Recurrence of Threats Vs Church Leaders Belies ‘Improvement’ in Human Rights Condition in Philippines

In December 2007, a bishop and three priests of the Iglesia Filipina
Independiente (Philippine Independent Church or PIC) once again have
been threatened that they will be killed and have been the subjects
of overt surveillance. They were warned about undertaking their
social activities and ministry, or they would be murdered like their
colleagues. Within a short period, Bishop Delfin Callao Jr. of Davao
City and the Revs. Eleuterio Revollido of Urdaneta City, Gilbert
Garcia of San Clemente in Tarlac Province and Antonio Ablon of
Cagayan de Oro City received threatening messages on their mobile
phones.

Apart from receiving threats, unidentified people were also seen
spying on the Revs. Revollido and Garcia. Several unknown men had
been looking for the Rev. Revollido at his convent while the convent
of the Rev. Garcia was broken into several times–the same scenario
experienced by his colleague, Bishop Alberto Ramento, a prominent
human rights defender, before he was murdered in October 2006.

Despite the risks to their lives, none of the people above are known
to have received state-sponsored protection. The lack of adhering to
the principles of state-sponsored “protection” and “security” from
the government have become a cause of frustration and distrust
because of the state’s incompetence thus far in doing so.

When the Rev. Garcia reported to the police the unusual incidents of
the break-in and of subsequently receiving threats on December 7,
2006, and December 3, 2007, the police recorded his statement but did
not take any further action to identify who was responsible. Even more
than a year later the police did not exert any effort to identify
those responsible for this break-in. These examples of police
investigations are unfortunately quite common in the Philippines.

The recent threat that the Rev. Garcia received by SMS also claimed
that the sender was responsible for murdering Bishop Ramento and that
the Rev. Garcia would be next. Even with these persistent and obvious
threats, the police once again are not known to have done anything
other than record his statements. There is hardly anything the police
have done thus far to ensure his security despite the risks he is
facing.

The police have also failed to provide protection and security to
other priests and Bishop Callao who are facing threats as well. Their
experience is similar to that of the Rev. Garcia, i.e., the police
have only recorded their statements but have not initiated any
serious investigations nor provided any protection. In principle,
once the police accept and record complaints, their responsibility
then commences, which includes identifying those responsible for the
threats and acting to ensure people’s safety, among other actions.