Melissa Roxas Testifies in Congress: "I Will Not Tire to Tell the Truth"

Jul 29th, 2009

From Bulatlat.com
Published on July 29, 2009, 1:18 PM

Below is the opening statement made by Filipino-American activist Melissa Roxas during a hearing by the House committee on human rights on her allegations of abduction and torture in the hands of the Philippine military.

Good morning, honorable members of the House of Representatives, friends and human rights advocates.

I am Melissa Roxas. Thank you for allowing me to come here today to tell you of my ordeal, which is also a story of many other Filipinos who were abducted and tortured by the military.

I am a member of Habi Arts, a Filipino cultural organization based in Los Angeles. I am also a member of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan–USA.

I came to the Philippines to learn more about my roots and heritage, to know more about the plight of the impoverished Filipino people and to conduct research for my writing projects. I volunteered with Bayan in the Philippines because I feel that I can achieve my objectives more meaningfully through Bayan’s work with the communities both in the urban and rural areas. To this end, I thought I can put to better use my background on community health.

Melissa Roxas testifies in Congress. (Photo by Vince Borneo)

Melissa Roxas testifies in Congress (Photo by Vince Borneo)

I am a writer and a poet. I am also an activist.

I have reason to believe that the Philippine military were the ones who took me and my companions, Juanito Carabeo and John Edward Jandoc, against our will on May 19. I have reason to believe that the military were the ones who handcuffed, blindfolded, beat me up, suffocated me and denied me of my rights. I have reason to believe that I was brought to a military camp for interrogation.

For six days in captivity, my captors tried to force me to admit that I’m a member of the New People’s Army, accused me of being a member of the NPA and told me that it was “people like me” who are the ones who are making it difficult for the government.

Although I repeatedly invoked my right to see a lawyer, my abductors told me that I will not be able to see a lawyer and instead threatened that they can do all they wanted to do with me because they “got me clean.” They threatened me with death and accused me of so many things, especially that of being a member of the NPA. Because of the fear of more pain and I thought that dying came so slow, I told myself to just play along with whatever they tell me I am guilty of and to be back to the fold of the law, as what Dex told me their mission was.

Surprisingly, on May 25, I was released by my captors near my family’s house and instructed me to keep in touch with them; that they hope I do not harbor any ill-feelings against them because the ones who tortured me are from the “special operations group” and not from their group. I was so terrified and traumatized by this harrowing experience that as soon as I can get a flight to the US, I had to leave to reunite with my family. Although still very much afraid for my life and safety, I had to come back to testify before the Court of Appeals and other investigative bodies to obtain justice and tell the public what happened to me so that people would know and they will not allow this to happen to anyone again.

Now, other people are accusing me of being an NPA, forcing me to admit that I’m an NPA and insisting that I was abducted and tortured by the NPA.

I reiterate, I am an activist. I am not a member of the NPA.

And I have reason to believe that the Philippine military were the ones who abducted and tortured me, and held me captive for 6 days. I do not like to dignify the allegations being hurled at me now as they only echo what my abductors have been forcing me to admit during my interrogation and illegal, incommunicado detention. I have filed a petition for the writ of habeas data. I am asking the Supreme Court that all records pertaining to me including videos and photos, false and true, should be expunged and destroyed as they violate my right to privacy. I insist on that.

I can no longer count how many times I have narrated the incident and my ordeal. 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.

There are still families looking for their loved ones, and many more still missing. I hope that this august body will also look into the cases of those others still missing and those who have been killed. Thank you very much. (Bulatlat.com)

Melissa Roxas takes her oath right before making her opening statement. (Photo by Fred E. Dabu)

Melissa Roxas takes her oath right before making her opening statement. (Photo by Fred E. Dabu)

CHR chair Leila de Lima (right) was also summoned by the House committee on human rights. (Photo by Fred E. Dabu)

CHR chair Leila de Lima (right) was also summoned by the House committee on human rights. (Photo by Fred E. Dabu)

Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo (left) and Rep. Edcel Lagman. (Photo by Fred E. Dabu)

Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo (left) and Rep. Edcel Lagman. (Photo by Fred E. Dabu)

