|
Cover
Table of Contents
Editorial
- Families of the Disappeared Unite!
Cover Story
-They do not ask for Charity… They demand Justice!
Country Situations
New Hopes for Ending Impunity in China
And Disappearances Continue…
Four-Year Effort To Reveal Disappearances: A Reflection
An Individual Tragedy With Universal Pain
The Human Rights Commission in
Sri Lanka
Photos:
Forum and Leadership Training
Legal Analysis
The UN Negotiation on the Draft Treaty…
Political Analysis
Showdown in Baghdad
Features
Daddy’s Diary
News Features
The Nilo Valerio Foundation’s Coming Into Being
No Closure ‘till Justice is Achieved
The Formation of Indonesian Association…
Year-End Report
– A Summary
2002 Revisited
Literary
Warning
|
NEWS FEATURE
The Nilo Valerio Foundation’s Coming to Being
by Daisy Timbreza-Valerio 1
On September 7, 1985, the national dailies carried the news that three freedom fighters namely
Ka Bobot, Ka Senyang and Ka Gina were killed in an encounter between a 26-man team of PC-INP-CHDF and an 8-men/women team of the New Peoples’ Army (NPA) in Beyeng, Bakun, Benguet. The three alleged NPAs turned out to be Nilo Valerio, then 35 years old and one of the four priests from the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) in the northern province of Abra , Resteta Fernandez, 27, single from Sampaloc, Manila and Soledad Salvador, 28, single from Laoag, Ilocos
Norte.
 A fact-finding mission (FMM) composed of human rights and church organizations was formed and went to Bakun, the reported area of encounter from September 11-13, 1985. Among others, the mission confirmed that the three freedom fighters were killed and in fact, were beheaded, according to eyewitnesses. However, their remains were nowhere to be found.
Aside from the FMM, the families, relatives and friends of the victims together with human rights organizations took other steps in 1985-’86. These were sustained media publicity, separate memorial masses in Baguio City and Christ the King in Quezon City, a press conference on October 7, 1985 at the National Press Club, a memorial meeting in Quezon City, several dialogues between the families of victims with government representatives including then Acting Chief of Staff Lt. General Fidel Ramos, two separate trips to Bakun conducted by Nilo’s family, gathering of signatures from schools seeking to surface the remains of the victims and sending these to Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos and the publication of a book titled: BAKUN, THREE MARTYRS FOR THE PEOPLE launched in January 1986. All these efforts failed to surface the remains of the three victims who since then, came to be known as the “Bakun Martyrs.”
Most families of victims of involuntary disappearance are determined to continue their campaign for justice for their missing loved ones despite the long years that lapse. This was proven by a study dubbed “internal research” conducted by the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) among its members in 2000. Since they do not know what happened and since they have not seen the remains if, indeed, the missing are already dead, closure has remained elusive for the families. It is very difficult for them to come to terms with life for as long as efforts are not yet fully maximized in the justice campaign for their missing loved ones. There were a few families who cited in the same study, though, that they will just leave everything to God.
As a human rights mass organization, FIND had always encouraged its members to play a crucial role in the campaign for justice for their loved ones. Thus, chapters were set up in the provinces so that members could implement the search and documentation of cases, which was and is the heart of the work of FIND, hand in hand with its other programs. With almost 2,000 cases reported, the organization found it impossible to fully attend to all cases.
“Setting the Spirits Free!”
It took years before the family members, relatives and friends of the Bakun martyrs could gather enough strength to focus on the case. Finally, the launching of the NVF on September 15, 2002 was a breakthrough. The NVF carries the justice campaign for the three Bakun Martyrs. The Board of Directors, composed of 10 human rights advocates known to the victims’ families since years ago plus this writer, serve as the foundation’s highest policy making body. Stemming from the campaign for justice for victims of human rights violations, the NVF defined its general direction and expressed this in the following objectives:
-
Continue the search for the Bakun martyrs and intensify the justice campaign for them. Concrete results achieved in the case will serve as a potent contribution to the justice campaign for all victims of human rights violations.
-
Come up with projects in the service of poor and needy communities. This is in line with the effort to help ensure that Nilo’s ideals live on as expressed in an NVF document titled:
“Introducing the NVF” authored by two board members, Mr. Sam Ferrer and Mr. Ted Borrero. “Nilo epitomized a strong sense of service with particular regard for the marginalized - the poor and downtrodden, simple lifestyle that is respectful of mother earth, transparency and accountability, and love of principled peace and justice.”
-
Contribute to the promotion and development of a human rights culture in the country.
-
Assist in the healing and rehabilitation of victims of human rights violations.
-
Establish areas of cooperation with human rights and development organizations, church institutions, media people, schools, etc.
-
Actively participate in lobbying the Philippine government for appropriate laws on involuntary disappearance and other human rights issues.
-
Initiate and develop partnerships with organizations and federations for the disappeared outside the country.
 The justice campaign on the case of every
desaparecido is a part and parcel of the overall justice campaign for all
desaparecidos and victims of human rights violations worldwide. Tirelessly working for justice for the victims is in itself a part of the promotion of a human rights culture in our country.
Since its launching up to the present, things seem to be falling into place for the NVF. For one, the relatives, friends and former co-workers of the Bakun Martyrs are eager to contribute their share to the tasks at hand. Presently, three teams have been formed namely, the Bakun Team focused on the justice campaign, the advocacy team and the fund and resource generation team. The teams are composed of board members and volunteers from among the victims’ families and friends.
The existing materials on the Bakun incident speak a lot. It appears that it is not only the victims’ families and relatives who need rehabilitation but that the Bakun community needs this as well. Composed of Kankanaeys, one of the biggest tribes in the Gran Cordillera, the community has been in pain since the incident occurred in 1985. Some people cited the killing of the Bakun martyrs has been engraved in their minds and hearts. They are not responsible for the killing but they have known the freedom fighters as “good people.” Some community members said that the Bakun martyrs and their companions encouraged them to set up their consumers’ cooperative but that these efforts were aborted because of that terrifying incident in a single day in August 1985. (Story of Three Beheadings, Philippine Panorama, October 13, 1985.)
According to some elders, as long as the victims’ remains have not yet been located and returned to their families, this remains a “heavy burden” for the community. Seemingly, the people feel some guilt because they were not able to prevent the killing and brutality right in their midst. A part of their culture, is that when the remains are found, a customary ritual is done. The people believe that it is only when these are done that the victims’ restless spirits can regain the much-needed peace and that the community can move on. These Kankanaey beliefs are very much a part of the psyche of families of victims of human rights violations not only in the Philippines but in other countries of Asia and Latin America as well.
“Setting the spirits free” which has originated from the Bakun people is a very fitting figure of speech that may be applied to the overall campaign for justice for all victims of human rights violations. For as long as the facts behind the case of every victim remain uncovered, for as long as the perpetrators remain free with some of them even serving as national and local government officials and for as long as justice is not yet achieved for the victims, society is confronted with a heavy backlog and is in pain. Thus, it can hardly move on towards its dream of a land of true peace, justice and development.
1 Daisy
Timbreza-Valerio, an NVF board member, is the wife of Nilo Valerio. She served as the Secretary General of Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearances (FIND). Their sons, Chris and
Jeng, were barely three and four years old respectively when their father was killed on August 24, 1985.
VOICE April 2003
|