January to March 2018

Released by KARAPATAN Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights

Choke all dissenting voices

and strangle any semblance of democratic rule:
the malevolent mantra of Duterte’s leadership

I llustrating the Duterte regime’s “accomplishments” for the first three months of 2018 is his
government troops’ tramping on a road littered with the lifeless and blood-soaked bodies of
Filipinos. People remained on edge with an entire spectrum of violations being used against
individuals, organizations and communities which rising resistance against Duterte’s anti-
people policies are getting stronger.

Duterte’s forked tongue has been

wagging with insults and cusses.
He throws up the promises that
he so confidently touted when he
was elected. After two years of his
presidency, it has become apparent
that many of his pronouncements
were mere lip service, coupled with
a derisive unapologetic statement:
“Naniwala pala kayo? (You actually
believed me?)”
Duterte is consistent in one
thing – his being inconsistent. His
announcements seem certain, only to
take U-turns at the next corner. The
Duterte government’s condemnation
of the continued illicit drug trade is
exposed as a farce after self-confessed
drug lords are acquitted by no less
than the Justice Department. The
Duterte regime has also continued
its double-talk on the peace talks, on
the issue of contractualization, on
sovereignty, among others. Holding
Duterte to the age-old adage that
“actions speak louder than words”
makes sense in a bizarre way because
an entire picture that is crystal in
its clearness illuminates Duterte’s
travesty and deceit.
 2 KARAPATAN Monitor
When words fail, action takes precedence. On top of
the similar oppressive and repressive schemes adopted
from previous administrations such as the continuation
of its own US-driven counterinsurgency program,
Duterte has added his style and flavor, inspired by
murderous and fascist regimes such as Gloria Arroyo’s
and of Marcos.
Martial law in Mindanao, blatant attacks against the
people’s freedom of association and expression, media
repression, despotic legislation (subpoena law and the
national ID system), criminalization of rights defenders,
and the labeling of his critics as “terrorists” have kept
the US-Duterte regime busy in the first three months of
2018. Violations of civil, political, economic, social, and
cultural rights have persisted.
Hustling the Bureaucracy
The seeming vision of Duterte is a government
under his thumb littered with militarist, fascist and
tough-talking politicians who without compunction
adhere to strongman rule. Never mind human rights.
Who cares about the dire condition of the Filipino
people on the ground?
All agencies of government are enjoined to work in
chorus to persecute individuals considered as “enemies
of the state” because they are a hindrance to Duterte’s
dictatorial ambitions. The country watched as the
executive and legislative branches of government
moved in cahoots to pass repressive legislation such
Students decry the attack on press freedom. Maria Ressa of Rappler (top right) and Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno (bottom right) (Jansen Ramero/Manila Bulletin; PhilStar; PDI)
as the law giving subpoena powers to the Philippine
National Police (PNP), to keep ridiculously mum on
significant issues, and to defend Duterte no matter what
to further their own interests. While all government
efforts are directed at cultivating a fictitious image
that the government is doing a tremendous job, certain
individuals and agencies are tasked with crippling
platforms that may present a counter-narrative.
Haranguing media
The Duterte regime has been on the spotlight
for haranguing media outfits while simultaneously
propagating disinformation. On January 11, 2018, the
Securities and Exchange Commission issued a ruling
revoking Rappler’s certificates of incorporation and
registration for allegedly violating a provision in the
Constitution which mandates that all mass media
entities should be 100% Filipino-owned. Earlier, Rappler
published articles that put the government’s war on
drugs through a critical lens, and this no doubt was
reason to be a target of Duterte’s ire. It is also ironic
how Rappler is being chastised for having foreign
investors when Duterte is clamoring to do exactly
the same with our land, resources and basic services,
exemplified by his efforts to revise the Constitution
to rid it of provisions limiting foreign ownership. This
regime is a fountain of doubles – double talk and double
standards.

