PAGKAMATAY: salin ng Dying ni Alice Walker

I have been vocal of my fascination with Alice Walker. This is a Pilipino translation of her poem Dying which she wrote for “those who with our taxes die from torture.” I, in turn, dedicate this to the Morong 43 who continue to be detained by the AFP despite glaring evidences of lapses in procedure and sheer inconsistencies of the bases of arrest.

Pagkamatay

Para sa mga namamatay sa tortyur gamit ang ating mga buwis

Paano nga ba

Ang mamatay?

Tulad ba ito ng

Paglubog sa

Isang batya

Ng mainit na gatas?

Tulad ba ito

Ng hubo’t hubad

Na pagbibilad

Sa Araw

Sa mga unang

Nakakapasong

Araw

Ng Tag-init

Matapos ang

Isang Taglamig

Sa nagpangatal

Sa iyong

Mga ngipin?

Ang mamatay

Sa tingin ko

Ay maaring

Tulad niyon.

Higit sa lahat,

Sa iyo

Ito.

Isang

Ligtas

Na lugar.

Maaaring

Kinokuryente

Nila ang

Iyong

Mga daliri

Sa paa

Sa panahong iyon

O

Binubunot

Ang

Mga kuko mo

O

Pinahihinto

Ang

Tibok ng

Nahihintakutan

Mong puso

Sa iba pang

Mapanlikhang

Paraan.

Ngunit

Sa pagkamatay

Matatakasan

Mo

Sila

Patungo

Sa

Kapayapaan.

Hinding-hindi

Nila

Malalaman

Ang

Bagay

Na

Tanging iyo

Lamang.

Sa iyo

Lamang

Ang pagkamatay.

Katangi-tanging

Nilalang;

Anuman

Ang iyong nagawa.

Lihim mo

Ang pagkamatay.

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The People (of the World) vs the Armed Forces of the Philippines

“Safeguarding human rights is always at the core of every military operation. It is deeply
entrenched in the institution’s programs, policies, and regulations. It is the very principle that Army soldiers try to live everyday," Army spokesman Lt. Col. Marcelo Burgos Jr. said.

This is what the Army would want us to believe, but the letter below first published in Bulatlat is what the rest of the world think about the illegal arrest and detention of the Morong 43. The Permament People’s Tribunal is a new addition to the growing voice of indignation against the blatant disregard of human rights against the alleged NPA health workers.



PERMANENT PEOPLES TRIBUNAL
Founder: LELIO BASSO (Italy)
President: SALVATORE SENESE (ITALY)
General Secretary: GIANNI TOGNONI (ITALY)


H.E. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President of the Republic
Malacañang Palace,
JP Laurel St., San Miguel
Manila Philippines
Voice: (+632) 564 1451 to 80
Fax: (+632) 742-1641 / 929-3968
Cell#: (+ 63) 919 898 4622 / (+63) 917 839 8462
E-mail: corres@op.gov. ph/ opnet@ops.gov. ph


H.E. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President of the Republic of the Philippines,

As Jurors of the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal, and as part of the larger human family, we recognize that the dramatic and worsening human rights situation in the Philippines is the responsibility for us all. During the PPT's Second Session on the Philippines held in The Hague in March 2007, we expressed our commitment to defeat those powers which, under the pretext of the so-called war on terrorism, deprive the marginalized peoples of a life in justice, dignity and peace.

We sympathize greatly with the plight of the Filipino people who suffer from poverty and who cannot afford medical care. That is why we admire and fully support health professionals who can volunteer their talents and time to help the more needy. Forsaking private gain, they teach their skills to community volunteers and provide their health services for free. They should be treated as heroes of the Filipino people, worthy of our esteem and emulation.

It was thus with great alarm that we received the news about the questionable arrest and detention of 43 volunteer health workers in Rizal province in your country. The victims include two medical doctors, one registered nurse, one midwife and 39 community health workers.

We are greatly dismayed to hear that in the morning of 6 February 2010, combined elements of your government's Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines barged into the private home of Dr. Melecia Velmonte in Morong, Rizal. Without showing any legal cause nor mandate, your security forces proceeded to conduct an illegal search of the premises and illegally took into custody the 43 volunteer health workers. They were handcuffed, blindfolded, manhandled and taken, not to prison, but to a military camp.

