On the one year anniversary of Melissa Roxas’ surfacing in Quezon City after enduring six days of physical and psychological torture at the hands of her captors, who many believe to have been the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Roxas and her many supporters worldwide are still demanding for justice. The anniversary resonates for supporters of Roxas especially after the tumultuous national elections in the Philippines and the pronouncement of a new president scheduled to assume office just as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is scheduled to step down by June 30th.

“One year after Melissa’s ordeal, she is still suffering from both physical and psychological trauma from the abuse she endured while in illegal detention,” states Kuusela Hilo of the Justice for Melissa Roxas Campaign. “Yet not one arrest has been made for the abduction of Melissa Roxas and her companions until now. Like thousands of other victims of human rights abuses committed under the Arroyo government, Melissa Roxas and her many supporters demand the immediate prosecution of Arroyo herself once she steps down. We challenge President-elect Aquino to do the conscionable thing and bring justice for Melissa and all victims of human right abuses in the Philippines.”

Roxas, an American citizen, was volunteering for a community medical mission in La Paz, Tarlac on May 19, 2009 when she was forcibly abducted at gunpoint along with her two companions, blindfolded, and thrown into a cell where she would endure her experience until finally being released on May 25th.

A writ of amparo filed by Roxas was eventually granted by the Philippine Court of Appeals, acknowledging the legitimacy of Roxas’ experience of abduction and torture, along with corroborating medical reports on her physical condition post-detention. But while some praised the high court’s decision to grant the writ of amparo, most criticized it for letting the respondents to the claim–including Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, and several high-ranking members of the AFP–off the hook, further illustrating the pervasive culture of impunity for known human rights abusers under the Philippine judicial system.

Since returning to Los Angeles in late 2009, Roxas, a human rights advocate and member of Habi Arts, has been active in speaking out publicly against her ordeal and on behalf of other victims of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances that have taken place under the Arroyo government’s counter-insurgency program known as Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL). Roxas has also filed complaints with the US State Department and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture.

“The reason why I tell my story is because it is also the story of many others, and it reflects the experience of many Filipinos who have been abducted and tortured in the Philippines. Not all of them have surfaced, not all of them have survived, and those who did have been afforded very few opportunities to speak about what happened to them,” Roxas stated in a visit to New York City last January.

The Justice for Melissa Roxas Campaign, initiated by friends and family of Roxas, along with allied groups, has been actively demanding to cut US military aid to the Philippines because of its role in enabling the Philippine military’s practice of human rights violations and state-sponsored terrorism. Arroyo’s OBL campaign has been widely-criticized by international human rights monitoring groups for targeting civilians.  ###

NEW YORK– Nearly 100 concerned New Yorkers gathered at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Labor Center this past Saturday to listen to Melissa Roxas, the first US citizen under the Obama administration to be subjected to a gross human rights violation in the Philippines, and veteran Philippine human rights activist Marie Hilao-Enriquez, speak about the worsening human rights situation in the Philippines under the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration.

Marie Hilao-Enriquez and Melissa Roxas

Both Roxas and Enriquez were guest speakers at the second annual Pagpupugay (Tribute), an event honoring anti-martial law activists and human rights defenders sponsored by the New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (NYCHRP). This year’s event was also co-sponsored by SEIU/Local 1199 United Healthworkers East.

Melissa Roxas

Re-living Torture

Still fighting back tears, Roxas shared her story of abduction at gunpoint followed by six days of torture before surfacing in Quezon City last May 25th, while conducting community surveys in preparation for a volunteer medical mission in a rural town in La Paz, Tarlac.

Roxas, who is based in Los Angeles, is a founding member of the national Filipino-American alliance known as BAYAN USA.

“It is very hard for survivors to speak out in the Philippines because most are still harassed and threatened by the Philippine military and police and threatened with death and harm to themselves and their families,” Roxas explained. “Torture survivors, like myself, also find it very hard because every time I talk about the experience its like re-living it again. But because many more have been silenced and because one of the main objectives of torture is to silence and create fear, and to debilitate people, it is important to speak about it.”

