The Philippines: Arbitrary detention of Messrs. Sharon Abangga and Gerald Lavadia

Case PHL 060906
Arbitrary arrest and detention

Geneva, September 6, 2006

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in the Philippines.
Brief description of the situation:
The International Secretariat of OMCT was informed by the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TDFP), a member of the OMCT network, of the arbitrary arrest and detention of Mr. Sharon Abangga (33) and Mr. Gerald Lavadia (35), at the South Central Market of Talisay City, Cebu on September 1, 2006, by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-7 (CIDG-7) under Supt. Jose Jorge Corpuz, based at Camp Sotero Cabahug in Cebu City and military intelligence based at Camp Lapu-lapu in Cebu.

According to the information received, Mr. Sharon Abangga, a fish vendor resident of Sitio Salvador Barangay Tangke, Talisay City, and an alleged member of Anak Pawis, a Bayan Muna affiliated organisation, and Mr. Gerald Lavadia, resident of Tres de Abril, Cebu City, allegedly a labor organiser of a Bayan Muna affiliated organisation, were arrested by unidentified security forces in civilian clothes near the South Central Market in Barangay Tabunok, Talisa City, during the afternoon of September 1, 2006.

It is reported that Mr. Sharon Abangga was sent by his mother to buy some sticky rice or ‘pilit’ around 3 pm in the afternoon of September 1, 2006 from Barangay Tabunok where the South Central Market of Talisay is. According to witnesses, Mr. Sharon Abangga was seen discussing with Mr. Gerald Lavadia, moments before their arrest nearby the market. When Mr. Gerald Lavadia was going to embark on a taxi to go back to his domicile in Cebu City, unidentified security forces in civilian clothing arrested Mr. Gerald Lavadia and Mr. Sharon Abangga along with the taxi driver who was later released.

The detainees were held incommunicado until September 4, 2006, when they were taken to the office of Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and presented to the media. While both were in detention, and until the media presentation, the police and the military denied their custody to Mr. Sharon Abangga’s parents, who were actively looking for their son. The police and the military upheld alleged charges of both members of the CPP-NPA (the Communist Party of the Philippines - and its military arm – the New People’s Army) who would have been entrusted with the task to extort revolutionary cash tax and laptops from businessmen, despite the views of the local residents of Mr. Abangga’s community for whom Mr. Sharon Abangga is a fish vendor with no criminal record. According to Mr. Alfred Majo, a well-known Salankas leader, Mr. Sharon Abangga was an active member of Anak Pawis, although he stopped these activities since he got married in 2005.

On September 4, 2006 both men were further charged with alleged cases of rebellion, robbery with intimidation, and illegal possession of firearms as cases were filed against them at the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Talisay City, which in turn filed the complaints to the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Cebu City through the Fiscal Marshal Rubia. No bail was recommended.

Action requested:

Please right to the authorities in the Philippines urging them to:
1. Guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Sharon Abangga and Mr. Gerald Lavadia;
2. Ensure the immediate release of these two men in the absence of valid legal charges, and if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
3. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into the arbitrary detention of the two detainees, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply to them the civil, penal and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
4. Guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.

Addresses:

• Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the Republic of the Philippines, New Executive Building, Malacañang Palace Compound, J.P. Laurel St., San Miguel, Manila, Philippines, Fax: +632 735 6192; +632 736 1010; Email: opnet@ops.gov.ph; corres@op.gov.ph
• Secretary Avelino Cruz Jr., Department of National Defense, 3rd Floor, DND Building, Camp Aguinaldo, EDSA, Quezon City, Philippines, Fax: +632 911 6213, Email: sndcruz@dnd.gov.ph; ajcruz@dnd.gov.ph
  
• Hon. Raul M. Gonzalez, Secretary, Department of Justice, Padre Faura Street, 1004, Manila, Philippines, Telefax: +632 521-1614, Email: sad@doj.gov.ph
  
• Hon. Purificacion Valera Quisumbing, Chairperson, The Commission on Human Rights, SAAC Building, Commonwealth Avenue, U.P. Complex, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines, Fax: +632 929-0102, Email: drpvq@chr.gov.ph
  
• Arturo C. Lomibao, Police Director General, Chief, Philippine National Police, National Headquarters, PNP Camp Crame, Quezon City, Philippines, Tel: +632 726-4361/726-4366/726-4329 Fax: +632 724-8763
  
• Hon. Bienvenido Abante, Chairperson of the Committee on Human Rights, House of Representatives, Batasan Hills, Quezon City, Philippines, Telefax: +632 931 6288, Email: conglapr@nsclub.net
  
• Hon. Loretta Ann Rosales, member of the Committee on Human Rights, House of Representatives, Batasan Hills, Quezon City, Philippines, Telefax: +632 931 6288, Email: conglapr@nsclub.net
  
• Hon. Francis Pangilinan, Senator, The Senate, Rm. 526 GSIS Bldg., Financial Center, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City, Philippines, Fax: +632 552-6747, Email: kilosko2004@yahoo.com
  
• Ambassador Enrique A. Manalo, Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the United Nations in Geneva, Avenue Blanc 47, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 (0)22 716 19 32, Email: mission.philippines@ties.itu.in
  
• Philippine Embassy in Brussels, Avenue Moliere / Molierelaan 297, 1050 Brussels, Belgium, Tel; +32 (0)2 340 33 77 / (0)2 340 33 78, Fax: +32 (0)2 345 64 25.

Please also write to the embassies of the Philippines in your respective country.

Geneva, September 6, 2006