It has been nearly two years since the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHR) started their investigation into my case of abduction and torture. They have finally come out with a resolution but one that is filled with misleading and inconsistent conclusions.  Not only is it a far cry from the justice that I am seeking, but by practically absolving the Armed Forces of the Philippines of accountability, and instead give the unsubstantiated claim that the New People’s Army (NPA) was responsible, the CHR is in effect complicit with the effort of the military to cover up my abduction and torture.

At great risk to my safety, I returned to the Philippines in July of 2009, to testify about my abduction and torture before the CHR, the Court of Appeals, and the Lower House of Congress’ Committee on Human Rights . I did this because I believed it was important to bring the perpetrators, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, to justice.

As a victim of enforced disappearance and torture, for the CHR to say that what I suffered through was not torture is simply reprehensible. If the CHR purports to exist in order to protect and to investigate human rights violations, using narrow definitions and making distinctions between what is “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” and what is “torture” is disturbing.  It does no good in obtaining real justice for victims of human rights violations.  “Cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” is torture.  By any definition, what I went through at the hands of the AFP was torture.

The CHR Resolution has incorrectly concluded that there is “insufficient evidence to pinpoint individual members of the AFP as responsible or probable perpetrators” of my abduction and torture.  They go on to say that they have received “credible” information that indicate that the NPA was responsible.  These conclusions are inconsistent with my testimony and presented evidence that point to the AFP as the perpetrators of my abduction and torture. It also deviates from the original leads and investigations the former CHR Chair, Leila De Lima initiated.

The CHR did not present any evidence or detail to support the claim that the NPA is responsible for my abduction and torture.  The CHR did not give details as to what standard was used to verify the credibility of the informant who claims this was done by the NPA.  Neither does the CHR offer any rigorous review of evidence and process of investigation to substantiate this claim.

There is a lack of due process for the CHR to come up with this conclusion. By doing this, the CHR Resolution makes it obvious that it wants to distract the investigation away from the AFP as being the real perpetrators.

In its recommendations, the CHR says it has now fulfilled its constitutional mandate and left in charge State parties–the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)–with the responsibility of further investigating my case. This is nothing else but cruel for the CHR to expect that I would obtain justice by putting in charge these state agents—the PNP being one of the respondents to my case in the courts. I suffered trauma and injuries from the abduction and torture by State agents. What kind of justice do I expect to get if the very institutions that are responsible for my abduction and torture are left to investigate my case?

The CHR has certainly not fulfilled its duty to protect my human rights.  This resolution only serves to maintain and perpetuate impunity for the Philippine government and military who commit these heinous crimes.

(Left to right) Marie Hilao-Enriquez of Karapatan; Leonard Weinglass; Melissa Roxas of Habi Arts; and Berna Ellorin of BAYAN USA. Photo by New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, Inc.

In Honor of Leonard Weinglass
from Melissa Roxas

I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family and closest friends of Leonard Weinglass, human rights lawyer and fighter for justice. I share with you a deep sense of loss over his passing away.

Len was an important part of my legal team, as co-counsel and adviser. I met with him several times in his office in New York to discuss my case.  I am deeply thankful for all the times he met with me and listened to my questions and concerns. He was always very kind and attentive. Len spoke out publicly on my behalf. This meant a lot to me because as a survivor of abduction and torture—it gave me a lot of hope and encouragement at a very difficult time—he made me feel that my voice was important and that it would have a chance to be heard.  He was committed to pursuing my case, along with the cases of other victims of human rights violations in the Philippines. He helped with preparations for the prosecution of former Philippine President Gloria M. Arroyo, et al, for gross human rights violations in the Philippines.

Leonard Weinglass has been a long-time fighter for justice, as a civil-rights lawyer in the United States and as an international human rights lawyer. He is well-known for his support of international justice struggles and a long-time ally and friend of the Filipino people.  He will always be remembered and honored for his commitment to justice and his service to the people.

Thank you Len for your commitment to justice and freedom for all oppressed peoples and for all victims of human rights violations! May your memory be an inspiration to many more people for generations to come.

Here is a little poem I wrote for you, in memory.

a little poem for a big legacy
for Leonard Weinglass

when we die,
left behind
are parts
of ourselves
whose weight in memory
is equal to the sum
of those lives
we’ve touched

if,
for every kindness
you’ve shown,
a tree,
for every person you’ve
helped,
a sweet violet,
for every defense of justice,
an orchid,
the forest you left behind
lives
full of blossoms

it ever grows more beautiful
with every new generation
you inspire

Mabuhay ang diwa ni Leonard Weinglass!

