Philippines to investigate possible syphillis among displaced Mindanao women

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 2, 2010) - Health experts in the Philippines will launch a six-month study to ascertain the presence of syphilis among displaced pregnant women in Mindanao, according to the United Nation's Integrated Regional Information Networks.

"This will conclude whether we are dealing with syphilis, yaws, or a combination of the two," Gerard Belimac, manager of the country's national AIDS/STI prevention and control programme, told IRIN.

The move follows a report by Médecins Sans Frontières Switzerland last year that 25.5 percent of women undergoing antenatal and post-natal care had tested positive for treponematosis, a group of non-venereal infections, as well as the bacterium Treponema pallidum, which causes syphilis.

The study will focus on priority areas of Maguindanao and North Cotabato provinces where high rates were reported. Participants - including 900 pregnant women and 200 of their husbands - will be provided with syphilis screening, counselling and treatment if necessary, Belimac said.

Scheduled to begin next month, the study is a joint effort of the Department of Health, the UN Population Fund, the World Health Organization and the UN Children's Fund.

Comprehensive planning on plight of refugees needed — UN mission

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines - Comprehensively planned efforts are needed to address the nagging plight in refuge centers of conflict-affected villagers and end the cyclical evacuation in this oft-embattled province, according to a United Nations mission.

“We have yet to develop a good plan for the internally displaced persons in the region,” said Australian Counselor Neil McFarlane of a United Nations team, who visited evacuation centers here and in nearby Maguindanao towns on March 25.

McFarlane, head of a 12-member UN-Office of the Commission on Humanitarian Aid visiting mission, said that “so much has yet to be done” to restore to normal the life of thousands of evacuees housed in evacuation centers in this province and other troubled spots of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.”

It was learned that the UN-OCHA delegation was tasked to conduct actual inspections of refuge centers and recommend interventions that would hasten the return of evacuees to their places of origin under better economic status.

McFarlane was accompanied by Geert Vansistjan of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Michael Curtis – head of Sector DG ECHO 01; French Permanent Mission Jean Paul Seytre; Suzanne Loughlin – New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Oystein Lyngroth – Norway Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Emma Leonard – Ireland Irish Aid; Nance Kyloh – USAID; Gi Domingo – AusAID; and Nick Horne, Carmen Van Heese and Akiko Yoshida, all of OCHA.

The group visited three evacuation centers here where its partner agency, the World Food Program, distributed its last batch of rice loaded in 11 delivery trucks for distribution to some 11,752 evacuees who have recently returned home after their respective areas were cleared by government forces of Muslim rebels.

Each evacuee-family of five received five kilos of rice and a kilo of mongo seeds during the visit, WFP National Program Officer Michael Argonza said.

Over 33,000 individuals were displaced in at least 11 towns of Maguindanao, including this town, following the outbreak of conflict between military and Moro Islamic Liberation Front forces in August 2008.

The conflict stemmed from a Supreme Court decision junking an ancestral domain deal drafted by government and MILF peace negotiators to pave the way for the inclusion of some 700 villages in an expanded ARMM area to be called Bangsamoro Judicial Entity.

Records provided by the ARMM’s Department of Social Welfare and Development said that as of March 23, at least 16,131 individuals are still staying in various evacuation shelters in Maguindanao. (Ali Macabalang)

UN urges Manila to fully investigate Maguindanao massacre

A member of Philippine Army’s Task Force Davao inspects a passenger bus bound to Cotabato City from Davao City in Mindanao. The tight security came after 57 people, including more than two dozen journalists who were accompanying political campaigners, were brutally killed by supporters of a rival faction in Maguindanao province. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Geo Solmerano)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / November 28, 2009) – The United Nations urged the Philippine government to fully investigate the brutal slaying of 57 people, including more than two dozen journalists, in the southern province of Maguindanao.

“This monstrous crime must not go unpunished,” said Irina Bokova, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Bokova urged the Arroyo government to carry out a full and swift investigation into the murderous attack which occurred on November 23.
The UNESCO is the only United Nations agency with a mandate to defend freedom of expression and press freedom.

“I condemn this outrage and urge the Government of the Philippines to act swiftly, using all the resources at its disposal to bring the perpetrators to justice.

“The barbaric killings of the people in the convoy – journalists and citizens alike – were clearly an attack against democracy and democratic processes. Furthermore, the killing of journalists violates the rights of the Philippine people to be freely and fairly informed of political developments,” she added.

The journalists were traveling in a convoy with the wife and relatives and supporters of Buluan town vice mayor Esmael Mangudadatu in Maguindanao’s Shariff Aguak town when they were held by more than 100 gunmen from a rival faction and herded to a remote hillside where they were executed.

Reporters Without Borders said at least 29 journalists were among those killed, but as many as 34 were believed in the convoy.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon earlier deplored the massacre and called on President Arroyo to hold the perpetrators accountable.
A key suspect in the murders, Andal Ampatuan Jnr., the mayor of Ampatuan town, surrendered to Filipino authorities on Thursday.

Ampatuan is the son of Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Snr., and brother of Zaldy Ampatuan, the governor of the Muslim autonomous region to which the province belongs. They are political allies of Arroyo, but Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said the two governors and five other clan members are also suspects in the brutal slayings because of their alleged participation before and after the attack.