These days, the Duterte regime does not only seek
to violate the civil, political, economic, cultural and
social rights of the Filipino people as enshrined in the
Philippine Constitution’s Bill of Rights. It has staged
a systematic attack to rephrase the basic concepts of
social justice, accountability, and checks and balances
in government itself. Relying on his grip on the House
of Representatives, Duterte and his toadies have
insidiously moved towards discrediting the Judiciary
to rid it of any possible opposition.
“Cleansing” the Supreme Court
Duterte and his lackeys have set their eyes on
Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. Employing a
flimsy legal maneuver to remove any semblance of
independence of the Judiciary, Duterte’s gofers have
UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Victoria Taule-Corpuz
filed a quo warranto case against Sereno. Duterte’s
leadership and his active hunt against any opposition
in government has introduced the Filipino people to
some ludicrous and silly characters. For example, Atty.
Larry Gadon, the main mover in the impeachment case
versus Sereno, is obviously inspired and influenced
by Duterte’s macho-fascist rantings, and has groomed
himself to be the same obnoxious slob.
Another indication of using agencies to legitimize
attacks against individuals and progressives vocal
against the government’s anti-people policies, is the
Department of Justice’s proscription petition.
Listing lists
The US-Duterte regime is indeed fond of lists – from
its drug war campaign where arbitrary lists are used
to accuse and justify the cold-blooded killing of urban
poor dwellers, to the government’s recent infamous
civil petition to proscribe the Communist Party of the
Philippines and the New People’s Army as terrorist
organizations, while maliciously including hundreds
of names of “terrorists.” This absurd fake terror list
includes the names of known political activists who
have spent decades of their lives organizing and living
amongst marginalized sectors. This is another form
of threat and harassment, and a dangerous tool in the
hands of human rights violators.
Filed at a regional court in Manila on February 21,
2018 by a Senior Assistant State Prosecutor named Peter
Ong, this petition sought to declare the Communist
Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA)
as terrorist, then added a list of 657 persons more than
January - March 2018 3
180 of whom carried aliases and an unspecified number
of John and Jane Does. They are all alleged to be officers
and members of the two organizations.
Among them are the United Nations Special
Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Karapatan National Executive
Committee Member Elisa Tita Lubi, member of the
Indigenous Peoples Major Group for Sustainable
Development Goals Joan Carling, former representative
to the UN Expert Mechanism to the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples Atty. Jose Molintas, Cordillera
People’s Alliance (CPA) Advisory Council member
Joanna Cariño, CPA chairperson Windel Bolinget,
Matigsalog-Manobo village chief Datu Isidro Indao,
Talaandig village chief Datu Mandayhon Han-ayan,
and International Indigenous Peoples Movement for
Self-Determination and Liberation Global Coordinator
Beverly Longid.
The message from Duterte’s government is
unmistakable: if you speak the truth about the reality
of his government, you are a terrorist. This is at the
top of Duterte’s list of excuses and justification for its
wickedness – conjuring the phantom of “terrorism.”
Walking along this line, it has brought back the menace
of Arroyo’s Human Security Act of 2007, or the Anti-
Terror Law.
Many more incidents, including the use of the
courts to criminalize rights defenders, lead to the same
conclusion – that government and its agencies are
confirmed tools of political persecution.
4 KARAPATAN Monitor
Rights Violations in the 1st Quarter of 2018
Amid various developments at the national
level, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), in
the conduct of counterinsurgency operations, have
continued with business as usual. The fascist policies
have created a conducive environment for state forces
to perpetrate rights violations with impunity. At the
onset, there was never any let-up with regard rights
violations done in urban and rural areas; what became
most apparent was the inception of different and new
forms of abuses.
Political Killings
From July 2016 to the first quarter of 2018,
Karapatan documented 141 cases of extra judicial
killings. Majority of victims are from the peasantry and
Lumad.
As the last days of January 2018 came trickling in,
farmer and peasant rights activist James Flores, was
shot multiple times by a lone gunman last January 20
at the back of Gaisano Mall in Tagum City, Davao del
Norte. He had just finished shopping for groceries when
he was killed.
Flores, 33 years old, and a resident of Purok Cadena,
Brgy. Mankilam, Tagum City, Davao del Norte, was a
member of Pederasyon sa Tanang Asosasyon sa mga
Mag Uuma ug Lumad sa Agusan ug Davao (PAMULAD
- Federation of Associations of Peasants and Lumad
in Agusan and Davao). He was a target of military
harassment because of his activities as land rights
activist.
The Lumad continue to be targets of political
killings.
Ricky Olado, 30 years old, was driving his
motorcycle with a companion, when they were chased
and shot at by two armed men in separate motorcycles
on January 28, 2018. Olado and companion were both
headed for Brgy. Datu Ladayon, Arakan town in North
Cotabato when they were waylaid by suspected military
agents.
Olado died from several gunshot wounds while his
companion was wounded. His death was condemned
by the indigenous peoples group, Tinanaon Kulamanon
Lumadnong Panaghiusa (TIKULPA) of which he was a
member. TIKULPA is under the PASAKA Confederation
of Lumad groups in Southern Mindanao.
In the Visayas, Ronald Manlanat, 30 years old,
was shot several times in the head, his face beyond
recognition. He was a member of the local chapter of
the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW) in
Hacienda Joefred, Brgy. Luna in Sagay City, Negros
Occidental.
 January - March 2018 5

Manlanat was working in his farm when he was The victims were part of a group of farmers who
shot by suspected state agents around 5:00am, February had a pending petition before the Department of
22. Earlier, he received threats for participating in Agrarian Reform (DAR) to become beneficiaries of the
the land cultivation campaign in Brgy. Luna where 160-hectare estate. Some 37 of them are CLOA holders,
farmers and hacienda workers were demanding and about 228 members are still awaiting a positive
implementation of agrarian reform. Hacienda Joefred response regarding their claim for land ownership.
was owned by the Mirasol family and the Certificates The massacre happened on February 22 in Sitio
of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) were recently given Bondo, Brgy. Napacao in Siaton, Negros Oriental at
to the agrarian reform beneficiaries. Manlanat was also around 8:00 in the morning. According to farmer-
active in campaigns against the underpayment of wages survivors, a number of them were harvesting sugarcane
and other violations of labor rights by local despotic while some were already resting when they were fired
landlords. upon by an undetermined number of armed men.
In yet another chilling example of this war against Killed on the spot were Consolacion Cadivida, 66; her
peasants, four farmers, three of them women, were daughter Jesibel Aballe, 36; and Carmelina Amantillo,
shot dead in what would now be known as the Siaton 57, all of Sitio Bondo. Also killed was Felimon Molero,
massacre. The perpetrators were members of a cult 66, from Sitio Salngan ni Mayabon, Zamboguanguita. A
called “Pulahan,” a local paramilitary group that also fifth farmer, Lito de Jesus, 28, from Mantiquil, Siaton,
works as security guards for the hacienda estate in was injured and was rushed to a nearby hospital in
Siaton, Negros Oriental owned by a certain Gaspar Dumaguete.
Vicente. Again, land disputes were the motive for the Gruesome details soon emerged. Responding police
killings. investigating the massacre found initial evidence that
TABLE 1 pointed to the incident as possibly a premeditated
carnage. Victim Aballe was shot pointblank with a .45
Violations of Civil & Political Rights
caliber pistol, its spent shell recovered at the crime
under the Rodrigo Duterte Government
(July 2016 to March 2018)
scene, also with one live bullet from a .38 caliber,
and some shrapnel from an exploded hand grenade.
Violation Number of victims Cadivida’s body was found in a sitting position.
Extrajudicial Killing 141 The local police was able to trace and detain the
Frustrated Extrajudicial Killing 242 suspects who were still wearing their security guard
Enforced Disappearance 5 uniforms. Recovered from them were 41 rounds of
Torture 91 ammunition for a 12-gauge shotgun, and one magazine
Illegal Arrest without Detention 968 for a 9mm pistol containing 23 rounds of ammunition.
Illegal Arrest and Detention 297 “Pulahan” paraphernalia like small booklets in Latin
Illegal Search and Seizure 214 called “orasyon” and red scarves also with Latin
Physical Assault and Injury 175 inscriptions were also found in their possession. The
Demolition 6,114 suspects claimed that the farmers had torched the
Violation of Domicile 434 sugarcane fields and burned the hacienda caretaker’s
Destruction of Property 4,148 kitchen. They also claimed the farmers fired at the
Divestment of Property 174 guards. These accusations were
Forced Evacuation 427,232 all denied by the farmers.
Threat/Harassment/Intimidation 54,799 Hydro-electric projects
Indiscriminate Firing 6,055 that displace indigenous
Bombing 356,304 communities and destroy
Forced/Fake Surrender 661
the environment come with
Forced Labor/Involuntary Servitude 23
a bloody price. For his fierce
opposition to the Sta. Clara and
Use of Civilians in Police and/or Military
Operations as Guides and/or Shield 104 Ayala’s Quadriver mini-hydro
electric projects in Tinoc town
Use of Schools, Medical, Religious and
Other Public Places for Military Purpose 40,089 in Ifugao province, Ricardo
Mayumi, 52, paid with his life.
Restriction or Violent Dispersal of Mass
Actions, Public Assemblies and Gatherings 1,871 Ricardo Mayumi
6 KARAPATAN Monitor

