Death by Democracy

View Death by Democracy in a larger map

"Suweb Upam, who had earlier claimed to be one of the actual “shooters” during the mass murder in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao, had been killed in the province on June 14, after he had left the law firm’s custody," reports Dateline.

View Death by Democracy in a larger map

"A human rights lawyer and campaign manager of the Liberal Party in Nueva Vizcaya province was shot dead by two men in front of a court house, a few steps from the police station, in Solano town on Tuesday morning," reports the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

View Death by Democracy in a larger map

"Gunmen shot and killed a 50-year-old newspaper reporter in the southern Philippines at the weekend, the third journalist slain in a week," reports the AFP via Yahoo! News. The story has also been picked up by MSN News.

View Death by Democracy in a larger map

Benjamin Bayles was a member of the human rights organizations Karapatan and September 21 Movement, as well as of the Bayan Muna party-list. He was shot on June 14, 2010, by hooded gunmen believed to be members of the Philippine army. Dateline Philippines reported on it. Bayles' killing follows closely after the deaths of two journalists less than 48 hours before his.

• Write a letter of appeal

View Death by Democracy in a larger map

"Barely 24 hours after a radio commentator was shot dead in Mindanao, another radioman died after being shot in Ilocos Norte Tuesday night," reports GMA News. The Committee to Protect Journalists has also written about this killing.

View Death by Democracy in a larger map

Radio journalist Desidario Camangyan was shot on June 14, 2010. Read the coverage by the UK Telegraph and MSN news on his murder, which also point out that 32 journalists were killed in 2009, and 75 since 2001.

DUKOT (Desaparecidos), a film about the worsening human rights situation in the Philippines,  was taken on a Canada-wide film tour. It was shown in Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and Vancouver. Here are some related Web resources about the film:

• DUKOT's Media Conference at W2 Storyeum in Vancouver, livestreamed by Peter Davies of Fearless City, W2 and AHA MEDIA
• The Asia Pacific Post published a story by torture survivor Melissa Roxas speaks of human rights horrors in Philippines
• DUKOT featured in the Georgia Straight
• The Facebook event page 
• The DUKOT Vancouver Report

View Death by Democracy in a larger map

On February 26, 2010, Abdulbayan Guiamblang was passing from his farm through the detachment of the 38th Infantry Battalion, Philippine army in Barangay (village) Solon, Sultan Mastura, province of Maguindanao. He usually passes through this detachment to tend his farm that is adjacent to the village where he lives. But on this occasion a soldier guarding the detachment had stopped him. Without explaining to him why he was being held, the soldier took him to a nearby community center (Purok house) in the village. Soon after they arrived, soldiers cuffed his hands behind his back. They wrapped his legs around with adhesive tape and blindfolded him, using the same tape. Later he felt himself being loaded into a truck. He realized that it was a military 6x6 truck that drove him for about 20 minutes to an unknown place. Here, he was interrogated and severely tortured. Read the rest of the story and sign the urgent action petition on the Asian Human Rights Commission website.

• Sign a petition 
• Write a letter of appeal

View Death by Democracy in a larger map

On 9 March 2010 at 9pm five unknown persons armed with pistols reportedly entered the house of the Landingin family in Sitio Matalvis, Barangay (village) Inhobol, Masinloc, while the entire community was in darkness due to an electricity blackout. The perpetrators forcibly took the victims, Ronron Landingin, Jinky Garcia and Daryl Fortuna, to a waiting car. Read the rest of the account Asian Human Rights Commission site.

• Sign a petition 
• Write a letter of appeal

On Jan. 30, Gregan Cardeño went home happy that he had finally found a job. He had just signed a contract with a security agency that posted him as an interpreter for the American troops in Cotabato City. A few days later, he ended up in Marawi where, inside a US barracks, he supposedly hanged himself. His family, however, is convinced that he had been murdered, probably even abused. Read the rest on Bulatlat.com.

View Death by Democracy in a larger map

A union leader was gunned down in Sta. Rosa City on Wednesday, raising the number of slain labor activists in the Calabarzon region to nine under the term of outgoing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Eduard Panganiban, 27, was catching a ride to work when motorcycle-riding gunmen shot him in Barangay Caingin at past 5 p.m., according to Hermie Marasigan, chair of the labor group Pagkakaisa ng Samahan ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan (Pamantik). Read the rest of the story on Inquirer.net
Other links:

• Fact sheet published by the National Coalition for the Protection of Workers’ Rights-Southern Tagalog and Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan-Kilusang Mayo Uno 
• Statement by the Kilusang Mayo Uno

•  Write a letter of appeal

View Death by Democracy in a larger map

Over a week after the May 10 polls, another activist was killed by still unidentified gunmen in Panabo City. Jim Galez, a member of the regional secretariat of party-list group Bayan Muna, was driving his motorcycle on the road to Barangay Little Panay in Panabo City on Wednesday, May 19, when fired upon by still unidentified gunmen. Read the rest of the story on Bulatlat.com.