The young Ampatuan denied masterminding the massacre and blamed the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels for the killings, an allegation rejected by the authorities, after many witnesses surfaced from hiding and allegedly pointed to the mayor as the leader of band that abducted and murdered the 57 people.

Those killed were buried in two mass graves, including the wreckage of two private cars and a media van, where at least four mangled bodies had been pulled out. A backhoe owned by the Maguindanao provincial government was recovered in the area and was believed used to excavate the graves.

The Philippine military on Friday also relieved Major General Alfredo Cayton, chief of the 6th Infantry Division, and Colonel Medardo Geslani, commander of the 601st Infantry Brigade, for failing to prevent the gruesome killings and both are being investigated by the military.

Human rights activists also urged the police and the military to secure warrants from courts and search the mansions of the Ampatuans in Maguindanao province for illegal weapons after receiving reports that huge caches of firearms, munitions are allegedly being kept in arsenals inside the houses.

Arroyo placed Maguindanao under a state of emergency and security forces have taken control of the provincial capitol buildings and the town halls of Shariff Aguak and Ampatuan. Soldiers also dismantled 347 government militias under the control of the Ampatuan clan and recalled troops assigned with the politicians as bodyguards.

There were also allegations that some military commanders are under the payroll of the Ampatuans in exchange for providing them security and intelligence about their political opponents in the Muslim autonomous region.

A regional army spokesman, Colonel Jonathan Ponce, said the allegations were serious, but would leave it to investigators to verify the accusations. “These are serious accusations, but let us leave all these to the military investigators,” he said.

Ampatuan’s arrest came days after the murders amidst growing public demand for immediate and decisive governmental action to hold accountable the killers and mastermind.

Lawyer Leila de Lima, the head of the Philippines Commission on Human Rights, said the Ampatuan arrest raises more questions about what seems to be an overly cautious response by the Executive Department.

“There are many options available to the Executive. The arrest as the first of many interventions had, as many perceived, come rather slowly and we hope that the focus on filing murder charges against Ampatuan, Jr. does not remove attention from the other accountabilities of the government which must be addressed,” she said in a statement on Saturday.

De Lima noted that the most glaring omission, to date, is action upon the fact that the local officials, particularly the provincial and the regional governors remained silent when news of the massacre had leaked out.

She said as the local chief executives, both Ampatuans should have initiated the first interventions given that the killings occurred within their jurisdiction.

“The silence and inaction of the governor, together with the rest of the local officials and police, suggest complicity, if not implicitly condoning the crime. The Ampatuans in their role as regional governor, governor and mayor, failed to order the immediate investigation of the incident, failed to address the public outrage to dispel allegations and categorically deny their involvement in the killings.” De Lima said.

De Lima said Arroyo can at the very least demand an explanation from the two governors. She said the fact that a backhoe owned by the provincial government was found at the scene of the carnage and apparently used to dig the mass graves, gives impetus for Arroyo, by herself or through the Department of Interior and Local Government, to demand an explanation from the governor how public property could have been used to conceal such brutal and heinous acts requires an immediate explanation from the local government.

She apart from administrative charges, preventive suspensions, and criminal prosecutions, De Lima also proposed both the creation of an ad hoc, independent investigative commission and a more creative but yet unexplored use of the Rules on the Writ of Amparo.”

She said Maguindanao is mired in an atmosphere of impunity, the causes of which are not only traceable to the proliferation of warlords and private armies, but to systemic neglect by national authorities to control these private armies and their patrons.

De Lima said the independent commission can be composed of legal luminaries, former justices or jurists, members of the academe, nongovernmental organizations engaged in the advocacy against violence.

On the use of the Rule on the Writ of Amparo, De Lima said: “We can apply for the protections allowed under the Writ of Amparo for the purpose of protecting journalists, investigators and witnesses involved in the aftermath of the Maguindanao Massacre. We shall explore the possibility of employing it to banish, at least temporarily, the Ampatuans and others whose continued presence in Maguindanao and nearby areas poses a danger to those who may be instrumental in obtaining justice for those murdered.”

She said although the Rules on the Writ of Amparo have been used almost exclusively in cases of alleged killings and abductions perpetrated by state security forces, nothing suggests that they may not be used to secure the safety of journalists, investigators and witnesses involved in the Maguindanao massacre. (Mindanao Examiner)

NGO report exposes new danger faced by Filipino children

"On Human Rights Violations against Children."

MANILA, Philippines - The latest comprehensive report of a non-government organization dealing with psycho-social trauma of children victims of human rights violations exposed recent and new forms of human rights violations against children committed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in its counter-insurgency strategy of Oplan Bantay Laya 2 (OBL2).

The report presented by the Children’s Rehabilitation Center (CRC) at a media forum dubbed Children in the Frontlines: Protection vis-a-vis Participation Issues of Children in Communities today at the UP Balay Kalinaw, shows that in the recent two years, an increase in the trend of labeling of children victims of human rights violations by the AFP as child soldiers., “This is especially marked in the year 2008 where a series of cases of children were paraded by the AFP in front of the media as being child soldiers,” explained Ma. Esmeralda Macaspac, Executive Director of the CRC.