Roxas pointed directly to the culpability of the 7th Infantry Division of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in perpetrating her abduction and torture. Last year, the Philippine Supreme Court granted a writ of amparo (protection) to Roxas and validated her claim of abduction and torture, despite attacks from former military generals that Roxas’ ordeal was “stage-managed”. However, the same high court ruling denied the request for an investigation of Fort Magsaysay, the alleged military camp where Roxas was detained.

Attorney Leonard Weinglass

International human rights lawyer Leonard Weinglass, a member of Roxas’ legal team, presented on Roxas’ pursuit of justice in the international courts, filing complaints with the US State Department and United Nations last year.

Counter-Insurgency Campaign

Enriquez, Chairperson of the Philippine national human rights organization Karapatan, presented Karapatan’s most current human rights report which identifies the Arroyo government’s national counter-insurgency program, Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL), as the framework for a “reign of terror” in the Philippines.

“Oplan Bantay Laya is by far the bloodiest and most brutal counter-insurgency campaign unleashed on the Filipino people by any Philippine president,” Enriquez stated.

According to Karapatan, OBL’s objective of annihilating the ongoing armed insurgency in the Philippine countryside is being pursued by targeting legal, aboveground civilians critical of the policies of the Arroyo government. This has resulted in the politically-motivated killings of over 1000 government critics since Arroyo assumed power in 2001.

“The three tiers of opposition to the Philippine government–the armed rebellion in the countryside, the unarmed civil society groups, and the progressive block in the Philippine Congress–are all lumped into one target for Philippine state security forces to go after,” Enriquez explained.

Enriquez also reported that extrajudicial killings in 2009 surpassed the previous annual totals since the Arroyo government assumed power in 2001 due especially to the shocking, “unparalleled” massacre in Maguindanao which claimed 58 lives last November 23rd. The November massacre also serves as a gruesome salvo to election-related violence in the Philippines with the upcoming national elections this May. Meanwhile, the Arroyo government set a target deadline for the second stage of OBL by June 2010.

Funding State Terrorism in the Philippines

Both Roxas and Enriquez addressed the role of US military aid to the Philippines in funding Philippine counter-insurgency operations, such as Oplan Bantay Laya.

“It is disturbing to me that the White House has been quiet about the human rights situation in the Philippines,” Roxas stated. “And Mrs. Clinton’s recent visit to the Philippines did not really address the current human rights violation and instead she expressed her solid support for the Philippine government and the military.”

Both made strong statements for the cutting of further US military aid to the Arroyo government for its ties to the Philippine military’s perpetration of gross human rights violations, as examined in a 2007 US Senate hearing on the Philippines.

Audience members in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Labor Center

“For us who live here in the United States, the issue of torture and our own government’s involvement in torture, whether directly in places like Guantanamo, or indirectly through the funding and training of the military in countries that are guilty of human rights violations, like the Philippines, is a reality we can no longer continue to deny, be ignorant, and choose to be indifferent,” stated Roxas.

While in New York City, NYCHRP arranged for Roxas and Enriquez to meet with several human rights lawyers as well as a courtesy visit to the office of United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings Philip Alston, who reported on the Philippine military’s involvement in human rights violations when he visited the country back in 2007.

Anticipating the escalation of election-related violence and electoral fraud in the Philippines this year, the local human rights advocacy organization is also promoting an international election-monitoring mission to the Philippines this May 2010 known as the People’s International Observers Mission (PIOM). For more information on how to join the PIOM or about NYCHRP, email nychrp@gmail.com.

PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Yoko Liriano
NY Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (NYCHRP)
Email: nychrp@gmail.com

NEW YORK–The first US citizen under the Obama administration to be subjected to abduction and torture in the Philippines will be speaking in Manhattan this weekend to tell her story and help raise funds for and awareness on the plight of victims of gross human rights abuses under the administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Melissa Roxas, 32, of Los Angeles, is headlining Pagpupugay 2, the second annual tribute to anti-martial law activists and human rights defenders sponsored by the New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (NYCHRP) this Saturday, January 30th, 1 PM at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Labor Center, located at 310 West 43rd Street between 8th and 9th Avenues in midtown Manhattan.

The location also serves as the headquarters of SEIU/Local 1199 United Healthworkers East, the largest local union in the United States and official co-sponsor of the event.

“Melissa is a hero. We draw inspiration from her strength and courage to speak the truth about what is happening in the Philippines, even if it entails relentless McCarthyist red-baiting attacks against her character launched by those seeking to cover it up,” states NYCHRP member Gary Labao.

Roxas, who has filed official complaints with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and US State Department, will join Marie Hilao-Enriquez, Chairperson of Karapatan, the largest human rights organization in the Philippines at this year’s Pagpupugay. After surfacing in Quezon City following six days of forced captivity and subjugation to physical and psychological torture by her captors last May, Roxas, who still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, was able to receive the physical and psychological help she needed with Karapatan’s assistance.

“I am grateful to Karapatan for not only helping me, but for helping thousands of others in the Philippines who have suffered the brunt of the Arroyo government’s military counter-insurgency program Oplan Bantay Laya 2 (OBL2).” Roxas, a founding member of the national Filipino-American alliance, BAYAN USA, shared. “My story is not mine alone, it is shared by countless others and with loved ones of those who have been killed or have never been found.”

Various international bodies, including the United Nations, have denounced OBL2 and supported Karapatan’s demand for its withdrawal on the basis that it has led to the perpetration of an acute human rights crisis in the Philippines that in many ways has surpassed the atrocities committed under the Marcos dictatorship.

In his 2007 report on the Philippines, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings Philip Alston pointed to the culpability of the Philippine military in committing a range of human rights abuses against unarmed civilians, including politically-motivated killings, abductions, torture, and forced displacement.

Shortly after his celebrated inauguration last year, President Barack Obama publicly pledged continued support to the Arroyo government and its military, including financial support and the deployment of more US troops to train Philippine military in counter-insurgency operations.

This year’s Pagpupugay 2 will also be a benefit fundraiser for Karapatan. For more information or to RSVP to this event, email nychrp@gmail.com.

While the recent ruling by the Philippine Court of Appeals (CA) in favor of Melissa Roxas’ petition for a Writ of Amparo and Writ of Habeus Data affirms Roxas’ testimony to her May abduction and torture while illegally detained as the truth, justice remains delayed, and at worst obstructed, with the CA’s denial of an inspection of Fort Magsaysay and clearing of the Arroyo government and military as respondents.

Vindication

A cornerstone of the Justice for Melissa Roxas Campaign, a broad movement of international supporters of Melissa Roxas, is the fact that Roxas was abducted and tortured and as a victim of a human rights violation, Roxas is in need of rehabilitation from the physical and psychological trauma caused by her ordeal. The CA ruling in favor of Roxas’s petition not only affirms these points, it vindicates Roxas herself. Since her brave initiation of the pursuit of justice, Roxas has been the target of a ruthless and relentless vilification campaign launched by Arroyo loyalists in Congress Jun Alcover and Jovito Palparan. The CA ruling not only proves that their psywar efforts against Roxas have been futile, it reprimands such efforts and calls for its immediate end.

With this portion of the ruling, the other legal and political measures the Justice For Melissa Roxas Campaign is taking in the international front gain considerable headway, as the CA has confirmed that Roxas’ testimony is “credible and worthy of belief”. We see this as an impetus for the broad international support for Melissa Roxas to expand and grow stronger.

