Philippines: Community Leader is being Harassed over Seeking Justice for Land Rights
Event- Country
- Philippines
- Event Description
URGENT APPEAL CASE DETAILS: Rolando Martinez is the incumbent Barangay Captain of Barangay Sumalo, Hermosa, Bataan. Since 2009, Martinez has been leading the fight against Riverforest Development Corporation whose personnel have allegedly been harassing residents and farmers in relation to the Litton Estate land dispute. Martinez has been helping the residents of his barangay, particularly on legal matters, both as a barangay captain and as a farmer and resident himself. Martinez has also been the target of harassments. In 2010 and again in 2013, trumped-up charges were filed against him: grave threat, two counts of grave coercion, grave misconduct, falsification, damages, ejectment, injunction, reinvigatoria, and estafa. Martinez has also received threats to his life which started also in 2009 at the height of the land dispute. He frequently received ambiguous text messages sent from different numbers. He was also visited a couple of times by an unidentified who was said to have been the Litton family's hired assassin. (This alleged hired assassin was ambushed and killed on the same year). Just recently around August (cannot remember exact date), while Martinez was travelling to Quezon City from Hermosa, Bataan to follow up the complaints they filed at the Commission of Human Rights (CHR), he noticed that at least two men were following him. Martinez took the Genesis bus to the SM North jeepney terminal where the men also alighted. He was also surprised when the men followed him to the restroom and stood by the door. When Martinez came out of the restroom, the men followed him until Philcoa, riding the same jeep. Martinez decided to cancel his trip to CHR and just returned home to Hermosa, Bataan. CASE BACKGROUND: �_ According to the members of Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Mamamayan ng Barangay Sumalo (SANAMABASU), they have been experiencing harassment from the Litton Family since 1991 when the Littons decided to withdraw their Voluntary Offer to Sell (VOS) and opted to apply for conversion of the land to industrial, commercial and residential use. �_ The farmers are the supposed beneficiaries of the land through the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). �_ Rolando Martinez is a member of SANAMABASU, a resident and also a farmer of Sumalo, Hermosa Bataan.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats
- Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Land rights
- HRD
- Community-based HRD
- Land rights defender
- Perpetrator-Non-State
- Non-state
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Event Location
Latitude: 12.879721
Longitude: 121.774017
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
Mr. Barangay Captain Rolando Martinez, a member of Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Mamamayan ng Barangay Sumalo (SANAMABASU), in Sumalo, Hermosa, Bataan has been experiencing harassments and other human rights violations such as trumped up charges and threats to safety and life since 2009. Martinez again recently experienced harassment in the form of intimidation - that during his work in following up cases filed at the Commission of Human Rights, Martinez was allegedly followed by two unidentified men who may be hired by the Litton family and that the deed has been done in relation to the ongoing land dispute between SANAMABASU and Riverforest Development Corporation