Desecration

To wash its hands off its crimes against the people, the government has even gone far as desecrating the memories of our martyrs. Malicious reports on the identities of the martyrs and reasons why they were killed are being circulated by agents of the state. They even insultingly point to the companions and/or comrades of the martyrs as those behind their deaths.

The suppression of the people’s democratic rights is directly connected to the economic agenda which the government is pushing regardless of its irreparable damage to our lives, land and resources.

The extrajudicial killings also come in the wake of Arroyo’s State of the Nation Address where she reiterated her aggressive campaign for Charter Change to allow the unhampered entry of global corporations into the country. The so-called Northern Luzon Mega Region is largely anchored on her obsession to open mining operations in the Cordillera provinces to vested foreign interests.

At present, 1.2 million square meters of the 1.8 million square meters or 85% of the total land area of the Cordillera is covered by mining applications and operations. This excludes areas covered by other destructive projects such as dams and logging operations. These destructive projects would further marginalize indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands and would lead to escalation of militarism in the region.

This situation of escalating violations on people’s rights is made worse by the insincerity of the Philippine government to continue the peace negotiations with the CPP-NPA-NDFP. The Philippine government has set up obstacles to its resumption and has not resolved fundamental prejudicial questions like the “terrorist” listing of the CPP and NPA and the NDFP Chief Political Consultant and now the outrageous political killings. It has not really implemented in earnest the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) it entered with the NDF and has refused to meet with its counterpart in the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) tasked to monitor said agreement. It has also refused any offer to jointly look into the spate of killings and disappearances.

New fascist dictator

All these make Macapagal-Arroyo the new fascist dictator.

Friends, clients, comrades in the human rights struggle, ladies and gentlemen – your 3rd regional congress of the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA) comes against a backdrop of disquieting, gross and wholesale violations to people’s rights as illustrated in the foregoing.

But I know you will not be cowed. As I said in another recent forum, we will not allow these attacks to continue without end. We will not step aside. We will not lie low. We will not withdraw from your cases. We will fight. The victory is the people’s.

As one had said before: “We were not cowed then and we shall not be cowed now. Tyrants throughout the ages have tried in vain to kill the truth by killing the bearers of truth. The foliage has grown thicker for every seed that falls to the ground. History shows that political repression can only fuel revolution and martyrdom has never reduced the number of people who bear the cause of freedom and truth but on the contrary fertilized its growth.”

A latest testimony to this is the formation of HUSTISYA! an organization of the victims of people’s rights violations and their family against the Arroyo regime. Even the victims have not been cowed and silenced. For every killing, a family is aroused, mobilized and organized to demand for justice.

HUSTISYA! and other progressive organizations have indicted the Macapagal-Arroyo in various fora such as with the government Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and in the prosecutors, trial courts and Congress. The victims and their representatives have forwarded complaints with the United Nations Human Rights Committee, pertinent UN Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups and other related mechanisms and international organizations. The latest is the filing of complaints with the prestigious and credible court of opinion, the International Permanent People’s Tribunal (IPPT) which would hold its Second Session on the Philippines in March 2007.

Another testimony is the ever-growing and strengthening movement for the defense and advocacy of individual and collective rights and the formation of Stop the Killings Network. This Network composed of church clergy and lay workers, members of the academe and other professionals have given their commitment to provide sanctuaries to the persecuted, legal services to the incarcerated and other assistance to victims aside from actively participating in the campaign to end political killings.

The active and continuing efforts of human rights organizations and advocates led to various international condemnation on the state of human rights in the Philippines. Even foreign businesses have issued statements of condemnation.

Yet, the Macapagal-Arroyo regime has not sincerely and effectively stopped the killings, failed in protecting its own citizens, and unable to bring the perpetrators to justice. We can not expect it to remove the political, economic, and social conditions for such killings and other human rights violations.

Tribute to human rights defenders

At this point, let us also take this occasion to give tribute to our human rights defenders. The highest tribute, honor and recognition we can give to our heroes and martyrs is to continue their work. Today let us honor Atty. Arthur Galace, Atty. Romeo Astudillo, and Atty. David Bueno who were active members of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) and served as Chairpersons of the Northern Luzon Human Rights Organization (NLHRO). All stood firm during the dark years of Martial Law. They served as people’s lawyers for those incarcerated, tortured and abused at that time.

We also honor Albert Terradano a paralegal worker of DINTEG (Cordillera Indigenous Peoples’ Legal Center) who unidentified assassins of the state mercilessly shot on November 29 last year in Bangued, Abra on his way to work. Despite being a government employee and the sole breadwinner of his family, he unselfishly dedicated much of his time to assist victims of human rights violations. We of course also remember Pepe Manegdeg, Alyce Claver, Marcus Bangit and others that the fascists have snatched from your ranks.

We fear. We grieve. We rage. But let us rise above this fear, and transform our grief and rage to an undying commitment to the cause of people’s rights. Makibaka! Huwag matakot!

I know that this is no easy task. They have taken much too many from our ranks. Many amongst us have been killed, tortured and remain missing to date. We have lost the best sons and daughters of the human rights movement to this senseless killings. However, during these trying times of undeclared Martial Rule by the Macapagal-Arroyo regime and imperialist plunder, let us break silence into a thundering song and transform fear into a movement for justice. Posted by (Bulatlat.com)

*Atty. Olalia is the President of the International Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL). This paper is his keynote address to the 3rd Regional Assembly of the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA), December 8, 2006, Baguio City, Philippines.

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