Central Luzon has a prominent place in Philippine history. Its people have a long and glorious record of active participation in the democratic and nationalist struggles from the Spanish period up to the present.

But recent events have transformed the region into a No Man’s Land for Progressives and Activists with more than fifty activists and leaders killed extra-judicially since September 2005. And the number keeps on rising.

 

 

Your Excellency,

The International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organization the Philippine Alliance of human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) take this opportunity to warmly welcome your decision of 24 June 2006,on the eve of your trip to Europe and the Vatican, to sign into law the legislation passed by the Philippine Congress, providing for the abolition of the death penalty. The abolition of this cruel, inhumane and irreversible punishment is a highly significant step. On this momentous occasion, FIDH and PAHRA call upon you to mark a new commitment to the absolute and unequivocal respect of the most fundamental human right, the right to life.

 

On this day of the first session of the newly-formed United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) we, members of the Philippine human rights community, human rights defenders and progressives, converge today in front of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to present the real human rights situation in the country.

 

The members of the Mamamayang Tutol sa Bitay-Movement for Restorative Justice (MTB-MRJ), a network of more than 150 human rights, sectoral, political, and church groups campaigning for the abolition of the death penalty, applaud the approval on June 6, 2006 of legislative measures that will repeal RA 7659 or the Death Penalty Law.