The CRC report asserted that the government’s OBL 2 has taken its toll on the Filipino children. Under the present administration, there 948 documented cases of children victims of human rights violations, while an estimate of about 2 million individuals have been affected by forced displacement due to armed conflict.

Rights of children-victims are further violated when they are presented by the AFP as child soldiers and cases of rebellion are filed against them “This is especially ironic in the face of global attempts by the United Nations, through the office of the Special Representative to the Secretary General on for Children and Armed Conflict Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, to strengthen protection mechanisms for children in situations of armed conflict. Yet, the reality on the ground is that children are becoming more vulnerable to human rights violations by the AFP,” highlighted Macaspac.

Invited to react on the report were the Commission on Human Rights, representatives from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the National Democratic Front and Rep. Luz Ilagan of the Gabriela Women’s Party.

Apart from revealing the extent of the violations, the report explained that the current broadened definition of child soldiers under the Paris Principles may be inapplicable to the Philippine context because of the nature and character of the revolutionary groups like the New People’s Army (NPA) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) where they operate widely in communities and undeniably enjoys support from the people.

Aside from mislabeling of children-victims as “child soldiers,” CRC also documented cases of children being accused as NPA guerrillas and forcibly being used by the military as guides in their operations and women and children being required to man checkpoints. “These practices put children in direct risk of harm and is precisely what International Humanitarian Law avoids by ensuring that civilians are not caught in the crossfire,” warned Macaspac.

The forum also highlighted an academic critique on the Paris Principles by the UP Contend (Confederation of Teachers and Educators for National Democracy).

It validated the conclusion of the CRC report that the Paris Principles may be considered as a “double-edged” sword that, while on the one hand broadens protection of children in armed conflict situation, on the other hand, also serves to make them more vulnerable to attacks in situations where the State itself is the main violator of children’s rights.

“In its more than 20 years of experience in serving children-victims, the CRC has reasons to conclude, by virtue of its documented experiences, that the GRP remains as the main violator of children’s rights, whether or not they are in armed conflict situations,” Macaspac concluded.

Children's Rights Groups To Submit Reports To UN Representative

MANILA, Philippines – The Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns launched its campaign Monday to highlight human rights violations against children as part of the build up for the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the upcoming visit of the United Nations Special Representative to the Secretary General (UNSRSG) on the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy.

“We want the general public to know that the Arroyo government has consistently failed to uphold the survival, protection, development and participation rights of Filipino children through its anti-people economic policies and political maneuvers,” Alphonse Rivera, spokesperson of the Salinlahi, said in a statement.

Salinlahi is an advocacy group for children’s rights and welfare in the Philippines.

The campaign, dubbed Children under Siege: Children-Victims of the US-Arroyo Regime’s War of Terror, will feature activities that will highlight human rights violations against children resulting from the government’s campaign.

Rivera said through this campaign, cases of children who were killed, wounded, tortured, illegally arrested and detained by the Armed Forces of the Philippines will be highlighted. Special attention will also be given to children victims of human rights violations who were falsely branded as child soldiers, according to Rivera.

“Our documentation shows that the Arroyo government, through its military and police, remains the number one violator of children’s human rights. What is worse is that the perpetrators escape accountability by branding their victims as “child soldiers”, thereby further perpetuating the culture of impunity,” said Maria Esmeralda Macaspac, executive director of the Child Rights Center (CRC), a non-government organization facilitating psycho-social help for children-victims of State violence and a member of the Salinlahi Alliance.

The CRC documented 66 cases of children killed, 50 children tortured, 55 illegally arrested and detained and 49 who were victims of frustrated killings, since Pres. Gloria Arroyo assumed presidency in 2001.

It said more than half a million children were victims of forced displacement since 2001, especially in the troubled region of Mindanao. The organization plans to submit a report to the UNSRSG which cites combined data of CRC and allied human rightsorganizations when she meets with child-focused NGOs as part of her itinerary.

The group said it may present children-victims of various types of human rights violations to the UNSRSG, including those who were falsely branded as child soldiers.

“The AFP should be made doubly accountable for their irresponsible practice oflabeling children victims of human rights violations as “child soldiers” andthen parading these children to the media. Despite the passing of the Juvenile Justice Law that aims to protect children from undue violation of their rights, we see this practice of branding and labeling as child soldiers increasingly being resorted to by the AFP. We cannot discount the trauma and stigma placed on these children victims,” Rivera said.

Also joining Salinlahi and CRC in the campaign are the Children for Peace Alliance, the Gabriela Women’s Party and GABRIELA.

Rivera said they are planning many activities beginning Monday up to Coomaraswamy’s departure after Human Rights Day. “We want to maximize every form and every opportunity we can have to give names, faces and voices to children victims of the war of terror that the Arroyo regime is waging against its people,” Rivera said.

Philippine Groups Urge UN, OIC To Intervene In Mindanao Conflict

Citizens and peace advocates appeal to the United Nations and the Organization of the Islamic Conference to mediate and intervene in the Muslim Mindanao long-aged conflict as they rally in the Islamic City of Marawi.

