Revisiting the almost forgotten

VERA Files first photobook,”Silenced: Extrajudicial killings and torture in the Philippines,” is an example of the power of images and words combined.

Launched yesterday, the book is a collection of images of human rights victims as sensitively captured by the talented Mario Ignacio IV.

“The two young daughters of a women’s rights advocate try to live normal lives even as they attend the trial of their mother’s murder in Tagbilaran City almost every month. A Lumad family in Davao continues to bereave the death of their patriarch while seeking ways to hold on to their ancestral land. A wife in North Cotabato wrestles with the fact that her husband is a bus bombing suspect and a victim of torture,” Mario describes three of the 14 images in the book.

The stories were written by Leilani Adriano, Homer Teodoro, Ven Labro, Germelina Lacorte, Nestor Ramirez, Mhike Cigaral, Ferdinandh Cabrera, Kenneth Guda, Mylah Reyes-Roque, Don So Hiong. Toto Lozano, Artha Kira Paredes, Bobby Labalan and Desiree Caluza.

The book is the end-product of the Human Rights Case Watch project where VERA Files revisited “cold cases,” incidents that have not been solved but have fallen out of media attention, of forced disappearances and extra-judicial killings. This was made possible by a grant from The Asia Foundation and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

“Fourteen stories of lives changed because of extrajudicial killings and torture. Fourteen stories that have been forgotten or have fallen out of media attention,” Mario said.

Not much has changed with the passage of time, Mario found out: “We returned to the field with the magnificent Mayon Volcano in the background where a Methodist pastor was killed. In Davao, while traveling the road to a creek where the body of a rebel leader’s daughter was dumped, we were stopped and questioned by heavily armed policemen looking for drug dealers. A police escort accompanied us when we visited the families of the victims of a serial killer in Pampanga.”

But even as the families of the victims continue to bear the pain and live under fear, Mario said they have not lost hope that someday they will obtain justice for their loved ones. His photos capture that remaining sliver of hope that keeps them going.

Veteran photographer Luis Liwanag helped edit the photos. VERA Files trustees Luz Rimban and Yvonne Chua edited the articles. Editorial coordinators were Avigail Olarte and Artha Kira Paredes. Cover design and layout by Eduardo Davad.

At yesterday’s launch at the Linden Suites, Atty. Al Parreno presented the expanded version of his report, “Killings in a Just and Human Society: A Report of Philippine Extrajudicial Killings 2001-2011.”

There was also a presentation of a video documentary on Five Instructive Cases of Media Killings in the Philippines by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).

Also launched were ” A Manual on the Prosecution of Torture” by Atty. Eric Mallonga and “Anino ng Batas II: Torture ” a Comic book on Republic Act 9745 or The Anti-Torture Law by Upholding Life and Nature (ULAN).

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Last Friday, on the occasion of his 77th birthday, Sen. Edgardo Angara, paid tribute to the “Star of Baler,” Manuel Luis Quezon :he launched the book on Quezon he co-authored with Sonia P. Ner.

Simply titled, “Manuel Luis Quezon”, the 208-page book features “highly informative and rare photos” of “the Father of Philippine Independence.”

“It gives a fresh and animated view of the man’s politics and his life,” the book’s blurb promises.

It’s published by Rural Empowerment Assistance and Development Foundation, Inc. Tel no: 4211-413 loc. 116. Email:readphil@gmail.com

At the launch/birthday celebration, Mike Toledo, public relations executive and former spokesman of President Estrada who emceed the affair with Philippine Star’s Joanne Ramirez, referred to Angara as “The other star of Baler.”

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This one is very timely.

Sen. Loren Legarda, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Climate Change, will launch today “Disaster Preparedness and First Aid Handbook “at 11 a.m. at the Senate Press Office.

The handbook includes disaster risk reduction and management for various natural hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, tropical cyclones, flood, storm surges, thunderstorms, tornadoes, landslides, heat waves, and human-induced hazards such as structural collapses and fire. More importantly, the handbook informs readers on what to have during emergencies.

“Through this manual, I hope to help everyone to equip themselves with preventive measures to lessen, if not eliminate, the impact of natural hazards. We must be ready to face these hazards and we must know what to do in order to secure ourselves in case of a disaster,” Legarda said.