UA Date:            18 September 2004

UA Title:           MUNICIPAL SECRETARY GENERAL OF ANAKPAWIS TORTURED BY THE ELEMENT OF THE 16^th IB IN MINDORO OCCIDENTAL

UA Case:            Coercion, Physical Assault, Unlawful Arrest and Detention, Torture 

Victim/s:            Jomar Torreliza

·        33 years old

·        Peasant

·        Secretary General of Anakpawis municipal level

·        Married with 5 children

·        A resident of Barangay Kasage, Sta. Cruz, Mindoro Occidental

                        Mia Torreliza

·        34 years old

·        Housewife

·        A resident of Barangay Kasage, Sta. Cruz, Mindoro Occidental

                        Maica Torreliza

·        10 years old

·        A resident of Barangay Kasage, Sta. Cruz, Mindoro

Occidental

                        Jimant Torreliza

·        8 years old

·        A resident of Barangay Kasage, Sta. Cruz, Mindoro

Occidental

                        Christopher Torreliza

·        6 years old

·        A resident of Barangay Kasage, Sta. Cruz, Mindoro

Occidental

                        Vladimir Torreliza

·        3 years old

·        A resident of Barangay Kasage, Sta. Cruz, Mindoro

Occidental

                        Kimth Joy Torreliza

·        1 year old

·        A resident of Barangay Kasage, Sta. Cruz, Mindoro

Occidental           

I.                     Date of Incident:      September 6-10, 2004

II.                   Place of Incident:       Barangay Kasage, Sta. Cruz, and Paluan

Mindoro Occidental

III.         Perpetrators:                Elements of the 16^th Infantry Battalion led Lt.

Jericho Mangalos and MSgt. Gonzales

IV.               Summary of Incident:

On September 6, 2004 at around 1:00 AM, the Torreliza family was peacefully sleeping when they were violently roused by four armed men, wearing bonnets, civilian shirts, fatigue pants and combat shoes who barged into their home in Barangay Kasage, Sta. Cruz, Mindoro Occidental.

The armed men immediately grabbed Jomar and pointed their armalites to him. His wife Mia tried to shout for help to attract their neighbors and get help from them, but one of the men, strangled her to make her stop. Their children who were witnessing all this were crying in fear.

The armed men kicked Jomar down the stairs. Mia thought her husband was already dead but he was just unconscious. She saw him being hauled inside a van parked near their house. The armed men, sped off at an undisclosed location.

Jomar woke up at around 7:00 AM that same day inside a toilet, already gagged, blindfolded with a bonnet (which allowed him to peer through), his wrists bound together and his legs also tied up with a thin wire.

He was interrogated by three men similarly dressed as his captors and who took turns violently hitting him when he could not answer them properly. He was asked if he knew of an ambush done against a certain “NENE”. Jomar thought they were referring to Governor Sato. He answered that he did not know anything about it.

They either used their armalites to hit Jomar on his stomach, neck, torso, legs, and other parts of his body. This lasted for at least thirty minutes and each time he implored them to stop until they finally relented. They agreed to give him a reprieve and warned that if he still continued to deny their allegations that he was a member of the New People’s Army they would cut off his head.

When they left, Jomar, heard their conversations outside. They said that “…wag nang pakainin at papatayin din naman ito.” (“…don’t feed him anymore, we’ll kill him anyway.”) and when somebody asked where they would put him, he heard someone answer “…duon sa pinagdalhan sa isa.” (“…bring him to where we brought the other one.”)

After they left, Jomar took the opportunity to untie his wrists and legs and run across the fields in front of the place he was brought to. He saw a soldier sleeping in one of the huts. He told himself that even if they shoot him, people will hear them and will be able to see him wounded or dead lying on the ground.

He ran towards the Municipal Hall of Paluan, which was 500 meters from the place where he came from and which he later on realized was a military detachment. There, he found Commander Austria of the local Philippine National Police and sought his help. It was then that he realized that the armed men where indeed soldiers and that he was brought to the Municipality of Paluan, two hours away from Sta. Cruz.

A few minutes later, two soldiers, who introduced themselves as Lt. Jericho Malangos and MSgt. Gonzales came to the police station and were accusing Jomar of being a member of the New People’s Army’s SYP (Samahang Yunit Pampropaganda). SPO4 Austria asked if they had proof of this claim. When the two could not produce any, Austria asserted that they had no basis to take Jomar with them. The two soldiers just left.

Jomar immediately requested for his relatives from Sta. Cruz to fetch him from Paluan. He still spent the night there before being told the following day that his relatives where on their way to get him. Before his relatives came the next day September 7, the two soldiers, Lt. Malangos and MSgt. Gonzales came back along with a squadron of soldiers from the 16^th IB and insisted on their accusation that Jomar was a member of the NPA. Jomar denied this allegation and told them that if there were anything he would admit to, that was the fact that he would allow the rebels to eat or sleep in his home when they visited, but he was not a rebel. To which, the soldiers quickly said that if that was the case, then he is considered a sympathizer. They threatened that if he did not cooperate with them something would happen to his family. He reluctantly agreed and signed a document which the soldiers produced stating that he was a Rebel Returnee.

Before Jomar left with his relatives, he pretended to agree to help the military in their operations against the rebels by providing information to them, but refused to be recruited as a CAFGU.

When he reached Sta. Cruz, Jomar executed a statement at the Sta. Cruz police station assisted by SPO4 Romy Dacdac stating there that he did not know his captors. He was forced to claim such for fear that the soldiers would harm his family. From then on he hid with the local policemen in his barangay before coming out in the open on September 10 and deciding to seek the help of KARAPATAN.

Two days prior to Sept. 6, elements of the 16^th IBPA were already holding operations within Jomar’s barangay.

He still bares the signs of torture on his neck, eyes, torso, wrists and legs.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Send letters, email or fax messages calling for:

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 coercion, physical assault, unlawful arrest and detention, and torture of Jomar Torreliza and his family.

The prosecution of the perpetrators of the crime of coercion, physical assault, unlawful arrest and detention, torture as well as other atrocities committed by those found to be guilty of the crime.

The immediate and proper indemnification of the family/relatives of the victims; and

That the Philippine Government be reminded that it is a signatory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and that it is also a party to all major Human Rights instruments, thus it is bound to observe all of its provisions.

You may send your communications to:

H.E. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

President of the Republic of the Philippines

Malacañang Palace,

J.P. 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

Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Hon. Teresita Deles

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process

7F Agustin Building I

Emerald Avenue

Pasig City, Philippines

Voice: (+632) 636 0701 to 0766

Fax: (+632) 638 2216

Email: [email protected]

Hon. Avelino Cruz, Jr.

Secretary , Department of National Defense

Camp Emilio Aguinaldo

E. delos Santos Avenue

Quezon City, Philippines

Voice: (+632) 912 9281

Fax: (+632) 911 6213

Hon. Purificacion Valera Quisumbing

Chairperson, Commission on Human Rights

SAAC Bldg., UP Complex

Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman,

Quezon City, Philippines

Fax: (+632) 929 0102

Email: [email protected]

Please send us a copy of your email/mail/fax to the said government official at 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: [email protected] / [email protected]

Website: www. karapatan.org