Appalling human rights abuse must be brought to an end

Charlie Daylo was one the bravest and courageous leaders of the indigenous people's in San Felipe, Zambales. I say that because a few days ago, a van drove up to where he was working and three men stepped out and pointed guns at him and started firing. He covered his head and cried out “No, No don't do it", while people nearby ran to hide as a volley of gunfire hit Charlie and he fell dead.

Another people's organizer shot dead for his work helping the poor. He was a good Christian and an active and committed person to the cause of justice and truth. He worked for the human rights of the oppressed indigenous people. We met during many meetings held at our human rights center at the PREDA foundation and we worked together to stop land grabbers taking over ancestral lands for ranching and mining. This is exercising their constitutional rights to organize in a democratic way. However death squads have killed over a hundred people in the past two years suspected of subversive activities. They were killed for helping the poor seek justice and a decent way of life.

Church leaders of conscience have spoken out against the killings. Archbishop Paciano Aniceto called it a "rampant cheapening of Human Life" as he established a coalition of human rights groups and church organization and a Central Luzon human rights defender, specifically to defend life and human dignity from the death squads and all forms of violations and abuse.

The Aeta are indigenous people, the original inhabitants of these islands and the Columban Fathers worked among them for many years in the mountain villages close to the forests and the smoldering Mt. Pinatubo volcano. Their uphill lands are under threat of take over. Some excuses used by the rich to circumvent the law is to blame the indigenous people for failing to improve and cultivate the lands. That's because there is little to protect, the wealthy loggers clear cut the forests before the laws recognizing the Aeta's rights were passed. When they came to protect they were destroyed already.

Now with the tribal villagers, we plant thousand trees a year to restore the land and strengthen their ancestral land rights. Killing the leaders is another way the rich scare the people to abandon the land and make it ready for take over.

Many good Filipino people like Charlie, tagged by the military intelligence as subversives and dissidents, have been killed in the past two years. A dozen farmers from the Bontoc peninsula were jailed for months because they tried to have their lands turned over to them through the land reform act. A democratic legal process but stamped "leftist", "subversive" and so the killing of leftist activist by death squads (allegedly state approved) has sent shivers of fear through the people struggling for justice and land rights. It is all too easy for the ignorant officials to brand land reformers, social workers as socialists as communists. That is the age old tactic of the landlords, most of them politicians with relatives in the so-called democratic congress. In realty it is so packed with millionaires that it is considered a "family wealth improvement association"

It is dangerous for Christians to work for peace and justice in the Philippines in a democratic way and to bring about a kingdom of Justice and truth where the poor will inherit the earth and where they are blessed. The poor are considered the enemies of the state in many incidents. Amnesty international published its report last 16 August and said that the Non-stop assassinations of labor, student, farmers and human rights workers is a cause of “deep embarrassment” to the Philippine Government. Killings have increased this year, it said. There is a documented 51 such killings in the first quarter of this year whereas last 2005 there were 66 for the entire year, Amnesty said. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has condemned the killings but seems powerless over the shadowy military hit squads that are behind the execution campaigns.

We must take a stand for life and express our deepest concern. I suggest we write to our own government representative and ask them to appeal to the Philippine government to end the killings. [End]

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