Japan Group Releases Report on Killings in Philippines

Harassment

Because of his activity, Ramos was tagged as a “communist supporter” by the military. The AFP Northern Luzon Command under General Dominges, together with the mayor held a big meeting by calling all Barangay captains and city officials in Tarlac in 2005. As a chairperson of his Barangay, Ramos had to attend. In the meeting, the military explained the “Order of Battle” with power-point presentation. Ramos saw his name in the list of the “Order of Battle” in the big screen. His brother told HRN:

“Order of Battle is a list of the military targets of extrajudicial killing and abduction. At the moment, he has just received an award that he is the most outstanding village head in the whole Philippines. So, he was very, very surprised. ‘Why is my name here?’ He was wondering…”

In 2005, he also received a death threat. There was a text message “get ready we will hang your head in front of the city hall” sent to his cell phone.

The day before he was killed, he received a funeral wreath, with the message of “RIP (Rest in Peace)” as well as cartoon of coffin placed in a box. The sender was unknown. This box soon exploded.

On October 25, 2005, between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., two military men visited Ramos’ house asking to speak with him concerning residents of the town who the military suspected were NPA supporters. A guard of the Barangay72 told the men that Ramos was currently resting and could not be disturbed. This guard identified the men as “Joshua” and “Castillo” and recognized them as military personnel since they often went around the Barangay.

Joshua and Castillo returned to Ramos’ hut around 7 p.m. and again asked the guard if they could speak with Ramos. The same guard informed Ramos of their presence to which Ramos responded: “They are accusing the striking workers and their sympathizers of being members of the NPA. I will not allow myself to be used to put my co-workers and neighbors in harm’s way. Don’t mind them.” Because Ramos had visitors at the time, the men left.

Circumstances of the Killing

Around 9 p.m. on October 25, 2005, Ramos was in a bamboo hut, 40-50 meters away from Ramos’s residence. There were seven people inside the hut, and many other villagers surrounded the hut. With villagers, Ramos was celebrating the victory of the strike of Hacienda Luisita’s workers.

While Ramos was talking with his co-workers and constituents, he was shot twice by an unidentified man. The perpetrators immediately escaped from the hut. The perpetrator was only about 12 meters from where Ramos was sitting inside the hut. Police recovered two spent shells from an M14 rifle at the hut were Ramos was killed.

At the time of killing, there was one guard in front of Ramos’ house. When he heard the gunshot, he immediately rushed to the hut and saw the perpetrators running away. He identified the perpetrators as Sergeant Joshua Dela Cruz and Romeo Castillo who he remembered seeing earlier that day. Another guard was in the other side of the house, and also saw the perpetrators escaping. He also identified the perpetrators as Dela Cruz and Castillo. Both were soldiers of the 48th Infantry Battalion under the7th Infantry Division led by Major General Jovito Palparan. The HRN fact-finding mission interviewed one of the guards who saw the perpetrators. He has testified before the Senate. Because of security reasons, he does not want to disclose his name.

Investigation and Prosecution

After Ramos’ Killing, angry residents marched to the military detachment stationed in the area; however, they did not find any soldiers there. When interviewed, the soldiers said they left the detachment the night the shooting occurred because some of the residents were throwing stones at them.

In the wake of the killing, the Senate adopted a resolution “Directing the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development and other appropriate Senate Committees to Conduct an Investigation, in aid of Legislation, on the Killing of Hacienda Luisita Labor Leader Ricardo Ramos”.73 However, no criminal prosecution has been reported on this case.

Case 7: Abelardo Ladera74

Background Information:

【victim】Abelado Ladera (45 years old, male)

Counselor of Tarlac City

Leader of the Bayan Muna Party Tarlac provincial chapter

【Incident】Mr. Ladera was shot and killed by an unidentified person on March 3, 2005 at a store along McArthur Highway in Barangay Paraiso, Tarlac City.