MANIFESTO CALLING ON THE UNITED NATIONS (UN) AND THE ORGANIZATION OF ISLAMIC CONFERENCE (OIC) TO INTERVENE AND MEDIATE TO END THE WAR IN MINDANAO AND INTERCEDE FOR THE JUST RESOLUTION OF THE BANGSAMORO STRUGGLE FOR THE RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION.

When, at the dawn of the high-tech, ultra civilized 21st century, the Bangsamoro finds itself still bereft of its inherent rights and freedoms as a distinct sovereign nation, stolen as they were, under cover of "civilizing" democracy by successive colonizers;

When, after many decades of so-called peace negotiations, the Bangsamoro people wakes up to the harsh truth of the abominable situation of sustained betrayal, manipulation, lying, cheating, and killing by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines;

When, today, the Bangsamoro is subjected to another cruel war by a government that abdicated democratic government, declaring the Bangsamoro as its subjects for protection yet waging atrocious war against it, this time, right after the exposure of its base insincerity in consummating the previously agreed upon and approved Memorandum of Agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD), executed by and between the government of the republic of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF);

When, today, the Bangsamoro cannot find any redeeming justification for the non-existence of genocidal intent in the acts of the government of the republic of the Philippines in 1) taking side with the notorious Ilonggo land grabbers association (Ilaga) and other land usurpers, all of whom have amassed wealth in Bangsamoro territories without consent nor participation of the Bangsamoro, and some of whom also wrested control of local governance and would own the whole of Bangsamoro homeland by systematically dispossessing the Bangsamoro, and 2) unleashing disproportionately massive military forces with heavy land and air artillery for pursuing two commanders of the MILF yet indiscriminately bombing and destroying communities and villages and deliberately sowing fear and terror to the populace resulting to the displacement of thousands and thousands of innocent civilians;

When, today, the acts of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines include the incomparably contemptible authorization and distribution of 13,000 arms to civilians, many recipients of whom are Ilaga adherents who desire above all to drive out the Moro people from their territories thereby exposing all pretensions to equal protection of its peoples by the GRP, as well as the scheme to instigate a genocidal civil war reminiscent of the dictator Marcos policy, to broad daylight;

When, today, despite the valiant resistance of Bangsamoro freedom fighters against an overwhelming war machinery and military operations of a colonial government and despite the perseverance of the great majority of the Bangsamoro to sustain and advance the struggle, the Bangsamoro civil society believes that the only remaining hope for immediate and just resolution of the conflict is in the existence of international organizations and entities sworn to maintain world peace and security by safeguarding human rights and peoples' rights and the promotion of conflict resolution through principled, just and peaceful means;

And when, today, we, the Bangsamoro multi-sectoral members of the civil populace of Lanao resolve to adhere to the hope and trust that these humanitarian organizations, appraised of a gross crime against humanity in our region of the world will come to the aid of the victims of this unjust war, the peace-loving Bangsamoro and Filipino civil populace, alike;

With solemn prayers that this appeal finds its niche in the hearts and minds of all peace-loving citizens and organizations of the humane world, we therefore call on the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Conference to jointly intervene in this Mindanao conflict, to mediate for the cessation of the war and to institute the just resolution of the grievous injustices to the Bangsamoro and their right to self-determination;

We call on the United Nations to investigate and determine the true cause and extent of the war and if the principles and purposes for which the UN exists still operates, to disregard the GRP assertion of the war as an internal affair or that the current imposition of war on the Bangsamoro is legitimate and instead afford protection of all peace-loving Bangsamoro and Filipino civil populace from the scourge of unjust war and especially to uphold and protect the Bangsamoro right to self-determination as guaranteed under UN declaration and international laws.

Issued this 2nd day of October, 2008 during the multi-sectoral Bangsamoro civil populace rally for peace at the Plaza Cabili, Islamic City of Marawi.

Speech of President Gloria Arroyo during the 63rd United Nations General Assembly

President Gloria Arroyo addresses the United Nations General Assembly. (Photo by Rey Baniquet)

Speech of President Gloria Arroyo during the 63rd United Nations General Assembly, UN Headquarters New York City, USA, September 23, 2008.

Senior Don Miguel d’ Escoto Brockmann, His Excellency, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, friends.

The developing world is at a tipping point. In the Philippines, we feel the pain of high prices of food, fuel and rice. Our people pursue the universal dream of a better life for themselves and their children: better education, better healthcare, higher wages, a dignified retirement.

We are proving the value of a new paradigm for self-reliance through the use of: first, a targeted strategy with a precise set of prescriptions to ease our price challenges; second, food self-sufficiency and more energy independence; and third, long-term reforms. This is a positive example we wish to share with the rest of the world.

Our gains in the last seven years were hard-earned. We made tough and sometimes painful decisions to reset our economy – tax increases, banking reforms, crackdown on smugglers, and tough fiscal discipline, to name a few.

Thankfully, these reforms have given us some running room to weather the first wave of global price shocks that reverberated across the world earlier this year.

It hasn’t been easy but Filipinos are tough and resilient. We have pulled together. We have been able to draw on additional revenues to provide targeted investments in food and fuel to keep our poor afloat until a better day.

But we are also realistic that we cannot do it alone. We need a strong UN as never before. We need rigorous international cooperation as never before.Economic uncertainty has moved like a tsunami around the globe, wiping away gains, erasing progress, not just here in Manhattan Island, but also in the many islands of the Philippines.

