Death threats keep hounding slain lawyer’s pals

RAGE Activists wear masks during a rally near Malacañang on Nov. 16 blaming the government for a spate of killings of human rights workers, including lawyer Benjamin Ramos Jr. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

ILOILO CITY — Two staff members of a nongovernment organization for farmers in Negros Occidental province were being sent death threats just a week after they buried slain human rights lawyer Benjamin Ramos Jr.

Photos of Felipe Levy Gelle Jr. and Enrita Caniendo were separately depicted inside a coffin in leaflets thrown on Saturday at the compound of the house of one of the leaders of the Asosasyon sang Mangunguma kag Mamumugon sa Sitio Lupni (AMMLU) at the village of Hilamonan in Kabankalan City.

AMMLU is one of the farmer’s groups being helped by Paghida-et sa Kauswagan Development Group Inc. in agrarian and other cases.

Rights advocates

On top of the apparently altered photographs was printed in bold letters: “SUBONG GINA AMAT-AMAT NA NAMUN KAMO. KAMO NA ANG MADASON (We are slowly taking you out. You are next).”

Gelle is PDG campaign and advocacy staffer and deputy secretary general of the Sept. 21 Movement-Southern Negros while Caniendo is an administrative staffer of the organization.

Gelle and Caniendo were among those who attended Ramos’ burial on Nov. 18 in Sipalay City.

A gunman repeatedly shot Ramos in front of a convenience store in Kabankalan City on Nov. 6. The assailants have not been identified.

Ramos, 56, died from multiple gunshot wounds. He was cofounder of PDG and was also founding member and Negros chapter secretary general of National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL).

Ramos photo

Before he was killed, a photo of Ramos, along with leaders of militant organizations and alleged leaders of the New People’s Army, were printed in tarpaulin streamers displayed in Negros Occidental.

The threats became more intense following the brief detention of two soldiers who were arrested as they mingled with mourners during the wake of Ramos.

One of the soldiers was found with a handgun but both were freed after posting bail on a charge of grave threats.

In an earlier interview, Col. Benedict Arevalo, head of the Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade, said the two soldiers had mission orders to conduct monitoring on a convoy of officials of NUPL and human rights group Karapatan who traveled from Bacolod City to Sipalay City to attend the burial of Ramos.

Protection

Arevalo said the monitoring was to ensure that those in the convoy would be safe because the military did not want to be blamed by activists groups for any attack on the activists.

He also accused militant groups of spreading “lies” to discredit the military.

But Edre Olalia, NUPL national president, described the military explanation for the two soldiers’ presence in Ramos’ wake as “astoundingly silly.”

“Why would military men escort us without our knowledge, much less consent or permission? Is it not the job of the police to provide security?” Olalia said in a statement.

Disrespect

“Why did they not identify themselves and announce their supposed legitimate and benign intentions when they were accosted by the police and when questioned at the police station and at the inquest proceedings?” Olalia added.

Olalia said the “facts and circumstances abundantly speak for themselves” and belied the claim of the military.

“And that is the insecurity the military provided to all of us up close, in utter disrespect of our time of grief and rage,” he said.