Justice Delayed is Justice Denied

Another cornerstone of the Justice for Melissa Roxas Campaign is that justice be sought to the full extent of the law, including investigation, arrest and prosecution of Roxas abductors and torturers. Therefore, we take issue with the CA’s ruling to deny Roxas’ petition for an investigation of Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija and discharge of the petition’s respondents — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Victor Ibrado, and Army Chief Lt. General Delfin Bangit — based on a so-called failure to prove the principle of command responsibility. This part of the CA’s decision makes no sense in lieu of the previous legal developments and growing political isolation surrounding the Arroyo government and the Philippine military.

Last July, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) of the Philippines, an independent office mandated by the Constitution of the Philippines, conducted its own investigation into Roxas’ case, including an ocular inspection of Fort Magsaysay. In probing the Philippine military’s role, CHR Chair Leila de Lima confirmed that the physicality of the Philippine military camp was a match to Roxas’ description of her detention facility while blindfolded. De Lima even testified, alongside Roxas, before the Philippine Congress days prior to the Philippine Supreme Court’s hearing on Roxas’ petition.

Roxas’ petition notwithstanding, a glaring precedent has also been set confirming the Philippine military’s culpability in the worsening pattern of gross human rights violations in the Philippines with the official country reports released by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings Philip Alston and the United Nations Committee Against Torture.

That the CA ruled Roxas’ belief that it was the Philippine military responsible for her abduction last May 19th and six-day detention while undergoing torture as “unfounded” is unacceptable, and hints of impunity for Roxas’ torturers. In this regard, portions of the CA ruling also pose a setback to the pursuit of complete justice for Melissa Roxas.

Support for Roxas Grows

Widespread support for Melissa Roxas remains strong and continues to grow. Melissa Roxas’ legal team, and her base of support, are not set back in pursuing complete justice to the full extent of the law. The gains of the CHR’s efforts and portions of the CA’s ruling must be advanced, beginning with the release of the CHR’s findings from its own investigation. The CA’s affirmation of Roxas’ credibility will certainly advance the campaign’s efforts to seek justice through international courts.

The strengthening of Melissa Roxas’ campaign for justice will further isolate the Arroyo government and its military. One thing is for sure, if the CA’s denial of inspection and discharge of respondents leads Roxas’ captors to heave a sigh of relief, they should think again. ###

Fil-Am Volunteer’s U.S. Lawyer Asks Rights Watchdog To Release Findings

The veil of lies put up by Philippine President Gloria M. Arroyo’s military to hide their role in the abduction and torture of Filipino-American human rights volunteer Melissa Roxas has now crumbled. With their defense in the case now shaken, the investigation and prosecution of military authorities and their commander-in-chief should begin.

Lawyer Arnedo Valera thus said today following the granting by the Philippines’ Court of Appeals (CA) Aug. 26 for a writ of amparo for Roxas upon petition by her lawyers. Denying military respondents’ allegations that Roxas’s torture marks were “self-inflicted and stage-managed” with her abduction perpetrated by the leftist New People’s Army (NPA), the CA also ordered defense and military officials to stop circulating materials intended to link her to the communists.

Valera, Roxas’s counsel in the United States, said the appellate court’s decision bolsters his client’s case regarding her abduction by members of the Philippine military and the torture she underwent. Abducted on May 19 this year in Tarlac province about 120 kms north of Manila, she was tortured before her abductors left her alone — all beaten up and in deep trauma — somewhere in Quezon City six days later. She was on a human rights and medical mission in a farmers’ community when she, together with two male companions, was abducted at gunpoint by armed men.

Valera asked the Philippine Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to release its findings on the abduction-torture case and to recommend the investigation and prosecution of military men involved. Leila de Lima, the CHR chairperson, has probed into the military’s role in the case. In an ocular inspection at the Philippine Army’s Fort Magsaysay in Laur, Nueva Ecija, De Lima confirmed that the description of the place of captivity and torture by Roxas — blindfolded throughout her six-day ordeal — matched that of the military camp.

