Inquirer, Tacurong City
Jimmy Cabilo, Midland Review,
Tacurong City
Reynaldo “Bebot" Momay, Midland Review, Tacurong City
Napoleon Salaysay, Mindanao Gazette, Cotabato City
Santos "Jun" Gatchalian, DXGO, Davao City
Lindo Lupogan, Mindanao Daily Gazette, Davao City
Jolito Evardo, UNTV, General Santos City
Jepon Cadagdagon,
Saksi News, General Santos City
(Source: Humanitarian and Fact-finding Mission of the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists)
Human Rights Updates
New Handbook for Journalists
Blogs
The Cost of Winning
Posted Friday, 14 August 2009
Albay Governor Joey Salceda, in yet again one of his maverick yet
truthful quips, said last week during an interview after the Galing
Pook’s forum on good governance and local economic development: “You
should take away from the politicians the pretext for corruption by
ensuring they do real campaign finance accounting.” READ MORE
The Good News
Posted Wednesday, 12 August 2009
As recent headlines tell about President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s
alleged USD 20,000 dinner in a New York City restaurant while millions
of Filipinos go hungry, a low-key forum last week gathering heads of
local governments from north to south of the Philippines showed that
the country still has a wealth of stories on good governance,
transparency and accountability. READ MORE
Philippine Army Trains New Recruits in Mindanao -August 2008
Inside the MILF - A visit to Camp Darapanan, August 2008
Mindanao Refugees - Casualties of August 2008 Fighting
Mindanao Crisis 2008 -Visit to a Philippine Army Outpost
FOR AUDIT? A soldier mans the Ampatuan mansion in Shariff Aguak following the imposition of Martial Law in Maguindanao. It is said to be one of the many mansions of the clan which will be subject to audit probably for the first time. Photo courtesy of Inquirer.net
Is Anything in This 'Alleged' Government Fit For Purpose?
Commentary by Alan Davis
O
nly
now, with 57 dead, martial law declared and enough weaponry recovered
to equip a battalion, the Philippine government finally wants an audit
of all the money it has sent to the Maguindanao in-laws turned outlaws.
READ MORE
Andal Ampatuan Sr. (right) and son Zaldy with political supporters in this undated photo: May 2010 should be recast as the Maguindanao elections to remind people of the need for real justice and change. Photo courtesy of Mindanao Examiner
Making the Elections a Referendum on Maguindanao
Commentary by Alan Davis
M
ANILA -- Have we crossed the Rubicon with the Maguindanao Massacre and Saturday’s declaration of Martial Law?
READ MORE
Giants among Men: Koronadal-based community journalists Hannibal Cachuela of Punto News (right) and Bart Maravilla of Bombo Radyo were among those killed in that lonely hillside in Ampatuan November 23. Photos courtesy of media colleague Allen Estabillo
Giants among Men
Commentary by Alan Davis
G
eneral Santos City -- “It’s the heart of darkness up there,” so
said one of a group of young local lawyers of Maguindanao province on
Friday as a group of us stopped by a General Santos coffee shop having
just come from the wake of the first six journalists to be released for
burial by the authorities here. READ MORE
Photo by Romy Elusfa
Forensic Investigation?
Commentary by Alan Davis
B
elieve it or not, this photograph (right) does not capture the
Maguindanao crime scene. No, this picture actually shows the official
recovery of bodies. This is forensic investigation SOCO-style. The
photojournalist who took this, Romy Elusfa, a human rights reporting
colleague has confirmed to us that this picture was taken during the
actual and official recovery process. READ MORE
Challenge of conscience: six of the 57 massacre victims, and counting. ROMY ELUSFA
Challenge of Conscience
A Joint Media Statement
T
he brutal, indiscriminate mass murder
on Monday in Ampatuan town, in Maguindanao province, raises the
ultimate challenge of conscience. It carries the culture of impunity at
work in this country to such levels of horror that, if it remains
unpunished for long, can send the nation into an inexorable descent
into absolute dehumanization. READ MORE
Maguindanao massacre: Arroyo's legacy? Photo from www.enpoe.com
Arroyo Credibility At Risk Over Massacre
"I
would like to imagine that at least a few senior politicians woke up
this week to seriously wonder what kind of monsters they and their
system have created over the years.
"For once the authorities acted. But then given the scale, this time they couldn't afford not to."
-- Philippine Human Rights Project Director Alan Davis, as quoted by the BBC. READ MORE
Six slain community journalists in one wake is just the start. Wake for at least 23 other more media victims in the Maguindanao massacre would soon come. Alan Davis
The Decimation of Community Journalists: Dying with Democracy in Maguindanao
by Red Batario
H
ow do we make sense of the aberration of that Monday morning, the
darkest day in the history of Philippine journalism, the day democracy
was mocked with impunity and human rights were used as a floor mat with
which to wipe blood-stained feet?
READ MORE
Maguindanao carnage strikes at the very foundations of democracy
by The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines
T
he National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) demands
justice for our colleagues and all the other victims of the November 23
carnage in Maguindanao province. READ MORE
Bless our Home
A Tale of Manila's Urban Poor Dwellers
Photos by: Jes Aznar
Click the Slideshow to see in full view.