Rep. Erin Tanada, chairman of the human-rights committee, shows the pictures of Roxas's injuries. (Photo by Fred E. Dabu)

Rep. Erin Tanada, chairman of the human-rights committee, shows the pictures of Roxas's injuries. (Photo by Fred E. Dabu)

Melissa Roxas takes a glass of water during her emotional testimony. (Photo by Fred E. Dabu)

Melissa Roxas takes a glass of water during her emotional testimony. (Photo by Fred E. Dabu)

Melissa Roxas asserts that the military abducted and tortured her. (Photo by Fred E. Dabu)

Melissa Roxas asserts that the military abducted and tortured her. (Photo by Fred E. Dabu)

Melissa Roxas and her lawyer Rex Fernandez. (Photo by Fred E. Dabu)

Melissa Roxas and her lawyer Rex Fernandez. (Photo by Fred E. Dabu)

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Melissa Roxas Submits Torture Case Before UN in Geneva

Jul 28th, 2009

PRESS RELEASE
Migrant Heritage Commission

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

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Melissa Roxas: Torture, Not Political Affiliation, Is the Issue

Jul 26th, 2009

PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Kuusela Hilo
Justice for Melissa Roxas Campaign
Email: info@justiceformelissa.org
Website: www.justiceformelissa.org

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. ###

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Vigil for Justice

Jul 26th, 2009

Vigil for Justice

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Arroyo to Visit Obama and Members of Congress: Questions to Ask

Jul 24th, 2009

Dear Friends,

On July 30 President Gloria Arroyo of the Philippines will be visiting with the President of the United States.

This is an opportunity to make the White House more aware of the human rights abuses in the Philippines by asking sympathetic members of both the Philippine-American Press and the Philippine media to ask the Presidential press secretary if the President intends to speak with Arroyo about the abduction and torture of Melissa Roxas, an American citizen.

One specific question the President should ask Arroyo is:

Will she publicly go on record as commanding the Philippine military to co-operate with all investigations and legal proceedings in the case of Melissa Roxas conducted by the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines, the Philippine courts, and Melissa Roxas’ lawyer?

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CHAIRPERSON FOR COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE PHILIPPINES HAS PUBLICLY STATED THAT THE PHILIPPINE MILITARY HAS NOT CO-OPERATED WITH HER INVESTIGATION AND EVEN TRIED TO STOP HER FROM AN ONSITE INSPECTION OF A MILITARY CAMP SUSPECTED AS BEING WHERE ROXAS WAS HELD!

THIS IS AN IMPORTANT QUESTION FOR THE PRESIDENT TO ASK ARROYO.

The Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines and the court system have tried in recent years to address human rights violations, but the Philippine military has not co-operated with most of the investigations, not producing requested evidence and sometimes not even showing up for proceedings.

Also note there is a difference between the Presidential Human Rights Commission (PHRC) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) of the Philippines. PHRC is a PR gimmick of the Arroyo administration, the CHR is a constitutionally established commission and the current Chairperson is a diligent advocate of human rights. Check out their website: http://www.chr.gov.ph.

Rev. Larry Emery
Community Presbyterian Church
Post Office Box 93
Walnut Grove CA 95690
(916) 776-1106

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Melissa Roxas In Emotional Return to the Philippines

Jul 21st, 2009

PRESS RELEASE
BAYAN Philippines

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. ###

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Melissa Roxas: A Painful Journey from Home and Back

Jul 19th, 2009

From Bulatlat.com
Published on July 19, 2009, 12:24 PM

Having to leave the Philippines for the United States when she was nine years old was a particularly painful experience for Filipino-American Melissa Roxas. Her desire to trace her roots brought her back to the country of her birth where, in May, soldiers kidnapped and tortured her for days.

By Alexander Martin Remollino
Bulatlat

Los Angeles, California — As a Filipino who migrated to the United States to follow her mother when she was very young, Melissa Roxas remembers the pain of having to leave the Philippines. That pain stayed with her even as she later came to understand that what her mother did was in pursuit of a better life, a decent life that had proved elusive to them and to millions of others in their native land. Growing up, she always wondered why they had to be separated from their loved ones.

