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Two lawyers Concepcion “Connie” Brizuela,
56, and Cynthia Oquendo-Ayon , 35, were among people abducted involving more than 50 persons killed in the said Maguindanao massacre.
An ambush resulting in women being raped, killed and mutilated by a
group of deputized militia. 57 people
were massacred including the two human rights lawyers, local executives who were to file their certificates of candidacy
and 30 journalists who
were invited to cover the event.
Among those taken were the wife of a mayor in Maguindanao province,
Esmael Mangundadatu, his
supporters and his lawyers Cynthia
Oquendo and Connie Brizuela . As lawyers they were accompanying their client to the COMELEC to file
the client’s Certificate of Candidacy.
"Connie"
Brizuela was a member of the Executive Committee
and treasurer
of Union of Peoples' Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM), and Cynthia
Oquendo, an UPLM member . Known as
independent-minded and courageous lady advocates of alternative lawyering
and human rights, Concepcion “Connie” Brizuela and Cynthia Oquendo were active
pro bono officers of the Union of Peoples Lawyers in Mindanao a
local voluntary bar association in that province known for its public
interest advocacy. They were the election lawyers of the Mangudadatu
political clan, which is the strongest political opponent of the
Ampatuan clan in Maguindanao province.
Connie Brizuela
has long been the subject of harrassment because of her human
rights work in Mindanao. Brizuela had feisty
personality within her petite frame and was no stranger to challenges.
She was a former broadcaster who did not flinch in criticizing
wrongdoers, and had been one of the leaders of a group fighting for good
governance in Cotabato. A
few years ago, she was jailed for a few days because of a libel case
filed by Emmanuel Piñol, who was then governor. On
or about June 23, 2006, she received SMS messages saying she will be the
next to be killed after a couple was recently murdered in cold blood in
the same area.
Cynthia
Oquendo, who used to be based in the Province of Bukidnon, was also a
member of the UPLM and was not a person who embraced violence.
Background information :
Maguindanao is a
Muslim-dominated province in the beautiful but violent Philippine island
of Mindanao. Also killed were more than 12 media practitioners and
many other ranking political personalities in the province belonging to
the opposite camp of the incumbent Muslim provincial governor who heads
the Ampatuan political clan.
The Mangundadatu clan is known to have a long-running feud with
the family of Maguindanao’s incumbent Gov. Andal Ampatuan, who police say
is known to control his own private army. Revenge killings and clashes
among rival political families are common in Maguindanao and other parts
of Mindanao island, where unlicensed firearms proliferate and parts of
which are lawless. Islamic militants on Mindanao have also been waging a
separatist rebellion for decades.
Since
2001, 22 lawyers have been
killed in the Philippines
COPY THE ENCLOSED LETTER AND
SEND IT TO THE ADDRESS PROVIDED.
LETTER :
[Your name and
address here]
Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President
Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace
JP Laurel Street, San Miguel
Manila 1005
PHILIPPINES
Dear Ms. Arroyo
As an european lawyer, I want to
condemn in the strongest possible terms the brutal murder of scores of
civilians in Datu Abdullah Sangki town in Maguindanaoin, a bloody start
for the 2010 elections and among them our colleagues Concepcion
"Connie" Brizuela and Cynthia Oquendo.
They were doing their duty,
accompanying the wife of Buluan Vice Mayor Ishmael "Toto"
Mangudadatu , Genalyn, whose group was on their way to file her husband's
certificate of candidacy for Maguindanao governor at the Commission on
Elections office in Shariff Aguak town, Maguindanao.
This barbaric mass murder must not show that the culture of impunity
clearly pervades with the existence of warlord-maintained private armies
that have long been tolerated by the government, past and present.
It is doubly condemnable that among the latest victims were
journalists and lawyers, who have been in the line of fire because of
their commitment to their respective profession.
In this year, one other lawyer
was assassinated in Philippines : Crispin Perez. On 16 June 2009, three
human rights lawyers Carlos Zarate, Angela Librado-Trinidad and Lilibeth
Ladaga, sought judicial
protection for their right to life, liberty and security because
included in a list of targets in a leaked document.
Sadly, the names of Concepcion
"Connie" Brizuela and Cynthia Oquendo will be added to the long
list of victims of extra-judicial killings under the present
adminisatration.
I demand that justice be served on the victims, particularly to our
colleagues, Connie Brizuela and Cynthia Oquendo.
I demand that the administration
throws the full force of the government to bring the perpetrators,
regardless of their affiliations, to the bar of
justice.
Yours sincerely.
[Signature]
ADDRESSES
:
- Mrs.
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President
Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace
JP Laurel Street, San Miguel
Manila 1005
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 736 1010
Tel: +63 2 735 6201 / 564 1451 to 80
E-mail: corres@op.gov.ph
- Mr.
Raul Gonzalez
Secretary
Department of Justice (DoJ)
DOJ Bldg., Padre Faura
1004 Manila
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 521 1614
E-mail: raulgonzalez_doj@yahoo.com
- Mr.
Ronaldo V. Puno
Secretary
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)
A. Francisco Gold Condominium II
EDSA cor. Mapagmahal St., Diliman
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 925 0332
Tel: +63 2 925 0330 / 31
E-mail: rvpuno@dilg.gov.ph
TAKE ACTION
NOW !
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