Former peace talk consultant Alfredo Mapano (left) pays a visit to Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, then the head of the archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, after his release from prison in 2016. JIGGER J. JERUSALEM

By: Jigger J. Jerusalem – @inquirerdotnet
Inquirer Mindanao / 07:57 PM December 01, 2020

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—A group of Christian church leaders advocating for peace is questioning the arrest of Alfredo Mapano, former peace talk consultant of National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), while he was at work in a government corporation in Misamis Oriental province.

“Is the government program of national reconciliation and rebel reintegration all for show?” said Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP) in a statement.

The statement was signed by PEPP conveners Archbishop-emeritus Antonio Ledesma of Cagayan de Oro Archdiocese, Bishop Felixberto Calang of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) Diocese of Cagayan de Oro and Bishop Ligaya San Francisco of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) northwestern Mindanao.

It said the case of Mapano cast doubt on the sincerity of the government’s call for rebels to lay down their arms and return to the fold of the law.

Mapano, who had been working at the Phividec Industrial Authority in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, was arrested by a police team from Bayugan town, Agusan del Sur province last Nov. 27 for a case of robbery in band.

Mapano had served seven years at the Misamis Oriental provincial jail until 2016, when he was freed on bail to serve as consultant in peace talks between the government and NDFP.

At Phividec, he worked first as a corporate social responsibility officer tasked with dealing with informal settlers within the 3,000-hectare industrial estate that hosted big corporations like SMB Brewery, power plants and international ports. He became security officer after that.

PEPP said “while leading a normal life with his family,” Mapano also spent time as “active partner in the government program for national reconciliation” and spoke in different forums on peace.

On several occasions, Mapano quietly facilitated the assimilation of former rebels in society and helped those who are threatened, PEPP said.

The bishops said at the time of the supposed crime committed by Mapano in Agusan del Sur and Bukidnon provinces in 2017 and 2019, he was already working in Phividec.

“It is mind boggling to think that he could be in these far-away places while working in a government office,” PEPP said.

“We view with alarm and concern that Alfredo Mapano, a former peace negotiator and now a rebel-returnee, government employee and active partner of the government program, has become a victim of the government’s hollow promise,” it said.

“Instead of the promised ‘peaceful return to the fold,’ he is once again subjected to political persecution with these latest trumped-up charges filed against him,” PEPP said.

“We urge the government to abide by its promise to accept our rebel brothers and sisters who have decided to return to the fold of the law and offer them a chance to lead a peaceful life and contribute to peace-building,” the group said.

Peace cannot be achieved when even those who have given up violence and have chosen to work for peace are still politically persecuted, the bishops added. 

xxxxx

August 21, 2020 9:53 PM PHT
Michelle Abad – Rappler.com
MANILA, Philippines

‘We are saddened and appalled by the ongoing violence and threats against human rights defenders in the Philippines,’ says the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Friday, August 21, called for “independent” and “thorough” investigations into the recent killings of two human rights defenders in the Philippines.

The OHCHR was referring to agrarian reform advocate Randall “Randy” Echanis and human rights worker Zara Alvarez, who were killed within days of each other. Echanis suffered around 40 stab wounds while Alvarez was shot dead.

“We are saddened and appalled by the ongoing violence and threats against human rights defenders in the Philippines, including the killing of two human rights defenders over the past two weeks,” OHCHR spokesperson Liz Throssel said in a statement Friday.

“We welcome the statement from the Presidential Palace denouncing ‘any form of violence perpetuated against citizens, including activists’ and note that investigations into both cases are underway,” she added.

Anakpawis chair Echanis, 72, was among those accused of killing 67 individuals in the alleged purging within the ranks of the New People’s Army more than 20 years ago in Leyte. They were arraigned for murder before a Manila court in 2015.

Echanis had a long career of advocacy work in fighting against injustice and inequality, stemming from his days as a student.