I want to urge you to help us in the effort to demand that the Philippine military release the 43 healthcare workers that were illegally arrested and detained on February 6, 2010 in Morong, Rizal, Philippines.

This issue is close to my heart because I know what it feels like to be held incommunicado, in solitary confinement, denied of my right to legal counsel, and denied access to my family and loved ones.  I know what it feels like to be blindfolded and handcuffed, threatened, and not knowing what will happen next.  I also know what it means to be tortured.  It is as harrowing of an experience as it is traumatic.

Just a few weeks ago I was in New York City to talk about my experience of abduction and torture perpetrated by the Philippine military and to condemn the continuing human rights violations in the Philippines.  Now there is news again of the arrest of the 43 healthcare workers, amongst them doctors and nurses.  This just shows that the Arroyo government has every intention on escalating the violence against the people and committing gross human rights violations.

These doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers are the ones that go to poor and underserved communities and volunteer their time to provide much needed healthcare services and have saved lives.  They are health workers affiliated with the Community Medicine Development Foundation (COMMED) and Council for Health and Development (CHD). They help train healthcare workers and they work with Community Based Health Programs (CBHPs) that have been present in most parts of the rural communities all over the Philippines since the 1970’s.  CBHPs are present in areas where government services lack or are simply nonexistent. They provide primary healthcare and train and organize communities to set-up alternative healthcare systems that are people-managed and self reliant.

The Philippine government has paid back their thanks to these doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers by arresting, detaining, and torturing them.  To justify their acts—despite the invalid search warrant and pretense used to raid the farmhouse of Dr. Melecia Velmonte where the health training was held—the military has accused the healthcare workers of being NPA rebels.  It seems that every time the Philippine military is caught committing human rights violations they label anyone “NPAs” and plant evidence and witnesses against them to file false criminal cases.  As if this would justify the torture and the violation of their rights, but the fact is that regardless, they are still protected under the Geneva conventions and International Human Rights Laws.

The military is getting caught in its web of lies and deceit in their attempt to justify the illegal arrest, detention, and torture of the 43 healthcare workers.  This allows them to continue to act with impunity and to target civilians and anybody that is critical of the government. This incident further shows the arrogance, brutality, and ruthlessness of the Arroyo government.

It is reported that some of the 43 healthcare workers, 26 of whom are women, have experienced sexual abuse while detained.  Also, when the Philippine military finally presented the 43 healthcare workers before the Court of Appeals on February 15, 2010 due to the petition of habeas corpus filed by the families of the 43 and the mounting public pressure, Dr. Alex Montes gave his testimony.  He described the inhumane conditions he endured, about being handcuffed and blindfolded for 36 hours, held in solitary confinement, and not being able to utter another word after being asked how this experience has affected him, witnesses said he returned to his seat seemingly broken.

I am afraid for what Dr. Montes was unable to say, and about the other torture he and others probably endured.  After all, he still has to go back to the military camp after his testimony and he is still at the mercy of his captors.  Let us prevent any further violation of his rights, let us demand the end to the torture of the 43 healthcare workers and demand their immediate release.

No one has been prosecuted for human rights violations and the Philippine government continues its brutal policy unabated even as international condemnation of the Philippines for its gross human rights record has been expressed by the United Nations Human Rights Council, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other international bodies.  What is especially disturbing to me is that our taxpayer dollars here in the United States are being used to fund and train the Philippine military who is guilty of committing these human rights violations.  We can say “no to more human rights violations in the Philippines” by saying “no to more military aid” and urging our government to cut military funding to the Philippines.  We can also bring these human rights violations and the case of the 43 healthcare workers to the attention of our local representatives and Senators by writing to them and signing petitions like the one below.

The 43 healthcare workers include doctors like Dr. Montes and Dr. Merry Mia Clamor who chose to stay in the Philippines instead of going abroad.  In a country where 7 out of 10 Filipinos do not even see a doctor before they die, and where the majority of the people lack access to public health services and facilities, these doctors and healthcare workers that have dedicated their time and skills to serve the poor and marginalized communities of the Philippines are doing their heroic duty and sworn mandate to serve and attend to the medical needs of the poor and the most vulnerable in society.  They deserve not only our praises, but they need our continued support and our outcry for justice.