Just when we thought the worst had passed, the light at the end of the tunnel became an oncoming train hurtling forward with new shocks to the global financial system. The setbacks from these global shocks of the past year, and the past weeks, are real and profound. It will take time and perseverance to put the pieces back together.

To address these global challenges, we must go on building bridges among allies around the globe, to bring rice to where it is needed to feed the people; investments to create jobs, and keep the peace and stability in the world.

It is therefore timely that our Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has organized this year’s agenda around the impact of the global economy on the poor. He deserves our highest praise for his quick and decisive action on the global food crisis. His comprehensive framework for action involving the UN, donor countries, civil society and the private sector seeks to achieve food security through the right combination of policies, technologies and investments. This is a model of the United Nations in action.

Since the volatile global economies became apparent in its situation many months ago, in the Philippines, we have increased and stabilized the supply of rice and delivered targeted subsidies to the poor. We have reached out to neighbors like Vietnam and others in ASEAN and elsewhere to ensure a stable supply and affordable prices. We have clamped down on price gouging, and invested more billions in planting and agricultural modernization.

We have increased our energy independence by 17 percent through greater use of geothermal, bio-fuel and other renewable sources. We expect to attain 60 percent energy independence in two years.

Biofuels have been cited for being a positive factor for clean energy. At the same time, they have also been cited as a negative factor that contributes to high food prices. We are pursuing a policy of using non-food biofuel sources planted on land unusable for food production purposes. We see this approach as a way for countries to seek a sustainable balance between food and energy needs.

For food self-sufficiency, our food baskets are North Luzon – in our largest island – and the southern island of Mindanao. Mindanao has fields of the highest productivity, yet also the majority of our poorest provinces. It is a sad irony that our food basket has some of the highest hunger in our nation. The prime reason is the endless Mindanao conflict.

Our archipelago of 7,000 islands has had its share of religious strife, ethnic tension and violence. For years, we have worked to achieve peace in Mindanao. Much progress was made, until violent elements within the Moro Islamic Liberation Front decided to take the law into their own hands. We will restart the dialogue when the area is secure, our people are safe, and responsible elements in the MILF regain control.

There is no alternative to peace. I stand before you today, to declare loud and clear that we are committed to the process of peace in Mindanao.We gratefully acknowledge here today the central role of so many friends and allies, like the UN, Brunei, Indonesia, Libya, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and others in the Organization of the Islamic Conference; Australia, New Zealand, the US and other bilateral ODA partners; the UE and Sweden, all have played a big role in advancing peace and development in Mindanao.

We will refocus the peace talks for one that is centered on dialogues with rebels, for one of authentic dialogues with the communities. The context of our engagement with all armed groups shall subscribe to the UN-recognized principle of demobilization, disarmament and reintegration.
We maintain high hopes in interfaith dialogue as a means to build bridges rather than barriers between communities of different cultures and ethnicity. In continuation of this effort, the Philippines will host the first-ever special Ministerial Meeting on Interfaith Dialogue for Cooperation and Development in May next year.

We will also cooperate with the Alliance of Civilizations. We are also pleased that our Secretary General will join us in Manila during the Second Global Forum on Migration and Development.

Our Overseas Filipino Workers are true global pioneers. There isn’t a ship abroad that doesn’t have a Filipino crew, or a nation without highly skilled Filipino workers. The movement of people for one country to another will surely increase as globalization continues to erase borders. This should be recognized as having implications on the growth and development of both sending and receiving countries.

Mr. President, in many troubled places of our world, the UN is the last great hope for peace and security. For this reason, the Philippines contributes one of the largest police contingents to UN Peacekeeping Operations.

Mr. President, your leadership is more vital than ever. The Philippines will fully support you as you lead our General Assembly for the coming year.In conclusion, Mr. President and friends, there are hundreds of millions of good people across this globe who are struggling as never before.

We must hear their cry for help. It is within the collective power of the leaders at this UN Assembly to fulfill the universal dream of better education, better health, food on the table and a dignified life.

Thank you.

2 Philippine Rebels Killed In Latest Fighting

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 24, 2008) – At least two Philippine rebels were killed while two soldiers wounded in a clash in the southern island of Mindanao, a regional army spokesman said Wednesday.

Major Armando Rico said government troops clashed with members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in restive Maguindanao, one of six provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.

“Two enemies were killed in the fighting and two soldiers are also wounded,” Rico told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said fighting erupted in the village of Daplawan in the town of Datu Saudi Ampatuan on Tuesday and lasted for several hours. Clashes also broke out in Muslimin village in the neighboring town of Guindulungan after government soldiers intercepted MILF reinforcement.

Provincial and regional government officials gave no statements about the continuing fighting, but tens of thousands of villagers have already fled their homes since last month after security and rebel forces engaged in fierce gun battles despite a cease-fire agreement and ongoing peace talks.

Just last week, the military said MILF forces led by Abdul Usman Basit and Abas Awab raided a village in Maguindanao’s Mamasapano town and torched houses and small government buildings.

It said Basit has links with the Indonesian terror group Jemaah Islamiya and is wanted both by the Filipino and US governments for his role in the spate of bombings in the troubled region. Washington offered up to $50,000 for information leading to Usman's capture.

