Philippines: Immense Violation Of Rights - Mindanao Disaster

AHRC-STM-211-2011
December 21, 2011

A Statement from the Asian Human Rights Commission

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is shocked but not surprised as to how government officials, from the local and national level, have dealt with the tropical storm Sendong both prior to its arrival and in its aftermath. As the stories unfold by the day it has become apparently obvious that the value of human lives of those who died are of little importance to them. The fundamental human rights laws that the State and its officials holds paramount responsibility to preserve, protect and respect human rights and lives is absent consciously or otherwise.

In our statement earlier, we urged for an adequate and scientific profiling of the retrieved corpses rather than burying them in a mass grave altogether at once. However, we are shocked that local officials had, in fact, already dumped some of the corpses at the dumpsites even before proper profiling could take place. Had it not been of the vigilance of local journalists and residents who exposed the unilateral decision of Vicente Emano, city mayor of Cagayan de Oro, of dumping the corpses they could have continued doing so unnoticed depriving the possibility of identifying them now and in the future.

In defending the mayor, Nadia Emano-Elipe, a member of the city's legislative body of Cagayan de Oro, justified the 'temporary taking' (to her it was not dumping) of corpses to the city's dumpsite for purposes of properly identifying them. Her justification, while obviously completely illogical and incomprehensible, rather demonstrates how without pretence these public officials treat the lives of their constituents. There is a common sense here. Had it been the corpses of Emanos, their relatives and their political supporters, we could absolutely assume the dumpsite would never be a place they would want to see them lying whether they are for purpose of identification or otherwise.

As explained by Dr. Wilfred Tierra, a forensic expert at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the corpses were already at the dumpsite exposed to sunlight when they arrived; thus, it was apparently obvious that corpses were thrown, and not temporarily taken for identification, as what the local officials invoked to justify their acts. The dumpsite is not a place that is suitable obviously for sanitary reasons for forensic experts to perform identification; nor a humanely acceptable place where families looking for their dead should go to identify them. In reality though, what the ruling elite and local officials have done demonstrates it is what to them the dead deserves, without any pretence; and how they value the lives of their citizens.

What the attitude local officials has shown, however, demonstrates both the complete indifference and disconnection between the people in power, the ruler; and their people, those they rule who entrusted them power to do so. Here, the trust and confidence of the constituents who put them in power, who themselves have the utmost responsibility to ensure their lives are protected, preserved and respected, have apparently, as it is showing, given no value or meaning by these government officials.

Apart from the local officials, we also observed some of government leaders and even broadcast journalists, based on their public commentaries, are obviously disconnected and indifferent to the immense suffering due to loss of lives, properties and livelihood of the ordinary and nameless people in the affected areas. It is shocking and unacceptable that those who died, survived and had lost their loved ones are the ones being blamed for their suffering as a result of the disaster.

The comment made by Winnie Monsod, broadcast commentator and former socio-economic planning secretary, is of particular interest. Monsod called the victims as pasaway (hard headed persons) for not vacating the place, only now learned to be geologically hazardous as the settlers either live along the dried-up waterways or riverbanks, earlier on and for 'ignoring' the warning of the weather bureau. Monsod's penchant for strongly-worded words supposedly to make her point is completely out of context here. We should ask, why despite the hazard residents in these poor communities face, they cannot afford to leave.

Monsod's comment, however, shows the huge gap between the outlook of those who lived in the metropolis having dominantly occupied standards as against those who lived in poor communities whose way of life depend on surviving daily in the absence of the State protection. Her opinion is not uniquely hers but is rather pervasive to most government officials, they be in national or local level. Unfortunately, the lives of most of the Filipino people are shaped by the mentalities of those in the government and who influenced them.

In the Philippines, it is common for villagers in poor communities emerging in government-owned lands, like dried up river beds, by the riverbanks and shores; however, that does not mean they choose to stay there but do so rather because they could not afford to buy a house and lot or rent houses in safer places. In fact, this phenomenon of settlement in geographically hazardous places should be considered not only as due to chronic poverty but for government officials to take action as a matter of ensuring the safety of their people.

However, unfortunately in Cagayan de Oro City, since the people in devastated communities have been occupying the places that face flood-hazard for over 40 to 50 years, the length of their settlement overtime ignores the real danger the flooding could cause. Also, it was convenient for the local and the national officials to put the blame squarely on the communities themselves excusing themselves from any responsibility arguing that they choose to stay rather than to evacuate. This out rightly ignores the fundamental obligation of the state to provide these people with housing that is safe and adequate and responds to the needs in the communities.

However, it is completely disappointing that none of the local and national officials, not only at present but in previous disasters claiming enormous casualties has ever admitted responsibility for their repeated failures. The loss of so many lives is seen as inevitable rather than the failure of the State to comply with its legal obligation. This continues to dominate the ongoing discourse and is very destructive in that it expunges the government, they be local or national, of their utmost responsibility to protect being the State.

In the aftermath of the disaster, it is the ordinary and common people: they were poor villagers, fishermen, rickshaw drivers, journalists, university students, the friends and relatives and those who died and survived from the disaster, who are mostly seen involved in relief and rescue operation and retrieval of the corpses from the sea. Even the survivors who were swept into the sea called radio stations, not government emergency numbers, for help to be rescued. In fact, even official websites of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities does not contain information as to how their constituents could get help. Also, the extent of the government's presence is very negligible.

The sheer disregard to the value of preserving human lives and of respecting the dead, by omitting any action to protect the people at risk for living in hazard places and of dumping the corpses, illustrates the complete absence of any notion that it is the State's responsibility and their legal obligation to ensure the right to life, right to adequate housing and to adequate livelihood, are afforded to its citizens. Here, we see that in reality it is the downtrodden people who live and survive daily on their own in the absence of any protection from the State.

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About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation that monitors human rights in Asia, documents violations and advocates for justice and institutional reform to ensure the protection and promotion of these rights. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

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