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By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com MALOLOS, Bulacan – The lawyers of soldiers tagged in the abduction of University of the Philippines (UP) students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan cross examined one of the vital witnesses in a hearing, October 29. Jose M. Cruz,...
By RONALYN V. OLEA
As the Aquino government continues to fail to arrest retired general Jovito Palparan, another victim of state-enforced abduction and torture has positively identified some of the soldiers who tortured Karen and Sherlyn.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“If the Ombudsman would not fear the military, I would get justice not only for myself but for the other victims of Palparan and his kind.” – Raymond Manalo, torture victim
By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com MANILA – Two vital witnesses to the enforced disappearance of two University of the Philippines (UP) students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan are eager to face the alleged perpetrators of the crime. During the Sept. 14 hearing, the...
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“However long this takes, we will never give up. What is important is we get justice for what was done to us. We urge newly-appointed Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales to act on the cases we filed that aim to seek justice for victims of human rights violations.”
– Raymond Manalo, victim of torture and arbitrary detention
By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com MANILA – It has been five years but Wilfredo Ramos could still remember the face of one of those who took Karen Empeño, Sherlyn Cadapan and Manuel Merino on June 26, 2006. During the second hearing of the preliminary investigation on...
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“The Aquino administration has been contented in being a passive spectator, leaving the victims, relatives, human rights defenders and their lawyers on their own.” – National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“It’s good news but it [the decision] took so long. Unfortunately, the decisions of the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court have not resulted in the surfacing of the disappeared.” – Mrs. Concepcion Empeño, mother of missing UP student Karen Empeño
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Human-rights advocate welcome the signing into law of Republic Act 9745, which penalizes acts of torture in the Philippines. The challenge now, they say, is for the Arroyo administration to effectively implement it, given its sordid human-rights record.
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
The International Day of the Disappeared on Aug. 30 was marked in the Philippines with a ringing of the bells to honor those taken by the regime -- a warning to the government that the families left behind by these desaparecidos “are watching” to make sure that, soon, “we will get the justice we deserve.” View slideshow
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Under the bill, no justification can be offered that would allow torture and other inhuman punishments. Those who torture will be penalized as principals, as well as their superiors in the military, police or law enforcement establishments who ordered it.
When Raymond Manalo suddenly stood up and shouted invectives at former general and now congressman Jovito Palparan during a hearing yesterday at the Commission on Human Rights, he was only venting his frustration that the man he had accused of abducting him and torturing him for 18 long months has not been punished.
By Dabet Castañeda HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH BULATLAT VOL. VII, No. 42, November 25- December 1, 2007 One year and five months after their abduction, a witness testified that he had actually seen and talked to Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño, the two scholars of the...
Brothers Raymund and Reynaldo Manalo who were given protection by the Supreme Court are not only victims of enforced disappearances who were lucky enough to survive, they are also vital witnesses against retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan. BY DABET CASTAÑEDA...
The crimes and other atrocities stemming from the implementation of Oplan Bantay Laya are directly instigated by the so-called “war on terror,” which the Bush regime exported to and imposed on the Philippines. The Obama government is faced with the challenge of stopping the war begun by its predecessor – a war that has caused countless human-rights violations in the Philippines and its other “fronts.”
The Office of the Solicitor General told the Court of Appeals that the abduction and torture of Melissa Roxas are nothing but mere fabrications to embarrass the government. Her recent press conference in Los Angeles, it says, was part of the plot. The victim’s lawyers and supporters, however, say the government is just trying to evade responsibility.
In a perfect world, Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan never would have met. The atrocity that befell them, a most horrendous fate, never would have happened. And they never would have stood now as a testament to the rot that is eating away at the core of this country.
The human rights organization, Karapatan, together with the Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at para sa Amnestiya (SELDA), Hustisya! and the families of the Desaparecidos, today observes the International Day In Solidarity with Victims of Torture with...
In protest rally Friday in front of Nica building, human-rights groups denounce the continuing use of torture. They likewise commemorate the third year of the disappearance of UP students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño. Edita Burgos says the promotion of three officials linked to the abduction of her son Jonas will encourage more atrocities.
Torture Victim Turns Over a New Leaf
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