Update: 43 health workers get SC writ
by Michael Tan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
I know some of you are expecting a column about yesterday’s Inquirer forum at UP with the presidential candidates. I have a lot to share about that event, but I have to postpone that article because I want to write about a very urgent issue, one which has implications for the elections.
I’m referring to the raid conducted last Saturday on a health workers’ training seminar organized by an NGO, the Council for Health and Development (CHD), resulting in the arrest of 42 of the workshop participants. That included two physicians, one nurse and one midwife. All the others were community health workers, most of whom were poor farmers or workers who have been trained as paramedics and health educators. The 42 were brought to Camp Panopio in Tanay, Rizal.
The media reports have mostly featured the military’s claims that the workshop participants were rebels and they were being trained to make bombs. There has been little from the detainees themselves because the mass media have been denied access to the prisoners.
My column today mainly uses information from Dr. Delen de la Paz, vice president of Health Action for Human Rights, and press statements from CHD.
The workshop was being held on private property, a farm/resort owned by Dr. Melecia Velmonte, a retired 71-year-old professor emeritus at the UP College of Medicine who often lets health NGOs use her place for such training activities.
Not since martial law have I heard of a military raid on this scale. Dr. Velmonte has been quoted as saying there were at least a hundred soldiers involved when they raided the farm at 6:30 a.m. Many remained in the perimeter of the farm even after the health workers had been hauled off. The military says they had a proper search warrant; CHD says they had none.
What makes the whole incident even more disturbing is that no one was allowed to visit the detainees over the weekend. A few relatives were given permission on Monday and they say that the detainees have been maltreated, with one claiming he was subjected to electric shock during interrogation. Human rights groups are helping relatives and have filed for a writ of habeas corpus with the Supreme Court, which means the military may have to produce the detainees soon.
Escalation?
Until that happens, friends and relatives, as well as many health NGOs, are understandably agitated. Are we seeing a replay of the Marcos dictatorship, where health workers serving the poor are suspected of being subversives? Or is this an escalation of Arroyo-style repression and the regime’s vow to crush the NPA before her term is up?
We tend to associate raids with the police swooping down on prostitution dens, or shabu manufacturers and distributors. But during the Marcos dictatorship, raids were also frequently directed against political dissidents. When martial law was first declared, the military conducted raids throughout the country, arresting people from all walks of life who had been vocal in criticizing Ferdinand Marcos.
The more prominent dissidents at least had some protection because of media coverage and access to lawyers. Soldiers were known to even apologize as they entered homes of such luminaries. Raids in urban poor communities and rural areas were much less civil, soldiers or police storming through the homes (or entire villages) and the military looking for evidence of “subversive” activity, which could be anything from books by Marx to acupuncture needles (because the NPA was known to use alternative forms of medicine). If the military could not find materials, they would often end up “planting” them.
Raids almost always resulted in arrests, and much anxiety on the part of families. After a few months of martial law, it was becoming clear that the military was using torture during interrogation, or worse. This was the time when “salvaging” came into use, a mutation in the meaning of the English word, from “saving” to “executing” or “killing.” Relatives considered themselves lucky if the bodies were found. Others were literally “disappeared,” never to be seen again.
The first few years of martial law were the worst, but with time, organized groups of lawyers, the religious, educators and even doctors began to fight back, pressuring the Marcos government to observe international agreements on human rights.
NGOs were particularly vulnerable to these raids and staff members were trained about their rights, and what moves to make after a raid or arrests. It was not easy defending human rights. I remember that initially to dare to even mention “human rights” was itself considered subversive. Eventually though, “human rights” would enter the language of mainstream Philippine society so that today even government officials use the term.
Elections
Raids on NGOs continued after the dictatorship fell but a democratic regime meant more safeguards. Under the Arroyo administration, the raids stepped up again, together with other human rights violations. These repressive acts became so widespread that the European Union sent in an investigating team who did confirm a pattern of political repression. A government investigation commission headed by Jose Melo (now Comelec chair) was less conclusive, but did acknowledge there were human rights abuses.
Delen de la Paz tells me that when she went around asking for help from government officials, the standard reply she got was: “But they were NPA.” Now even if these workers were NPA, which I doubt, the raids and arrests have to be governed by legal processes. Those who were arrested should have been given immediate access to relatives, as well as to legal and medical support.
In the years after the Marcos dictatorship, I have not heard of a raid on this scale, with so many arrests and with such brazen violation of the rights of detainees. This raid does not augur well for the election campaign. Many candidates will be outspoken in criticizing the government and incumbent government officials. If arbitrariness and impunity are allowed to rule, those in power can easily use the “NPA” tag on anyone who disagrees with them, and can have the military round them up in raids.
