Graphic Design by the Arts Kollective
May 20th, 2011
Song by Anakbayan Los Angeles
May 19th, 2011
Commemorating the Two-Year Anniversary of Melissa’s Survival
May 19th, 2011
Open Letter to Demand Justice for Melissa Roxas
May 19th, 2011
Please sign the open letter to demand justice for Melissa Roxas by clicking here.
Roxas’ Hometown Rallies to Demand Justice Now
Apr 26th, 2011
MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact: Kuusela Hilo
Justice for Melissa Roxas Campaign
Email: info@justiceformelissa.org
Website: www.justiceformelissa.org
Los Angeles Community Stands with Melissa to Condemn Philippine Government’s On-Going Cover-up of Enforced Disappearances and Torture
What: Emergency Rally
Where: Philippine Consulate, 3600 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90010
When: Wednesday, April 27, 2011, 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
*Photo Opportunity
Los Angeles, CA – On Wednesday, grassroots organizations and church leaders will rally in front of the Philippine Consulate with Melissa Roxas, the first American to have survived abduction and torture in the Philippines during the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration. Supporters of the Justice for Melissa Roxas campaign are outraged at the Commission on Human Rights’ Resolution that protects the torturers and abandons the facts that Roxas courageously shared under oath with the CHR and the world in 2009 so that the perpetrators could be brought to justice.
Now almost two years since Roxas was abducted and tortured, there is still no justice for Roxas and all the other victims of human rights violations committed by Arroyo and her military. BAYAN USA, National Alliance for Filipino Concerns, Rosewood United Methodist Church Advocacy Group, Rosewood United Methodist Women, Filipino Ministry of the Diocese of San Bernardino, AnakBayan LA, SiGAw!, Habi Arts, the Filipino Migrant Center and the Filipino American Health Workers Association will be joining the emergency rally.
Personal Statement by Melissa Roxas
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.
On the CHR Resolution on the Alleged Torture of Melissa Roxas: IMPUNITY IN PERPETUITY
Apr 26th, 2011
“If we have seen the horrible gross, systematic rights violations during the Arroyo regime, we should brace ourselves for the continuation of these violations and the rule of IMPUNITY under the Aquino regime’s Oplan Bayanihan,” so warned Marie Hilao-Enriquez, Chairperson of the human rights alliance, KARAPATAN, commenting on the recent CHR resolution on the case of the alleged torture of Melissa Roxas, a Filipino-American, abducted and tortured for almost a week in May 2009.
“With the CHR resolution, the crime of TORTURE will have its heyday under the Aquino administration. The perpetrators will only have to make sure that they are not identified as State agents and voila, there is no crime of torture!” wryly observed Enriquez. “This is one way of rendering inutile and ineffective the anti-torture law or RA 9745, touted by the previous regime as a way of helping victims to obtain effective remedies. It is no wonder that the AFP feels vindicated. Indeed, this is injustice of the highest order!” added Enriquez.
The CHR resolution was dated February 14 but was only received by the petitioner’s parties on April 19, 2011. It may be recalled that February 14 was the eve of the formal peace talks between the GPH and the NDFP. For KARAPATAN, it is by no means coincidental that the CHR resolution came in the wake of the reported formal opening of the peace negotiations with the NDFP with which the government signed the CARHRIHL, an agreement that binds the two Parties to observe and respect human rights and international humanitarian law.
Even as the resolution is couched in the UN language of human rights, it sends a chilling message that violations of State Parties can be effectively concealed and instead turns the tables on the NDFP on the role of so-called non-state actors, a favorite term of the present Chairperson of the CHR.
“If this is the formula of “winning the peace” under Oplan Bayanihan, we hope that the other members of the CHR will not allow themselves to be suck into this counter-insurgency machinations directed by the AFP and US military advisers and swallowed hook, line and sinker by the P-Noy administration,” said Enriquez.