TABLE 2
On March 2 at around 8:00 in the evening, two
Victims of Extrajudicial Killing and Enforced
men shot Mayumi four times inside his house at Sitio
Disappearance under the Rodrigo Duterte Government
Angadal, Brgy. Ambabag, Kiangan, Ifugao. According (July 2016 to March 2018)
to the Ifugao Peasant Movement (IPM) of which
he was a member, Mayumi was consistently vocal Extrajudicial Enforced
Region
Killing Disappearance
against the mini-hydro electric projects. He rallied the
Ilocos 4 -
people in the village, the Tinoc Kalanguya, to present
their fierce opposition in several dialogues with the Cordillera Administrative Region 1 -
National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), Cagayan Valley 3 -
the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Central Luzon 8 -
(DENR) and with Representatives Teddy Baguilat, Nancy National Capital Region - -
Catamco and Reynaldo Umali. Mayumi previously Southern Tagalog 6 -
received death threats through text messaging, Bicol 14 -
including pictures of “gamong”, an Ifugao burial blanket. Western Visayas 7 -
Central Visayas 11 -
Violations of International Humanitarian Law Eastern Visayas - -
(IHL) Northern Mindanao 11 -
Caraga 11
The sinister architects of extra-judicial killings SoCSKSargen 14 4
respect no bounds, not even if the victim is an elderly Western Mindanao - -
woman living alone with a four-year-old grandchild Southern Mindanao 40 -
and is not even involved in any political issue, Her ARMM 11 1
only “crime” is to have a son in the New People’s Army 141 5
TOTAL
(NPA).
Women 25 1
Last March 6, at 8:15 in the evening, Fe de los
Rights defenders 91 4
Santos, a 65-year-old widow, was shot six times in the
stomach by two men who bought cigarettes from her
store. It was Fe’s four year old granddaughter who
found her barely conscious. Fe was brought to the This is Tokhang-style killing – the two victims were
hospital where she died. already hors de combat due to their old age and ailments.
A week before killing her in cold blood, the same The state of the victims’ bodies indicated that they
two men were seen by neighbors casing her house were tortured prior to their deaths, further disproving
in Manego Extension, Magsaysay, Brgy. Poblacion, police claims that there was an encounter. Tesorio’s
Lopez, Quezon Province. Before that, soldiers were nails were detached from his fingers, his forefinger was
reportedly looking for Fe’s son after an ambush by the flattened, and his bones were broken. Rasa’s gunshot
New People’s Army (NPA) in the Bondoc Peninsula on wound also indicated that he was shot at close range. In
June 2007, and after the NPA’s raid in Tumbaga, Brgy. addition to such atrocities, the perpetrators even had
Nasalaan on Februry 26, 2018. the gall to file a case for the violation of Section 1C of
In clear violation of the Comprehensive Agreement Presidential Decree 1829 or “Harboring or Concealing
on the Respect for Human Rights and International of Criminals” against Jose Caroy Dallente, caretaker of
Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL), two elderly and retired the house where the two victims stayed.
members of the New People’s Army were killed by The same modus operandi was used to justify
combined forces of Tarlac’s Philippine National Police the killing of Alfredo Merilos, 55, and Liz Ocampo
(PNP) and its Criminal Investigation and Detection by combined elements of the 9th Infantry Battalion-
Group (CIDG), and the Intelligence Service Unit of the Philippine Army (IBPA) and PNP-Camarines Sur on
Philippine Army last January 24. State forces claimed March 15, 2018 in a subdivision in Brgy. Cararayan,
that Victorino Tesorio, 70, and Lolito Rasa, 58, Naga City, Camarines Sur. A statement from the
violently resisted when served with their warrants National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP)
of arrests so the police and military purportedly had said that Merilos is a member of the Communist Party
no recourse but to shoot the two men. The incident of the Philippines (CPP), but added that he has since
happened in San Miguel, San Manuel, Tarlac province. been considered hors de combat due to his illness. In fact,

