Ecumenical Movement for Justice and Peace (EMJP)
#43 Masikap St., Barangay Pinyahan, Quezon City
9286078 / 4354146
[email protected]

Press Statement                                                                                                             Reference: Girlie T. Padilla
14 February 2004                                                                                                                           Deputy Secretary-General

Col. Fernando L. Mesa, heir to Col. Jovito Palparan, Jr. as the new butcher of Mindoro Island
204th Infantry Brigade in Mindoro Oriental must answer for the deaths of justice and peace workers - EMJP

The Ecumenical Movement for Justice and Peace (EMJP) vigorously condemns the vicious twin murders of Justice and Peace activists, Naujan Vice Mayor Juvy Magsino and Leima Fortu, yesterday, February 13, 2004 at Amuguis, Naujan, Mindoro Oriental. It holds the 204th Infantry Brigade Commanding Officer Col. Fernando L. Mesa responsible for the killings.

"Col. Fernando L. Mesa commanding officer of the 204th Infantry Brigade is now the official heir to the title of the gruesome butcher formerly held by Col. Jovito Palparan, Jr.. He took the helm as the number one terrorist and human rights violator of Mindoro after the latter was promoted as Deputy Commander of the 2nd Infantry Division. Now Col. Mesa is the helmsman to the brutal murders of Vice Mayor Juvy Magsino and Acting Secretary General of KARAPATAN-Mindoro Oriental Leima Fortu. " Girlie Padilla , Deputy Secretary General of the Ecumenical Movement for Justice and Peace said.

The two were assassinated by elements believed to belong to the 204th Infantry Battalion. .

Vice Mayor Juvy Magsino, 34 years old, and a human rights lawyer was Chairperson of Mindoro for Justice and Peace. She was also Chair of the Vice Mayors' League in Mindoro Oriental, ran and easily won as Vice Mayor in the 2001 local elections, and was aiming to be elected as mayor at the time of her death. Magsino was endorsed by Bayan Muna for both elective positions. She was also honorary member of Gabriela in Mindoro Oriental.

Leima Fortu, was a volunteer staff of Mindoro for Justice and Peace. She was likewise the Acting Secretary General of KARAPATAN-Mindoro Oriental and was a member of Bayan Muna Mindoro Oriental chapter. She left a teaching job at the Suqui Elementary School in Calapan. She was 27 years old.

"When will all of the these gruesome assassinations stop?" Padilla asked. "President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has claimed that a just and lasting peace is part of her platform of government, and she has even used the current formal peace talks with the National Democratic Front as a propaganda venue for her double talk, but in reality she has sanctioned human rights violations perpetrated by overwhelming number of military troops in the countryside."
EMJP also pointed to the fact that with the failure of current peace talks GMA has lost her "pogi-points" to the public. "She will not win the people's votes with the intensifying militarization in the countryside." Padilla declared.

The island of Mindoro Oriental has been under vicious military siege since April 2001. Various forms of human rights violations such as murders, massacres, harassments, forced disappearances, forced evacuations and the like have rendered the province uninhabitable contrary to what other local and national officials have claimed.

Vice Mayor Magsino and Ms. Fortu are now added to the long list of brutal assassinations of progressive leaders in the island province which includes Choy Napoles, former spokesperson of Bayan-Mindoro Oriental, the twin murders of the Albarillo couple, Eden Marcellana, former Secretary General of KARAPATAN-Southern Tagalog and Eddie Gumanoy, former Chairperson of KASAMA-TK.

EMJP learned that before her death, Vice Mayor Magsino received death threats stating that she would not live beyond February 15. Magsino, a staunch advocate of justice and peace was very much vocal against the militarization of Mindoro Oriental.

EMJP believes that the present national leadership and the military is colluding to do anything to maintain their control over the island province, " GMA and Col. Mesa are ramming down the throats of the Mindoreños their brand of fascist rule." Padilla said "We vehemently condemn the intensifying militarization in Mindoro that has added to the rising number of human rights violations in the country today."

We vow to continue the legacy of Vice Mayor Magsino and Ms. Fortu to fight for a just and lasting peace in the whole country, as the people of Mindoro mourns their deaths." Padilla concluded. ###