Journalists are among those usually denied access to public information despite the Constitutional guarantee. Information is either confidential or no longer available, leaving them and more so the people clueless on how their country is being run. CLAIRE DELFIN
Freedom of Information: Good Theory, Bad Practice
by Claire Delfin
I
n the Philippines, free access to information is guaranteed by the
Constitution – but not yet codified by law: The result is the right to
information is very much protected in principle – but not in fact.
Despite judicial affirmation of such a right, the lack of a clear and
defining law has helped to ensure denial of access to official
information remains widespread across the country. READ MORE
Transparent As a Moonless Night: The Budget Process and Spending
by Claire Delfin
W
ith
national and local elections now less than a year away, presidential
hopefuls have been speaking out on one issue after another. Yet none of
them has so far mentioned anything at all about the national budget
process which independent observers claim provides huge opportunities
for corruption. READ MORE
Number of killings in the Philippines had reportedly declined. But families and friends of victims in the previous years still find justice elusive. KEITH BACONGCO/AKP Images
How Many Extrajudicial Killings Have There Been So Far This Year?
Analysis by Rorie R. Fajardo in Manila and Alan Davis in London
In Geneva recently speaking in front of the Human Rights Council, UN
Special Rapporteur on Summary, Extrajudicial or Arbitrary Executions
Philip Alston reported a 70 per cent decrease in the number of
unexplained killings since his February 2007 visit here and in his
subsequent report.
READ MORE
Photo courtesy of Nicole Smith/Cordillera Peoples Alliance
Case of Missing Activist Heard by UN in New York
by Arthur Allad-iw
B
AGUIO CITY – A federation of indigenous organizations in
Cordillera has presented the enforced disappearance case of activist
James Balao, 47, to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous
Issues’ (UNPFII) in New York. READ MORE
Sanctuary before death: The Suarez family stayed here in Kamanikan, Gingoog when military operations against the NPA increased in March. A month later, they were all found dead and burned in their upland home, prompting both warring camps to blame each other. CAI PANLILIO
Massacre in the Mountains: Who killed the Suarez Family?
by Ma. Cecilia L. Rodriguez
G
INGOOG CITY, Misamis Oriental --
The sun was still hiding behind Pantaron range when Manuel Suarez, wife
Jocelyn and their four children in tow, set off on an eight-hour trek
to their farm upstream along the borders of Agusan del Norte and
Misamis Oriental. READ MORE
Witness Protection Plan Fails to Protect Witnesses - Family of Murdered ChurchWorker
by Arthur Allad-iw
B
AGUIO CITY – While the vast majority of suspected extra judicial
killings are never solved - chiefly because witnesses fail to come
forward, a military intelligence officer was allegedly identified and
subsequently charged with the killing of 37-year-old activist Jose
“Pepe” Manegdeg III. READ MORE
We're still here: Children displaced by the conflict between government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front take a peek from their makeshift huts in Datu Piang, Maguindanao. BONG SARMIENTO
The Forgotten
A Special Report by Bong S. Sarmiento
D
ATU PIANG, Maguindanao --
They were only supposed to provide temporary shelter, yet nine months
on, the streets of this impoverished town remain a sea of orange and
blue plastic sheeting and tents which protect tens of thousands of war
evacuees (bakwits) from the sun and rain - but not from ongoing misery, hunger, disease and trauma.
READ MORE
Death list? The name of slain peasant leader and human rights defender Celso Pojas appeared in the alleged Order of Battle of the Philippine Army dated 2007 that was recently leaked to Deputy Minority Leader Rep. Satur Ocampo. KELLY DELGADO
Order of Battle - Malicious Forgery or Conspiracy to Murder?
Commentary by Alan Davis
M
ANILA -- Just as there is a law against sedition, so equally there must surely be some law against inciting or conspiring to murder.
An alleged Order of Battle belonging to the Philippine Army’s 10th
Infantry Division has just been leaked and is said to name 110 people
in the Davao region who are believed to be somehow sympathetic to the
communist insurgency and therefore listed as a threat.
READ MORE
Excited, anxious: Teenagers Cezar Anthony Valencia, left, and Arvin Jasper Mañalac register to become first-time voters in 2010. SWEET CAWICAAN
Excited, Anxious First-Time Voters
by Sweet Mary J. Cawicaan
B
ARAS, Rizal -- Seventeen-year-old cousins Achilles Jerome
Mañalac and Cezar Valencia are excited. Before the year ends, both of
them will turn 18 and just like all of their age, they are looking
forward to the benefits of adulthood - including the right to vote. READ MORE
A mother plays with the youngest of her nine children as the rest of the family share their meal of noodles and rice in Tondo, Manila. A local executive order banning the use of modern contraceptives here has stripped women of means to control their desired number of children. JES AZNAR
Denying Women’s Reproductive Rights: An Executive Privilege or Human Rights Abuse?
by Perla Aragon-Choudhury
M
ANILA -- What happens when women are too poor to pay for their own
contraceptive supplies and long for the government to step in an offer
simple support for an operation that would stop their unwanted
pregnancies and enable them to take control of their lives? READ MORE
Who killed her and why? Activist Eden Jolloso-Jerus was killed in front of her children March 31 under almost the same manner her husband was killed in front of her two years back. Photo courtesy of the Jolloso family
Widow of Murdered Activist is Killed in Front of Children
by Bobby Labalan
S
ORSOGON CITY
– Celebrations marking Women’s month were marred here after the
37-year-old widow of a murdered activist was herself shot dead by a
motorcycle gunman in front of her two young and now orphaned boys.
