Death by Democracy

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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.

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"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.

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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

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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.

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