CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Allies of Dutch missionary Wilhelmus “Willem” Geertman, who was shot dead here on July 3 last year, expressed outrage over the dismissal of their petition to regard his case as pre-meditated murder instead of mere robbery with homicide as alleged by the police.
The resolution by the Office of the City Prosecutor here was dated Dec. 27 last year, but was received by Geertman’s supporters only the other day.
The Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luson (AMGL), Anakpawis Partylist-Central Luzon and Justice for Willem Geertman Movement (J4WGM) said they would appeal the resolution to the prosecutor’s office, as they insisted that the case of Geertman was extra-judicial killing (EJK) and part of “Oplan Bayanihan,” the Aquino government’s counter-insurgency program.
Geertman was the executive director of Alay Bayan, Inc. (ABI), a service-oriented and disaster preparedness non-government organization when he was killed in the compound of his office in this city last year, after withdrawing cash from a bank.
The suspects, who were later identified in footages of a community video camera while fleeing on board a motorcycle, shot him as he knelt on the ground.
His colleagues noted that Geertman had also supported the struggle of Aurora farmers under Panlalawigang Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Aurora (Pamana Aurora) against being displaced by the Aurora economic zone project. He had also supported the Hacienda Luisita farmworkers’ struggle for land reform.
Geertman’s fiancee Aurora Santiago, after learning of the police’s filing of mere robbery with homicide case against the suspects, sought the case to be upgraded to pre-meditated murder by filing her own case which named the suspects.
Santiago’s legal counsel Edre Olalia who is secretary-general of National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), will ask the city prosecutor to reconsider the resolution.
AMGL chairman Joseph Canlas said yesterday Geertman’s supporters want the police to arrest immediately the suspects identified in Santiago’s complaint as Harold Dela Cruz and Marvin Marsan, both military men, as well as others involved in the killing.
“The prosecutors’ office should dig deeper so as to determine the assailants’ mastermind,” Canlas said.
“We refute the prosecutor’s resolution that Geertman’s case was mere robbery with homicide,” said Canlas, who is also co-convenor of the Justice for Willem Geertman Movement.
Canlas insisted that Geertman’s killing “was carefully planned and executed because of his active support and participation to the struggle of poor farmers, as well as campaign against mining in the region.”
He said “Geertman’s killing is part of the comprehensive attack of the Aquino government against the people’s democratic rights as extra-judicial killings remain unabated reaching to 137 cases as reported by Karapatan human rights group.”
The case of Geertman has caught public attention not only in the Philippines and his native country the Netherlands, but also in New Zealand, Hong Kong, Canada and US.
In November last year, Geertman’s family and Santiago, petitioned the Dutch Parliament to pressure the Philippine government to thoroughly investigate his killing while Anakpawis Partylist Rep. Rafael Mariano filed a House Resolution No. 2551 urging the Committee on Human Rights to conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation on the killing of Geertman.