The MILF has strongly denied it was behind the arson attacks and blamed government soldiers as behind it as part of propaganda hate campaign against the rebel group, which is fighting for a Muslim homeland in Mindanao.

Manila said it would ask the United Nations to declare about a dozen MILF leaders, tagged as behind deadly attacks in Mindanao, as terrorists. Among them Ameril, Abdurahman Macapaar and Sulayman Panglian who led a series of deadly attacks in North Cotabato, Lanao del Norte and Sarangani provinces after the aborted signing of the Muslim homeland deal in August.

President Gloria Arroyo has scrapped the territorial agreement with the MILF and abolished the government panel negotiating peace with the rebels. She also demanded the MILF to surrender the wanted commanders and for the rebel group to lay down their weapons before peace talks could resume.

The MILF flatly rejected Arroyo’s demand and warned that a bigger war could erupt in the southern Philippines after the Ramadan, Islam’s holy month, if Manila continues attacking rebel forces in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippine Military Accused MILF Of Using Child Soldiers In Mindanao

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El Secretario General De La ONU Pidió Que Se Proteja A La Población Civil De Mindanao

Los civiles huyen de batalla como tropas rebeldes musulmanes en el norte de la provincia de Cotabato. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

FILIPINAS (Diario de Manila / 13 de agosto de 2008) - El Secretario General de la ONU, Ban Ki-Moon, pidió hoy que se proteja a la población civil de Mindanao, una zona del sur de Filipinas afectada por la crisis humanitaria resultante de décadas de conflicto.

Tras expresar su preocupación por las condiciones de vida de los filipinos de esa zona, Ban indicó que como consecuencia de los recientes enfrentamientos entre rebeldes musulmanes y el ejército cerca de 130.000 civiles se han desplazado en los últimos días, poniendo en riesgo sus vidas y sus medios de subsistencia.

En este contexto, el titular de la ONU exhortó a la calma y solicitó que se proteja a la población civil y se garantice el acceso irrestricto de asistencia humanitaria a los afectados.

Agregó que los organismos de Naciones Unidas están listos para apoyar los esfuerzos del gobierno por satisfacer las necesidades de la población.

Por su parte, el Programa Mundial de Alimentos (PMA) anunció hoy que distribuirá asistencia humanitaria a las comunidades afectadas por los enfrentamientos.

La intención del PMA es repartir 400 toneladas de arroz entre 96.000 personas durante un mes en el área de conflicto.

UN Rapporteur Tinawag Na Bulag, Pipi At Bingi!

MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 21 Mar) – Maituturing umanong bulag, pipi at bingi si United Nations special rapporteur Philip Alston habang walang tigil ang mga opisyal ng pamahalaang Arroyo na batikusin ito dahil sa kanyang pagkakaugnay sa militar sa patuloy na extrajudicial killings sa bansa.

Ipinahayag ito ngayon ni Defense Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane sa paniniwalang hindi rin papansinin ni Alston ang paglutang bilang mga buhay ng dalawang sinasabing biktima ng political killings base sa listahan ng grupong Karapatan.

Wala aniya silang magagawa kung sarado na rin ang utak ng international community at ni Alston sa rekord at akusasyon ng mga militanteng grupo sa bansa.

"Ayaw pansinin ni Alston yun (listahan). Pagka-ganun ang pinapabigay mo kay Alston, ano sya, bulag, pupi, bingi. Wala tayong magagawa," ani Ebdane.

Binanggit nito na nagbago rin ang paniniwala ngayon sa international community, ang isang tao aniya ay idedeklarang guilty hanggat hindi napapatunayang inosente.

Samantala, naniniwala si Ebdane na hindi naging epektibo ang propaganda ng mga maka-kaliwang grupo matapos na iabswelto ng Commission on Human Rights (CHR) si retired Major General Jovito Palparan at ang kanyang mga dating tauhan hinggil sa political killings. Gayunman, hindi pa nababasa ni Ebdane ang report ng CHR.

Sinabi naman ni Defense Undersecretary at department spokesman Ernesto Carolina na hindi nito pinagdudahan si Palparan sa harap ng kaliwat-kanang pagdidiin sa kanya.

"We never doubted General Palparan… Has he not retired, he would still be serving now in the same area," ani Carolina.

Una nang inulan ng paratang si Palparan hingil sa paglabag sa karapatang pantao mula sa kanyang pagiging lider ng militar sa Mindoro, sa Eastern Visayas hanggang bilang kumander ng 7th Infantry Division sa Central Luzon.

Kaliwa’t-kanan kung tirahin sa Alston dahil sa kanyang pahayag, ngunit hindi naman mababago ng mga batikos ang kanyang finding ng magtungo sa bansa nuong upang imbestigahan ang political killings sa Pilipinas. (Juley Reyes)

Amnesty International Testifies In US Probe On RP Killings

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, US SENATE HEARING TESTIMONY ON PHILIPPINES EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS

March 14, 2007

Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines Strategies to End the Violence

Thank you Madam Chair and distinguished members of this committee. Amnesty is pleased to testify at this important hearing.

