Filtered By: Topstories
News

CHR to secure Fil-Am activist while in RP


MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) will secure Filipino- American activist Melissa Roxas upon her return to the country from the United States. CHR chairperson Leila de Lima said Roxas’ camp does not trust any state agents, including the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines, to secure her during her stay. "Magbibigay ang CHR ng protective custody kasi yan ang pinaka-concern niya at ng kanyang mga magulang na ayaw nga siyang payagang bumalik sa Pilipinas. Siguro kahit di niya magulang matatakot pagkatapos ng ganoong ordeal," De Lima said in an interview on dzRH radio. [She will be placed under the CHR’s protective custody. That is her biggest concern and her parents are reluctant to let her return to the country. Any parent would be traumatized over their child’s ordeal.] De Lima did not give details of the security arrangements for Roxas, who is due to arrive in the country Monday. She would only say the arrangements do not involve “Philippine state agents." Roxas had accused military operatives of abducting her in La Paz town in Tarlac province last May 19. She was released one week later, when militants raised a howl over her abduction. The CHR is investigating the abduction and alleged torture of Roxas, and at least two other activists last May. Roxas is due to testify on her ordeal on July 23, De Lima said. "Iba ang mapakikinggan mismo galing sa bibig niya at makikita natin sa demeanor niya ang kanyang credibility. Kung ibabase mo sa sworn statement niya na submitted sa CA, talagang full of details...mahirap naman paniwalaan na publicly fed lang ang istoryang yan. Yan ang naging depensa ng military noong una - fake lang daw ang abduction and torture," De Lima said. [It will be a different thing to see Roxas personally testifying on her ordeal. Here we can assess her credibility. Besides, her sworn statement to the Court of Appeals had several details that could not have been just made up. Roxas will have the chance to refute the military’s defense that her claim of abduction was just a tall tale.] Witnesses De Lima said they have so far interviewed witnesses who bolstered Roxas’ claims of abduction. She said the witnesses heard a woman shouting her name as “Melissa." "The woman was 'shouting her name as Melissa.' So more or less we have basis to believe the abduction took place, based on the testimonies of the witnesses in the village where the incident supposedly took place," De Lima said in Filipino. On the other hand, she said they inspected the military’s Fort Magsaysay camp where Roxas believed she was brought following her abduction. But she said the military gave her and a CHR team only a “guided tour" around the facility, even as it denied abducting Roxas and her two fellow activists. De Lima said that despite their limited tour, they saw an airstrip and a firing range, which may match descriptions given by Roxas and another alleged abduction victim, Raymond Manalo. "We were allowed entry, di kami agad pinapasok, eventually pinapasok kami, naging guided tour ang nangyari [We were allowed to enter but only after a wait. When we were allowed to enter the fort, we were limited to a guided tour]," she said. Meanwhile, De Lima said Roxas will likely testify “alone" at the CHR hearing at 9 a.m. Thursday. "We will set another hearing, aalamin muna namin detalye sa bibig ni Melissa bago i-determine sino ang kailangan ipatawag [We will set another hearing for the military. Melissa’s testimonies will be a guide for us on who from the military to invite to testify]," she said. Roxas is due to return to the country in time for the Appellate court’s hearing on her suit for a writ of amparo. She is also due to testify at an investigation by the CHR on her allegations against the military. The military had denied her allegations. The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) earlier said Roxas, a member of Bayan USA, will arrive July 20 accompanied by the California-Nevada Conference of the United Methodist Church from the US. The church delegation is in the country for a human rights fact-finding mission. It had also campaigned against extrajudicial killings and lobbied the US Senate in 2007. “She recounts that during her captivity; she was blindfolded, handcuffed and tortured. She was later surfaced on May 25. She has filed a petition for a writ of Amparo before the Court of Appeals," Bayan said. The CA set a hearing for Roxas’ writ of Amparo on July 30. Roxas was required to appear otherwise her case would be archived. Roxas went to the US after her release to reunite with her family and to recover from the trauma she suffered from her ordeal. "Her testimony should also send a warning to the US government that its unqualified support for the Arroyo government has resulted in human rights violations, including one involving an American citizen," said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. - GMANews.TV
Tags: melissaroxas
LOADING CONTENT