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Open Letter to the Fil-American Association in Beaufort, Hampton, and Jasper Counties of South Carolina
Dear Friends:
Greetings to you all, fellow members. Even as I hug each one in warm friendship, I seek your solace for one in deep pain. A dear friend, Ma. Luisa Posa-Dominado, an Ilongga, is now among the desaparicidos, the enforced disappearances, during the administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Luing as we fondly call her is the spokesperson of SELDA (Society of Ex-Detainees for Liberation, Against Detention and for Amnesty). She was abducted along with Nilo Arado, National Council Member of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Peasant Movement of the Philippines). Their companion, Jose Ely Garachico, Public Information Officer of KARAPATAN-Panay, was shot at and left to bleed. KARAPATAN is the alliance of human rights organizations.
The incident happened last Friday, the 12th of April in my very own hometown, Oton, about ten kilometers from Iloilo City. For more information, I have forwarded below the message of KARAPATAN.
Luing's daughter, May Wan, was forced to come home from Manila where she was reviewing for the bar exams. May Wan is my daughter Randy's godchild in baptism.
Before this incident occurred, Iloilo was relatively peaceful compared to other provinces in our country. Under the Arroyo administration, the number of extra-judicial killings of activists, journalists, workers, and peasants have exceeded 800, not to mention scores of disappearances and violations of human rights in various parts of the Philippines. The CHR (Commission on Human Rights) has statistics on these.
Even as I write in pain and anxiety and rage against the perpetrators, I enjoin you to take action in protest against this condemnable incident involving Luing, Nilo Arado, and Jose Ely Garachico.
Sincerely yours,
(Sgd.) Julia Carreon-Lagoc
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Advisory from: KARAPATAN Public Information
ACCOUNT OF INCIDENT
At around 7:00 PM on April 12, 2007, Jose Ely Garachico or "Leeboy" to his family and colleagues, together with Maria Luisa Posa-Dominado, also better known as "Luing" and Nilo Arado, all human rights defenders and leaders of progressive people's organizations in Panay, were on their way home after coming from Antique. When they reached the town of Guimbal, they noticed that they were being tailed by a vehicle.
Leeboy was driving the black Mitsubishi L200 pick-up which they borrowed from a friend for that trip. Upon reaching Cabanbanan, Oton in Iloilo, a Mitsubishi van that has been tailing them, cut their path. Three armed men got off and started shooting at Leeboy's group. Leeboy was hit at the left side of his neck.
The armed men then dragged Luing Dominado and Nilo Arado to their van, threw Leeboy on the right side of the road, took the black pick-up and drove off. Leeboy was still able to shout for help. The Cabanbanan Barangay Captain responded and immediately brought Leeboy to the hospital.
The bullet that hit Leeboy went straight to his lungs. He is currently in critical condition at the Iloilo Doctor's Hospital and is scheduled for an operation this morning, April 13. (At 7:24 pm, April 13, according to Leeboy's sister, Leeboy still cannot be operated on because the slug is still moving in his body and the doctors are waiting for it to settle in his abdominal area.)
Luing Posa-Dominado and Nilo Arado remain missing as of this writing.
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Send letters, emails or fax messages calling for:
1. 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 frustrated killing of Jose Ely Garachico and the enforced disappearance of Maria Luisa Posa-Dominado and Nilo Arado.
2. The arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of the crime/s of frustrated killing and enforced disappearances.
3. The immediate and proper indemnification of the victims; and
4. The Philippine Government to be reminded that it is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and that it is also a party to all the major Human Rights instruments, thus it is bound to observe all of these instruments' provisions.