Alvarez, 39, was imprisoned for almost two years. After her release, she worked as Karapatan’s paralegal and as research and advocacy officer of the Negros Island Health Integrated Program, according to the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Negros group.

Before being shot by a lone gunman in Bacolod, Alvarez asked for protective writs. She died before the court could give it to her.

Both Echanis and Alvarez were among the more than 600 people that the Department of Justice wanted to declare as terrorists in a proscription case filed in February 2018.

Following Alvarez’s murder, her colleague Clarizza Singson received a death threat on Facebook warning her that she would be next.

“The UN Human Rights Office stresses the need for independent, thorough, and transparent investigations into the killings and for those responsible to be held to account. Effective measures must be taken to protect other at-risk human rights defenders and to halt and condemn incitement to hatred against them,” said Throssel.

The OHCHR also called on the Philippine government to ensure that relevant agencies fully cooperate with investigations led by the country’s Commission on Human Rights.

The administration under President Rodrigo Duterte has long been conducting a crackdown on people whom they tag as communists or terrorists. Government platforms were also found to be red-tagging the media.

With the anti-terrorism law in place, human rights groups warn of further dangers this could mean for ordinary people who voice dissent. – Rappler.com

Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform
July 24, 2020

The Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP) is deeply saddened over the passing of Fidel Agcaoili, the Chairperson of the NDFP Peace Panel.

May God’s comforting hands be with his family and friends in their time of mourning…

By Jose Maria Sison
NDFP Chief Political Consultant
August 10, 2020

In the strongest terms, I condemn the murder of Randall (Randy) Echanis and his neighbor who were unarmed. Randall was a peaceful social activist. He was a mild-mannered man of 72 years. He had a consistent modest personality with a high level of education and intellect. He had long dedicated himself to his social advocacy and had made tremendous sacrifices for many decades.

Bishop Felixberto Calang
Convenor, Sowing the Seeds of Peace
July 27, 2020

It is our wish that the President’s SONA may contain even the slightest window of opportunity for the resumption of the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations. We wish, not hope, because the imposition of the Anti-Terrorism Law is the single biggest obstacle to the revival of the peace process.

We renew our call that in the midst of the Covid 19 pandemic, there be ‘social distancing’ in the battlefield. This will allow the government to focus its full attention and resources on the people’s health, while also allowing the forces of the National Democratic Front to complement this effort. But it is clear that 4 years into the Duterte Presidency, we see a whole-of-state approach, dominated by military and police generals, to the most pressing issues of our time including the Coronavirus pandemic.

Going into the final stretch of the Duterte government, dreams for an independent foreign policy, genuine land reform, and a just and lasting peace— hatched and launched in Davao City in 2016— have been taken over by anti-democratic, anti-national, and anti-people measures and appear to be the legacy that the President seeks to leave behind.

Bishop Felixberto Calang
Iglesia Filipina Independiente
Diocese of Cagayan de Oro

Convenor, Sowing the Seeds of Peace

The new anti-terror powers allow Philippines authorities to hold suspects for weeks without charge. Photograph: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

Rebecca Ratcliffe, South-east Asia correspondent
Thu 9 Jul 2020 06.48 BST

An anti-terrorism law that grants sweeping powers to president Rodrigo Duterte’s government is facing mounting legal challenges, as rights groups warn the legislation signals a new, dark chapter for the Philippines.

The act, which lawyers say uses a vague and overly broad definition of terrorism, permits warrantless arrests and allows authorities to hold individuals for weeks without charge. It is to be implemented later this month, though at least six petitions against the law have already been filed in the supreme court.

The government says the powers will allow it to respond to threats by militants, but rights groups warn the law could be used to lock up peaceful critics, and may even limit access to humanitarian aid. The law passed on Friday.

“Particularly in the context of Covid, where the role of humanitarian organisations has never been more important in terms of under-serviced communities, any action that hampers work of humanitarian organisations is really irresponsible,” said Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.