We are appalled to hear that as of this writing, that they are still in detention in the military camp, even undergoing interrogation. Relatives, lawyers and human rights organizations have not been allowed to visit them. Initial reports from the Commission on Human Rights and non-government human rights organizations said that the victims remained in handcuffs and blindfolded for more than 36 hours; they were denied food and bathroom privileges confined in dark cells, forced to listen to sounds of gunfire and slapped several times during the night. They were not allowed to speak to each other and they were forced to admit that they were members of the New People's Army. And today, your military officers arrogantly did not heed the orders of the Supreme court to bring all the 43 to court.

As the Chief Executive and Commander in Chief of the Republic of the Philippines, you have the obligation to uphold and defend the rights of Filipino citizens. We see in this lamentable episode that the citizens' inviolable right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against searches and seizure has been violated. The victims are clearly suffering physical and psychological torture, their right to be informed of their alleged offenses is being trampled and they have been denied access to legal counsel of their choice.

As the Chief Executive and Commander in Chief of the Republic of the Philippines, you also have the obligation to enforce the law. Those who attack the inviolable rights of the citizens must be brought to justice. For starters, Colonel Aurelio Baladad of the 202ndInfantry Brigade of the Philippine Army and Superintendent Marion Balonglong of the Rizal province PNP, should be relieved of their duties and undergo judicial investigation for gross ignorance and violation of the Bill of Rights.

We pray that your government would put an immediate end to this deplorable situation. Release the 43 volunteer health workers. Return all their private belongings and the belongings of Dr. Melecia Velmonte.

Thank you for your attention and prompt action.

Salvatore Senese (Italy), PPT President

Gianni Tognoni (Italy), PPT General Secretary

François Houtart (Belgium), Session President

Irene Fernandez (Malaysia), Session Judge

Ties Prakken (The Netherlands), Session Judge

Lilia Solano (Colombia), Session Judge

Øystein Tveter (Norway), Session Judge

With copy to:
Gen. Avelino Razon, Ret. PNP
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process
Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP)
7th Floor Agustin Building I
Emerald Avenue
Pasig City 1605
Voice:+63 (2) 636 0701 to 066
Fax:+63 (2) 638 2216
osec@opapp.gov. ph

Norberto Gonzales
Secretary, Department of National Defense
Room 301 DND Building, Camp Emilio Aguinaldo,
E. de los Santos Avenue, Quezon City
Voice:+63(2) 911-9281 / 911-0488
Fax:+63(2) 911 6213
Email: osnd@philonline. com

Atty. Agnes Devanadera
Secretary, Department of Justice
Padre Faura St., Manila
Direct Line 521-8344; 5213721
Trunkline 523-84-81 loc.214
Fax: (+632) 521-1614
Email: soj@doj.gov. ph

Atty. Leila De Lima
Chairperson, Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., UP Complex
Commonwealth Avenue
Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
Voice: (+632) 928-5655, 926-6188
Fax: (+632) 929 0102
Email: chr.delima@yahoo. com
Posted by The PRWC Blogs at 1:06 AM 0 comments
Friday, February 19, 2010

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MORONG MOCKERY

Last Friday, February 12, the Armed Forces of the Philippines defied the High Court when it failed to present the 43 detained health works to the Court of Appeals. The High Court has granted the petition for the writ of habeas corpus that the kin of the alleged rebels have filed.

The reason the AFP cited for their failure is logistics. They claim to have no sufficient time to prepare for the security and transportation details of the 43 detainees. They received the order to present the detainees on Thursday, a day before the scheduled hearing.

For this omission, the military, represented by Col. Aurelio Baladad, received a mere slap on the wrist instead of a graver citation for contempt. It is their job after all to secure people in their custody and transport them to hearings. They cite possibilities of an ambush and a rescue attempt by their “comrades” assuming that they are indeed NPA elements. They cite the lack of a vehicle that can accommodate the 43 detainees plus a minimum of , say, 43 custodians. How then were they able to transport them on that morning raid on February 6? What is the purpose of being the largest armed group in the country if they cannot accomplish such a simple task?

The 43 detainees were conducting a training seminar in the farm owned by Dra. Melecia Velmonte when they were rounded up, cuffed and blindfolded on the grounds of a search warrant for a man named Mario Condes.
But this is only where the flimsy storyline starts to unravel.

