Fil-Am groups outraged by CHR’s report on Tarlac abductions

SAN FRANCISCO, California — A US-based group on Tuesday expressed outrage and disappointment with the Philippine Commission on Human Rights (CHR) for dismissing the reported abduction of its members in Tarlac province as “fabrications." “What we are witnessing is the Philippine government's obstruction of justice through its culture of impunity," said Bernadette Ellorin, chair of Bayan-USA based in California. The group earlier reported that its members — Melissa Roxas, Juanito Carabeo, and John Edward Handoc — were on a medical mission in the northern Philippine town of La Paz in Tarlac when they were abducted by unidentified armed men in May. After the abductions were reported by media, the three resurfaced. In a report released last week, the CHR concluded in its investigation that the supposed abductions were “a mere fabrication by Bayan Philippines and human rights group Karapatan ... the disappearance of the three involved immersion with the (rebel) New People's Army." Ellorin lashed back at the CHR, saying the agency’s claims were “not only false but reprehensible and condemnable to set the real perpetrators free." She said the CHR’s claims that no reports of the abductions were filed with the local authorities of La Paz were false, as there were at least two police reports on the triple abduction. An initial police report was filed on May 20 signed by La Paz police head Chief Inspector Ronald R. Fernandez detailing the account of witnesses of the May 19th abduction by armed men. The group Karapatan also received an acknowledgment notice from the Police Anti-Crime and Emergency Response (Pacer) for its letter dated May 26, after Roxas resurfaced. Pacer subsequently invited Roxas for questioning, Ellorin said. Roxas later asked the Supreme Court for protection through a petition for a writ of amparo. She told the media that she was blindfolded, detained and tortured inside a major military camp in North Luzon for six days. Roxas was allegedly held captive due to her involvement with the NPA. Bayan and Karapatan said accusations of NPA involvement were meant to discredit civilian groups engaged in social justice work and community service. “By baselessly branding groups such as Bayan and Karapatan as ‘communist fronts’ and shifting the blame of confirmed human rights violations to the NPA, the Arroyo government absolves itself from having to take the appropriate legal and judicial measures in the over 1,000 cases of extrajudicial killings and over 200 cases of enforced disappearances of unarmed leftist activists," the Bayan statement said. The government has repeatedly said human rights violations were committed not only by military or police, but also by rebel groups. Gabriela-USA chair Raquel Redondiez told GMAnews.TV that the group was not surprised with the CHR report. “It is terrible to hear about the physical and psychological torture that Melissa endured. It really shows how this [Arroyo] administration really has no interest in protecting victims of human rights violations. Instead, they put out lies to obstruct justice and protect the perpetrators," Redondiez said. The groups said they would step up lobbying efforts with the US Congress to reconsider its military aid package to the Philippines in view of continuing human rights violations against political activists. - GMANews.TV