READ MORE
Contractual workers at the popular food chain Jollibee sweat it out just to make their customers happy, but the low pay and limited benefits keep them from being jolly. Seven out of 10 Filipino workers are now contractuals. CESAR USAPDIN
A Nation of Short-Term Workers without Benefits
by Sweet Mary J. Cawicaan
M
ANILA – Whereas the kind of short-term contract work which underpins the fast food business tends to be an anomaly in many countries, in the Philippines it is the norm and helps perpetuate an overwhelming sense of job insecurity. READ MORE
These were the only photos which kin of farmers Julito Quirante (left) and Ronel Raguing kept before they were seized allegedly by army soldiers and later found dead a month after they were last seen. Photos courtesy of the Quirante and Raguing families
Killings of Farmers and Activists in Negros Sugar Fields Continue
by Joseph Lagorra
S
TA. CATALINA, Negros Oriental – It is a dangerous time to be a farmer and activist here. No fewer than five have so far been killed this year – three shot dead in two separate incidents and a further two whose hog-tied and hacked remains were exhumed last month after allegedly being seized by the military on January 31 and February 1. READ MORE
Defending the detainees: Stuck in cramped cells while waiting for the slow judicial process to move, they hope to finally use in 2010 their right to vote people who could probably help improve their life in jails. CHAI SY
Right to Suffrage: Alien to Detainees
by Claire Delfin
M
ANILA -- For 14 years now, Peter Torida has not been outside of Manila City Jail except for court hearings.
Held in jail on charges of murder, Torida has precious few rights: Even
the right to vote that the Constitution grants to prisoners who have
yet to be convicted of any crime has been taken from him. READ MORE
Where is the justice? Six weeks after she was snatched, raped and brutally killed, Rebelyn (photo at the streamer) still had none. Police investigators are yet to be granted access to the 13 military intelligence agents suspected behind the killing which had shocked and enraged too many. BARRY OHAYLAN
Military Intelligence Primary Suspects, Not Cooperating –Task Force Rebelyn
A Two-Part Special Report on the Investigation into the Killing of Rebelyn Pitao
by Alan Davis
(Part 1)
D
AVAO CITY -- Despite the military’s insistence that it shares the widespread outrage over the brutal killing of Rebelyn Pitao between March 4 and 5 and its promises to cooperate fully with police and show it has nothing to hide, the commanders and agents of two army intelligence units appear to be doing no such thing. READ MORE
(Part 2)
Protest against the killing of Rebelyn. Photo courtesy of Pinoy Weekly Online/Ilang-Ilang Quijano
D
AVAO CITY -- Reports that Rebelyn Pitao’s elder sister was being ‘cased’ while she was still a student nurse surfaced when the family was asked after last week’s 40th day mass for Rebelyn if they could point to anything suspicious or unusual that might help the investigation. Rio told us how she had been informed by her then teachers that people were asking about her. She says she never saw those allegedly tracking her, but that staff in the hospital where she was on work placement alerted her school after two unidentified men claiming to be relatives came asking for information on her. READ MORE
No ordinary toys for Basilan boys: Pre-teens like these in Basilan are learning to carry guns to protect themselves from kidnap gangs. JULIE ALIPALA
Pre-teen Basilan Youth Arm Themselves against Kidnapping Gangs
by Antonio M. Manaytay
M
ALUSO, Basilan -- Ten-year-old Joey (not his real name), a public elementary student here, casually walks with his school backpack everyday. He frolics and plays like any normal schoolboy would do –except that his backpack contains a .38 caliber gun. READ MORE
At what price? Zamboanga City, once awarded as child-friendliest city in Western Mindanao, now has a story to disclose on the death of a 14-year-old beggar appearing to be a victim of summary killing. Child beggars like these ones are usually seen in the city's main streets. JULIE ALIPALA
At What Price Keeping the Streets Safe? The Life and Death of a 14-year-old Beggar
by Julie S. Alipala
Z
AMBOANGA CITY – Each year the city government buries dozens of unknown and unclaimed men, women and children. Most are buried collectively in the village of Mampang about 9 kilometers from here. READ MORE
Killed for his cause? Family and colleagues say activist Eliezer Billanes was killed for his anti-mining stance, but authorities say insurgents wanting to ‘take him out’ may have done it. Photo courtesy of CathNews
Death of an Anti-Mining Activist: Impunity Lives On
A Special Report by Bong S. Sarmiento in Koronadal with Alan Davis in Manila
K
ORONADAL CITY— Does the killing of anti-mining activist Eliezer ‘Boy’ Billanes highlight irregular links between some mining companies and the Philippine military - or was he killed by insurgents because it was feared he was about to be turned into a so-called military asset and informer? READ MORE
Jonas Burgos: Missing for almost two years. The writ of amparo could have helped his kin find him, but the Court of Appeals said last year that their evidence linking the military to the kidnapping was just hearsay. Photo courtesy of Free Jonas Burgos Movement
The Writ of Amparo: Just How Effective Is It?