Ms. Roxas’s lawyer in the U.S. filed a complaint with the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Torture Professor Manfred Nowak under the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland last July 29, 2009 ,by way of an Urgent Appeal and Allegation vs. the Philippine Government.. The case alleged that Melissa Roxas is the first known American Citizen to have become a victim of abduction and torture in the Philippines under President Obama’s presidency. The appeal is also requesting the UN office to review the significant human rights violations committed on Roxas and that an immediate impartial and vigorous investigation conducted consistent with the established procedure under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and other relevant International Human Rights instruments.

The incident is the latest of hundreds of similar cases of forced disappearances and torture perpetrated against Filipino activists since Mrs. Arroyo’s presidency in 2001. Nearly 1,000 activists are also victims of summary executions.

Investigations by international organizations, including the UN Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial Killings, have pointed to the Arroyo government’s responsibility in the human rights violations with generals linked to many cases. Police investigators had blamed the NPA for the killings and abductions as part of its purge campaign against its own members prompting the UN special rapporteur, Philip Alston, to say that Arroyo’s generals should give up on their denial mode.

Mrs. Arroyo earns the notoriety of having faced four impeachment charges filed in Congress for her command responsibility in the atrocities as well as for corruption, election fraud, and other culpable violations of the Philippine constitution. Her presidency is to end in June 2010 but many Filipinos doubt she would step down to avoid facing a barrage of criminal lawsuits as a private citizen.

For Reference: Susan T. Pineda
Legal Coordinator, MHC Legal Resource Program
Migrant Heritage Commission
3930 Walnut St. Suite 200
Fairfax, VA 22030
(703) 273-1196

The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan welcomes the positive findings and decisions of the Court of Appeals in relation to the petition for a writ of amparo by our colleague Melissa Roxas.

The CA has correctly pointed out that Melissa was indeed abducted and tortured and that there is no truth to the claims by the Arroyo government that the incident was “stage-managed” or “self-inflicted”. We believe that this is the most important aspect of the decision. This particular finding is a victory for Melissa because it shows that she was telling the truth about her ordeal. It is clear proof that torture does exist in the Philippines under the watch of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Bayan thus welcomes the protection order coming from the Court which covers Melissa and her family here in the Philippines.

We also view as positive the granting of the writ of habeas data for Melissa.
This states that the government and its agents are enjoined from further disseminating videos and other information that allege Melissa as a member of the New People’s Army. The CA correctly pointed out that such dissemination of unverified information violates the right to privacy and endangers the life of Melisa.

Melissa’s lawyer, Atty. Rex Fernandez is still studying the court’s denial of the other relief prayed for by the petitioner.

Bayan, including its chapter in the United States, remains committed to seeking justice for Melissa and other victims of torture and abduction. ###

While former Philippine military leader-turned-lawmaker Jovito Palparan fails to break the credibility of American citizen Melissa Roxas’ testimony that it was the Philippine military that tortured and abducted her last May during a hearing before the Philippine House Committee on Human Rights in Manila, official complaints of torture have already been filed by Roxas’ US legal team with the United Nations in Geneva and United States State Department.

In a statement issued earlier this week by Roxas’ US-based legal counsel, Attorney Arnedo Valera of the Migrant Heritage Commission, a torture claim was filed in Roxas’ behalf “by way of ‘An Urgent Appeal and Allegation vs. the Philippine Government’ before the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Professor Manfred Nowak, under the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland.” A confirmation of receipt was also sent from Geneva.

Serving as co-counsel for Roxas alongside Valera is renowned international human rights lawyer Leonard Weinglass, whose clients have included the Cuban Five, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and Angela Davis.

