HR, OFW groups in HK score rising abductions in RP

A Hong Kong-based human rights advocacy group and migrant workers on Tuesday gathered at the Philippine consulate to call for a stop to the alleged “continuing trail of human rights violations" under the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. At the rally, Eman Villanueva, co-convenor of the network Hong Kong Campaign for the Advancement of Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines (HKCAHRPP), said that the Philippines is under a reign of terror marked by escalating cases of abduction and forced disappearances, targeting activists and individual critics of the Arroyo administration. The group cited the abduction of Pastor Berlin Guerrero of the United Church of Christ of in the Philippines on Sunday by military troops, who later admitted they held the victim. “It now appears that abduction, torture and salvaging is the method of choice in the persisting terror against the people and critics of the government. Whereas before it was killing with impunity, at present, its abduction and leaving no trace of their victims," Villanueva said. He said that Guerrero’s abduction was illegal because there was no warrant of arrest served, like previous arrests of members and leaders of militant organizations. Pressures from the family and friends forced the military to surface Guerrero. However, many cases of forced disappearance are still waiting to be solved, he said. Among the most recent cases of forced disappearances were that of Jonas Burgos, son of media freedom stalwart Jose Burgos, who was abducted in a shopping mall in Quezon City, and the twin abduction of Luisa Dominado of an organization of former political detainees and Nilo Arado of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan in Panay. In the last elections, a member of party-list Anakpawis in Cagayan and two members of Bayan Muna were also reported to have been abducted and still missing. Meanwhile, the two members of Kabataan Party-list who were abducted on May 15, were found dead two days later. "This is so reminiscent of the martial law years when many activists were plucked by the military and either became a desaperacido, imprisoned unjustly, tortured, or worse, killed," Villanueva said. HKCAHRPP called on the Philippine government to finally make true its repeated promises of addressing the human rights violations in the country. "While the government is great with media announcements and lying to its teeth, its so-called efforts to curb human rights violations are either so insufficient, mere grandstanding, or total failures," the group declared. It also called on the international community to hold President Arroyo accountable for the cited crimes committed under her administration. - GMANews.TV