he was scheduled to have a heart bypass surgery in
Naga City.
Merilos’s companion, Ocampo, was a former
overseas worker and current local government
employee in Camarines Sur. According to autopsy
reports, Merilos sustained three gunshot wounds
affecting his heart, liver, spine, and large intestines.
Ocampo sustained seven gunshot wounds. Similar to
the killing of Tesorio and Rasa, the perpetrators also
claimed that an encounter ensued, which was disputed
by witnesses who further attested that Merilos and
Ocampo were both unarmed.
These killings are presented as inevitable to the
public by the perpetrators’ fake and twisted narratives.
The penchant for bizarre excuses and ludicrous stories
to justify atrocities committed have become the
hallmark of the Duterte regime.
Illegal Arrests and Detention
There is also no let-up in the political persecution
of activists and rights defenders under the US-Duterte
regime. There is that ludicrous threat of proscription
filed against a number of peace and development
personaliities, and NGO workers. There is that old
modus operandi of criminalizing and arresting activists
without warrants, the planting of so-called evidence,
and being brought to court with trumped-up charges.
Under Duterte, there have been 297 victims of
illegal arrests and detention, almost all are activists and
members of progressive organizations. A crackdown
on rights defenders has taken shape with Duterte’s
counterinsurgency program in tow with the Inter
Agency Committee on Legal Action (IACLA). Last
January 31, NDFP Consultant Rafael Baylosis, 68, and
his companion, Roque Guillermo Jr., 50, were arrested
in Quezon City by combined elements of PNP’s CIDG-
National Capital Region, Regional Intelligence Division
and Intelligence Group, Manila and Quezon City Police
Districts, and the Intelligence Service of the Armed
Forces of the Philippines. Baylosis and Guillermo just
Arrested on fabricated charges: (L-R) Rafael Baylosis, Marklen Maojo Maga,“Mabinay 6”, Ruby Lacadman
January - March 2018 7
came from a dental clinic when they were pounced
upon by six men in civilian clothes and taken to Camp
Crame. It was only the following day, February 1, that
lawyers from the NUPL got to talk to Baylosis.
Trumped-up charges of illegal possession of
firearms were filed against Baylosis and Guillermo. Both
were shocked that a hand grenade was allegedly taken
from them, purportedly hidden in the kilo of red rice
carried by Baylosis, when they were illegally arrested.
This was in contrast to an earlier statement from the
police that the two were carrying .45 caliber guns only
-- which were also planted evidence. After posting bail,
Guillermo was released on February 20, 2018. Baylosis
was eventually transferred to the Special Intensive Care
Area 1 in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City.
The arrest and continuing detention of Baylosis
is a violation of the Joint Agreement on Safety and
Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) which allows free and
unhindered passage to NDFP consultants, and accords
them immunity from surveillance, harassment, search,
detention, prosecution and interrogation or any other
punitive action.
Baylosis had been earlier granted a court order
denying the Justice Department’s motion to cancel his
bail when the peace talks was unilaterally stopped by
Duterte in 2017 and ordered the re-arrest and detention
of released NDFP consutants.
In yet another case of criminal prosecution of
activists, the son-in-law of Baylosis was arbitrarily
arrested and illegally detained. Marklen Maojo Maga,
38, is a trade union organizer of Kilusang Mayo Uno.
In his student days, he was a member of the League of
Filipino Students at the Polytechnic University of the
Philippines, and was a founding member of the youth
group Anakbayan.
On February 22, Maga was playing basketball with
his neighbors when he was arrested by eight policemen
in plainclothes at around 8:44 am. He was handcuffed
and put in a white Hi Ace van.
Maga was told he was being arrested for the murder
of a certain PFC Rolly Reus in Agusan del Norte, a place
8 KARAPATAN Monitor

where Maga had never been to. He was not read his
Miranda rights nor shown a warrant for his arrest.
He was brought to Camp Crame and interrogated for
several hours in the absence of his lawyer. He was being
forced to admit that he owned a gun, a photograph
of which was shown to him. He was presented to his
family after 9 hours.
On February 23, Maga was presented to the media
by the CIDG-NCR as an “Execom” member of the
National Youth and Students Bureau of the CPP-NPA.
He was brought to the DOJ for inquest proceedings,
still without his lawyer. He was charged with illegal
possession of firearms aside from the earlier murder
charge.
Some incidents of illegal arrests and detention
were results of military operations in the countryside.
In Ilagan City, Isabela, five farmers from Brgy. Old San
Mariano were illegally arrested by elements of the 86th
IBPA on February 18, 2018. Victims Mauricio Sagun,
65, Maximiniano Domongo, 44, Bernard Penaflor,
21, Ariel Penaflor, 49, and Mario Turqueza, 65, were
subjected to intense interrogation and were slapped
with trumped-up charges of illegal possession of
firearms and explosives. The perpetrators also planted
a .38 caliber revolver and three grenades in the victims’
belongings. Sagun is currently detained at BJMP Ilagan,
while the four other victims are at the Isabela Provincial
Jail. The farmers were accused by the military of being
NPA members.
Last March 3, six youths were arrested in Sitio
Tumonon, Brgy. Luyang, Mabinay, Negros Oriental by
soldiers of the 62nd IBPA led by 1Lt. Prad Adoptante and
2Lt. Reymart Africa. Myles Cantal Albasin, 21, Joemar
Garlet Indico, 29, Joey Amaro Vailoces, 18, Bernard
Embalsado Guillen, 18, Randel Balasabas Hermino,
19, and Carlo Villamor Ybanez, 18. They are all
members of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas-Negros
Oriental. They had a scheduled consultation with
peasants on March 4.
In the night of March 3, the group was resting in the
house of a farmer when they were awakened by dogs
barking and noise of stones being thrown at the house.
Soldiers were shouting for the youths to surrender
or the soldiers would throw a grenade in the house.
When the six stepped out, they were surrounded by the
soldiers who immediately tied their wrists. The soldiers
then fired shots in the air.
At the headquarters of the 62nd Infantry Battalion,
the soldiers interrogated the youths. They all tested
negative for gunpowder residue. The following day,
they were brought to the Dumaguete City Hall of Justice
for inquest proceedings. They were already presented
to the media as captured members of the New People’s
Army, and were charged with illegal possession of
firearms and explosives.
The cases of the Ilagan 5 and the Mabinay 6 show
that mass arrests of peasants continued into the first
quarter of 2018.

