Fwd: URGENT ACTION:Gabriela Women’s Party Municipal Coordinator murdered by government soldiers and CAFGUs, in Sorsogon, Philippines

[Fátima Lasay]

UA Date: 17 December 2003
UA title: Gabriela Women’s Party Municipal Coordinator murdered by 
government soldiers and CAFGUs, in Sorsogon, Philippines
UA case:         Murder and Divestment of Property

I. Victim/s: Susan Habac Aringo

a.. female
b.. 38 years old, widowed with five (5) children
c.. peasant
d.. Municipal Coordinator of Gabriela Women’s Party (GWP)
e.. a resident of Purok 5, Sitio Muladbukad, Km. 22, Brgy., San Isidro 
Castilla, Sorsogon, Philippines

II. Date of incident: 07 December 2003 at about 7:30 AM

III. Place of incident: Sitio Muladbukad, Km., 22 San Isidro Castilla, Sorsogon

IV. Perpetrators: Combined forces of the Philippine Army and CAFGU, based 
in La Union Detachment, Castilla, Sorsogon, Philippines

V. Summary of Incident:

Susan Habac Aringo, 38 was a widow, who plowed the fields just so she could 
send all her children to school and give them a decent living.  She was 
also a diligent volunteer working as the Municipal Coordinator of Gabriela 
Women’s Party in Castilla, Sorsogon, Philippines.

At around 7:30 AM on 07 December, Susan was on her way to the fields to do 
her day’s work, when a combined force of government soldiers and CAFGUs 
shot her at the back. She sustained four gunshot wounds and was brought to 
the town plaza, instead of immediately bringing her to the nearest 
hospital, where curious folk began milling around her who was still alive.

It was at 9:30 AM when two of her daughters who just came from church, 
wondered who it was the people were looking at, at the town plaza. They 
were surprised to see their mother also surrounded by government soldiers, 
bloodied and wanting of medical attention. They kneeled and begged the 
soldiers to bring her to the nearest hospital but the members of military 
troops only laughed at them. The same soldiers also ignored the offer of 
the barangay officials in the area to use their vehicle to bring Susan to 
the hospital. The soldiers even took from Susan her cellphone, a wallet 
with money amounting to P4,000.00, which according to her daughter was 
supposed to be used to buy fertilizer and a necklace she was wearing during 
the time of the incident.

At 10:30 AM vehicles from the Philippine National Police came and finally 
brought Susan to the hospital. She made it there alive, but after a minute 
expired.

The Gabriela Women’s Party in Sorsogon said that the soldiers had intended 
to kill Susan, because they suspected her of being a Member of the New 
People’s Army. Her family and co-workers deny the accusation of the 
military soldiers, and insist that she was an ordinary citizen, who assumed 
the role of both a loving mother and father to her five children and who 
only wanted to give a meaningful contribution to her community by joining 
Gabriela Women’s Party. In fact, the day before her death, she went to the 
Municipal Hall of Castilla, Sorsogon, to register her party.

Gabriela Women’s Party is a political organization that will be 
participating in the coming 2004 National Elections as a partylist group 
representing the voices of the toiling women masses and workers.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Send letters, emails or fax messages calling for:

1. The immediate formation of an independent fact-finding and investigation 
team composed of representatives from human rights groups, the Church, 
local government, and the Commission on Human Rights that will look into 
the divestment of property and murder of Susan Habac Aringo;

2. The prosecution of the perpetrators of the crime of divestment of 
property and murder as well as investigations of other atrocities committed 
not only by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Sorsogon but by other 
AFP units in different parts of the country as well.

3. The immediate and proper indemnification of the family/relatives of the 
victims; and

4. The Philippine Government to be reminded that it is a signatory of the 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and that it is also a party to all 
the major Human Rights instruments, thus it is bound to observe all of its 
provisions.

You may send your communications to:

H.E. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President of the Republic
Malacanang Palace,
JP Laurel St., San Miguel
Manila Philippines
Voice: (+632) 564 1451 to 80
Fax: (+632) 742-1641 / 929-3968
Cell#: (+ 63) 919 898 4622 / (+63) 917 839 8462
E-mail: corres at op.gov.ph / opnet at ops.gov.ph

Hon. Teresita Deles
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process
7F Agustin Building I
Emerald Avenue
Pasig City, Philippines
Voice: (+632) 636 0701 to 0766
Fax: (+632) 638 2216
Email: palaka at pacific.net.ph

Hon. Eduardo R. Ermita
Secretary, Department of National Defense
Camp Emilio Aguinaldo
E. de los Santos Avenue,
Quezon City, Philippines
Voice: (+632) 912-9281
Fax: (+632) 911 6213

Hon. Purificacion Valera Quisumbing
Chairperson, Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., UP Complex
Commonwealth Avenue
Diliman, Quezon City
Philippines
Fax: (+632) 929 0102
Email: drpvq at chr.gov.ph

Please send us a copy of your email/mail/fax to the said government 
official to our address below.

URGENT ACTION Prepared by:

KARAPATAN (Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights)-National Office
43 Masikap St. Barangay Pinyahan, Quezon City 1100 PHILIPPINES
Voice: (+632) 435 4146 / Fax: (+632) 928 6078
Emails: <krptn at philonline.com.ph> / karapatan at edsamail.com.ph
Website: www.karapatan.org



Fátima Lasay http://digitalmedia.upd.edu.ph/digiteer/