UA Title: Barangay Officials abducted and victims of enforced disappearance in Nueva Ecija, Philippines
UA Case: Abduction, Illegal Arrest and Enforced Disappearance
Victim/s: Pepito Campus
· 60 years old, married
· Male
· Barangay Captain of Barangay Bagong Sikat, Cabiao, Nueva Ecija, Philipines
· A resident of Barangay Bagong Sikat, Cabiao, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
Leonardo Parungao
· 49 years old, married
· Male
· Chief of Barangay Security, Barangay Bagong Sikat, Cabiao, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
· A resident of Barangay Bagong Sikat, Cabiao, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
Place of Incident: Sa pagitan ng Brgy. Luyos at Brgy. Buliran (malapit sa dumpsite), San Antonio,
Nueva Ecija.Philippines
Date of Incident: 19 February 2006
Alleged Perpetrators: four armed men wearing bonnets and black sweatshirts with the name POLICE
printed on it.
Account of Incident -
On February 18, 2006 at approximately 2:00 PM Pepito Campus and Leonardo Parungao were on board their Barangay service vehicle together with Elizabeth Parungao, a community youth leader and around 10 other student youths who were residents of Barangay Bagong Sikat, Cabiao, Nueva Ecija. They were traveling the road between Barangay Luyos and Barangay Buliran (near the garbage dumpsite) in San Antoni, Nueva Ecija when they were stopped by four armed men, wearing bonnets and black long sleeved sweatshirts with the word POLICE printed on it.
They were stopped because according to the armed men they were conducting a checkpoint. When the vehicle was parked on the side of the road, one of the armed men said that no one among them should fire his gun, lest they terrorize the students.
Leonardo and Pepito were ordered to step out of the vehicle. According the students, one of the soldiers stepped on Leonardo's head, tied his hands behind him and forced into a maroon van without plate number. A farmer who also saw the incident, on the other hand said that the two men were forced into a light blue van.
According to Elizabeth and her companions, they had just come from the office of Congressman Rodolfo Antonino in the town of Jaen, Nueva Ecija when the abduction happened. They immediately told the families of Pepito and Leonardo who then reported the incident to the police in the town of San Antonio. The police denied that they had set up a checkpoint and deployed policemen in the said area where the two men were abducted. The police surmised that it could have been some elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines who abducted Leonardo and Pepito because soldiers led by a Captain Renato Rebuelto usually patrolled that area. However, the police were unsure which army unit Rebuelto's group belonged to.
The relatives of the victims also said that the van to which the two were loaded into was followed upto Barangay Marawa, Jaen and going to La Paz, Tarlac. Leonardo's and Pepito's whereabouts are still unknown up to this day.
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, illegal arrest and enforced disappearance of Pepito Campus and Leonardo Parungao
2. The arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of the crime/s of abduction, illegal arrest and enforced disappearance;
3. The immediate and proper indemnification of the victims; 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 its provisions.
You may send your communications to:
President of the Republic
Malacanang Palace,
JP Laurel St., San Miguel
Manila Philippines
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
Hon.
Rene V. Sarmiento
*Office of the Peace Process
7th Floor Agustin Building I
Emerald Avenue
Pasig City 1605
Voice:+63 (2) 636 0701 to 066
Mobile:
Fax:+63 (2) 635 9579
Hon.
Avelino J. Cruz, Jr.
Secretary
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
Hon.
Raul M. Gonzalez
Secretary, Department of Justice
Padre Faura St., Manila
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
Commonwealth Avenue
Diliman, Quezon City
Philippines
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 (Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights)-National Office
43 Masikap St. Barangay Pinyahan, Quezon City 1100 PHILIPPINES
Voice: (+632) 435 4146 / Fax: (+632) 928 6078
Emails: <karapatan@tri-isys.com > / karapatan@edsamail.com.ph
Website: www.karapatan.org