The denial by the military and the government of the existence of an “Order of Battle” with names of alleged enemies of the state has come under fire from rights groups, who described the denial as a disservice in the wake of the passage of Asia’s first measure outlawing enforced disappearances. The long series of enforced disappearances precisely stemmed from the existence of such a list, as the “OB” has been taken as license by some men in uniform to seize persons on the list in order to neutralize the insurgency, Karapatan said. “It seems that acts of denial are usual responses of the Aquino government and the AFP, when confronted with questions on their accountability for human rights violations. Mga denial kings ang mga nasa Malacanang at AFP! The lies that they have sown through their counter-insurgency program Oplan Bayanihan are now being exposed,” said Cristina Palabay, Karapatan secretary general.
Karapatan noted the practice of the Aquino government in “continuing” such policy through the reported Joint Order 14-2012 of the Department of National Defense and the Department of Interior and Local Government, which contains an alleged list of leaders of the communist movement whose bounties for arrests amount to P466million. “Such order, which was not even made public, is a dangerous and malicious perpetuation of the OB list as it becomes a hit list opersonalities/individuals who may be persecuted, filed with trumped-up charges or killed,” commented Palabay.
Among the most notable names alleged to have been on the AFP’s Order of Battle just before he was seized in a Quezon City restaurant by six people, believed to be military operatives, is Jonas Burgos, whose April 28, 2007 abduction has been a poster boy for the “desap” [rights group’s slang for the involuntarily disappeared] here and abroad.
Palabay cited the case of Rolly Panesa, a security guard who was illegally arrested, tortured and currently detained. He is being accused of the military as a certain Benjamin Mendoza, alleged to be a top-ranking Communist Party of the Philippines leader with a bounty of P5.6 million for his arrest. Panesa was arrested in October 2012 based on this theory of the AFP, and faces what Karapatan calls trumped up charges.
Karapatan cited another example of similar lists that exist, such as the target list of the 86th Infantry Battalion and 5th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army which bears the names of 28 individuals as targets of military operations in Tinooc, Ifugao. The list includes the names of Jude Baggo, Cordillera Human Rights Alliance(CHRA)-Karapatan secretary general, and farmers who are vocal against militarization of the communities in the Cordilleras.
“The Aquino government should stop its hypocrisy – its perpetuation of human rights violations on the ground while making it appear that it is compliant with human rights standards by enacting laws and establishing human rights offices. The human rights situation on the ground bears witness to the fact that despite the laws against torture and disappearances, the government continues its conduct of human rights violations and political repression through Oplan Bayanihan; and human rights violators in the military and police are left free from arrests and are even promoted to higher ranks,” Palabay said.
Karapatan attributed last week’s enactment of the Anti-Enforced Disappearance Law mainly to the “painstaking, persevering, militant and unwavering efforts for justice of the relatives of the desaparecidos, human rights groups and lawyers, and people’s organizations.” The group has documented 12 victims of enforced disappearances under Aquino’s watch.
“With the law, we challenge the Aquino government to file charges against all perpetrators of enforced disappearances, from General Palparan to Brig. General Eduardo Ano, to hold them accountable for the disappearances of Karen Empeno, Sherlyn Cadapan, Jonas Burgos and many others. We likewise put to task President Noynoy Aquino to end enforced disappearances and all human rights violations by scrapping Oplan Bayanihan, for even as the law is enacted, the policy and practice of this form of violation remains an instrument of political repression under the said counter-insurgency program,” Palabay said.
KARAPATAN is the main CPP-affiliated human rights front organization in the Philippines. CPP front groups have waisted little time in exploiting the recent passage of the law banning enforced disappearances in their propaganda attacks designed to discredit the human rights record of the Aquino administration.
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