The law criminalises anyone who provides “material support” to an activity that is deemed a terrorist act. Though an exemption for humanitarian groups is outlined, Ní Aoláin says this is too limited, and the law could have a chilling effect on agencies delivering aid.

The Philippines has faced a recent increase in coronavirus cases, prompting the government to warn a strict lockdown may be reintroduced. Infections have so far reached 50,359, a fifth of which were confirmed in the past five days. There have been 1,314 confirmed deaths.

Edre Olalia, of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, who plans to file a petition opposing the law in the supreme court, fears the law will have ramifications not just for media, activists and opposition figures, but also members of the public who express opinions online.

He compared the powers provided under the anti-terror act to “a daily martial law”.

“It is unprecedented to give so much power to executive bodies,” he said. The definitions in the law, he added, are “so expansive and broad that even legitimate activity can be considered terrorism”.

Under the law, an anti-terrorism council, appointed by the president, will have the power to designate individuals and groups as terrorists and detain them without charge for up to 24 days. The law also allows for 90 days of surveillance and wiretaps, and punishments that include life imprisonment without parole.
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Duterte, who was urged not to rush to sign the act into law, has rejected concerns about its scope. Those not planning to bomb churches and public utilities to derail the nation had nothing to fear, he recently told the public, adding that communists were among the terrorists. The government continues to fight a decades-long communist insurgency, as well as threats from Islamist groups, in the south of the country.

In a televised address on Wednesday, he said: “Do not be afraid if you are not a terrorist.”

Ní Aoláin said the term terrorism was an “inherently suspect category”, however, and that the government was deliberately using the cover of counterterrorism to suppress rights.

Many fear the law’s sweeping definitions will provide a new tool to silence those who are calling for accountability for abuses committed under Duterte’s leadership, including extrajudicial killings carried out during an anti-drug crackdown launched after his election in 2016.

“The hand is already on the trigger and the law will provide the impetus to press the trigger,” added Olalia.

Over the past few months alone, action has been taken one of the country’s most prominent media outlets. In June, executive editor of Rappler, Maria Ressa, a critic of Duterte, was convicted of cyber libel – over a story she did not write, and under a law that did exist at the time the article was published. Meanwhile, the country’s largest broadcaster, ABS-CBN, which has been repeatedly threatened by the president, has been forced off air. Duterte has denied that either of these cases were politically motivated.

Among those challenging the anti-terror law are Christian Monsod and Felicitas Arroyo, who were part of a commission that drafted the 1987 Constitution. Several more groups are expected to file petitions.

The vast majority of supreme court justices are Duterte appointees. “We will push back, we will fight back,” said Olalia.

By Tonyo Cruz
MANILA BULLETIN
July 25, 2020

Many are in shock and in mourning over the sudden death of Utrecht-based Fidel Agcaoili, chief negotiator of communist rebels in peace negotiations with the government.

Who is this man who, despite the distance and the unremitting slander against the movement he represents, continued to command such strong feelings of admiration?

Fidel Agcaoili, 75, was perhaps best known as the longest-held political prisoner of the Marcos dictatorship. Arrested and detained in 1974 he was released only in 1985.

A decision of the Supreme Court gives us a look into what he had to endure: “Records reveal that Agcaoili was arrested on May 12, 1974 at Balicon Subdivision, Calasiao, Pangasinan, by elements of 5th Constabulary Security Unit (CSU) by virtue of ASSO No. 3225.”

A military tribunal, not a civilian court, tried Agcaoili. Although he had no choice, he challenged the charges, and he endured the long incarceration, to the point that he was serving way beyond the punishment meted against him by the military tribunal.