by Claire Delfin
T
he road has been long and winding for Edita Burgos in her search for her missing son. April 28 will mark the second year of the disappearance of Jonas Burgos who was abducted by a group of men and one woman in a Quezon City shopping mall. March 29 meantime saw his family quietly ‘celebrate’ his 39th birthday with a mass and a prayer ‘that those behind his abduction will be bothered by their conscience and speak the truth about what happened to Jonas.' READ MORE
CPA founding member and Oclupan Clan Association President James M. Balao, 47 years old, was abducted by suspected military agents at Lower Tomay, La Trinidad, Benguet on September 17, 2008. Photo courtesy of Cordillera Peoples Alliance
James Balao: Still Missing Almost 200 Days On
by Marilou Guieb
B
AGUIO CITY -- Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) founding member James Moy Balao has been missing for six months. Ironically, the anniversary of his abduction by five armed men who warned witnesses away by claiming to be policemen was marked by National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales rejecting European Union concerns about continuing summary killings and disappearances. READ MORE
Too far: Rebelyn Pitao, a grade school teacher, was abducted, tortured, raped, killed and dumped in a watery ditch in Carmen, Davao del Norte “like a carabao.” BARRY OHAYLAN
A Killing Too Far: Rebelyn Pitao
A Special Report by Keith Bacongco
D
AVAO CITY – Rebelyn was wearing her white school teacher’s uniform when she left home to go to work. “Ma, lakaw na ko (Ma, I have to go now),” she called out to her mother Evangeline. It was 6:30 a.m. – the last time Mrs. Pitao saw her 20-year old daughter. It was the last time she ever heard her voice. READ MORE
Safe in the city? Unabated vigilante-style killings of criminals in Davao City have alarmed human rights groups but to some, these have made their streets safer especially when night falls. RUBY THURSDAY MORE/AKP Images
Public Hearings On Summary Killings in Davao: Will They Help Turn The Tide?
by Keith Bacongco
D
AVAO CITY – As the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) announces its intention to hold a public hearing on continuing extrajudicial killings here later this month, church and civil rights groups remain skeptical that it will have any lasting effect. READ MORE
Cottage industry: Kidnap gangs including the Abu Sayyaf continue to lord over and remain powerful in Sulu and Basilan, thanks to the culture of guns and violence, and support from poor kin and friends. CHARLIE SACEDA
Everybody Loses: Kidnappers in Sulu, Basilan Hurt Own Communities Most
by Claire Delfin
T
he three International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) workers will soon be starting their seventh week in captivity – having been kidnapped while visiting a provincial jail on Jolo Island in Sulu on January 15. Their abduction has been deemed ‘a crime against humanity’ by some observers with ICRC chiefs themselves appealing to the kidnappers' ‘sense of humanity.’ The Geneva Conventions – part of International Humanitarian Law, clearly forbids the taking of hostages under Article 3. Failing to respect medical workers and the emblem of the Red Cross is also a crime under international law. READ MORE
Corruption: Human Rights at Stake
by Claire Delfin
Q
UEZON CITY -- With his skinny physique, tanned shabby skin, and head covered with grey hair, Oscar Dela Cruz looks old. He is barely in his forties but says working each day under the sun watching over parked cars has aged him quickly. READ MORE
The NPA says its membership continues to increase, but to the military it is no longer the ideological force it once was. EDWIN G. ESPEJO
The New People’s Army in Mindanao: A Growing or Declining Force?
by Edwin G. Espejo
W
hile renewed fighting between Moro rebels and government forces in Mindanao dominates the headlines, the island's other long-standing conflict goes on. READ MORE
While government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front are yet to resume peace talks, North Cotabato farmers who are also government militia carry firearms on their way to their farms as defense from possible encounter with the rebels. ROMY ELUSFA
New Government Peace Panel Members ‘Lack Supporters and Mandate’
by Romy Elusfa
A
re prospects for the proposed new peace panel dead before it even begins? READ MORE
The displaced go cities to escape hard life in evacuation centers in time of war but end up with swindlers and abusive employers. ROMY ELUSFA
Swindlers Defraud and the State Fails Mindanao’s Hopeless People
by Rick R. Flores
D
AVAO CITY— Going home and staying ‘home’ was all 17-year-old Aliya (not her real name) wanted –even though her last home has been an evacuation center in Maguindanao, 160 kilometers southwest from here. READ MORE
A farmer and his child join a rally in Davao City calling for the extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. RUBY THURSDAY MORE/AKP Images
Farmers and Advocates Push for Land Reform Extension to Address Rural Poverty
by Ruby Thursday More
M
ABINI, Compostela Valley -- As lawmakers debate on the fate of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) before the session in Congress ends this year, farmers in this rural town believe -- and have proven – that owning and having control of a piece of land and the means to cultivate it is their way out of hunger and poverty. READ MORE
Arrested Human Rights Lawyer Yet To Have His Day in Court
by Arthur L. Allad-iw
B
AGUIO CITY – Lawmakers in the House of Representatives have filed a resolution to investigate the arrest and continuing detention of human rights and labor lawyer Remigio Saladero Jr. READ MORE
Bayan Muna coordinator Danilo Qualbar was shot four times in the stomach by unidentified armed men but his death merited no outrage, investigation or autopsy. ALAN DAVIS
Unrelated Killings Or An Undeclared War?