Under Duress

Starting with a questionable search warrant for a Mario Condes that was not even present in the farm of not known by Dra. Velmonte and covers a non-specific address, the raiding group of 300 men “found” assorted bomb-making materials UNDER the beds of the detainees. I echo Dra. Velmonte’s disbelief, who in his right mind would put bomb making materials in places where one sleeps? It also begs to be noted that the search was conducted in the abscence of the owner of the house or witnesses which is a clear violation of the Rules of Criminal procedure. These grounds alone should be enough to provide for the unconditional release of the 43 detainees.

AS the days went on, the army now flaunts NEW arrest warrants for the some of the detainees. These arrest warrants were presumably supported by “confessions” of the detainees. It begs to be said that these confessions were obtained UNDER DURESS, for how would you classify being blindfolded for more than 36 hours, being dunked into water, being electrocuted, being cuffed till your wrists are red and sore to touch, being denied visitors and the right to counsel, if not duress?

Guilt by Association

More than this, the Morong 43 are judged guilty by association. Lt. Noel Detoyato said that they found acupuncture needles among the confiscated stuff. He concluded that wherefore acupuncture needles being trademarks of NPAs, therefore the health workers are NPAs. Has he not been to Ongpin and Chinese drugstores selling acupuncture needles? BY virtue of his logic, they are also NPAs? How come he immediately made this acupuncture needle-NPA connection instead of the acupuncture needle-alternative medicine connection? Jessie Mendez is offering acupuncture treatment in his beauty business venture, is he an NPA too?
Also, the army took note that Atty Romeo Capulong is representing the Morong 43. Atty. Capulong, they said, is a “lawyer of personalities from the Left, including, Jose Ma. Sison.” And so what? Does this prove anything at all? If anything, it proves that Atty. Capulong is one very capable lawyer. The various charges against Jose Ma. Sison has been dropped, including the terrorist tag by the European Union.

Lies, Lies, Lies

But the lies just keep on coming. One side continually claims innocence, that they are mere health practitioners holding a training seminar. The other side claims the group is into making bombs and is composed of NPAs.
Then one day, the other side made a subtle change in their story, that they are NPAs but they are called medical officers.
What’s next? The military seems to tweak their story here and there to serve their purpose, not the truth. First they claim that bombmaking paraphernalia were found among the Morong 43’s things, therefore they are NPAs. Then they say, acupuncture needles were found, which makes them medical officers of the NPAs. Either way, they are NPAs.

However, the second claim actually bolsters the Morong 43’s claim of being rural health workers and not bomb-making terrorists, which, casts doubt on the military’s accusations.

Human Rights

And so what if they are NPAs? Is being an NPA reason enough for the army to violate his basic human rights that democracy has bestowed on him?
From the statement of Usec. Severo Escatura, the Executive Director of the Presidential Commission on Human Rights, it would seem that indeed a double standard on the observance of human rights exists. In a radio program, Huwarang Pilipino, in Radio ng Bayan last February 14, he evaded the military’s accountability to observe human rights and practically turned the tables around to make the NPAs accountable too. In fairness to the underground movement, I have not heard of a single HRV against the state elements when and if they were captured that was lodged legally, instead of being harped on in public.

Malacanang stands by the military

And what does the Malacanang have to say about all the clamor of the public against the military’s move to detain the Morong 43 and continually refer to them as NPAs? We stand behind the military, is what it says. No matter that prominent public servants and professional organizations in the health sector stand by the Morong 43’s claim to innocence. No matter that Ms. Leila De Lima herself and the Commission she stands for is accused of being Left-leaning over her justifiable concern for possible human rights violations.

Cultured Impunity

These past days what the state, through the AFP has accomplished is to send a clear message to the Filipino people. The culture of impunity that has pervaded the Arroyo regime has not been countered effectively despite numerous appeals from different international bodies to address the issue. It has been lying latently just beneath the surface, ready to spring out when the ripples have petered out.
But recent events, especially exposed ties between the perpetrators of the daytime Maguindano Massacre and Mrs. Arroyo herself, run counter to this culture of impunity observation. For while this culture of impunity may have sprung from a social base that is uncaring for people other than themsleves, it has been cultured deliberately to perpetrate a status quo that has increasingly become beneficial to some.

And transgressions of this nature by the state armed force that should have been foremost in protecting and upholding a civilian, a citizen’s right over anything else, are not reprimanded nor sanctioned. Instead, these transgressions against the most basic rights of a person that is enshrined in the Constitution are applauded, condoned and encouraged by the highest executive of the country itself, the President.

What we have far from a democracy. It is a farcical interpretation of it.

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