“The main resolution faithfully depicts the ordeal and travails of citizens under the deposed regime, whereby notwithstanding the lifting of martial law under Proclamation No. 2045 dated January 17, 1981, any person could be ordered detained indefinitely without charges with the issuance by the then president of a Presidential Commitment Order (PCO) or its successor, the Preventive Detention Action (PDA), and yet have no recourse to the courts with the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus for alleged offenses against national security, which effectively stifled the basic constitutional rights and freedoms of our people,” said the court.

That was just a portion of what Agcaoili went through for his political commitment to challenge the Marcos dictatorship.

In a paper published in 1974 by the United States Committee of Concerned Asian Scholars, Ninotchka Rosca wrote about how the military and police arrested, detained, and tortured activists and critics of the dictatorship.

According to Rosca: “Tactical interrogation includes the following: 1) holding the prisoner incommunicado for weeks or months, depending on the whims of the officers involved as well as the response of the individual to methods of interrogation; and 2) the dreaded “methods of interrogation.” The latter includes physical torture (beatings, plucking out the eyebrows hair and pubic hair one by one, pistol whippings, rifle butt blows, karate chops, kicks, burning of the flesh with cigarette butts and matches, burning the genitals of males with lighters), use of electric gadgets (electrodes attached to the genitals and nipples through which electric current is passed), and the use of drugs (the ISAF specializes in injections of sodium pentothal) without medical supervision. In the latter case, one old man appeared to have been given an overdose while inside the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) compound, as a result of which he was in stupor for three days. I have been told of cases where the minds of prisoners just disintegrated because of repeated doses of drugs given by the military; of those, however, I have no personal knowledge and would therefore limit myself to the case of this old man.”

Rosca added: “Recently, the Constabulary Security Unit put into practice a new form of torture: the arrested persons are given injections of morphine to force them into addiction and the drug is later withheld, in the hope that the anguish of withdrawal would force the prisoner into giving information. Receiving this kind of treatment to this time is Fidel Agcaoili, son of a prominent family in the Philippines and a graduate of an American university.”

Upon his release in 1985, Agcaoili could’ve led a quieter and more peaceful life, knowing fully well the unbearable costs to life and limb of remaining politically committed.

Instead, Agcaoili helped form SELDA, the organization of former political detainees together. Don Chino Roces, Juliet de Lima Sison, Romeo Candazo, former Senator Francisco Rodrigo, lawyer Jose Mari Velez, Benjamin Guingona, and Navy Capt. Danilo Vizmanos.

Accounts say the new democratic regime did not welcome it, but SELDA courageously filed a landmark human rights class-action suit against the Marcoses in the US.

Today, we owe Agcaoili and the SELDA co-founders a huge debt for their singular achievement of taking steps to legally holding the Marcoses accountable for human rights atrocities. Docketed as “Hilao vs Marcos,” the class-suit successfully proved atrocities of the Marcos dictatorship. The Hilao in the case title refers to the mother of and the case of PLM campus journalist and student leader Liliosa Hilao, who became the first political detainee to die while in the custody of the martial regime.

The SELDA case became basis for the law compensating victims of the dictatorship, and established in fact and in law the barbarities committed by Ferdinand Marcos during his reign of terror and plunder.

Agcaoili’s political commitment to democracy found him advocating the Left’s participation in the 1987 elections: He served as secretary-general of Partido ng Bayan (PnB). But at the time, the system still proved to be too insecure and unready for radical and progressive politics. Many PnB candidates, supporters, and officials were assassinated, while its offices were bombed. Right-wing forces would later admit being behind the attacks on PnB.

In 1992, Agcaoili reappeared as member of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines negotiating panel in peace talks with the Philippine government.

The talks produced more than 10 agreements, including the The Hague Joint Declaration, the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees, and the first substantive agreement, the the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.

Agcaoili took over as NDFP’s chief negotiator in October, 2016, and led the rebels’ peace overtures with the new president.