KARAPATAN denounces and condemns this recent move of the regime through the CHR as one way of effectively curtailing the rights of the people. In a twisted, incredible wicked logic, CHR ignored Roxas’ testimonies on her abductors and instead relied on reports from what it called ‘credible source’ but ‘without specific names’ to readily pinpoint to the New people’s Army as the perpetrators of the crime and easily absolved the Armed Forces of the Philippines of any wrongdoing, a line being maintained by the AFP to wash their hands of any accountability in these violations.
“We decry the CHR’s devious, wicked use of the case of Melissa Roxas to wash off the hands of State security forces of accountability in committing human rights violations. Such tactics will entrench the rule of IMPUNITY in such violations. We pledge to fight for justice to the victims of human rights violations,” concluded Marie Hilao-Enriquez.
CHR Report on the Abduction and Torture of Melissa Roxas and Companions is a BETRAYAL to Justice
Apr 26th, 2011
“How else can victims of human rights violations seek the help of the Commission on Human Rights if the commission screws up on our claims,” Lorena P. Santos, deputy secretary general of Families of the Desaparecidos for Justice said as her group criticized the CHR investigation on the abduction and torture of Melissa Roxas saying that the report is “NOTHING but a COVER UP of the perpetrators.”
Melissa Roxas is an American citizen of Filipino decent who volunteered as a medical worker in Central Luzon. In May 19, 2008, she was preparing for a medical mission in La Paz, Tarlac when she was abducted together with her two companions by armed men believed to be members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines . She was tortured, coerced and threatened. During her interrogation, she was forced to admit that she was a member of the New People’s Army and was made to “go back to the fold.” To make them stop the torture, she pretended to agree to work with them. She was later dropped off in front of her home in Quezon City on May 25, 2009 by her abductors.
According to the CHR report, “Roxas presented insufficient evidence that elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines are responsible for the abduction and torture of Melissa Roxas.” This was followed by stating that the CHR “has received information that indicate possibility that members of the NPA committed the kidnapping and other human rights violations on Roxas, et al.” CHR alleges that their source is “credible” without stating who their source is or how it was obtained.
This was reported even with Melissa’s sworn statement saying that she saw the appearances of her abductors and that the place of her detention indicated that they were government soldiers. “The report conveniently disregarded Roxas’ sworn statements that established who the perpetrators were,” Santos said.
She further added that “If the commission refuses to believe the victims, then who else will they want to believe? If that is the case, then it would be impossible for victims to attain justice.”
Desaparecidos stated that they file cases before the courts and related government institutions with the belief that they have the resources to thoroughly get the facts and help victims and their families obtain justice. “If CHR Chairperson Loretta Rosales will keep on coming out with LAME reports such as this, then she would only succeed in converting the commission into an obstacle for victims who only wants to gain justice. ” Santos concluded.
Former House representative and MAKABAYAN Coalition vice president Liza Maza lambasted the latest Commission of Human Rights (CHR) report signed by its chair Ma. Loretta Ann Rosales absolving state forces from the abduction and torture of Melissa Roxas in 2009.
Maza called Rosales a “coddler of torturers”.
“It is a fact that Melissa was abducted and tortured. This is attested to in the August 26, 2009 Court of Appeals decision on the matter of the petition for the writ of amparo and habeas data in favor of Melissa Roxas which ruled in the affirmative that her rights were violated,” Maza said.
“In Rosales’ mind, there was no torture involved. With the official CHR findings, she has practically coddled the torturers and even presented in her findings the stupid military line that there is a what she calls a strong indication of the involvement of the New People’s Army (NPA),” Maza added.
While the court was hearing the amparo case, ex-army general Jovito Palparan of Bantay party-list and Pastor Alcover of the Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy party-list held a press conference alleging that they received an information from a female NPA rebel that Roxas was a communist rebel. Alcover claimed that said information reached them thru a letter with a photo and a video CD of the supposed NPA training exercises.
“The appeals court refused to accept this,” Maza quoting the decision on the granting of Writ of Habeas Data that “the unregulated dissemination of said unverified video CD or reports of Petitioner’s (Roxas’) alleged ties with the CPP-NPA indiscriminately made available for public consumption without evidence of its authenticity or veracity certainly violates Petitioner’s right to privacy which must be protected by this Court. We, thus, deem it necessary to grant Petitioner the privilege of the Writ of Habeas Data.”