Her mother was the first in their family to migrate; she followed soon after. Melissa, a native of Manila, arrived in the US in 1986, when she was just nine years old.

She still has memories of her sporadic bouts of rage in the period between her mother’s departure and their reuniting.

Melissa Roxas

Melissa Roxas (Photo courtesy of Habi Arts)

“I remember feeling really torn…and have very vivid memories of actually screaming at every airplane…in the sky as I was thinking of my mother, and when we were reunited, I felt very isolated because the rest of the family was out there,” she said in a recent interview with Bulatlat in Los Angeles, where she grew up.

“I think that stayed with me, in the sense that I asked, Why did we have to leave the Philippines, why did we have to be separated from everyone that we loved?”

Going to school in the US, she would eventually acquire a sharp awareness that she was somehow different from other Americans. She spoke about students forming cliques based on race or color — and then asked for a pause in the interview.

She nonetheless was able to make friends even with people from different races, she said after the interview resumed.

In high school, in particular, she had many Latino friends. This, together with her readings — she was a voracious reader very early on — piqued her interest in Latin American culture, an interest that took her on exchange programs to Chile and then Mexico, where she came to learn about human-rights issues.

Her heightened awareness of Latin American history and culture eventually provoked in her a desire to go back to her roots in the Philippines.

She went to college at the University of California, San Diego, where she took a BS in Animal Physiology and Neuroscience and, later, a BA in Third World Studies with a minor in Health Care and Social Issues.

While in college, she began volunteering for community organizations advocating the rights of the youth, the homeless and the elderly. Later on, she would become involved with Filipino organizations aligned with the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan or New Patriotic Alliance), the Philippines’s largest progressive group. Melissa, who is also a poet, would become a co-founder of the cultural group Habi Arts together with the late painter Papo de Asis and a few other US-based Filipino artists.

The Los Angeles-based Habi Arts, in turn, would, in 2005, become a founding member of Bayan-USA.

That same year, Melissa was among the organizers of a Bayan-USA contingent to the International Solidarity Mission (ISM) to the Philippines, a fact-finding mission that investigated the rampant human-rights violations, particularly the extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.

Two years later, she decided to go back to the Philippines, this time as a full-time activist doing human rights and community health work.

In April this year, she took part in a survey of several communities in La Paz, Tarlac, for a future medical mission.

On May 19, she was abducted together with two companions, Juanito Carabeo and John Edward Jandoc, by about 15 men in civilian clothes but wearing bonnets and ski masks and bearing long firearms. They were brought to a barracks, where they were repeatedly tortured for days.

Melissa, in particular, was called “Maita” several times and warned that there was nothing the “Canadian government” could do for her while she was being tortured.

She and her companions were later released on the condition that they would not speak in public about what was done to them.

But speak out she did. She has issued a number of statements exposing the violations of her and her companions’ rights, and is set to do more.

She confessed that nothing prepared her for the horrors they went through, even as she had always been aware of the risks to life and limb that are involved in being an activist. “I knew that it was happening, but it wasn’t something that you would imagine happening to yourself,” she said.

During the interview with Bulatlat, Melissa was still visibly shaken by the torture she and her companions went through. She lapsed into prolonged silence and struggled to hold back tears during parts of the interview that lead to flashbacks of the torture sessions.

She still hopes to go back to the Philippines, she said, this time to pursue a case against the military officers and enlisted personnel who were involved in their torture. “The Philippine government and military should not get away with what happened to me, and that means that I would have to go back to tell that story,” she said.

This, Melissa said, is because she is aware that the issue goes beyond what was done to her. Keeping silent, she said, “is like silencing forever all the voices that have been silenced.” (Bulatlat.com)

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Fil-Am Activist Melissa Roxas to Return to the Philippines to Pursue Case

Jul 19th, 2009

PRESS RELEASE
BAYAN Philippines

The umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) today welcomed news from the Commission on Human Rights that Filipino American activist Melissa Roxas is set to return to the Philippines.

Roxas, a member of Bayan USA, was abducted last May 19 along with two other volunteers in La Paz, Tarlac. She recounts that during her captivity, she was blindfolded, handcuffed and tortured. She was later surfaced on May 25. She has filed a petition for a writ of amparo before the Court of Appeals.

