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Melissa Roxas, member of BAYAN-USA and the cultural group Habi Arts in Los Angeles, California, returned to the country on July 20 to face head on those who abducted and tortured her and her two companions and pursue the cases she has filed against them. She attended a Court of Appeals hearing on her petition for a writ of amparo. She also testified before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the Committee on Human Rights of the House of Representatives regarding her abduction and torture.
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The regime has attempted to discredit the Filipino-American activist using the notorious butcher Jovito Palparan and anti-communist vigilante leader Pastor Alcover Jr.
Palparan and Alcover allege that it was the New Peoples Army (NPA) that abducted Roxas because she wanted to leave the revolutionary movement. Even the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) top brass and spokesperson joined the bandwagon. They wove a tall tale and presented video footage and photographs to back up their allegations.
Palparan and Alcover even went as far as to insinuate that Roxas' abduction and torture were justified because she is a member of the communist movement. According to the laughable script of these two lunatics, Roxas merely wants to tarnish the image of Gloria Arroyo's regime.
Roxas, however, consistently and firmly denies these accusations.
Palparan and Alcover are singing the same tune sung by Malacañang and the AFP when news first broke on Roxas' abduction and torture--that what happened to her was "fabricated" and "stage-managed". These actions only further highlight the Arroyo regime's long time practice of washing its hands of the abduction, torture and death of numerous activists, heaping the blame on the victims themselves and hurling accusations at the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New Peoples Army (NPA).
See video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLjpwgaV5NY
Atty. Leila de Lima, CHR chair, stated, however, that even if that truly is Roxas in the video, the main issue is her abduction and torture and not her political affiliations.
Despite the Arroyo regime's attempts to discredit and silence her, Roxas remains steadfast in her decision to tell the truth and seek justice for herself and other victims of human rights violations.
Roxas also filed cases against Gloria Arroyo before the US State Department and the office of Prof. Manfred Nowak, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture.
http://www.philippinerevolution.net/cgi-bin/ab/text.pl?issue=20090807;lang=eng;article=10
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLjpwgaV5NY
Original: PHILIPPINES: Melissa Roxas' fighting stance against Arroyo regime