GUIMBA, Nueva Ecija -- "We condemn the blatant harassment and deliberate attempts by militarist elements in the Philippines to withhold information from us," Merryn Edwards, spokesperson for the Central Luzon team of the Canadian Human Rights Fact-Finding Mission said today.

The Southern Tagalog team of the same Canadian Mission was held for more than two hours by elements of the 74th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army (IBPA) inside the Philippine National Police headquarters in San Narciso, Quezon.

The Southern Tagalog team was subjected to thorough interrogation, and threatened with charges of obstruction of justice should they proceed to their subject areas.

The group was only allowed to proceed to their subject area after timely intervention from the Canadian Embassy.

The Fact-Finding Mission, composed of visiting human rights advocates from Canada and local human rights groups, were divided into three groups: the Southern Tagalog, Central Luzon and Cordillera teams.

Harassment

Yesterday, 17 November, the Central Luzon team went to Bgy. Bagong Barrio and Culong in Guimba, Nueva Ecija province located some 100 kilometers north east of Manila, which have reported grave abuses of human rights.

Traveling back to the town center from Bagong Barrio, the group noticed the following words: "KARAPATAN: layas, Ayaw na namin Malinlang," written on a blackboard in front of a Roman Catholic chapel near the village hall of adjacent Bgy. Manggang Marikit.

"The placard was obviously freshly written and placed near the highway to catch our attention," Edwards said further. "We believe this constituted harassment to our Mission."

Withholding of information

"In Bagong Barrio, we felt that the villagers had been intimidated into silence and the very few persons who graced us with their presence gave us indefinite answers," Edwards noted.

For example, while attempting to validate an incident of arson, the Mission got inconsistent answers from the villagers.
The group also noted the presence of two suspicious looking men who were obviously monitoring the Mission conducting the interviews. "We suspect that they were members of the military or the local Civilian Volunteer Organization set up by the army," said Edwards.

The Mission found out that the military held a village meeting at 6:00 in the morning prior to the arrival of the Mission.

"The timing and motive of the said meeting may have resulted in the silence of the villagers," Edwards closed. "We believe, therefore that the military elements are suppressing the actual human rights situation in the village from the outside world. Nevertheless, we have been successful in documenting cases in other barrios, and we are determined to proceed with our mission's objectives."

Reference:
Merryn Edwards
Spokesperson, Central Luzon Team
Canadian Human Rights Fact-Finding Mission
Tel. No.: 0926-738-1313