PHILIPPINES: Anti-Dam Farmer Victim of Extra-Judicial Killing

Human Rights Ambassador William Nicholas Gomes contacts Philippine President over activist's murder.

Margarito Cabal was murdered on 6 May 2012

(SALEM) - A political land activist who was also a city utility worker, was shot dead in the Philippines.

Margarito Cabal opposed the construction of a hydro-electric dam that threatens to leave 22 villages submerged under water. It was no secret that he was under surveillance, but his murder left people shocked and sickened.

When political activists like Margarito Cabal are snuffed out in cold blood over political opposition, it is worse than Murder; this type of behavior kills hope and sends the message that speaking out over injustice all too often leads to a bullet in the chest. It is tragic considering that all too often, hope is all people in third-world regions have.

The needs of businesses should never be placed above human needs in any respect, and when it leads to criminal behavior, all parties involved should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. To not do this is shameful; it gives the world the impression that government does not place a substantial value on the lives of its own citizens.

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May18, 2012 Mr. Benigno Aquino III President Republic of the Philippines Malacanang Palace JP Laurel Street, San Miguel Manila 1005 PHILIPPINES Fax: +63 2 736 1010 Dear Mr. Benigno Aquino III, I am William Nicholas Gomes, Human Rights Ambassador for Salem News.com. I am writing to draw your attention about the killing of Margarito Cabal, a utility worker who worked for the Municipal government of Kibawe, Bukidnon. I have learned that Cabal’s murder was a result of his advocacy opposing the construction of a dam, the Hydro-Electric Dam. The dam threatens to submerge 22 villages, including the land, small farms and communities of the indigenous peoples. The Tumaras village, where Cabal’s family resides, will also be affected by the dam. Unidentified gunmen shot dead Cabal on 9 May 2012 at 6:30pm at his rented house in Palma village, Kibawe. He was shot as he was parking his motorcycle close to his house. The attackers were riding a red motorcycle with no number plate. The driver was wearing a helmet and black jacket and the gunman wore a ski mask, dark jacket and denim pants. Cabal was taken to the nearest hospital, but was declared dead on arrival. Cabal sustained three gunshot wounds on the chest, and one to the back from a .45 calibre pistol. Prior to his murder, Cabal has already been the object of an overt surveillance. In April 2012, he had informed his colleagues that he noticed a police vehicle following him. At another occasion, the police riding the vehicle had directed their flashlight at his boarding house. On 6 May, men onboard a motorcycle were seen near the victim’s boarding house in Palma village. Also, he was suspected of having alleged connections with the rebel group for the simple reason that he had been going to the hinterland villages of Kibawe that the military had reportedly labelled as rebel areas. I have been informed that in his death, the rural sectors of Bukidnon spearheaded by the Bukidnon Farmers’ Association (KASAMA-BUKIDNON) expressed condemnation of the incident. The group said that they shall remain unfazed by Cabal’s death and that they shall thwart all attempts to weaken their organization’s unity in the struggle for genuine land reform and against development aggression. I urge you to ensure that an investigation be conducted in his murder. Also, the witnesses and family of the victim should also be guaranteed with adequate security and protection to ensure they would have possibility of obtaining remedies should they decide to take legal action. I trust that you will take appropriate action in these cases. Yours sincerely, William Nicholas Gomes Human Rights Ambassador for Salem News.com www.williamgomes.org

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Salem-News.com Human Rights Ambassador William Nicholas Gomes is a Bangladeshi journalist, human rights activist and author was born on 25 December, 1985 in Dhaka. As an investigative journalist he wrote widely for leading European and Asian media outlets.

He is also active in advocating for free and independent media and journalists’ rights, and is part of the free media movement, Global Independent Media Center – an activist media network for the creation of radical, accurate, and passionate telling of the truth. He worked for Italian news agency Asianews.it from year 2009 to 2011, on that time he was accredited as a free lance journalist by the press information department of Bangladesh. During this time he has reported a notable numbers of reports for the news agency which were translated into Chinese and Italian and quoted by notable number of new outlets all over the world.He, ideologically, identifies himself deeply attached with anarchism. His political views are often characterized as “leftist” or “left-wing,” and he has described himself as an individualist anarchist.