For several years political killings in the Philippines have been of serious concern to Amnesty International which has issued reports, urgent actions and news releases to highlight the gravity of the situation. We also met with Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, President of the Republic of the Philippines, on September 14, 2006 to raise these concerns.

It is disturbing to note that, even though hundreds have been killed so far, to date there has not been a single conviction. The political killings are continuing in the Philippines, and even yesterday a witness to the UN envoy was gunned down. Amnesty International is concerned that the Government's declaration of "all-out war" on communism paves the way for further increases in killings."

Summary

The number of attacks on leftist activists and community workers rose sharply during the last couple of years. Most of the attacks were carried out by unidentified assailants on motorcycles, at times wearing face masks, who were often described as "vigilantes" or hired killers allegedly linked to Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). In some cases, those attacked had reportedly been under surveillance by people linked to the security forces or had received death threats.
Those most at risk include members of legal leftist political parties, including Bayan Muna (People First) and Anakpawis (Toiling Masses), other human rights and community activists, priests, church workers, and lawyers regarded by the authorities as sympathetic to the broader communist movement.

Increased killings in particular provinces during President Arroyo's Administration were reportedly linked to the public labelling of leftist groups as National People's Army's "front organizations" by the local AFP Commanders.

A climate of impunity shielding the perpetrators of such killings deepened as ineffective investigations failed to lead to the prosecution of those responsible. In many cases witnesses were reportedly too frightened to testify.

Most of the victims were not even members of armed groups, even though they may have sympathised with their ideology. It is a matter of importance for everyone in the Philippines that individuals should be able to affiliate with the political party or group of their choice and not be subject to politically motivated violence as a result.

Who is responsible?

The methodology of the attacks, including prior death threats, patterns of surveillance by persons reportedly linked to the security forces, the leftist profile of the victims, and a climate of impunity that has shielded the perpetrators from prosecution, has led Amnesty International to conclude that the attacks are not an unconnected series of criminal murders but constitute a politically-motivated pattern of killings. The organization remains gravely concerned that members of the security forces may have been directly involved in the killings, or else have tolerated, acquiesced to, or been complicit in them.

Philip Alston, the UN expert on extrajudicial executions, stated in his initial findings that: "The Armed Forces of the Philippines remains in a state of almost total denial of its need to respond effectively and authentically to the significant number of killings which have been convincingly attributed to them."

Major General Jovito Palparan

One of the well known military officers whose name is often cited in the context of political killings is Major General Palparn. He has made public statements linking leftist political parties with National People's Army. In a television interview in August 2002, then Colonel Palparan labelled Bayan Muna an NPA front. He also publicly accused Karapatan and the women's organization, Gabriela, of being NPA recruiters.

Major General Palparan in particular emerged as the focus of accusations by leftist groups that the military was responsible for sharply increased numbers of killings of leftist activists in regions where he was given command. He also described the Congressional party-list members as directing of "providing the day-to-day policies of the (rebel) movement."

He warned of necessary and tolerable "collateral damage" in the anti-insurgency campaign, and, referring to vigilante killings by anti-communist elements outside the AFP, stated that the military alone should not be blamed. Subsequently, labelling leftist party-list leader as "enemies of the state", he also called for reinstitution of the Anti-Subversion Act to make membership of the CPP a criminal offence once again.

An Asset?

Major General Palparn retired on 11 September 2006. Following his retirement he was lauded by the president who called him an asset to the counterinsurgency. This is despite all the accusations against him. He was going to be appointed as the Deputy National Security Advisor, but the appointment did not go through due to public protest. He has recently been encouraged to run for Congress.

He was significantly mentioned in the Melo report whose authors interviewed him in regards to comments he has made about political killings. He has also been implicated behind some of the killings.

Amnesty International is concerned that there may be several more senior officers like Major General Palparn in the Armed Forces of the Philippines. We urge the U.S. Administration of be vigilant in identifying these officers to satisfy Leahey Law requirements.

Philippines Government's response

After almost four years of rising numbers of political killings - and after intense pressure from the international human rights organizations and the United Nations - the Government of the Philippines took some steps to "understand" the problem, by appointing "Melo Commission." It is a mystery why the Government of the Philippines failed to address this disturbing trend of political killings for all these years; despite the fact that hundreds were killed for political reasons.

On August 21, 2006 President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced the establishment of a special Commission of Inquiry, headed by former Supreme Court Justice Jose Melo, to investigate the killings and to make recommendations for remedial action, including appropriate prosecutions and legislative proposals.

Pledging to "break this cycle of violence once and for all," President Arroyo stated, "I have directed [the Melo Commission] to leave no stone unturned in their pursuit of justice...the victims and their families deserve justice to be served."

After initial hesitation to release the report; the Government of the Philippines released the "Melo Report" on February 22, 2007. Responding to the Melo Commission report, the Government has announced a six-point action plan, the implementation of which will be crucial to ending the killings. A lack of accountability for such political killings remains a critical challenge: to date there has not been one conviction, despite the hundreds of killings, primarily of legal leftist activists, over the past six years.

In May, the authorities set up a special police investigative task force called Usig to coordinate investigations into suspected political killings. However, only a limited number of people were arrested and few cases were filed in court by the end of 2006. For example, of 114 killings recorded since 2001 by Task Force Usig, the police have arrested suspects in only three cases. No one was held accountable for cases before 2001.