Valera also explained that the Urgent Appeal is requesting the UN office to review the significant human rights violations committed on Roxas and that an immediate impartial investigation be conducted, specifically citing established procedures under the U.N Commission on Human Rights, and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Meanwhile, Roxas’ legal team also filed a complaint and request for investigation with the US State Department in Roxas’ behalf just in time for the upcoming face-to-face meeting between President Barack Obama and Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo this Thursday. Community groups in support of Roxas, including the Justice For Melissa Roxas Campaign, are sending letters to Obama requesting that he raise the issue of Roxas and other cases of human rights atrocities with Arroyo during their meeting, as well as comply with the pending US State Department investigation. Supporters of Melissa can write and send a letter to Obama by clicking onto: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dd9d2nfn_96hk8bhhg9

Roxas is the first US citizen under the Obama administration to be subjected to torture in the Philippines. In a statement last June 26th, in commemoration of the UN International Day in Support of Torture Victims, Obama stated– “Torture is contrary to the founding documents of our country, and the fundamental values of our people….My administration is committed to taking concrete actions against torture and to address the needs of its victims.”

Roxas is scheduled to testify at the Philippine Supreme Court’s hearing for her Writ of Amparo petition the same day as the Obama-Arroyo meeting in Washington DC.

But before that Roxas must conclude her testimony in front of the Philippine House Committee on Human Rights, which is chaired by House Representative Lorenzo “Erin” Tanada III. The said committee also includes Rep. Satur Ocampo, Rep. Liza Maza, Rep. Edcel Lagman, Rep. Roman Romulo, and Rep. Risa Hontiveros.

Also questioned by the House Committee were Palparan and Rep. Jun Alcover, who have been seeking to dismiss Roxas’ belief that she was abducted and tortured by the Philippine military by hurling accusations against Roxas herself. Palaparan is the former head of the 7th Infantry Division of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), stationed in Fort Magsaysay, the same unit Roxas suspects abducted and tortured her last May. Their attempts to break Roxas’ course of action in going after the AFP or steer the hearing in another direction have failed.

“I can no longer count how many times I have narrated the incident and my ordeal,” Roxas stated before the House Committee. “But I will not tire to tell the truth about what happened for I seek justice, not only for myself, but for others who have gone through the same. I seek justice, not only for what they did to me, but for other victims of human rights violations.”

Actions in front of the White House during the Obama-Arroyo meeting, including a prayer vigil, are set for Thursday, July 30th.

For more information, contact the Justice for Melissa Roxas Campaign at info@justiceformelissa.org and visit the Justice for Melissa Roxas Campaign Website at www.justiceformelissa.org. ###

Melissa Roxas, the first known American Citizen under President Obama’s administration to have become a victim of abduction and torture by military agents in the Philippines, filed through her counsel, Arnedo S. Valera, of the Migrant Heritage Commission’s Legal Resources program, her torture claim by way of “An Urgent Appeal and Allegation vs. the Philippine Government,” before the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture , Professor Manfred Nowak, under the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland . The case was received at the Geneva Office at 4:15 p.m today (U.S. time).

In addition to providing legal services for Roxas in the US, the Migrant Heritage Commission is a carrier of the Justice for Melissa Roxas (J4MR) Campaign, along with several organizations across the nation.

Among the specific answers in response to the questionnaire on the torture of Melissa C. Roxas, 31 years old, were the dates of May 19 through May 25, 2009 as the period during which the incident of torture occurred; and Kapanikian, La Paz, Tarlac, the Philippines identified as the place of abduction. The victim believes the torture was carried out in a military camp in Nueva Ecija, known as Fort Magsaysay. Fort Magsaysay, about 150 kilometers north of Manila, is the largest military camp of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It is home to the Army’s 7th Infantry Division. It also named the Special Operations Group (SOG) and those wearing military uniforms as interrogators and torturers.

The Philippines’ Commission on Human Rights’ ocular inspection of Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija on June 10, 2009 tended to validate Melissa’s physical description of the place where she was tortured.