Political Prisoners
as of March 31, 2018
TABLE 3
Total number of NDFP Arrested under
Region of Dention Women
Political Prisoners Consultants Duterte
Cordillera Administrative Region 8 1 0 4
Cagayan Valley 21 0 0 14
Central Luzon 7 0 1 2
National Capital Region 91 10 4 11
Southern Tagalog 37 3 0 20
Bicol 38 1 0 5
Western Visayas 14 2 0 9
Central Visayas 7 0 0 3
Eastern Visayas 32 6 0 5
Northern Mindanao 30 3 1 13
Caraga 60 2 0 31
Socsksargen 33 2 0 17
Western Mindanao 12 4 0 5
Southern Mindanao 113 11 0 34
TOTAL 503 45 6 173

On January 9 in Magpet, North Cotabato some 300
soldiers from the 39th Infantry Battalion embarked on
an arresting spree in Purok 2, Brgy. Balete in Magpet,
North Cotabato, in retaliation for a December 2017
incident of kidnapping of the Deputy Police Chief of
President Roxas town, Insp. Menardo Cui, allegedly by
the New People’s Army.
At 2:30 in the morning, soldiers forcibly barged into
the house of Jarold Adiaton, 28, and arrested Jarold and
his brother, Jerald, 23. The brothers were manhandled
by the soldiers, hitting them with guns and stepping on
their backs while the soldiers searched the house. The
police then arrived with an arrest warrant for Jarold on
charges of frustrated murder and attempted murder.
They also planted an improvised explosive device (IED)
under the pillow of Jarold’s child. The brothers were
taken to the PNP Magpet station.
On the same day at 3:30 in the morning, soldiers
kicked open the door of the house of Jean Paradero
Solis, 27, which almost hit the head of Jean’s sibling.
The soldiers then grabbed Jean, tied his hands behind
his back and forced him to lie on his stomach. The
soldiers then searched the house and damaged some
things. Jean’s wife and children were escorted outside.
The policemen returned with a search warrant as the
soldiers allegedly found an IED near Jean’s mirror stand.
The perpetrators took the family’s PhP 4,000, after
which the victim was brought to Magpet PNP station
where he was detained together with the Adiatons.
The soldiers raided another residence. Jobert
Binondo, 27, was manhandled by the soldiers and his
house ransacked without a search warrant. His PhP 700
and his brother’s PhP 400 were taken by the soldiers.
Before the first quarter of 2018 ended, the police
made another arrest in Brgy. Cacutud, Mabalacat
City, Pampanga. Ruby Lacadman, 38, was illegally
arrested on March 29 at her residence by elements of
the Mabalacat PNP. She was brought to Cadiz City the
next day, but her whereabouts were only made known
to her family on Sunday evening, April 1. Lacadman
is a member of the urban poor organization Kadamay
and a staff in the urban poor unit of Brgy. Cacutud.
Her name is included in the list of activists cited in the
Justice Department’s proscription petition. She is now
facing trumped-up charges of murder and is currently
detained at the Bacolod City District Jail.
In the conduct of counterinsurgency operations,
the military and police are sticking to old manipulative
schemes. But this time they are in closer partnership
with courts and local officials. They aggressively
pervert the law to persecute rights defenders and
January - March 2018 9
residents of peasant and indigenous communities. In
a spectrum of violations that the US-Duterte regime
employs, the filing of non-bailable trumped-up criminal
charges, e.g. illegal possession of explosives, remains
as the most common. To augment the false charges the
military and police label their victims as “terrorists”,
“communists” or “enemies of the State.”
Forced or Fake Surrenders
As of end March 2018, Karapatan has documented
661 victims of forced or fake surrenders. This specific
violation not only targets individuals, but also entire
organizations and communities. It is meant to create
an illusion that the government’s counterinsurgency
program is succeedinmg. The military has busied
themselves with another list – this time of alleged NPAs
who have returned to the “fold of the law.”
At least 500 residents of Lupiagan and Licoan,
Sumilao, Bukidnon were gathered by soldiers of
the 1st Special Forces Battalion in their camp in Brgy.
Mampayad, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon on January 28,
2018. The soldiers announced that a half kilo of rice and
500 pesos will be distributed to each of the residents.
Upon arrival at the detachment, the residents were
fed, asked to sign an attendance sheet, and had their
pictures taken. Days later, the residents heard from
the local radio that their names were included in the
military’s report of NPA surrenderees.
The same method was done to 18 members of
the Compostela Farmers Association (CFA) in Brgy.
Manggayon, Compostela, Compostela Valley. On
February 28, 2018, residents and members of the CFA
were forced “to surrender” by elements of the 66th
IBPA after threats of being arrested. Also, the soldiers
announced that the CFA members’ enrollment in
the Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program (4Ps) would
be cancelled if they did not sign a document . The
names of the 18 were later announced on the radio
as surrenderees. The CFA is among the organizations
targeted by the military as a “front” of the NPA. Since
martial law, six CFA members have already been killed
and many of its members face trumped-up charges.
Also on March 5, 2018, 15 members of the
Tribal Indigenous Oppressed Group Association
(TINDOGA) were called, along with other members of
the community, to the house of Datu Santiano Abdahan
Jr. The meeting was attended by six soldiers of the 8th
IBPA and 22 unnamed members of the Citizen Armed
Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU). The residents were
10 KARAPATAN Monitor