“The CHR Chair, instead of exercising impartiality like the courts, believed her so-called ‘credible sources’ without showing any authentication to her reports. The Commission on Human Rights should henceforth be renamed as the Commission for Hearsay Reports,” Maza said.
Makabayan supports the broad-based Justice for Melissa Roxas (J4MR) campaign of organizations, churches, and individuals to pursue justice and accountability in her case. [http://justiceformelissa.org]
It is a documented fact that Melissa Roxas, an American citizen, was abducted on May 19th, 2009 while on a medical mission in La Paz, Tarlac. Roxas was held against her will and tortured via physical beatings and asphyxiation for the duration of her captivity until she surfaced in Quezon City on May 25th, 2009.
Melissa studied at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and spent a summer studying abroad in San Nicolas de Hidalgo University, Michoacan, Mexico and, in the latter part of her college years, at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile. After her research project was completed, she backpacked throughout South America for about two months that included treks through Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil and Argentina.
Upon graduating Cum Laude at the University of California, San Diego, with a BS in Animal Physiology and Neuroscience; a BA in Third World Studies; and a minor in Healthcare and Social Issues; Melissa worked as a community health youth organizer, a cultural activist with HABI Arts and BAYAN-USA.
NEWS RELEASE
Reference: Atty. Edre U. Olalia
National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) Secretary – General
(09175113373)
Human rights lawyers association National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) challenged the resolution of the Commission of Human Rights on the abduction and torture of Melissa Roxas, a Filipino-American activist and Bayan-USA member.
“We are at a loss to interpret such illogical legal reasoning ,” states NUPL Secretary-General Atty. Edre Olalia. He was referring to the Resolution’s findings that Roxas was indeed abducted and tortured, but then stops short of holding the military accountable. The resolution further went into unprecedented speculations on who could possibly be behind these human rights violations, pointing at the New People’s Army (NPA).
Roxas was abducted on May 19, 2009 in La Paz, Tarlac. She was repeatedly subjected to physical and psychological torture to force a confession that she was a member of the NPA.
The Resolution states that there was “insufficient evidence” to conclude that military agents were the ones behind Roxas’ abduction and torture. It then, in a leap of inference perhaps betraying a scarcity of objectivity, went on to say that it has received “information” from unspecified individuals saying that the NPA could have possibly committed the kidnapping and other human rights violations on Roxas.
Atty. Olalia points out that “the CHR is quick to deflect AFP’s hand in Melissa’s torture, while giving credence to flimsy and questionable sources to surmise NPA involvement. However, CHR was not able to produce a shred of evidence to substantiate its incredible claims.”
The CHR itself admits the dubiousness of its findings, adding in its defense, “the failure to identify specific persons to accuse and hold responsible is not fatal to the competence of the CHR to make a finding on the question of the commission of human rights violation.”
The Court of Appeals had earlier granted Roxas’ petition for a writ of amparo, declaring that her testimony was “credible and worthy of belief.” The Supreme Court itself had additionally directed that further investigation be conducted with the use of extraordinary diligence in order to identify the perpetrators behind the abduction and torture. And yet with one stroke of the pen, the CHR aims to remove the burden of responsibility on the military to prove that it was not guilty of abducting and torturing Roxas. “Where is this extraordinary diligence?” asks Atty. Olalia. “It is downright ironic for the CHR, which is constitutionally tasked to investigate human rights violations, to be the first to mask the AFP’s role in Melissa’s abduction and torture.”
Joining other other human rights victims, their relatives, and human rights advocates, the NUPL tells the CHR, “Stick to the issue: given the facts, pattern, motive, means, opportunity and context of her ordeal, Melissa was clearly abducted and tortured by the State security forces under the Oplan Bantay Laya program of GMA. Ignoring the overwhelming facts will only engender impunity and make perpetrators gloat and swagger like they were her protectors rather than cut them down to size and make them accountable.”