The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case of Mr. Crispin Beltran, Mr. Saturnino Ocampo, Mr. Joel Virador, Mr. Teodoro Casiño, Ms. Liza Maza and Mr. Rafael Mariano, incumbent members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/180/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 179th session (October 2006),

Referring to the preliminary statement of the Committee's delegation following its mission to the Philippines from 18 to 21 April 2007, shortly before the 116th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Recalling the following information on file:

• Mr. Beltran was arrested on 25 February 2006 in the absence of any legally valid arrest warrant and a charge of sedition, followed later by three charges of rebellion, were brought against him: he has been kept in detention despite his poor health on the grounds that rebellion is a continuing and non-bailable offence; he has been transferred to the Philippine Heart Centre, where he is in police custody and under surveillance; the other parliamentarians concerned, who were also charged with rebellion, escaped arrest and were granted "protective custody" by the House of Representatives from 27 February to 4 May 2006, when the charge was dismissed;

• However, on 11 May 2006 a new charge was brought against them; ruling on their petition for certiorari, on 5 June 2006 the Supreme Court issued a Status Quo Order commanding and directing the Department of Justice, the State prosecutors and the Police to maintain the status quo and refrain from conducting any further preliminary investigation pending further orders from the Court; on 22 August 2006, the judge in the case consequently suspended proceedings against Mr. Ocampo, Mr. Virador, Mr. Casiño, Ms. Maza and Mr. Mariano; however, this decision does not concern Mr. Beltran owing to an earlier court decision finding probable cause regarding one of the three rebellion charges brought against him; a motion for reconsideration of that decision was rejected on 29 August 2006 on the grounds that rebellion was a continuing and non-bailable offence, and a petition for certiorari and prohibition also seeking his release on bail is pending before the Supreme Court;

• On several occasions, Mr. Ocampo had difficulties travelling abroad, his name having been put on a "watch list" by the Secretary of Justice, most recently on 28 October 2006, when the Secretary of Justice required him to sign an undertaking not to criticize President Arroyo; Mr. Ocampo considered this an infringement of his right to freedom of expression and refused, and it was only the following day, after Mr. Ocampo had secured a written court order allowing him to travel abroad, that he was allowed to leave;

• elections are due to be held in the Philippines on 14 May 2007; the National Security Advisor has reportedly stated publicly that he would do his utmost to secure the disqualification of the political parties to which the parliamentarians concerned belong,

• On 6 March 2007, a regional trial court found probably cause against Mr. Ocampo and issued an arrest warrant for him on a charge of multiple murder more than 20 years ago in Leyte; on 16 March 2007, Mr. Ocampo was arrested and remained in detention until 3 April 2007, when the Supreme Court, acting on Mr. Ocampo's petition to annul the regional trial court decision, ordered his release on a cash bond of 100,000 pesos, on the ground that the indictment was defective; the case is pending;

• In February 2007, petitions were filed with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for cancellation of registration of the political parties to which the parliamentarians concerned belong, namely Bayan Muna, Anakpawis and Gabriela; they are based on complaints by the two widows whose husbands were allegedly killed on their orders, as members of the Communist Party of the Philippines; their case is pending for resolution before Comelec,

1. Expresses its sincere thanks to the Philippine authorities, and in particular to the parliamentary authorities, for having received and fully cooperated with the Committee's mission;

2. Thanks the delegation for its work, notes with interest its preliminary statement, and looks forward to receiving its full report;

3. Is highly gratified that, following the IPU delegation's representation, the Government's national security cluster decided not to oppose Mr. Beltran's temporary release pending trial, and looks forward to his release very soon;

4. Nevertheless remains concerned, in the light of the delegation's preliminary statement and the evidence already on file, not only at the charges brought against the parliamentarians concerned, for the reasons set out in its previous resolution, but also at the attempts to criminalize their political parties and to obtain their exclusion from the political process on highly spurious and questionable grounds;

5. Trusts that the Supreme Court will rule as quickly as possible on the petitions pending before it regarding the rebellion and murder charges against the parliamentarians concerned; urges Comelec to consider the petitions for cancellation of the political parties in question as a matter of urgency and to resolve them in line with human rights and democratic principles;

6. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the authorities and the parliamentarians concerned;

7. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 117th Assembly (October 2007).

The delegation wishes first of all to express its deep gratitude to the authorities of the Philippines with whom it met for their hospitality and cooperation. Its thanks also go to both Houses of Parliament, which ensured the smooth conduct of the mission. Thanks to their efforts, the delegation was able to meet with all the authorities the Committee had requested to see and the parliamentarians concerned themselves, including Mr. Crispin Beltran in the Philippine Heart Center. It wishes to stress that the delegation encountered no obstacles whatsoever to visiting him for the length of the time it considered appropriate.

One of the IPU's main concerns in this case, as it happens, is the continuing detention of Mr. Beltran. The delegation raised this question in particular with the Secretary of Justice and the National Security Advisor. As a result, the national security cluster in the Government decided that it would no longer oppose Mr. Beltran's release pending trial. This decision was publicly announced. However, the Solicitor General still has to manifest this decision formally to the Supreme Court, before which an urgent motion for Mr. Beltran's release is pending. The delegation wishes to thank the National Security Advisor for his efforts to raise the issue within the national security cluster, and trusts that Mr. Beltran will be released pending trial at the earliest possible time.

The second concern which the delegation raised with the authorities related to the charges brought against the parliamentarians concerned. The authorities affirmed that they were being prosecuted on account of their membership of the Communist Party, which advocated violence and aimed at the violent overthrow of the Government, and that they were involved in such criminal activities. It appeared to the delegation that the statements, in particular of the governmental and prosecuting authorities, revealed a presumption of guilt on their part. The delegation was unable to dispel the IPU's concern that the charges, which are broad and unsubstantiated and based on questionable evidence, in addition to the sequence of the various prosecution steps, tend to demonstrate that non-legal motives may underlie the prosecution of the parliamentarians concerned.

This impression is reinforced by various other efforts of the Secretary of Justice to lay charges against the parliamentarians concerned and to obtain their exclusion from the political process:

• a multiple murder charge was brought in March 2007 against Mr. Ocampo and served as the basis for his arrest. The Supreme Court released him on bail although murder is a non-bailable offence, which likewise tends to show that the prosecution presented a weak case;

• a petition for cancellation of registration of the political parties to which the parliamentarians concerned belong was filed before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in February 2007 and is based on the complaint of two widows whose husbands, they claim, were murdered on the orders of the parliamentarians concerned. The delegation was told that no police investigation was being carried out in this regard, let alone any judgment being rendered. The delegation believes that a petition for cancellation of registration based on a complaint of murder against individuals cannot serve as a ground for disqualifying a political party. Pending the resolution of this case by Comelec, an asterisk attached on the electoral list to the political parties concerned reminds voters that disqualification proceedings are pending. Although the member of Comelec with whom the delegation met stated that the asterisk would be removed from the ballots, the delegation learned that electoral lists with the asterisk had already been distributed to Philippine voters abroad. The delegation finds this procedure questionable since it may seriously prejudice the political parties concerned.

• The delegation notes that the criminal cases against the parliamentarians concerned are pending before the Supreme Court, and it has no doubt whatsoever that the Court will examine these cases in a fully independent manner and as quickly as possible.

Nusa Dua, 3 May 2007

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