invited “to surrender”, lest they get a criminal case Attack on Schools
lodged against them. Those who would “surrender”
Schools, students and teachers are also fair game
would be trained as new paramilitary members and
for soldiers in their counterinsurgency operations
would be enrolled in a livelihood project. The military
under Oplan Kapayapaan. Rampant are cases where
also interviewed residents, forcing them to give names
soldiers camp out in classrooms. Schools for Lumads
of other people to add to their “wanted names.”
are especially prone to attacks in military operations,
Soldiers said that joining rallies was enough reason to
particularly because the Duterte regime has branded
be suspected of being an NPA member.
them as “NPA schools”. Under Duterte, Karapatan
All this indicates that communities where
documented 40,089 residents including children
legitimate struggle for land and rights are priorities in
affected by use of schools for military purposes and
the AFP’s “surrender spree”. It is meant to discredit and
outright harassment and violence against schools, their
hopefully weaken too organizations and communities
teachers and supporters.
for the benefit of landlords and corporate interests,
On February 7, Jolita Tolino, 24, an adult literacy
systematically targeting civilians and forcing them into
community teacher of CLANS Lumad Community
a specific script written by the military.
School in Sitio Tinagdanan, Brgy. Hinalaan, Kalamansig,
Furthermore, to prop up the pretense, paramilitary
Sultan Kudarat, was “invited” by two marines in
elements, some of whom have warrants for criminal
civilian clothes and two barangay kagawad “Pilok” and
acts and human rights violations, are also paraded as
“Kanoy”. She was brought to the village hall, the Marine
surrenderees. Karapatan received reliable information
camp, and then to the Kalamansig Police station where
that among those included in the so-called surrenderees
she was interrogated on the CLANS school curriculum.
are members of the paramilitary Magahat-Bagani force
She was transferred to Isulan Jail the next day without
who should have already been arrested and surrendered
being told what the charges were against her. Only later
to the court for human rights violations perpetrated
was she informed of murder charges filed against her
in Lumad communities in the Caraga region, including
by individuals unknown and unnamed.
those involved in the infamous Lianga massacre. Among
In Compostela Valley, 24
those who already have warrants issued since May 23,
youth and children delegates
2016, were Datu Calpito Egua, Oscar Egua, Jojo Acebedo,
were harassed and temporarily
Benjie Martinez, Zaldy Banusan, Joakin/Joaquin Salinas,
detained by troops of the 25th
Roldan Acebedo, Pluto Acebedo, Ramil Pedroso, Rico
Infantry Battalion last February
Acebedo, Arnold Brital, Romeo Banusan, Egoy Perez,
17. The students, members of
Totok Acebedo, Urso Banusan, Ramsy Salinas, Along
Kabataan Ayaw sa Droga, were
Salinas, and Rommy Acebedo.
holding a workshop called
Instead of being imprisoned, these criminals are
“Youth Action Against
coddled by the military and the Duterte regime. To
Drugs“ when they
facilitate their rewards, they are listed as surrenderees
were accosted by the
each of who stand to receive cash, livelihood support,
soldiers in Dalaguete
a house, and other assistance. Clearly, this is a big
Elementary
money-making scheme to channel funds to them and
School in Brgy.
their handlers, and deceive the people. This is a cheap
New Dalaguete,
trick to make the government look triumphant in its
Montevista,
counterinsurgency campaign, misleading the public
Compostela
and deliberately withholding justice to victims, their
Valley. Arrested
families, and their respective communities. Duterte is
were volunteer
doling out money to murderers for their anti-people
teachers Eugene
services to the regime and acting skills as surrenderees,
Laurente, 17, from
only so they can go back to perpetrating more rights
Davao City and Grediliz
violations. This is the real face of the Duterte regime: no
Ornopia, 23, Darlene
actual solutions on the ground, no justice; only pathetic
and desperate charades.

Teacher of lumads, Jolita Tolino

 January - March 2018 11

Martin’s Purrspective: Seeing Red by Dee Ayroso, Bulatlat

Dasig, 41, both residents of Montevista Town.
The three were detained for two days in a
military camp in Monkayo, and were forced
to “surrender” as NPA members. Later on, the
military issued a statement that the soldiers had
conducted a rescue operation and tagged the
volunteer teachers as recruiters for the NPA.
Last March 19, teachers and students of
Salupongan Ta Tanu Igkanogon Community
Learning Center, were accosted by the Alamara
paramilitary group headed by a certain “Sadam”
in Sitio Igang, Brgy. Palma Gil, Talaingod, Davao
del Norte. The eight teachers, four children and
12 students were heading for Sitio Nasilaban
to prepare for their moving up ceremony. The
Alamara group was later joined by soldiers from
the 67th Infantry Battalion who, upon arrival,
ransacked the bags of the teachers and students.
They took pictures, including of the two infants
who were with their mothers.