FREE THE 43 HEALTHCARE WORKERS NOW!
NO TO IMPUNITY IN THE PHILIPPINES!
STOP HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES!
STOP TORTURE NOW!
STOP MILITARY AID TO THE PHILIPPINES!

Sincerely,
Melissa Roxas

Please sign the petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/Free43

For more information and to find out what you can do please visit:
www.karapatan.org
www.bulatlat.com

I am writing to you because you are going to visit the Philippines to meet with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. I would like to appeal for you to discuss the gross human rights violations happening under the Arroyo administration. I am a United States citizen, a human rights advocate, and also a victim of abduction and torture in the Philippines.

I was abducted and tortured in May 2009 as I was conducting medical surveys in preparation for a medical mission in La Paz, Tarlac, Philippines. Based on the evidence, my own experience, and the pattern in which the incident occurred, it strongly points to the Armed Forces of the Philippines as the perpetrators.

As a writer, a poet and a human rights activist, I feel really committed to the cause of human rights and the plight of the poor and under-privileged. I went to the Philippines to learn more about my roots and heritage and to do volunteer work in various poor and under-privileged communities with the organization Bayan Philippines.

I never imagined that my efforts to help these poor and under-served communities and to advocate for a more humane society would result in me being targeted for abduction and torture. As an American citizen, I have learned to value and cherish my inalienable rights—something that has made me fight harder for those rights for myself and also for others.

I endured six days of physical and mental torture at the hands of my captors. I am still suffering from the trauma. I never want anyone else to experience what I have and I now know first hand what other victims of human rights abuses in the Philippines have been through. There is no room in a civilized society and a civilized world for torture and no room for the suppression of human rights to life, freedom, and genuine democracy. For those of us that are in a position to fight for those freedoms in the world, it is our duty to uphold those principles and to strongly condemn human rights violations.

There is a culture of impunity in the Philippines. The Philippine government has made no serious effort to investigate what happened to me despite the Philippine Court of Appeals ruling that my abduction and torture occurred and granting me a Writ of Amparo. There continues to be a lack of government attention to address my case and the countless victims of human rights violations even though international human rights groups including the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Philip Alston, have pointed to the Armed Forces of the Philippines as culpable.

I urge you to discuss the issue of human rights violations in your talk with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and hold her administration accountable for those abuses. Moreover, I would strongly urge you to support restrictions on U.S. military funding for the Philippines until the Arroyo administration can adhere to international laws, upholding human rights both in good faith and in practice.

Sincerely,

Melissa Roxas

I.

The composition of earth changes every time something is mixed into it. The rains come and it becomes mud when mixed with water. Seeds, when planted, flower into something that feeds you. The same is true of smell and sounds. Isn’t it often said that when you talk to plants they grow to know your voice? Move with your breath?

But what of sweat that pours into the ground? The markings made from combat boots that trampled the earth? The wrappers of Payless on the ground? The many cigarette butts that came from the Devil’s mouth? What of the blood? From the back of Julito*? From the chest of Ronel**? What happens to the animal sound from the bodies? The slow movements of men with their hands tied to the back, the missing tongues, the knife, the men in uniform whose laugh made the earth remember? There was the odor of musk and wind and rotten calabasa. What will grow from that much soil? The earth grew familiar with Julito’s hands when he planted maiz and vegetables in the farm, Ronel’s feet from hours of planting squash. The earth has known their names forever, Oh, but never like this.

II.

By earth
bound
by earth
bit by bit
by give
by mouth
by trail
by foot
by print
by squash
by earth
unearth
by leaf
by worm
lift by hair
by arm
by might
see the sack
grey and ash
by and by
hack by hack
by bit
by bone
by red by rib
by earth
by lie
they lie
my
o my
by and by
by earth they lie

III.

You try to rearrange the bones
but the foot doesn’t fit the leg
the hip too big for the torso
the neck too dark for the head
one eye is gone
the other is the wrong color
no arm
only two left fists.
Mark the parts
that still don’t have
its pieces,
try to fit the ones
that are there
feel the finger,
let it point,
lift them all from the fires.

IV.

I looked for you
in hospitals, infirmaries,
morgues of every city,
everywhere –
even in the fresh patches of unmarked earth
that promised your body.

But it was not you I found
but many more unnamed children.
There was a woman
whose body was half burned,
her face drawn in soft charcoal,
an unmaking of art
an erasure of beauty, of death
in its most primitive form.
There was a man who went
insane from torture, found
on the steps of a small hospital
in Pasig. They were all broken parts
that could’ve been yours.
Other deaths
and their living mothers,
children, and lovers
walking the streets
searching the wind
hoping it will carry them messages.