by Alan Davis
C
OMPOSTELA VALLEY -- Is the recent spate of activist killings in Southern Mindanao an unfortunate series of coincidences or are they somehow related to the Philippine military’s counter-insurgency program Oplan Bantay Laya 2? READ MORE
Mindanao NGOs Fear Effects of Peace Monitoring Pull-Out
by Romy Elusfa
D
AVAO CITY -- The pullout of the last members of the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team (IMT) from Mindanao may lead to the escalation of fighting between government forces and Moro rebels that could send many more civilians trooping to evacuation centers, according to grass-root organizations working here. READ MORE
'Hoodlums in uniforms' no more? The police and military say their human rights record is improving, but people are still looking for signs that they are indeed committed to protect and serve. ARIEL DANO
Protecting and Serving?: Police and Military Claim Human Rights Advances
by Claire Delfin
M
ANILA -- As activists continue to assail the Philippine government over its human rights record, the military and the police insist the tide is now turning and they are instituting real reform. READ MORE
Justice for Aresio Padrigao: The message, decorated with a bloodied dagger, comes from the family and friends of the radio block timer, who criticized illegal loggers in his weekly one-hour program. ALAN DAVIS
A Killing Puzzle: The Life and Death of a Radio Block-Timer
A Special Report by Alan Davis and Ma. Cecilia L. Rodriguez
G
INGOOG CITY, Misamis Oriental --
Three days after burying him, the family of
Aresio Padrigao were packing up their simple belongings and waiting for
the people from the
Department of Justice's (DOJ) witness protection program to take them
to the relative safety of Cagayan de Oro, a two-hour drive away.
READ MORE
Wrong premise: Congress proposes to fine or imprison journalists or have their outlets closed if they fail to immediately publish the reply of subjects of their news and commentary, a clear attack on the Bill of Rights, media groups say. ALAN DAVIS
Right of Reply, Wrong Premise
Commentary by Carlos H. Conde
T
he advocates of press freedom in the Philippines are confronted with an
unusual dilemma. A proposed law is being considered for passage in the
Senate and the House of Representatives that, according to its
proponents, would uphold press freedom but, on close reading by
journalists, could actually curtail it. READ MORE
Father and son pass in front of effigies at an anti-labor migration rally in Manila at the opening of the Global Forum on Migration and Development. Critics says the government depends so much on its overseas workers to survive the economic crunch but does little to protect and save them from abuses and even death abroad. JES AZNAR
Selling People Overseas To Save the Economy At Home
by Nora O. Gamolo
"W
e will step up pressure and campaigns so the 40 or so overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) on death row around the world have their sentences commuted,” said Connie Bragas-Regalado, chairwoman of Migrante International and Secretary-General of the Hong Kong-based International Migrants Alliance. READ MORE
Mining has divided ordinary villagers in Macambol in Mati City. Many see it as a threat to their environment and culture while others believe it would bring jobs and food. LRC-KsK
Fisher Folk Battle Huge Mining Proposal and Its Defenders
by Keith Bacongco
M
ATI CITY, Davao Oriental – Waves lap up the shallow shores of Sitio Wagon in Barangay (village) Macambol as fishermen and their families work and live off the bountiful waters of Pujada Bay. READ MORE
A Mandaya leader maps communities affected by the Pujada nickel mining project in Mati, Davao Oriental. CHR seeks to work closely with affected groups to monitor reported human rights abuses of mining firms. KEITH BACONGCO/AKP Images
‘Toothless’ CHR Seeks to Work Closely with Peoples to Fight Human Rights Abuses
by Keith Bacongco
C
AGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) admits it is unable to protect people who approach them to report alleged human rights abuses. READ MORE
Longings, Death, Despair Stalk Datu Piang ‘Bakwits,’ Military
by Bong S. Sarmiento
(Editor’s Note: The author joined a media fact-finding tour in conflict-affected areas in central and northern Mindanao from October 26-31 organized by the Mindanao Peoples Caucus. This story is a means to give voice to the civilians caught in the conflict raging since August after the Supreme Court stopped the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.)
D
ATU PIANG, Maguindanao -- Sagiara Giapal, a skinny Grade 4 student and one of thousands of children stuck in squalid refugee centers here, played happily with friends in the midst of a late-afternoon downpour. READ MORE
Baby's burial: Evacuee Raiz Adteg, second from left and holding umbrella, and his kin carry the wrapped body of his 18-month-old sister Anariza, who died from diarrhea four hours earlier in an evacuation center in Datu Piang, Maguindanao. AKP Images
Datu Piang: Streets without Joy
by Charina Sanz
(Editor’s Note: The author joined a media fact-finding tour in conflict-affected areas in central and northern Mindanao from October 26 to 31 organized by the Mindanao Peoples Caucus. This story is a means to give voice especially to the civilians caught in the conflict raging since August after the Supreme Court stopped the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.)
