Name: The World Organisation Against Torture
Price range: $

Also available in

English

PHL 001 / 0406 / OBS 053

Assassination
The Philippines
April 27, 2006

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in the Philippines.

Brief description of the situation:

The Observatory has been informed by the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) about the extra-judicial execution of Mr. Ka Eric, alias Enrico Cabanit, Secretary General of Pambansang Ugnayan ng mga Nagsasariling Lokal na Organisasyon sa Kanayunan (National Coordination of Local Autonomous Rural People’s Organisations - UNORKA), a non-governmental organisation campaigning for land reform.

According to the information received, on April 24, 2006, Mr. Ka Eric was shot dead at around 6:10 pm at the Panabo Public Market by two unidentified assassins. He sustained four gunshot wounds in the head and died on the spot. His daughter was also seriously wounded and is said to be in critical condition at Tagum General Hospital.

Mr. Ka Eric had reportedly just had a meeting with officials of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), along with other peasants, at UNORKA-Mindanao office, just 500 meters away from the place of incident. They were asking that the lands owned by the family Floirendo, in Davao Penal Colony (DAPECOL), be included in the list of lands under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Programme (CARP). Indeed, under the CARP, landowners are required to have their land distributed to beneficiaries.

According to the information received, Mr. Ka Eric consistently called for land reform and distribution of lands to poor farmers who are beneficiaries of CARP, and was among the complainants against present and past government officials for corrupt practices. His organisation has actively engaged in the expulsion of two past DAR secretaries for their anti-peasant and anti-reform policies.

The Observatory strongly condemns the assassination of Mr. Ka Eric, which adds up to the long list of extra-judicial executions of human rights defenders in the Philippines, in particular those acting in favour of economic, social and trade unions rights.

Action requested:

Please write to the authorities of the authorities of the Philippines urging them to:
i. Conduct a fair, impartial and independent inquiry into this event, in order to identify the perpetrators, bring them to justice and pronounce sentences proportional to the gravity of the crime;

ii. Guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to the family of the victim;

iii. Adopt immediate measures to put an end to all acts of violence against human rights defenders and guarantee in all circumstances that human rights defenders and organisations are able to carry out their work in the Philippines;

iv. Comply with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in particular article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually or in association with others, to promote the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, and article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration;

v. More generally, ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in the Philippines in accordance with 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
Hon. Loretta Ann Rosales, Chairperson 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.int
Embassy of the Philippines in Brussels, 297 avenue Molière, 1050 Ixelles, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 345 64 25

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

***
Geneva - Paris, April 27, 2006

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need. The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29