ADVERTISEMENT
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL and RONALYN V. OLEA
Sources told Bulatlat that the three were taken out of their cells after they signed affidavits that belied the military's claim that they and the others were members of the communist New People's Army.
By MARYA SALAMAT
Volunteer medical doctors for the “Free the 43 Health Workers” movement decried the military’s refusal to let them examine the detained health workers. They repeatedly requested, with the lawyers and family members, the camp authorities to let them see the detainees but they were rebuffed nine times.
Activist Recounts Abduction, Torture
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Noriel Rodriguez, a member of Anakbayan, was tortured for 10 days by people he claimed to be soldiers. The soldiers, he said, threatened to harm his family and mutilate his genitals. He was released only after he was forced to sign papers stating that he was a rebel returnee. Related video: Noriel Rodriguez recounts his ordeal
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 HENRY A. GIROUX Truthout International Posted by Bulatlat.com This article is drawn from Henry A. Giroux's forthcoming book, "Hearts of Darkness: Torturing Children in the War on Terror" (Paradigm Publishers, 2010). For the last decade, we have lived through a...
By JASON LEOPOLD Truthout/Perspective International Posted by (Bulatlat.com) Among the treasure trove of documents released on Monday related to the CIA's detention and torture program is a 20-page background paper that, for the first time, describes in...
Sherlyn and Karen -- Desaparecidos
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.
Dukot's fearlessness emanates from its depiction of the truth about the worsening human-rights situation in the Philippines today. As Bonifacio Ilagan, the scriptwriter, put it: “It minces no words in pointing out the real perpetrators” of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
Freedom from torture is a non-derogable right, meaning that states cannot violate this right under any circumstances, even in a state of emergency or martial law. By insisting that Melissa Roxas is a communist guerrilla, the Arroyo regime not only practically admits that it tortured her -- it seeks to justify the atrocity, thus violating the very international instruments that it had earlier agreed on.
Video: "This Is For All of Us!" -- Melissa Roxas
Video: Melissa Hearing Turns Into a Witchhunt
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...
For a running account of Melissa Roxas's testimony, read Bulatlat's Twitter feed. Read her opening statement in Congress here. Melissa Roxas takes her oath right before making her opening statement. (Photo by Fred E. Dabu) CHR chair Leila de Lima (right) was also...
"I have reason to believe that the Philippine military were the ones who abducted and tortured me, and held me captive for six days. I do not like to dignify the allegations being hurled at me now as they only echo what my abductors have been forcing me to admit during my interrogation and illegal, incommunicado detention."
Melissa Roxas’s description of the place where she was brought and tortured seemed consistent with what the CHR found during a visit to Fort Magsaysay. But military officials deny soldiers were behind the atrocity. “Fort Magsaysay is a tourist destination,” one of them told the commissioners.
A community of readers and supporters that help us sustain our operations through microdonations for as low as $1.