V.

When you tell the mountains to be moved, it is not at your call that they obey. But journey and take even a spoonful of earth from its mountaintop and place it on flat ground and you would have changed the world a little bit already.

** See above note.

Her red shorts were left
in an abandoned shack
a rag on the rotting wood floor
the heavy screen door, shut
the echo of her voice
a scrap between the cracks…

found

a fingernail.

It was said
two women and a man were spotted
somewhere along that road
in a solitary town two years ago
spotted? like cattle?
or deer in the wild?
ready for slaughter?

There is a hush
from the night child
that saw

his father knows

they come for him next

but who then

who

cries out

to stop the coming of the hour?

I,

I could have been that woman

I was

that woman

but surfaced on the banks
of a dark river,
the moon, I didn’t see
but the light behind the folds
the shadow of a hand
before the blow to the head

Yes,

it’s true about the light
the bright light you see
but no moan from the open mouth
only a song
the music of people
in my head

the child’s eyes
looking at me by the river
the broken back of her father
ploughing the miles of grainy fields
not his own,

I remembered the fly
on the lips of baby James
sucking his mother’s dry breast
his tiny hand searching the many folds.

A silent song
from the people
kept playing at my heart.

There is nothing else.

Asked if I was ready to die.
I said Yes.
For the people
I said Yes.

To Sherlyn Cadapan, Karen Empeno, Jonas Burgos, and many more still missing. I get the strength to tell my story because it is also yours. We refused to be silenced.
For the people.
Surface all victims of enforced disappearances!
Justice for all victims of human rights violations!
End the madness.

Come before the Night Hour
Come and Sing
before Night
Comes. I am Flame
to the Body.
The Incipient Wing
that can’t Fly.
The Open
Skin on a Foot
that Bleeds
Black. Tonight
I will learn to Die
a Thousand Times
and Be Resurrected.

The recent birth of my niece reminds me that life is something more than just presence, it is the earth rising inside of you, the earth that has been there since the beginning, but taking a different form.

I started to think about all the other babies I had seen as a community health worker in the Philippines before my niece was born. The marking of before and after, beginnings and endings. I remember their mothers taking them in for health screenings and basic check ups. Infants who went untreated for days with a fever, the softness in their eyes gives way to a hardness, their skin was tight from dehydration, they were so tiny, their hand in mine was as little as my thumbnail. I remember how much I wanted them to get better and be alive. With so many babies, children and families that I’ve met, I realized that the disease they had was more than an epidemic of typhoid fever, cholera, or malaria, it was the disease of poverty and oppression.

When I started to work more with particular issues of human rights violations I also met different babies, babies and children who had lost their mothers and fathers to a different death. A horrible and preventable death that takes the life not only of its victim, but robs the whole family and the world of their presence, all because they advocated and fought for a better world where their children have genuine freedom, a just peace, and true democracy.

Each day I was with the community, I learned how precious a birth can be, how to appreciate life, and I slowly began to understand what they meant when they whispered me their names and told their stories. There are no deaths that are forgotten, no fathers, no mothers, no sisters and brothers, aunts, uncles, or cousins that are forgotten. They live in the births of new babies each day.

When my own experience of abduction and torture ended and I was reunited with my family it was not a second birth for me, I realized that it is a continuing journey for the search for truth and justice. Repressive governments and military use torture as a form of control, to instill fear in people in debilitating ways, so they stay quiet and lose their light inside. But I realized no amount of pain or suffering or fear can stop that earth in me to keep rising. Instead it gave birth to new births. My experience has convinced me even more of the value of freedom and justice and the importance of fighting for and upholding the principles of human rights and human dignity.

Me being able to write this right now is testimony of how your collective love, support, prayers, and action is helping me and others like me through this experience. I know that your support is also part of a larger movement to create change towards a world free of poverty and oppression. Thank you to friends and family, family and friends of other desaparecidos, progressive people’s organizations, human rights groups, lawyers, civil rights advocates, church people’s organizations, concerned individuals, fellow poets and artists, and all believers in human rights and justice.

There are many more desaparecidos, more abductions, torture and extra-judicial killings going on in the Philippines and around the world. Let the new birth come where there is an end to all of the killings, abductions, and torture. Let the noise come from all directions–they are no longer whispers but shouts for justice.

Love,
Melissa Roxas