“Roxas’ return shows a serious intent to pursue her case. She is determined to seek justice for the human rights abuses committed against her and her companions Juanito Carabeo and John Edward Handoc. She will face head on the denials made by the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” said Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr.

“We hail her courage in returning to the Philippines. Her determination to prove that she was abducted and tortured should put to rest claims by the military that the whole thing was fabricated,” Reyes added.

Roxas will arrive in the country on July 20 accompanied by the California-Nevada Conference of the United Methodist Church from the US. The church delegation is in the country for a human rights fact-finding mission. This is the same church group that campaigned against extrajudicial killings and lobbied the US Senate in 2007.

The Court of Appeals has set a hearing for Roxas’ writ of amparo on July 30. Roxas was required by the court to appear otherwise her case would be archived. Roxas went to the US after her release to reunite with her family and to recover from the trauma she suffered from her ordeal.

This is also the same day President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is set to meet US president Barack Obama.

The Officeof the Solicitor General and the Armed Forces of the Philippines have gone on to say that the abduction never took place or that it was “stage-managed” to embarras the government.

“Melissa would be the best person to refute the lies of the Arroyo government. Her testimony wil be important, especially now that killings and abductions are on the rise again just a year before the elections. Despite domestic and international criticism, the killings and disappearances continue,” Reyes said.

“Her testimony should also send a warning to the US government that its unqualified support for the Arroyo government has resulted in human rights violations, including one involving an American citizen,” he added. ###

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Palace Probe Order On Fil-Am Activist's Abduction A Token Response

Jul 2nd, 2009

PRESS RELEASE
BAYAN Philippines

The umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan doubts the Malacanang probe into the abduction of Filipino-American activist Melissa Roxas will lead anywhere. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita recently ordered the Department of Defense to investigate the abduction.

“It’s a sham. The Palace is likely reeling from intense public criticism of its human rights record, especially now that the victim is an American citizen. The probe is intended to show that the Arroyo government is doing something,” said Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr.

“The truth is, Malacanang, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Office of the Solicitor General all deny the abduction took place. They are all saying that the incident was stage-managed or fabricated,” Reyes said.

Bayan cited the May 27 statement from the Presidential Commission on Human Rights chaired by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita saying that the abduction of Roxas was a fabrication and that there were no police reports on the matter. The PHRC statement completely ignored a report by the La Paz police in Tarlac that three people were abducted on May 19.

Bayan also cited the persistent line of the AFP and the Sol-Gen saying that the abduction was stage-managed to embarrass the Arroyo government. A lawyer from the Sol-Gen, Bernardo Villar, affirmed this during the hearing of the Court of Appeals last June 29. Villar even went on to say that the emotional Roxas’ Los Angeles press con was all drama because “she came from an arts group and that was probably part of her training.”

“How can there be a credible probe called by Malacanang when all these officials keep denying that the abduction and torture took place. Ermita, the AFP and the Solicitor General have all prejudged Roxas because they were desperately trying to repair their already tarnished image. The Arroyo government doesn’t care about human rights,” Reyes said.

Bayan said that an independent probe by the Commission on Human Rights and the House and Senate Human Rights Committee may be more credible than the Malacanang probe. The CHR is chaired by lawyer Leila de Lima, who recently toured Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, the suspected location where Roxas was believed to have been held for six days. The House Human Rights committee is chaired by Rep. Erin Tanada who recently spoke with Roxas in the US. The Senate Human Rights Committee is chaired by Sen. Francis Escudero.

Bayan called on Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro to order the AFP to shut up and stop claiming that the abduction was a fabrication. “How can Secretary Teodoro claim to have an impartial investigation when the AFP spokesman Lt. Col. Brawner and other officials keeps spinning the lie that the abduction was stage-managed. Teodoro should at least order Brawner to shut up while the so-called DND probe is ongoing,” Reyes said.

“The DND under Teodoro has not undertaken any satisfactory and credible investigation on any human rights issue. We will not be surprised if the AFP is exonerated from the abduction of Roxas,” he added.

