Karapatan - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Karapatan, which translates as rights, is a human rights

Human rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

non-governmental organization

Non-governmental organization

A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...

in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. The full name of the group is KARAPATAN: Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights.

History

The organization's General Secretary, Marie Hilao-Enriquez, is a strong advocate for human rights in the Philippines and internationally. As the mandate of President Gloria Macapal-Arroyo has witnessed over 830 political killings, including a bishop, Alberto Ramento

Alberto Ramento

Alberto Ramento, Obispo Maximo IX is a former Supreme Bishop and Chairperson of the Supreme Council of Bishops of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente ....

, and a state of emergency

2006 state of emergency in the Philippines

The Philippines was under a state of emergency, announced by presidential spokesperson Ignacio Bunye on the morning of February 24, 2006, by the virtue of Proclamation No. 1017. This occurred after the government claimed that it foiled an alleged coup d'état attempt against the administration of...

in February 2006. Further, the group has documented many cases of political killings and harassment and submitted them to the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP)

Politics of the Philippines

The Politics of the Philippines takes place in an organized framework of a presidential, representative, and democratic republic whereby the president is both the head of state and the head of government within a pluriform multi-party system...

and the National Democratic Front (NDFP)

National Democratic Front (Philippines)

National Democratic Front is a coalition of far left leaning political parties, churches , agricultural unions, trade unions, and other related groups in the Philippines...

. In March 2007, in the capacity of representing KARAPATAN, she presented on the extra-judicial political killings before the United States East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee chaired by US Senator Barbara Boxer

Barbara Boxer

Barbara Levy Boxer is the junior United States Senator from California . A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives ....

(D-Cal).

On the eve of the Nov 01-02, 2007 PUNO summit, Karapatan said the judiciary could come up with effective solutions to the problem by asking first Malacañang to drop its counterinsurgency policy. “Why focus on the solutions if they would not look into or address first the real cause behind the atrocities, which we believe is the police of the Arroyo administration,” said Karapatan chair Dr. Edelina de la Paz. At the Manila Hotel summit, a three-member team from Karapatan will give a 15-minute presentation showing the “systematic plan” carried out by the military against suspected rebels. Although the summit is a welcome development, it will not end the widespread killings and disappearances of civilians, said Karapatan-Caraga lawyer Jose Begil Jr. Karapatan lawyer Rex Fernandez lauded Puno for initiating the summit, “a first step in a thousand-mile journey toward peace.”

Accusations of propaganda

On Nov 01, 2007, Military Chief General Hermogenes Esperon IV accused Karapatan of insincerity in stopping killings due to its refusal to cooperate in government investigations.
Esperon also reiterated that KARAPATAN has always been and will use "propaganda measures" that allegation of government security forces were behind the over 800 extra-judicial killings it has recorded since 2010: "After they hurl these allegations, they refuse to go to court or the investigative bodies. What's this? Do they believe in the judicial process, in the rule of law? Or are they engaged in propaganda?" They used the strategy of AROUSE, ORGANIZE, MOBILIZE in accordance to the organization and members they are protecting, the CPP-NPA-NDF. They are using the human rights advocacy to advance their cause of grabbing political power to duly-elected government and replace it with socialist-communist system. KARAPATAN will always discredit the government by hurling deceiving and untruthful statements.

External links

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