Protesters call out anew PNP, AFP”s alleged human rights violations

Members of different groups staged a protest outside Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Tuesday to call out the alleged human right violations of the military and police.

In a statement, human rights group Karapatan said it “condemns the spate of human rights violations as well as violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) perpetrated by State forces in the past few weeks.”

“The violations include the brutal killing of civilians and hors de combat, indiscriminate bombings victimizing civilians and showing a disproportionate use of force, enforced disappearance, illegal arrest and detention and fake surrender,” it added.

Karapatan cited several incidents that happened from January to February this year.

On January 25, Karapatan said activist-writer Nelson Bautista and his companion Ademar Etol were illegally arrested in Balingasan, Siay, Zamboanga Sibugay by police forces. Bautista went missing while Etol is detained over multiple “trumped-up charges.”

On February 20, Jose Maria Estiller, the brother of former political prisoner Jean Estiller, was allegedly abducted by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, according to Karapatan. He was facing non-bailable cases.

On February 21 to 22, Karapatan said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) had numerous  encounters in Escalante, Negros Occidental that allegedly led to the extrajudicial killing of farmer Jose Caramihan, who was “falsely reported” by the military as an armed rebel.

On February 23, five hors de combat—or fighters who cannot fight due to being sick, wounded, captured or incapacitated—were summarily executed allegedly by military personnel in Bilar, Bohol, Karapatan said.

“Karapatan demands justice for the victims, accountability from the perpetrators and a stop to the human rights violations and the violations of IHL committed by the AFP in the course of its vicious counterinsurgency campaigns,” the group said.

GMA News Online sought comment from the AFP and PNP on the matter but they have yet to provide a statement.—AOL, GMA Integrated News