As chief negotiator, Agcaoili personally met with Rodrigo Duterte. He pushed for the negotiation and signing of agreements on social and economic reforms, and political and constitutional reforms: reforms supported and demanded by a broad cross-section of the public. The panel even agreed to an extraordinary ceasefire to help propel the peace talks, and broached the idea of national united front against China. The President however made starkly different choices, putting the talks in limbo.

Up until the end, Agcaoili was living a simple, frugal life in Utrecht. Hours before his passing, he was still posting and sharing news and commentary on Facebook about developments in the country he loved and served as a most courageous and visionary peacemaker and revolutionary leader. ###

Church leaders file a petition against the Anti-Terror Act of 2020 before the Supreme Court, July 24. (Photo by Leah Valencia)

Janess Ann J. Ellao
Bulatlat.com
July 24, 2020

MANILA – Church leaders joined the mounting legal opposition against the controversial Anti-Terror Act of 2020 as they filed their own petition today, July 24, before the Supreme Court. They said that under the new law, their ministries for the poor and the downtrodden may be misconstrued as an act of terror.

Petitioners include Bishop Broderick Pabillo of Archdiocese of Manila, Bishop Gerardo Aliminaza D.D. of the Diocese of San Carlos, Protestant leaders Bishop Rex Reyes Jr. of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines, UCCP Bishop Emergencio Padillo, NCCP general secretary Bishop Reuel Marigza, nuns of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines, priests, evangelical professors, and church lay people. Also one of the petitioners is former convenor of the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform Rey Casambre, who has been detained since 2018 due to trumped up charges.

“Our ministries—with marginalized sectors, the economically poor, and those who struggle at picket lines, with boycotts, and though others forms of legitimate and democratic challenge to oppression and exploitation—can be misconstrued as terrorism, supporting terrorism, or inciting terrorism under the Anti-Terrorism Law,” Alminaza, one of the convenors of the Church people Workers Solidarity, said.

In their petition, church leaders assailed that the vagueness of the Republic Act No. 11479 or the Anti-Terror Act of 2020 will expose them to “credible threat of prosecution” for their ministries and advocacies.

Even before this law, petitioners like the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines have long been in the crosshairs of government. Their bank accounts remain frozen and its former head Sr. Elen Belardo is facing trumped-up charges filed by Presidential Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr.

The NCCP, too, was red-tagged during a congressional hearing in 2019, along with local and international humanitarian agencies.

Earlier this week, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines issued a pastoral letter, expressing their disbelief about “the manner in which the contentious Anti-Terror Bill was fast-tracked” amid a pandemic.

“The dissenting voices were strong but they remained unheeded. None of the serious concerns that they expressed about this legislative measure seemed to be of any consequence to them. Alas, the political pressure from above seemed to weigh more heavily on our legislators than the voices from below,” the pastoral letter read.

A government official later claimed it was a violation of the principle of separation of church and state. However, the NCCP seconded the CBCP’s pastoral letter, adding it aims to fulfill church leaders’ prophetic duty to “announce and denounce the ills of society.”

Church leaders were assisted by lawyers from the Public Interest Law Center.

National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers
June 1, 2020

Yesterday’s railroading of the new anti-terrorism bill by the Lower House committees deliberating on the measure brings the country one more step towards a Marcosian dictatorship.

These shameless Congresspersons orchestrated a sneak attack on our civil and political liberties while the entire country was preoccupied by the Covid19 pandemic and the hard lockdown imposed by government.

Setting aside the various bills of their fellow congressmen, House leaders orchestrated the adoption of the Senate’s version in toto, without even changing a comma or a period. This put into waste months of careful deliberations by the joint committees and efforts by several House members to mitigate the bill’s dangerous and draconian provisions.

