A month after attaché’s murder, STATE WORKERS PRESS FOR JUSTICE, CONDEMN WHITEWASH ATTEMPT

Submitted by courage_phil on Sat, 09/12/2009 - 05:55.

The
co-employees of Social Welfare Attache Finardo G. Cabilao and leaders of the
militant national center of government employees COURAGE reiterated their
demand for justice for the slain diplomat and decry what they claimed as an
apparent attempt to cover-up the truth behind his death. 

At the
weekly Kapihan sa Cypress, the Social Welfare Employees Association of the
Philippines-DSWD (SWEAP-DSWD), the union of the employees of DSWD, said “a
month has already passed and the Philippine government’s inaction has not only
delayed justice but its ‘wait and see attitude’ is providing the fertile ground
for a probable whitewash of the case. Exactly what is happening now”.   

The union
is referring to an article published in The Star online on September 5, 2009, where
Malaysian authorities alleged that Cabilao “was
killed by a man he was having a homosexual relationship with”, ruling out
even without concrete bases the fact many believed that he was murdered by a
syndicate involved in human trafficking. Cabilao, 52, was bludgeoned to death
with signs of torture on August 5, at his Casa Ria Apartment in Taman Maluri, Malaysia.

“Our
colleague has been murdered not just once, twice but three times. It is
condemnable that the Malaysian authorities are trying to cover-up the case and
yet our government is doing nothing to protect the integrity of a Filipino
diplomat slain abroad in the course of protecting his countrymen against
abuse”, Amada Dimaculangan, SWEAP-DSWD Central Office President said.       

COURAGE
National President Ferdinand Gaite added that the Arroyo administration should
have registered a strong statement to the Malaysian government against the
untimely release of the news report even if the official investigation has yet
to be concluded. Or our government could have ordered its own investigation.

“We have
reasons to believe that there is a grand conspiracy to cover-up the truth
because there’s more to it than meets the eye. At the onset, the Malaysian
authorities and the Dep’t. of Foreign Affairs are in unison in claiming that
his death was not work-related. Cabilao was in Malaysia because of his work. He
was deployed there as a social welfare attaché and the government has the
responsibility to protect and defend the rights and lives of every Filipinos
abroad. Only a lame duck government would not”.

“To us,
Cabilao is a genuine public servant, a bayaning kawani, who has given up
his life for the sake of his countrymen who fell prey to trafficking because of
their government’s failure to provide them with decent jobs in our country. His
sacrifice would be for naught if we will remain silent and allow them to
trample his memory and what he died for”.

The group
is pushing for the swift dispensation of justice by pressuring the government
to send diplomatic protest to Malaysia,
order an independent investigation and ensure adequate protection to all civil
servants deployed abroad. A mass is set to be held for Cabilao at DSWD by the
SWEAP-DSWD on September 16 and a march rally at the DFA on his 40 days.
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