Submitted also in the Urgent Appeal and Allegation is the description of the form of torture used and injury suffered by Melissa, i.e., torture via asphyxiation using a doubled-up plastic bag, repeated beatings on the face and body, and having her head banged repeatedly against the wall by her interrogators. Melissa suffered multiple abrasions as well as a psychological disorder called Acute Stress Disorder with supporting medical certificates.

The Urgent Appeal is requesting the UN office to review the significant human rights violations committed on Roxas and that an immediate impartial and vigorous investigation be conducted. Consistent with the established procedures under the U.N Commission on Human Rights, in resolution 1985/33, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Urgent appeal and Allegation was filed both online and in a written form. Attached to the document are the affidavit, medical certificate, various appeal letters from faith-based, labor, non-government and human rights organizations, and others.

The Special Rapporteur upon receipt of the information may submit an earnest request to the Government concerned to ensure that the human rights of individuals are respected and to take steps aimed at protecting the right to physical and mental integrity of the person concerned, in accordance with the international human rights standards. The Special Rapporteur urges governments to take steps to investigate the allegations; to prosecute and impose appropriate sanctions on any persons guilty of torture regardless of any rank, office or position they may hold; to take effective measures to prevent the recurrence of such acts; and to compensate the victims or their relatives in accordance with the relevant international standards. The mandate comprises three main activities: transmitting urgent appeals to States with regard to individuals reported to be at risk of torture, as well as communications on past alleged cases of torture; undertaking fact-finding country visits; and submitting annual reports on activities, the mandate and methods of work to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly.

Unlike the complaint mechanisms of the human rights treaty monitoring bodies, the Special Rapporteur does not require the exhaustion of domestic remedies to act. When the facts in question come within the scope of more than one mandate established by the Commission, the Special Rapporteur may decide to approach other thematic mechanisms and country rapporteurs with a view to sending joint communications or seeking joint missions.
Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly states that “No one shall be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. The right against Torture is a non-derogable right and in the same way, Article 2 states that “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status”.
“The Philippines always boasts of being a signatory to all major human rights declarations and treaties, it is now time to stop lip service and comply with these international UN instruments”, said Melissa Roxas’ Counsel Arnedo S. Valera, Esquire, Co-Executive Director of the Migrant Heritage Commission based in Fairfax, VA.
Records of the human rights watchdog Karapatan reveal there have been more than 1,016 victims of politically-motivated torture under the Arroyo government since 2001. More than a thousand other activists were victims of extra-judicial killings and hundreds others victims of enforced disappearances. ###

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Reference: Susan Pineda, 202-247-0117
Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC), Inc.
Virginia Main Address : 3930 Walnut Street, Suite 200, Fairfax, VA 22030
Tel. Nos.: 202-247-0117, 202-631-8856, 703-675-6334, 703 273-1196
Fax No.: 703-273-4838
DC Address : 7108 Chestnut St., NW, Washington D.C.20012

www.migrantheritage.org
migrantheritage@gmail.com

(A 501(c)3 tax exempt , non-profit, national service-oriented non-governmental organization)
Honoring & Serving the Migrants

The latest accusations of Philippine Congressman Jovito Palparan should bear no weight in determining the outcome of the ongoing investigation on the case of American torture victim Melissa Roxas. This must only be determined by the facts, including the evidence currently being gathered by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in the Philippines.

It is clear in hurling accusations about Roxas’ political affiliation, Palparan is seeking to steer the public conversation about Roxas’ case to another direction, in hopes of protecting not only the perpetrators of the crime, but maintain the status quo of rampant, state-sponsored human rights violations in the Philippines, of which Palparan is a leading fixture.

By blatantly dismissing the circumstances surrounding Roxas’ case and the rule of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and its provisions on torture, Palparan seeks to shift the paradigm of seeking justice from a question of the facts and accountability to a question of ideology and political beliefs.

Abduction, Torture, and International Humanitarian Law

It is important to remember that the issue at hand is the abduction and torture of Melissa Roxas, an American citizen and community health volunteer worker who, along with her two companions, was abducted at gunpoint by 15 masked men, in La Paz, Tarlac. Roxas later surfaced on May 25th in Quezon City.