In light of the railroading that has taken place in the HOR, we can anticipate the quick passage of the bill into law. The Senate bill now adopted by the House provides for the following draconian provisions:

• a more vague and broad definition of terrorism to include virtually any kind of protest action or expression of dissent;
• new crimes like threatening, planning, training, preparing, facilitating, conspiring, proposing or inciting to commit “terrorism” that further widen the already overbroad scope of the crime of “terrorism”;
• ex parte or one-sided designation or proscription of persons or groups as “terrorist”;
• legalizing guilt by association via the crimes of recruitment, membership, and providing material support to a designated “terrorist” or “terrorist” group, organization or association;
• arrest without warrant and detention without charges from 14 to as much as 24 days versus the current 72 hours;
• relaxed rules on physical and electronic surveillance, examination and freezing of assets and bank accounts for persons or groups suspected of engaging in “terrorism”.

This vague, overbroad and expanded definition of “terrorism” and its related crimes will provide the basis for abuse by authorities, making it much much easier to intimidate, harrass, invade the privacy, arrest and detain anyone on trumped up charges.

This is a threat to those opposing the Duterte government’s surrender of our national sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea, the murderous yet sham “war on drugs”, the criminal bungling of the Covid-19 response, the crackdown on human rights defenders, the appointment of a virtual military junta running the government, and the favored treatment of presidential relatives, business cronies and political loyalists.

It targets critics of government and the status quo, social reformers, members of the Opposition, the critical press and the civil liberties and human rights of every Filipino.

We appeal to the remaining upright and freedom-loving members of the House to reject this abominable piece of legislation when it reaches the plenary.

We call on our people to vehemently oppose this latest attack by the Duterte regime on Philippine democracy.#

References:

Ephraim B. Cortez
NUPL Secretary General
+639175465798

Josalee S. Deinla
NUPL Spokeserson
+639174316396

By the Movement Against Tyranny
May 30, 2020

Yesterday’s railroading of the new anti-terrorism bill by the Lower House committees deliberating on the measure brings the country one more step towards a Marcosian dictatorship.

These shameless Congresspersons orchestrated a sneak attack on our civil and political liberties while the entire country was preoccupied by the Covid19 pandemic and the hard lockdown imposed by government.

Setting aside the various bills of their fellow congressmen, House leaders orchestrated the adoption of the Senate’s version in toto, without even changing a comma or a period. This put into waste months of careful deliberations by the joint committees and efforts by several House members to mitigate the bill’s dangerous and draconian provisions.

In light of the railroading that has taken place in the HOR, we can anticipate the quick passage of the bill into law. The Senate bill now adopted by the House provides for the following draconian provisions:

• a more vague and broad definition of terrorism to include virtually any kind of protest action or expression of dissent;
• new crimes like threatening, planning, training, preparing, facilitating, conspiring, proposing or inciting to commit “terrorism” that further widen the already overbroad scope of the crime of “terrorism”;
• ex parte or one-sided designation or proscription of persons or groups as “terrorist”;
• legalizing guilt by association via the crimes of recruitment, membership, and providing material support to a designated “terrorist” or “terrorist” group, organization or association;
• arrest without warrant and detention without charges from 14 to as much as 24 days versus the current 72 hours;
• relaxed rules on physical and electronic surveillance, examination and freezing of assets and bank accounts for persons or groups suspected of engaging in “terrorism”.

This vague, overbroad and expanded definition of “terrorism” and its related crimes will provide the basis for abuse by authorities, making it much much easier to intimidate, harrass, invade the privacy, arrest and detain anyone on trumped up charges.

This is a threat to those opposing the Duterte government’s surrender of our national sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea, the murderous yet sham “war on drugs”, the criminal bungling of the Covid-19 response, the crackdown on human rights defenders, the appointment of a virtual military junta running the government, and the favored treatment of presidential relatives, business cronies and political loyalists.

It targets critics of government and the status quo, social reformers, members of the Opposition, the critical press and the civil liberties and human rights of every Filipino.

We appeal to the remaining upright and freedom-loving members of the House to reject this abominable piece of legislation when it reaches the plenary.

We call on our people to vehemently oppose this latest attack by the Duterte regime on Philippine democracy.#