NDFP International Information Office
[ Utrecht, The Netherlands ] “The government of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is so desperate to conceal its bloodied hands that it has resorted to duping a 60-year old mother with failing eyesight into signing a statement pointing to the New People’s Army as the killer of her daughter, Maricel “Macel” Alave Vigo and her son-in-law George Vigo,” stated Fidel Agcaoili, chairperson of the Human Rights Committee of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
NDFP International Information Office
[ Utrecht, The Netherlands ] “The government of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is so desperate to conceal its bloodied hands that it has resorted to duping a 60-year old mother with failing eyesight into signing a statement pointing to the New People’s Army as the killer of her daughter, Maricel “Macel” Alave Vigo and her son-in-law George Vigo,” stated Fidel Agcaoili, chairperson of the Human Rights Committee of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
Last June 20, the day after the killings of the Vigo couple, then Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Arturo Lomibao personally handed Mrs. Norma Alave a check worth 10,000 pesos, signed by Arroyo herself, after which she was asked to sign papers supposedly establishing the fact that she is the mother of Macel Vigo.
But the police took advantage of the failing eyesight of Mrs. Alave and what she actually signed was a statement pointing to Jonever Madanguit, supposedly a former member of the NPA now under the custody of the military, as the killer of her daughter and son-in-law. When Mrs. Alave’s son found out the true content of the document, she retracted the signed statement and said that she never knew Madanguit.
Macel and George Vigo were media practitioners and human rights activists from Kidapawan, Mindanao. They were murdered on 19 June 2006 by two men on a motorcycle. Their murders once again validate the fact that the Philippines is now considered by international media organizations as the world’s most dangerous place for journalists, even surpassing war-torn Iraq.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has gained international notoriety for the number of extra-judicial killings perpetrated by her regime, including her military and police. International Fact-finding missions including that of Amnesty International, World Council of Churches, International Federation of Journalists and Lawyers for Lawyers have pointed to a pattern and systematic persecution of groups and individuals critical of the government,” said Agcaoili.
According to Agcaoili, the whitewashing of the investigations into the killings, the intimidation and even bribery by the Macapagal-Arroyo regime and her military and police of the surviving victims, their families and witnesses, will not stop their cry for justice, which will be rendered by the people. [NDFP-IIO]