Medical reports from examiners both in Philippines and United States conclude that Roxas showed symptoms typical of a torture victim, symptoms impossible to fabricate or impersonate.

What Palparan and the Arroyo government continually fail to recognize and remember is that international humanitarian law (IHL) prohibits torture and other forms of ill treatment at all times and demands that detainees be treated according to international standards, REGARDLESS OF POLITICAL AFFILIATION AND BELIEFS. The Philippine government, as a state signatory since 1977, is party to all major international humanitarian and human rights law treaties. This includes provisions on torture.

A Hired Gun in the Philippine Congress

In applying the standards set by IHL on the Philippines, one would realize that it is Palparan himself, a former high-ranking official with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), that has accumulated a vast amount of violations, including the assassination campaigns of dissenters in Mindoro, Eastern Visayas, and Central Luzon, under his stints as the commander of the Philippine Army’s 204th Infantry Brigade, 8th Infantry Division, and finally the 7th Infantry Division– the SAME group under investigation of the CHR for the abduction and torture of Melissa Roxas.

Palparan’s integrity as a public servant and lawmaker in the Philippine Congress must also be put into question. Who stands to gain most from Palparan’s accusations against Roxas and divert the public conversation from the documented facts of her abduction and torture? None other than Commander-in-Chief Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself.

Arroyo gladly promoted Palparan twice in a row, despite growing condemnations from international human rights groups. It must be noted that the never-arrested, never-jailed Palparan currently has pending cases against him for numerous human rights violations, including the abduction of university students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan in 2006. But despite this, Arroyo’s clique further rewarded Palparan with a seat in the Philippine House of Representatives shortly after his retirement. As an official Philippine lawmaker, Palparan’s main responsibility is to protect the Philippine Constitution and serve the public interest, not policing the New People’s Army or speaking publicly for the Philippine military.

Palparan’s accusations against Roxas and ardent defense of the AFP further prove that torture is in fact a policy of the Philippine government and military.

A Brave Woman

That Roxas found the courage to return to the Philippines to pursue justice “not only for [herself], but for thousands of other victims of human rights violations” is a commendable and extremely brave act. We can only hope that the CHR, which is mandated only to determine cases of human rights violations and make recommendations, continues with its investigation with a truly objective framework, and not under the influence of the likes of Palparan. ###

An emotional Melissa Roxas, the Filipino-American activist abducted and tortured by suspected state agents, returned to the Philippines last night. In a press conference at the airport she said that she was returning to pursue her case, not just for herself but for other victims of human rights abuses.

Roxas shed tears and was overcome with emotion upon entering the arrival area of the airport. She was accompanied by a 10-person delegation from the California-Nevada Conference of the United Methodist Church who are also in the Philippines for a human rights fact finding mission.

She was met by a delegation led by the chairman of the Commission on Human Rights Leila de Lima and the Chair of the House Committee on Human Rights Rep. Erin Tanada. Also present were Karapatan Secretary General Marie Enriquez, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Renato Reyes, Jr. and partylist representatives Satur Ocampo, Liza Maza, Rafael Mariano, Luz Ilagan and Raymond Palatino. Mrs. Editha Burgos of the group Desaparecidos and Fr. Rex Reyes of the National Council of Churches of the Philippines was also at the airport to welcome Roxas.

Bayan said that Roxas was briefly able to answer questions from the media before she was taken under the protective custody of the Commission on Human Rights.

Roxas is set to testify before the Commission on Human Rights on July 23. She will also appear before the Court of Appeals on July 30 for her petition for a writ of amparo. She is the first known case of an American citizen abducted and tortured under the Arroyo regime.

The US chapter of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan is readying protest actions addressed to the US government to withdraw aid for the Arroyo government in light of the human rights abuses. On July 30, Arroyo is set to meet with US president Barack Obama. ###