The activity was attended by 25 participants composed of media practitioners and representatives of civil society organizations, the academe, and human rights groups from the Zamboanga peninsula and the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.

The round table discussion was held to provide a venue for a multi-sector discussion on current human rights issues in Mindanao, particularly in Western Mindanao, and the response of media in terms of accurate reportage of such issues; to understand the plight of human rights victims, and at the same time give voice to the victims through reliable and analytical human rights reporting.

During the round table discussion, the sharing of experiences by several participants elicited critical arguments such as the journalists’ approach and accountability to human rights reporting and the practice of ethics in human rights coverage. To address the issues faced by the media and the civil society in human rights reporting, the participants agreed to establish a monitoring system with multi-sectoral effort to ensure the continuous monitoring of human rights cases and thereby produce more accurate and reliable reports and stories readily available to the public and different concerned organizations.

The activity is part of the advocacy of the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project (PHRRP) in promoting human rights awareness in Philippine journalism and contributing to the protection of human rights and democracy in the country.

Session Highlights

Preliminaries

The round table discussion formally started at 1:45 pm with welcome remarks delivered by Dr. Marcy Carpizo on behalf of Dr. Grace Rebollos, president of the Western Mindanao State University. With the speech of Dr. Rebollos, she described the hardships of human rights victims from all kinds of injustice like sexual mutilation, human trafficking, and war, and the many unresolved human rights cases in the country. The speech highlighted the importance of giving voice to the victims, and providing a venue where different sectors of the society can get involved in promoting and defending human rights.

Carolyn Arguillas of MindaNews provided a short introduction and overview of the round table discussion. The topic “Giving Voice to the Victims” was chosen by the organizers because it is perceived that the victims are the least heard group of the society, and journalists’ news reporting practices do not seem to reflect the actual and real stories of these victims. Ms Arguillas also related her experience of difficulty in reporting from Sulu before the advent of faster and mobile communications technology yet compared to today’s easy access to communication channels, there are still problems with the reportage.  She stressed that journalists should contribute to truthful reportage of human rights issues, and with the round table discussion, the victims and the civil society as well can provide feedback on how media reportage has positively or negatively contributed to the progress of human rights cases in the region. She mentioned that the organizers have invited the Commission on Human Rights to shed more light to pending cases in Sulu.

After this the participants one by one introduced themselves to the group, and Alan Davis of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting briefly talked about his organization and its projects in the country. He explained that IWPR operates in over 23 countries worldwide and its projects try to raise awareness and attention about human rights issues. The Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project in particular tries to promote responsible human rights reportage and encourages journalists to engage with all sectors to develop a common space where information on human rights and issues are readily available. Mr. Davis pointed out that the real challenge is the weak implementation of human rights laws in the country, and journalists can positively contribute to the progress of human rights cases by adapting a more forensic approach to information and creating a monitoring system with a pool of accurate, reliable and properly documented reports and stories which can be readily accessed and used by the government, the civil society, and all the other sectors.

 
Round Table Discussion

The facilitator, Horacio Marcos Mordeno of MindaNews, proceeded with the round table discussion. The round table discussion started with the sharing of experiences by a relative of massacred victims, a journalist and a representative of the civil society. He requested that the first speaker not be photographed and be identified only as “Rachma,” as requested.

1. Insights of a Relative of Massacre Victims

Rachma is one of the survivors of the February 4, 2008 encounter in Maimbung, Sulu. Rachma related her story in the Tausug language, Bahasa Sug, which was translated in Pilipino by a companion.

Rachma narrated that on February 4, at around 2 a.m. they were awakened by the sound of loud gunshots. Her family decided to flee their home to avoid being caught in the middle of the gunfight, so they rode a banca (small boat) and drifted towards the mangrove to hide. But since it was low tide, a group of soldiers were also hiding among the mangrove, who according to Rachma, fired shots unto them, from a distance of two meters,  killing several relatives. This happened despite their shouting they were civilians. During the commotion she recalled hearing somebody shouting “hold your fire” from another group from a different location within the mangrove. Rachma also recalled seeing flares and helicopters during the incident as they fled the mangrove.

Atty. Manuel Mamaoag of the Commission on Human Rights provided updates on the progress of the Maimbung case.

(1) Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCom) stated that the incident was a legitimate encounter with the Abu Sayyaf Group;

(2) The CHR was able to gather seven sworn statements of witnesses with similar descriptions of the incident which include the indiscriminate firing at civilians from all directions and the burning of stilt houses by soldiers;

(3) The AFP has not provided CHR with the list of names of soldiers involved in the incident, but CHR was able to identify the troops as the Philippine Navy Elite Special Warfare Action Group and the United States Terrain Light Action Company;

(4) Some victims were brought aboard a navy boat. One reported to have seen their personal belongings, poultry, and electric generators on the boat. This victim also reported to have seen four American soldiers inside the navy boat;

(5) Copies of the CHR progress report were sent to Lt. Gen. Allaga, to Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, and AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon for comments before any subpoena powers can be issued. Lt. Gen. Allaga received the report and maintains his statement of the incident as a legitimate encounter;

(6) Investigations conducted by the Judge Advocate General’s Office (JAGO) from AFP General Headquarters and the Western Mindanao Command resulted in different reports but with similar statements, which prompted Gen. Esperon to call for an independent fact finding investigation;

(7) A pre-trial investigation is ongoing and administrative disciplinary action and court martial are to be taken simultaneously;

(8) On March 24 the CHR office sent a subpoena for the troops active during the clash to Brig. Gen. Juancho Saban, commander of Task Force Comet based in Busbus, Sulu. Brig. Gen. Saban denied having received any subpoena, but it was confirmed by CHR to have been received by a private soldier on March 26; and

(9) Based on the results of the progress report, CHR filed the case to the Office of the Ombudsman, with criminal charges of prohibited murder, looting, damage to properties, and arbitrary detention against the troops involved in the clash.

Furthermore, Atty. Mamauag explained that the progress report has not been officially published yet as they are waiting for the comments of the CHR national head office. He also clarified that despite having conducted a situational investigation of the incident together with the JAGO, CHR does not maintain any working relationship with AFP other than the promotional aspect of human rights education and campaign.

Mr. Davis shared that at the time of the Maimbung clash he was in London, and he observed that there was a gap or disconnection between the Human Rights Watch in London and Philippine media despite the availability of readily accessible communication channels. He suggested that local media reporting on human rights issues should link up with non-governmental organizations and international human rights groups to gain more leverage in pressuring the fast resolution of human rights violation cases.