D
ATU PIANG, Maguindanao -- In the afternoon rain, Raiz Adteg, 16, walked somberly on his way to bury his baby sister, 18-month-old Anariza, who died from diarrhea that morning at the evacuation center in the town plaza here. READ MORE
'Yes We Can': Filipinos who are usually disenfranchised during elections, such as elders, are called to unite in protecting their right to vote their next president in 2010. JES AZNAR
‘Yes We Can:’ Uniting Citizens to Protect Their Right to Vote in 2010
Commentary by Loretta Ann Rosales
T
ask Force 2010, a broad coalition of citizen organizations, was set up in early March 2008 to organize and mobilize all qualified citizens to register and vote in their millions and ensure that the people’s vote shall be counted and the people’s choice proclaimed. READ MORE
Photo by Brenda S. Dacpano/NORDIS
World Churches and Indigenous Peoples Urge Authorities to ‘Surface’ Missing Activist
by Arthur Allad-iw
B
AGUIO CITY – World church representatives meeting here to forge new links with indigenous peoples’ groups have lined up to condemn the disappearance of leading local activist James Balao, blaming the authorities for his abduction. READ MORE
Government soldiers pass by a mosque in a captured MILF camp in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao. Government says MILF has to yield its rebel leaders first before talking peace, but MILF says it could not restrain its men with the final scrapping of the MOA-AD. JES AZNAR
Government and the MILF Pushed To Go the Extra Mile for Peace
by Claire Delfin
P
eace advocates are scrambling in a last minute bid to reduce the prospect of the Mindanao crisis spiralling out of control following the Supreme Court’s October 14 decision to rule the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) unconstitutional. READ MORE
A child and his mother walk past evacuees' clotheslines in front of the Munai town hall. A life interrupted is what the recent hostilities brought this child and others. MA. CECILIA RODRIGUEZ
Children of War: Young Evacuees Know Little Else
by Ma. Cecilia L. Rodriguez
M
UNAI, Lanao del Norte -- A wry smile from seven-year old
Hassan greeted visiting health workers waiting under a tarpaulin to
give him and his playmates measles shots. READ MORE
Muslim women pray at the end of Ramadan. Some fear fighting would escalate anew but many local communities pray and work for lasting peace. JES AZNAR
Local Communities Push For Peace Zones in the Face of War
by Debbie Uy
D
AVAO CITY – When the military and Moro rebels clashed outside
their home in Dungguan, North Cotabato, then seven-year-old Mudzaime
Habib was in the bath. He escaped the exchange of gun fires in dripping
wet clothes. His mother, two sisters, and three brothers only stopped
long enough to grab a cooking pan and a small sack of rice before
fleeing.
READ MORE
Life in the streets of Ermita: extreme poverty pushed it, but one says it could also be a matter of choice. ARNEL GOMEZ
Life on the Streets of Ermita Still Beats Life Back Home
by Claire Delfin
M
ANILA -- Mary Grace Pulido, 17, is from Ermita. She was born
there, grew up there, and lives there. She even found her man there.
Her life is on the street.
She and her family often move from one corner to another but Mary
Grace has known no other home except the sidewalks of this tourist
district of Manila, a stone’s throw from the US Embassy. READ MORE
Forging peace in Mindanao involves dialogue with the community, especially the affected like these displaced women and children. ROMY ELUSFA
So, After MOA-AD, What Next?
Commentary by Rudy B. Rodil
(Editor’s note: The author is the Vice Chair of the now dissolved
Government Peace Negotiating Panel in talks with the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front. A retired professor and Mindanao historian, he
continues to share his views – such as this exclusive commentary with
the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project – on the rights and
wrongs, the known and unknown in the quest for peace in Mindanao.)
T
his
is the automatic question that comes from friends who know, or new
acquaintances who find out that I was a member of the GRP (short for
Government of the Republic of the Philippines) Peace Negotiating Panel
in talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that the
President dissolved on September 3, 2008. READ MORE
Fighting continues: A Philippine Army soldier distributes flyers with photo of renegade MILF commander Ameril Umbra Kato as displaced residents in Datu Saudi Ampatuan in Maguindanao look on. JES AZNAR
Christians, Muslims assert peace amid war mongering
by Nora O. Gamolo
M
ANILA -- The prospect of
serious renewed fighting breaking out in Mindanao after the end of
Ramadan has got Christian and Muslim organizations trying to work out
how best to help keep the peace and kick-start renewed talks while
helping out in the huge relief effort needed. READ MORE
Lumads, like these ones at a recent feast in Malasag in Cagayan de Oro to celebrate their rich culture, have a key role in the road towards lasting peace in Mindanao. MA. CECILIA RODRIGUEZ
Are Lumads Left Out in the Quest for Peace in Mindanao?
by Ma. Cecilia L. Rodriguez
C
AGAYAN DE ORO CITY – “No one informed us, nobody consulted us.”