Threats, Harassment, Intimidation,

Vilification and Inciting Violence
against Groups and Individuals
Living up to being a presidential bully, which
he mistakes for a strongman stance, Duterte
continues to hurl insults and incite attacks at
individuals and organizations. His mouth froths
with malicious pronouncements, easily uttered
as if these have no dangerous implications on
the ground having come from the Malacanang
resident. His coterie of opportunistic cheer leaders
laughs, applauds, and delights in his swearing and
verbal assaults at those who disagree. But such
calculated ramblings encourage human rights violations
and are interpreted by his underlings as directives to go
against the Duterte “enemies of the state.”
In his meeting with rebel-returnees in Malacañang
on February 7, 2018, Duterte where he explicitly gave
an order to shoot the vaginas of “women holding guns”
and of “amazons.” This reminds us of the supposed joke
the macho-fascist uttered in May 2017 that soldiers
could rape three women and he as president would take
responsibility for of the international humanitarian
laws, are what this regime is all about -- a hazard to
women everywhere.
At risk because of Duterte’s ire and diatribes
are human rights defenders, whether individuals
or organizations. After the Justice Department’s
proscription petition which listed at least 60 human
rights defenders as “terrorists,” Duterte maliciously
linked human rights groups to drug cartels.
Since October 2017, Karapatan has been red-
tagged by no less than Duterte and pinpointed as
his political detractor in six of his speeches. That’s
putting Karapatan in the crosshair of the military’s
counterinsurgency sight. In the first quarter of 2018
Duterte has accused Karapatan of being a communist
“legal front” and of involvement in a conspiracy against
him: in Mawab, Compostela Valley on January 22; at the
Davao International Airport, Davao City on January 27;
at Heroes Mall, Malacañang Palace on February 7; and at
the Matina Enclaves in Davao City on February 9.
Consistent with its contempt for human rights and
its advocates, the US-Duterte regime has also hampered
efforts to investigate abuses borne out of its fascist
policies. Delegates of an international fact-finding
mission, who sought to investigate the massacre of
eight Lumad leaders in Brgy. Ned, Lake Sebu, South
12 KARAPATAN Monitor
Cotabato, were harassed by state combat troops. The
mission, spearheaded by the International Coalition for
Human Rights in the Philippines and the Mindanaoans
for Civil Liberties, was participated in by foreign
nationals, Filipino delegates and local participants. The
team was on their way to General Santos City when
they were held at a checkpoint in Brgy. Palian, Tupi,
South Cotabato. The IDs of two foreign church workers
were confiscated and the two escorted and held at the
Bureau of Immigration in the Region 12 field office in
General Santos for “verification.” No specific reason
was presented by the police.
A separate team, who went to visit Lumad
communities in Brgy. Diatagon, Lianga, Surigao del
Sur, was denied entry by soldiers of the 75th IBPA on
February 19, 2018. The team was accompanied by a
local official and a bishop, but the military stuck to
arbitrarily refusing to give permission.
International Rejection of Violations,
International Support for Human Rights
Duterte’s enlarged but fragile ego smarts from
the chorus of criticisms from the international
community. His reaction ranges from verbally abusing
and threatening UN officials like Agnes Callamard,
Special Rapporteur for Extra-Judicial Killings, and UN
High Commissioner on Human Rights Zeid bin Ra’ad Al
Hussein to setting into action his spokesperson Harry
Roque and cabinet member Alan Peter Cayetano to
make excuses, muddle the issue and divert the public’s
attention.
The Duterte government is either quick to cite
“national sovereignty” or play the bullied victim amid
international criticism. After news of Duterte being
subjected to investigation by the International Criminal
Court (ICC) hit the media, Malacanang took on a
defensive mode. Duterte alleged that the allegations
against him were concocted from thin air and were
part of the international conspiracy to destabilize his
government. But with the systematic fascist campaign
that Duterte and his military and police is unleashing
against the Filipino people leaving thousands dead in
both urban and rural areas, is it not Duterte his own
destabilizer?
Duterte promptly shifted back to his arrogant and
unreasonable persona. He announced his government’s
withdrawal from the ICC notwithstanding what
has been its active role in the approval of the Rome
Statute that created the ICC. He once more resorted
to insulting and threatening Fatou Bensouda, the
appointed ICC prosecutor. He thought he could escape
the ICC process.
The Rome Statute is an international treaty that
puts in place a mechanism to address genocide, crimes
against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression
– serious crimes of international concern. Among the
governments that have withdrawn from being party
to the Rome Statute are the United States and Israel,
countries known for wars of aggression and gross
human rights violations. Unfortunately for Duterte,
withdrawing from the ICC does not absolve him from
anything, nor does it leave him off the hook. Article
AFP

127 of the Rome Statute states that any country’s
withdrawal “shall not affect any cooperation with the
[ICC] in connection with criminal investigations and
proceedings in relation to which the withdrawing
State had a duty to cooperate and which were
commenced prior to the date of which the withdrawal
became effective, nor shall it prejudice in any way
the continued consideration of any matter which was
already under consideration by the Court prior to the
date on which the withdrawal became
Moreover, withdrawal from international
agreements should undergo proper legal processes not
a pronouncement from a president already acting like a
dictator.
Many more international organizations and
bodies criticized the Duterte administration and
expressed their support to human rights defenders
and the Filipino people most adversely affected by
the Duterte regime’s tyranny. It was after Duterte’s
Justice Department petitioned for the proscription of
the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New
People’s Army as terrorist organizations, implicating
more than 650 individuals as terrorists. Several
national and international organizations released their
respective statements of support for those named
in Duterte’s fake terror list, likewise condemning
the Duterte government for its persecution of social
activists and human rights defenders.
The fake list is included in the petition for
proscription of CPP-NPA as terrorist organization.
Among the international groups and individuals are
at least six UN officials and agencies, 16 international
organizations, six global regional formations, and
January - March 2018 13
TABLE 4
Duterte’s Fake Terror List
Category Number
Total names listed 657
Human rights defenders 61
Involved in the peace negotiations 38
Other people’s movement activists 45
Women 83
In prison 16
Deceased 8
Missing 2
Aliases 189
Jane and John Does Unspecified
12 national associations. Such show of support and
international solidarity indicates widespread clamor for
the protection and promotion of human rights amidst
the rise of authoritarian and tyrannical governments in
the Philippines and other parts of the world.
The Fight Against #DuterTyranny
As the US-Duterte regime reduces spaces for
protest, international solidarity, dissent, and the
exercise of individual and people’s rights, it has
gradually isolated itself from the people. Duterte’s
populist platform turns out to be hogwash, truly
an embodiment of the pretension of a traditional
politician. In the end, he is no different from his
predecessors, if not worse. #Dutertyranny is a very real
threat, and it is insidiously inching in to establish a
dictatorship.
More and more Filipinos are getting to be aware
of the violence and injustice perpetrated by the
Duterte regime and the lack of its accountability for
its rights violations. The circumstances surrounding
the killings of the poor and the dismissal of charges
against the rich, the double standard of justice, double
talk on peace, false rhetoric on sovereignty, unfulfilled
promises, and the consistently inconsistent Duterte
continue to be exposed. Duterte’s henchmen are losing
credibility as their violations are being brought into
wider attention. There are now less and less scapegoats
to shield Duterte. The people’s movement no doubt will
succeed in holding Duterte to account for the atrocities
of his US-backed regime and in extremely isolating him
and his hated rule.
14 KARAPATAN Monitor

Duterte abandoning off

and on the peace talks with the
National Democratic Front of
the Philippines (NDFP) means
that he rejects the concrete
platform that may resolve the
armed conflict in the country. He
chooses the path of tyranny and
militarism while from to time
dangling back channel talks and
reforms to the NDFP to get the
revolutionary forces to surrender.
The United States holds his
hands and watches his back while
China inches his way in through
investments. The vanguards of
the status quo stand beside him
whetting their insatiable appetite
and eager for more plunder at the
expense of the Filipino masses.
Duterte can no longer claim to be the same man under the mosquito net who walks with worn-
out slippers. In just about two years Duterte, the tyrant and dictator wannabe has emerged, a
quintessence of the system that thrives on the oppression and repression of the Filipino people.
The call is clear: broaden our ranks and fight, resist #DuterTyranny.