We have to pin our candidates down on their positions about human rights. So far, I have only read of statements from Bayan representatives, Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay and Sen. Pia Cayetano, all decrying the raid. Will our presidential candidates, all potential commanders in chief of the Armed Forces, be ready to walk their talk about defending human rights?
If arbitrariness and impunity are allowed to rule, those in power can easily use the “NPA” tag on anyone who disagrees with them, and can have the military round them up in raids.
Ellen,
My sis (not in the remotest a leftist sympathiser) used to be a member of a religious and professional NGO that went to remote barrios to teach farmers how to look after their livestock (she’s a vet) and to train would be trainers on animal husbandry. She said, it was scary in some places because the military would sometimes just break into wherever they were and would start asking pointed questions.
At one point, she and a party of vets and agriculture experts (all volunteers) along with villagers were having a get together somewhere when a bunch of guys in military uniform came and asked them for IDs.
Fortunately, because I thought something like this might happen, I had the foresight to have a signed calling card together with a short and signed letter from no less than General D Santiago, then CSAFP done for her. I insisted she carried the effing documents with her at all times.
One of the uniformed guys asked her after reading the things — “Kamaganak mo ba si General?”
Sabi niya, hindi, vet ako ng aso niya which is only half true — I was the one that gave a german shepherd pup to Santiago and then introduced my sister in case he needed vet help — but apparently it helped, the troops became a bit more polite and even volunteered to drive the team to the next village or to another place the following they. 🙂
To be perfectly honest, I was a bit worried — what if the NPAs chanced upon the volunteers and found the frigging documents on my sister and decided to take the whole thing against her? But I tried to console myself that it couldn’t happen, after all the group were just out to offer help. 🙂
Actually, the weired thing is what worried me more than anything was the guys in military uniform pouncing on her group accuse them of being NPAs — imagine that!
Really, these poor NGO groups/volunteers are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, right in the middle of two warring factions; the end result being it’s the poor farmers, so far from civilisation, that are paying for the stupidities of both warring camps!
Maybe Gloria Arroyo will soon declare that her fake administration has fully castrated the reds as her legacy to a peaceful country.
Or that she’s already ordered kaguluhan as justification to holding on to power. Isinasabay pa sa eleksyon kaya nakakaduda ang raid na ito na malinaw na health workers lang ang mga dinampot. Porke mga dating farmers tinarget na. May balak talaga si Gloria…
Hindi sigurado sa kanyang bff na mananalo, kaya what is she in power for – she doesn’t want to give it up. She is cooking something that smells ala Marcos menu. Wala na, Gloria forever na kaya? A roof crashing down on her might be our only chance.
Unusual things like this incident are deliberately caused… and for very dark sinister reasons.
Before we beat up the AFP some questions:
What is HEAD? Is HEAD a social organization? Is HEAD a political organization? Is it both?
Why would the Military use hundreds of soldiers to raid a private resort? Were they expecting a firefight? Is it not customary for the military to isolate suspects for a period of time for security reasons?
I know a little something about insurgents, not because I am a military person nor have expertise on the matter. I do know reformed militants who used to carry hand grenades in public demonstrations. They were mostly bored, if not lost, students looking for a cause.
A relative who was an MD was kidnapped by the NPA while on a summer picnic in their family farm. No communist entertained any protest to the kidnapping. And, it was the military who acted to find him.
As to how the raid was conducted; Does anyone really expect the military to knock on the door and say, “Magandang araw po, raid po ito.”
Drawing ni Gloria yan!
I don’t know but things have reached a point where I don’t know who is telling the truth here. Maybe both sides are telling half-truths.
I used to automatically give the Left the benefit of the doubt whenever raids like this one occurs. But now that the left has allied themselves with the Nacionalista Party who endorsed the candidacy of Joc-joc Bolante, the anti-poor fertilizer thief, I’m beginning to think the left is no better than their enemy. Ngayon pa lang ako nakakita ng revolutionary party na nakipagsanib pwersa, nakipagshare ng plataporma, at tumakbo sa tiket ng isang presidential candidate na alam nilang saksakan ng dumi.
The fact is, as a good friend of mine who is very pro left, told me today – “Meron din dun mga CPP/NPA. Hindi lahat pero SOP yan sa amin dati. Kasama na din ang konting propaganda at indoctrination sa mga ganyan tipong seminars kasi saan din naman magiging health workers yun mga nandoon?”
So sumobra ang dating ng military sa raid pero hindi lahat ng tao doon sa seminar/training session ay masasabi natin na hindi kasapi ng CPP/NPA.
Half-truths on both sides.
But of course the AFP should adhere strictly to all legal processes. Denying the detainees their basic rights is to be condemned if it indeed happened.
At the same time, if in the process of conducting a lawful raid, the AFP was able to catch a few wanted persons then congratulations to them.
All I’m saying is I now put the left under the same scrutiny I put the AFP. Both now get an equal amount of skepticism from me because both have shown an equal ability to fall from the standards they claim to uphold.