Timuay (tribal chieftain) Nanding Mudai was adamant as he
explained why his people refused to come out in support of the
controversial Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD)
which would have created the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity, a sub-state
led by the local Muslim community in Mindanao. READ MORE
A Muslim family takes cover at the side of their house as government and MILF exchange artillery fires in Datu Piang, Maguindanao. They would most likely join many others in evacuation centers. JES AZNAR
Evacuees Face Growing Hunger and Anxiety as Clashes Continue in Ramadan
by Edwin O. Fernandez
M
IDSAYAP, North Cotabato – Conditions are worsening for
villagers who have fled renewed fighting between the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, now in
its sixth week. Many are short of food while others are battling mental
problems. READ MORE
Media and Human Rights Education: Now More than Ever
by Alan Davis
(Editor’s note: The author gave this keynote speech at the Asian
Congress for Media and Communication International Conference on August
21-23, 2008 at the Ateneo de Davao in Davao City. The conference held
the theme “Media in Asia: A Tool for Human Rights Education and
Monitoring” to focus on the role of the media and the academe in
reporting human rights.)
I
want to try and put the argument today that it is not a perversion of
media to be engaged with and committed to the protection of human
rights. More the opposite – it is in fact a badge of honor. READ MORE
MILF soldiers guard their base in Camp Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat. ALAN DAVIS
The Media and Mindanao:
The Dangers of Psychological Embedding and Armchair Punditry
Commentary by Alan Davis
M
INDANAO -- In times of crisis, thinking often bunkers down
and simplifies. Groups express no doubt and offer no quarter. Extremism
blooms swamping calls for restraint and careful consideration.
READ MORE
Members of the Philippine Army spot base overlooking the oil-rich Liguasan marshes in Maguindanao just after being ordered to pull back as MILF activity increases nearby. ALAN DAVIS
As the MOA-AD Unravels, What Now?
Commentary by Carlos H. Conde
N
ow the plan to ram through the Memorandum of Agreement
on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) has unraveled, the
administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
is trying to sweep it under the carpet. READ MORE
Industrious evacuees put their skills to good use and fill in empty days at centers in Pikit as they wait for the security situation to improve. One of these is a beautician who provides a 30-peso manicure to a fellow refugee. BONG SARMIENTO
Business Still Thriving in Times of Trouble
by Bong Sarmiento
P
IKIT, North
Cotabato -- In miserable condition, economic
opportunity still abounds.
Such is the view of some refugees here whose entrepreneurial spirits have not been
hit by the harsh condition they face in the evacuation centers of North Cotabato
in central Mindanao where fighting has
displaced an estimated 100,000 people. READ MORE
In the time of war, civilians, both young and old, flee the quiet of their homes and seek refuge in cramped evacuation centers like this one in Pikit, North Cotabato following renewed conflict between government and Muslim separatists. BONG SARMIENTO
Waiting Game: North Cotabato Refugees Frightened to Return Home As New Crisis Erupts in Lanao Norte
by Bong Sarmiento
P
IKIT, North Cotabato -- Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in. –Robert Frost.
In this Muslim-dominated region that has seen four wars since the late
1990s, thousands of homes in isolated villages await the return of
their owners. For the moment at least, though fighting has flared up to
the north of the region in Lanao Del Norte, the guns of war have fallen
silent here. READ MORE
A young mother and her child endure the heat, noise and fumes in their 'home' under a portion of a bridge in Quezon City. They are among the country's 4.5 million homeless families. JES AZNAR
Homeless–But Not Hopeless
by Sweet Mary J. Cawicaan
Q
uezon City, Philippines -- Rain poured hard that Saturday
afternoon. Passengers in Katipunan Avenue stuck waiting for jeepneys to
Marikina City and the nearby towns of Rizal province huddled across the
entrance to a gated executive village and the Santa Clara Monastery. READ MORE
Medium and small-scale Muslim entrepreneurs, like this vendor in Barangay Culiat in Tandang Sora, Quezon City, face a double-edged sword in Manila: they reap profits from their businesses but find themselves easy targets of extortion even by police authorities. JES AZNAR
The New Settlers: Mindanao Muslims Head North Looking For New Opportunities - And Face New Threats
by Claire Delfin
I
t was 1984. Hadja Amina Jed, then 29 years old,
packed her things, left Maguindanao in Western Mindanao and sailed north to Manila. READ MORE
Erlinda Cadapan, mother of missing University of the Philippines student Sherlyn, lays a picture of her daughter with those who were believed to have 'been disappeared' or killed due to their political beliefs. JES AZNAR
The Failing State – Mothers of the Disappeared left to seek Justice Themselves
by Amita O. Legaspi
I
f there is one person best placed to explain why the best definition of torture includes the deliberate infliction of mental as well as physical pain, it is Erlinda Cadapan, the 59 year-old mother of missing university student Sherlyn. READ MORE
Not Giving Up: People With Disabilities Take Their Place In Society
by Maria Congee S. Gomez
M
ORONG, Rizal --
Thirty-three-year-old Bernadette Rivera has been disabled for virtually
her entire life after falling from a banana tree she was trying to
climb at the age of two. The fall injured her spinal cord and a high
fever followed soon after. “My parents didn’t know the symptoms of
polio and we relied on an albularyo (quack doctor) in the
village. We didn’t seek real medical advice until it was too late. A
check with doctors at the health center confirmed my central nervous
system was affected and they doubted if I could regain normal muscle
movement,” she says. READ MORE
Ending domestic violence is the Filipino woman's lonely fight against a tradition that sees her as subservient and silent amid suffering just to keep the family together. JES AZNAR
Victims of Domestic Violence: Attacked by Husbands, Trapped by Society
by Claire Delfin
M
ANILA
-- It was the middle of the night when Rowena (not her real name) woke
to the sounds of her husband in his drunken stupor returning home and
struggling with the door. Her heart was pounding for she knew all too
well from a long and painful experience what would happen next. READ MORE
It is not only in the classroom where one could learn. Alternative education has helped the poor, the old and the jobless to read and write. LEO ESCLANDA
Alternative Education: The Poor’s Way Out of Illiteracy
by Claire Delfin
M
ANILA -- In the heat of summer, Marcie Omilan (not her real name)
wipes away the thick beads of sweat that run down her face as she
stands in class, reciting the alphabet. She has been in class for more
than a year, and running through the alphabet is easy. But she is not
six years old: she is 64. READ MORE
Worn-out chairs and books, plus the muddy and winding roads, give children in the mountains a hard time to stay in school. MARIA CONGEE GOMEZ
Food Today or Education for Tomorrow? A Mountain School Story
by Maria Congee S. Gomez
S
HARIFF KABUNSUAN -- Bliugan Primary School is as basic and isolated as they come: the wooden school house was built in 1960 with the help of Teduray elders. Pupils aged between seven and 14 come from as far afield as Ranao Tenge, four kilometers away, whereas their older siblings are forced to trek to Ranao Elementary School six kilometers from Bliugan. READ MORE
The Human Rights Council recognized the Philippines in protecting rights of children among others, but human rights groups disagree. LEO ESCLANDA
Philippine Govt Working Hard to Prop up Human Rights Image
by Jose A. Torres, Jr.