Reyes said that the Office of the Solicitor General’s Bernardo Villar should also be sacked for his uncalled for remarks against Roxas and for his insistence that the abduction was stage-managed. ###

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Press Conference Statement by Rhonda Ramiro, Secretary General, BAYAN-USA

Jun 27th, 2009

PRESS TRANSCRIPT

The Human Rights Situation in the Philippines and the Case of Melissa Roxas

On the afternoon of May 19, Melissa Roxas was abducted in the Philippines, along with her companions, John Edward Jandoc and Juanito Carabeo. An American citizen of Filipino descent, Melissa was part of a health services team preparing for a medical mission in the community of Tarlac in the Central Luzon area of the Philippines. On May 26, Melissa surfaced in Manila.

Today we will hear Melissa describe for herself the inhumanity she experienced at the hands of her abductors.

Unfortunately, Melissa’s experience is not isolated. Her experiences typifies the pattern of abductions, forced disappearances, torture, extra-judicial killings and other human rights violations committed under the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Since 2001, the number of victims of human rights violations has reached record levels in the Philippines, alarming the United Nations and human rights organizations around the world including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. The human rights organization Karapatan documented the following number of victims of grave human rights violations from January 2001-March 2009:

Extra-judicial executions 1,017

Enforced, involuntary disappearance 201

Abduction 203

Torture 1,010

Reports issued by the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial Killings Philip Alston, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Karapatan have concluded that the vast majority of the victims were community organizers, labor leaders, church workers, human rights attorneys, farmers, and journalists and others who were addressing the needs of the oppressed and impoverished majority.

They have concluded that the Philippine military has systematically and with impunity carried out politically-motivated executions, abductions, torture and arrests against unarmed civilians like Melissa as part of their counter-insurgency program, Oplan Bantay Laya.

The reaction of any caring person, any person with a heart is to comfort the victim, and hold the perpetrator accountable, and prevent these crimes from happening again. Instead, the Philippine government immediately denies responsibility. Even worse, the government pours salt in the wounds of those whose bodies they have tormented by blaming the victim.

International human rights monitoring agencies have found that the Philippine government uses red-baiting tactics, and vilifies the victim. They attempt to shift responsibility from themselves and their armed forces by saying things like, “Melissa must have been waiting to be abducted,” or that she went to that community in Tarlac knowing that she could be abducted because she wanted to make the government look bad.

We do not even need to say how ridiculous these arguments are. This is not about left vs. right. This is about right vs. wrong. Torture is wrong. And torture is always against the law.

There is something that makes the case of Melissa Roxas even more infuriating for many of us here in this church. We who are Melissa’s friends, family, and fellow human rights advocates, who live here in the U.S. And this is the fact that the hard-earned money we pay to the U.S. government in taxes is what paid for these crimes to be committed against Melissa.

The U.S. government sends tens of millions of dollars in military aid every single year to the Philippines. The U.S. pays for thousands of American military troops and advisors to train the Philippine military every single year.

Our return on investment has been the killing, abduction, and torture of thousands of innocent people, including an American citizen, Melissa Roxas.

U.S. military aid is funding state-sponsored violence. U.S. military aid is funding national insecurity.

The U.S. has given nearly $1 billion in military aid to the Philippines since 1999. In California, that same amount of money could have provided health care to over 400,000 people.

The U.S. government has blood on its hands because it funds and trains the Philippine military in misguided counterinsurgency tactics that do nothing but terrorize innocent people.

It is time for change.

We seek a change in the U.S. policies which support human rights abuses in the Philippines. We call for an end to the use of our tax dollars to fund the Philippine military which commits these atrocities. The Justice for Melissa Roxas campaign demands accountability by the perpetrators of these crimes against Melissa.

Melissa Roxas is one of thousands of innocent victims of abduction and torture stage-managed by the Arroyo government, performed by the Philippine military, and funded by U.S. military aid.

But she is one of the rare victims who has lived to tell her story. I invite all of you today to listen to this brave woman tell her story. And I invite all of you to carry the Justice for Melissa Roxas campaign. At this time, I would like to welcome Melissa Roxas.

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