Ako naman , Manuel, from time to time, I swing like a pendulum from one side to the other. Madali naman malaman pag positive ang raid. Pag mayabang ang spokesman, o kaya lahat gustong mag-spokesman, merong nasilo na VIP yan. Pag nagtuturuan, fairy tale lang yan.
Nung madampot si Melissa Roxas, ang mga deklarasyon malinaw, “She is a Communist and our evidences will prove it.” O di ba? Merong ngang video na lumabas.
Pero pag ang tirada e, “According to our Order of Battle…” wala na iyan, sinisisi na agad yung gumawa ng listahan. Na kaya lang nila hinuli hindi dahil personal knowledge kundi SABI DAW ng listahan.
Ang alam ko dito sa partikular na kasong ito, merong tip na meron ngang ganoon kalaking grupo ang magkikita. Kung ilan ang rebelde doon ay di natin pa alam, pero sigurado yan, meron yan.
Both now get an equal amount of skepticism from me Manuel
Idem here…
Huh, excellent takes MB and Tongue.
So sumobra ang dating ng military sa raid pero hindi lahat ng tao doon sa seminar/training session ay masasabi natin na hindi kasapi ng CPP/NPA.
Half-truths on both sides.
I am of the same mind, Manuel.
My sis who used to do volunteer work for the NGO I talked about has since left the group. She said at some point during that “mission” she participated it, she got uneasy and had a lingering suspicion that some of the folks with her were doing it more for some left-wing political motive; she said there were a couple of instances when some dinner talks centered on “revolution”, “masses”, etc.
Another friend of hers who stayed on after she quit had since left and kind of confirmed her suspicion.
That said, she’s convinced that those religious missionaries who stayed on couldn’t be at all communist leaning.
On #8: “I used to automatically give the Left the benefit of the doubt whenever raids like this one occurs. But now that the left has allied themselves with the Nacionalista Party who endorsed the candidacy of Joc-joc Bolan…”
Thank you Mr. Buencamino. Kailangan talaga na suriin ang balita at bigyan ng kahit kaunti man lang aral ang nasa likod ng balita. Mapanganib ang padalos-dalos na sumangayon sa mga kuro o salita ng tao.
Mapapansin na marami ang mabilis sumangayun, mag-akusa at humatol ng wala man lang ginugol na panahon upang maunawaan ang bagay na pinaguusapan o pangyayari.
Ang mga taong ganito ang tunay na mapanganib.
Kahit isa lang doon ang hindi communist, that is still a violation of human rights too many.
Hindi lang kumapi kay Noynoy sina Satur at Liza Masa, you are now closing your eyes to the human rights violations.
In the first place why was Satur and Liza driven to the NP camp, binakuran ng Akbayan si Noynoy. Nagpapabakod naman. It was reported that Bayan Muna wanted to support Noynoy.The LP rejected them. Sobrang yabang.
It’s not only Bayan Muna that the LP rejected and was driven to NP. May iba pa. That explains why Noynoy’s ratings are going down and Villar’s are going up.
Dapat siguro Noynoy should be hands on in his campaign. He is a puppet of Drilon, Abad and Roxas and the Makati Business Club.
No one here is advocating the violation of human rights, what we’re saying is that there is a possibility of the attendance of communist cadres in the workshop and may have been included in the arrests.
Organizers of rural workers are not stupid not to know who among their “invited guests” are wanted by the PNP and AFP, much more those being tailed by different gov’t units from different origins.
Imagine one contingent being followed by Southern Luzon operatives and another one being encased by Eastern Visayas spooks, both meeting at a “seminar-training” on a secluded private property with several other participants.
What does that tell you?
Personally I’d let the military sort this one out, if ever there’s a bunch of people who don’t want more bad publicity its them. Detoyato is one of the good guys I tell you. The detainees are in good hands and their detention facilities are not as bad as we’d like to think, the camp itself is a nice, cool, place, with trees and no pollution, well-ventilated…
…and now, before we get diverted longer than necessary, how do we ensure Gloria’s minions will not win?
Al,
“Hindi lang kumapi kay Noynoy sina Satur at Liza Masa, you are now closing your eyes to the human rights violations.”
Sinarhan ko ba ang mata ko sa human rights violations? Binasa mo ba ang sinulat or did your eyes close the moment you saw the name you saw the name of satur and Liza with Villar in the same sentence.
At saka, wala akong pakialam kung ano pa ang dahilan kung bakit sumama sila kay Villar. Nakikita ko kasama sila ni Villar at ni Jocjoc at ni Bongbong. Sapat na yun,
O e ano kung ayaw ni Noynoy sa kanila. Dahilan na ba yun para sumanib sila sa isang magnanakaw?
MB:
Di na ko hihirit. . .nasabi mo nang lahat. . .hehehe