M
ANILA, Philippines -- The Philippine government, under attack by rights groups for its poor record in defending and protecting human rights, has been busy these past months propping up its image in the international community. READ MORE
Filipinos at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration office in Manila show pictures of their relatives working abroad. There are 8.2 million Filipino migrants now, mostly working in the Middle East. JES AZNAR
Exploited Overseas and Missed At Home: The Filipino Migrant Worker
by Sophia Ann Torres
T
he role of more than eight million Filipino migrant workers often takes center stage when their remittances hit a record high: they reached USD 14.4 billion in 2007. READ MORE
It's back to school for these students in a Quezon City school. But in a year or two, some of them would most likely drop out due to poverty. JES AZNAR
Young, Poor and Unschooled
by Perla Aragon-Choudhury
Q
UEZON CITY -- Pepe, 12, is busy helping his mother package loose garlic cloves for sale. "Before I go to school," he says," I put the cloves in plastic packs and staple them onto strips of cardboard. And when I get back home, I walk with my mother to the stores around Tandang Sora." READ MORE
A young boy walks past a mosque in downtown Jolo in Sulu. The mayor recently declared the town as 'peace zone' to cure its image of conflict and lawlessness. JES AZNAR
‘Fighting’ for Hearts, Minds…and Independence in Sulu
by Vincent Sawabi
"I
know the Government sometimes forgets us, but Malacanang (the Presidential Palace) cannot give up Sulu easily because we are an asset to them,” so said Jolo Mayor Hussin Amin, referring to his island’s bountiful fishing grounds and supplies of exotic fruits. He was speaking in late May as the United Tausug Citizens for the Sultanate of Sulu organized a fifth straight rally through the town demanding a return to the past when the island was part of an independent Muslim state. READ MORE
New Peoples Army (NPA) guerillas celebrate the 39th Founding Anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on December 26 last year in the jungles of Surigao del Sur. KEITH BACONGCO / AKP Images
Suspect 'Ana': The Story of an NPA Guerilla's Ex-Wife
by Bong S. Sarmiento
L
ess than 100 metres from a police detachment at the so-called barangay Cannery Site in Polomolok Town is the sari-sari (general merchandise) store owned by Luzviminda Mosquera.The owner of the shop, which lies deep in a warren-like neighborhood of narrow alleys, is known as Inday, a petite 41-year-old, single mother of two teenage girls.In early March, Mosquera was not seen managing her small store - little more than a room facing toward the main road and attached to the roughly built concrete house of her parents. READ MORE
Human trafficking: Victims' families are part of the problem- and the solution
by Bong Sarmiento
(Editor's Note: This story has alreadybeen republished by GMANews.Tv, the online news portal of the GMA Network, and the independent weekly Philippine Graphic. We welcome republication of all material: Stories canbe freely republished with proper attribution to the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project.)
G
ENERAL SANTOS CITY—Sheila, Valerie and Bridget (not their real names) hail from poor families here and have set their sights to as far as Manila, Brunei and Japan for jobs as domestic helpers to support their families back home.
Work of different non-government groups, like this one, constantly put on the public sphere human rights issues impacting on peoples' civil liberties. LEO ESCLANDA
Institutional Checks and Balances on Human Rights
by Red Batario
B
eneath the grimy belly of a bridge somewhere in the north of Metro Manila, a family of five huddles together for a dinner of pag-pag rice and soy sauce. Pag-pag refers to food scavenged from garbage heaps, washed and re-cooked. The family’s shanty that also functioned as an eatery for jeepney drivers, built on the side of a road in Quezon City, had just been demolished by a sidewalk clearing team from the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA). It was the third time in as many years that the family had lost home and livelihood. READ MORE
The Cost of Winning