ÿÿÿ
TABLE 5 TABLE 6
Victims of Extrajudicial Killing and Enforced Victims of Extrajudicial Killing and Enforced
Disappearance under the Rodrigo Duterte Government Disappearance under the Rodrigo Duterte Government
By Sector (July 2016 to March 2018) By Affiliation (July 2016 to March 2018)
Extrajudicial Enforced Extrajudicial Enforced
Sector Sector
Killing Disappearance Killing Disappearance
Church 5 Anakpawis 4 -
Entrepreneur 1 KMP 47 -
Environmentalist 11 PAMALAKAYA 1 -
Fisherfolk 2 Bayan Muna 3 -
Government Employee 9 CPA 1 -
Indigenous People 37 2 GABRIELA 1 -
Minor 4 1 Katribu 1 -
Peasant 123 2 PASAKA 3 -
Human Rights worker 5 KASALO 3 -
Worker 8 KALUMBAY 5 -
Youth and Student 5 KALUHAMIN 8 -
Cultural Worker 1 BALATIK 1 -
Moro 12 1 Karapatan 1 -
Transport 2 PCPR 1 -
RMP 1 -
NDFP - 1
Others 13 3
 January - March 2018 15

From Page 16...

criterion was that Caloocan bagged the highest

accomplishment in Project Double Barrel/
Barrel Alpha against drug suspects.
The reprehensible practice of rewarding
wrongdoers has set waves of entitlement
among the police, thus cementing impunity in
their ranks. No wonder there are such cases
as that of a policeman who for no apparent
reason shot in cold blood a thirteen-year-old
boy, Aldrinne Pineda, in Vitas, Tondo last
March 15, 2018.
Not surprisingly, Duterte ordered last
December the PNP back at the helm of the
“war on drugs.”
On January 29 early this year, Oplan
Tokhang was relaunched. The number of
casualties from drug-related EJKs continued.
In January, 49 were reported killed, followed
by 46 in February, and then 75 in March. The
PNP, as a killing machine, is back. And it may
have an additional set of targets to kill.
In one of his usual tirades, Duterte came
up with the unthinkable and ludicrous --
possible link between human rights groups
and the drug cartels. But the insinuation is not
mindless but done with malice and purpose.
It is a threat that foreshadows a possible
widespread use of Oplan Tokhang type EJKs
against human rights defenders, other social
activists and Duterte’s political opponents. Before he died, 13 year old Aldrinne Pineda told his father that a police
Duterte does not intend to stop extra- shot him. (Rappler; E.Acayan)
judicial killings, whether drug-related or against political
dissenters. His war on the poor will continue with the
victims helpless in preventing the police from entering
their homes and killing their family members. To Duterte,
his police and soldiers there are no human rights. Due
process is non-existent. And the “war on drugs” may be
used to camouflage counter-insurgency operations .ÿ

published by Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights

2/F Erythrina Building, #1 Maaralin corner Matatag Streets, Brgy. Central 1100 Quezon City, Philippines
Telefax: +632 4354146 | Email: publicinfo@karapatan.org | Website: www.karapatan.org

ÿÿÿ
The reproduction and distribution of information contained in this publication are allowed as long as the sources are cited, and KARAPATAN is acknowledged as the source.
Please furnish KARAPATAN copies of the final work where the quotation or citation appears.
16 KARAPATAN Monitor

Duterte’s “War on Drugs”:

Back to the PNP,
Back to the Business of Killings

T his flagship program of the Duterte regime continues its assault on poor
Filipinos who are suspected of being peddlers and users of prohibited
drugs. However, from a high of 397 extra-judicial killings in the first quarter of
last year (2017), the number dropped significantly to 168 in the first quarter of
this year (as reported by ABS CBN).

This is by no means due to the Duterte regime’s
change of heart. Since last year, Duterte’s bloody
“war on drugs” has been receiving serious challenge
from different sectors including from the international
community. The families of victims organized under
the formation, Rise Up for Life and Rights, continue
to seek justice for their slain kin. The new group of
lawyers, named Manlaban (Fight) sa EJK, dedicates
itself to stopping the arbitrary executions.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has
started its investigation of Duterte’s “war on drugs.”
For this reason, it has been at the receiving end
of insults from Duterte and his ilk. Not satisfied,
Duterte ordered that the Philippines back out as a
signatory to the Rome Statute which established the
ICC. Most recently, Duterte, in a familiar uncouth
fashion, threatened to arrest any ICC prosecutor who
will come to the Philippines to investigate him.
The Philippine Supreme Court (SC) has decidedly
rejected Solicitor General Jose Calida’s motion for
reconsideration of the SC order for the Philippine
National Police (PNP) to provide full documentation
(forensic, ballistic reports, among others) of Oplan
Tokhang. Senior Associate Justice, now acting Chief
Justice, Antonio Carpio took note that from July 1,
2016 to November 27, 2017, the PNP recorded in
their website 3,967 deaths, plus 16,355 homicide cases
still under investigation. That adds up to a whooping
20,322 deaths that come to an average of 39 deaths a
day. The SC order enables families of victims to get to
know the details surrounding their loved one’s death
at the hands of the police, including any questionable
conduct of operations and possible cover-up of the
killings.
Duterte has certainly felt the heat for his
indefensible and infamous “war on drugs”. He was
forced to relieve the PNP twice last year as the sole
agency to implement the bloody war. He made a show
of admitting that he underestimated the drug problem
and that the six-month deadline he set on himself was
a miscalculation of the gravity of the drug situation.
But on the sly, Duterte has been rewarding his
PNP anti-drug henchmen for job well done. He
ordered PNP Chief Ronald Bato de la Rosa to revert
to active duty Superintendent Marvin Marcos, the
police official tagged in the killing of former Albuera,
Leyte mayor Rolando Espinosa. While murder charges
were filed against the Caloocan cops who were
implicated in the EJK of young Kian de los Santos
last year, the PNP cited the Caloocan City Police
Station as best city police unit in the National Capital
Region. In giving the award, the NCRPO said a major

ÿContinued on Page 15...