URGENT ACTION
ALERT|URGENT ACTION ALERT| URGENT ACTION ALERT
UA Date: 3 June
2008
UA Title:
UCCP
Pastor abducted and tortured in Rizal, Southern
UA Case:
Abduction, Torture,
Threat/Harassment/Intimidation, Divestment
of Properties
Victim/s:
Pastor
Rodel B. Canja
·
25 years old, male
·
Pastor, United Church of Christ in the
Philippines-JIMELY Worshipping Congregation in Mayagac,
Sampaloc, Tanay, Rizal
·
Ministerial Student of Northeast Southern Tagalog Conference, Union Theological Seminary
Place
of Incident: in front of
the UCCP Parish in Pililia, Rizal, Southern Tagalog,
Date of Incident:
6 May 2008, around 9:00 A.M.
Alleged Perpetrators: unidentified armed men, believed to be state
security forces, on
board a van.
Account of Incident:
On May 2, 2008, Pastor Rodel Canja was to attend the annual meeting of the Northeast
Southern Tagalog Conference of the United Church of
Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) in Jala-jala town of
Pastor Canja decided to go outside to look
for a store to reload his mobile phone credits. He was walking towards the
direction of Tanay when an unknown man, presumed to
be in his forties, suddenly alighted from a closed van and put his arm around him.
The pastor asked who he was, but the man only told him not to react and instead
to get inside the van. Inside the van, he saw another man pointing a gun at
him. Too frightened and shocked, he boarded the vehicle.
There were two other men inside the van, including the driver. Once
inside, the first man placed a handkerchief on his nose that made him black out
afterwards.
When he came to, he was already in a brightly-lit room with the two
men. He wasn’t handcuffed. Pastor Canja asked them
what they want from him, and pleaded for them not to hurt him. One of his
captors said they won’t hurt him but he would need to answer their questions.
While slumped on the cement floor, he was repeatedly asked about Pastor Berlin Guererro, (a UCCP pastor abducted last year, on May 27,
2007 in Biñan, Laguna and is currently detained in
the Provincial Jail in Trece Martirez,
The captors would raise their voices at Pastor Canja,
insisting that he knows of
On his second day in captivity, he was given food by one of the captors.
Pastor Canja was too frightened to eat because his
guard kept on cocking a pistol while walking around the room. On the third day,
his mobile phone and wallet were taken from him, and afterwards, he was threatened
that something might happen to his sisters especially now that they are in
possession of their IDs. He was then given a new pair of denim shorts to
replace his already dirty pants, and was told that he should tell them
everything he knows of
He was blindfolded and led outside and into a waiting van. During the
long trip, the captors were talking aloud about killing him instead of letting
him go. It was already dark when he was made to disembark at a place unfamiliar
to him. Not knowing where he is, he started walking towards the direction of
lighted houses. Afterwards, he was able to spot a balut (duck egg) vendor and
immediately asked for directions. He continued walking in the same direction
after confirming that it leads to Cogeo, Antipolo (still in Rizal). Unsure of the time, he inquired
from a bystander when the jeepney starts plying its
route to Cogeo, and was told that it starts around
6am. He tried looking for his brother’s jeep, or of someone he knows, but
couldn’t find them so he slept sitting down in front of a closed grocery store.
He woke up at dawn and saw a jeepney that is about
to depart and whose driver was familiar to him and his brother. Having no
money, he braved riding the jeep, and was lucky enough to find that he knows
one of the passengers. This friend accompanied him to make sure he gets home
safe.
Pastor Canja now fears for his life and the
life of his family after the interrogation and torture he went through. §
Your urgent
response to this action alert is being sought.
Recommended action:
Send letters, emails or
fax messages calling for:
1. The immediate formation of an independent fact-finding and
investigation team composed of representatives from human rights groups, the
Church, local government, and the Commission on Human Rights that will look
into the abduction and torture of Pastor Rodel
B. Canja.
2. The arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of the crime/s of abduction
and torture.
3. The immediate and proper indemnification of the victim/s; and
4. The Philippine Government to be reminded that it is a signatory to the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and that it is also a party to all the
major Human Rights instruments, thus it is bound to observe all of these
instruments’ provisions.
You may send your communications to:
President of the Republic
Manila
Voice: (+632) 564 1451 to 80
Fax: (+632) 742-1641 /
929-3968
Cell#: (+ 63) 919 898 4622 / (+63) 917 839 8462
E-mail: corres@op.gov.ph / opnet@ops.gov.ph
Sec. Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr.
Department of National Defense
Room 301 DND Building, Camp Emilio Aguinaldo,
E. de los Santos Avenue
Quezon City
Voice:+63(2) 911-9281 / 911-0488
Fax:+63(2) 911 6213
osnd@philonline.com
Sec. Raul M. Gonzalez
Department of Justice
Direct Line 521-8344; 5213721
Trunkline 523-84-81
loc.214
Fax: (+632) 521-1614
Email sad@doj.gov.ph
Chairperson, Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., UP Complex
Diliman,
Fax: (+632) 929 0102
Email: drpvq@chr.gov.ph
Please send us a copy of your email/mail/fax to the said
government official to our address below.
URGENT ACTION Prepared by:
KARAPATAN (
No. 1 Maaralin cor Matatag,
Brgy.
Central,
Voice/Fax: (+632) 435 4146
Emails: <karapatan.pid@gmail.com> / <karapatan.admin@gmail.com>
Website: www.karapatan.org