United States Policy

The United States has a special relationship with Philippines, including U.S. forces stationed in the Philippines to train the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). The United States also offers millions of dollars of aid and other military assistance and has designated the Philippines as a major non-NATO ally.

Given this close relationship the United States enjoys with the Philippines it is disappointing to note that the Administration's actions have been muted and that the administration has failed the Philippine people by not publicly condemning the Philippine government publicly over the last four years while the political killings increased.

Not being vocal on this issue sends a wrong message to the Government of the Philippines. We urge the Administration to publicly condemn the political killings and urge the creation of specific benchmarks for the Philippines Government to end these killings. We urge the Administration to keep this issue as a matter of priority in all of its interactions with the Government of the Philippines.

In September 2006, it was reported in the media that military assistance, in the form of training, would be increased to help with the Philippines' war on terror and to combat the communist insurgency. Since the political killings in the Philippines are happening in the context of communist insurgency, it is vital that the United States Government report to the appropriate Congressional committees the type of military assistance it is giving to the Government of the Philippines in its fight against the community insurgency.

What should be done?

Amnesty International believes that urgent steps are needed to remedy this situation, not least because the threat of further killings has intensified due to political developments during 2006. These include President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's declaration of a week-long State of Emergency in late February and the continuing collapse of the peace process. Prospect for revival of peace negotiations dwindled further amid intensification of counter-insurgency operations, the direct transfer of names and addresses of NDF negotiators and others listed in a former safe-conduct agreement to an arrest warrant, and an announcement in June of the release of substantial additional funds to allow the armed forces to "crush" the communist insurgency in certain areas within two years.

During and after the Emergency, justified as a response to an alleged coup conspiracy involving an array of actors from the extreme left to the extreme right of the political spectrum, senior officials repeatedly claimed that the major threat to national security came from the CPP-NPA.

They publicly linked the legal leftist political opposition directly with communist armed groups, in effect implying that there was no distinction between them. Such public labeling, in conjunction with the arrest and attempted arrest of leftist Congressional Representatives on charges of "rebellion", raised concerns that the risk of further killings of leftist activists was intensifying.

Such concerns proved well-founded. As senior officials and military officers labeled members of the legal left "enemies of the state", and failed to condemn the killings consistently at all levels of government, fears grew that elements within the armed forces might interpret this as a tacit signal that political killings were a legitimate part of the anti-insurgency campaign. At least 51 political killings took place in the first half of 2006, compared to the 66 killings recorded by Amnesty International in the whole of 2005.

While welcoming President Arroyo's condemnation of political killings in her State of the Nation Address to Congress in July 2006, her earlier reported instructions to cabinet officials to put an end to further killings, and the establishment of a special police investigative task force, Amnesty International believes further determined steps are essential. The organization calls on the Government of the Philippines to implement Amnesty International's 14-Point Program for the Prevention of Extrajudicial Executions.

As an integral part of this Program, the authorities should urgently reiterate a clear, unequivocal message to all members of the police, military and other security forces that involvement in, or acquiescence to, such unlawful killings will never be tolerated. All such cases must be fully and promptly investigated and all those responsible, whether linked to the armed forces or not, brought to justice. Only in this manner can public confidence in the impartial and effective administration of justice be restored and a peace process, with respect for human rights by all sides at its heart, be revived.

Political killings: an intensifying pattern

Between the late 1980s and 2000-1, as the scale and intensity of the National People's Army's (NPA) insurgency declined gradually, the number of alleged NPA rebels killed in direct armed clashes or "encounters" similarly decreased. However over the last six years this trend appeared to alter. In addition, especially since 2003, the number of fatal attacks by unidentified armed men on members of legal leftist political organizations accused by the government of being "front" organizations of the CPP-NPA, including Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN - New Patriotic Alliance) and others, has undergone a marked increase.

Amnesty International believes that these successive killings are marked by common features. These include the political affiliations of the victims; the methodology of attacks; an apparent climate of impunity which, in practice, has shielded those responsible from prosecution; and repeated reports that military or other state agents have been directly involved in the attacks, or else have acquiesced or been complicit in them.

The organization believes that the pattern of killings, sustained over at least the past five years, amount to far more than the rise and fall of a normal crime rate cycle as suggested by some police officers.

Communist "fronts": the resurgence of "red-labeling"

Human rights violations against suspected "sympathizers" of the CPP-NPA have long been a feature of anti-insurgency operations in the Philippines. From the 1970's to the early 1990's the practice of "red-labeling", the public labeling of leftist critics of the government as "subversives" or members of communist "front organizations", was seen by Amnesty International, Task Force Detainees of the Philippines and other human rights groups as directly linked to the high levels of extrajudicial executions, "disappearances", arbitrary arrests and torture of members of legal political groups and non-governmental organizations. Peasants, trade unionists, church, social and human rights activists were portrayed in this manner as "legitimate" targets within the broader counter-insurgency campaign.

Many were also placed, without opportunity for rebuttal, on AFP "Orders of Battle" (lists of people wanted by the security forces for alleged subversion) and, often receiving death threats from AFP and police personnel, paramilitaries or unofficial vigilante groups, were at particular risk of serious human rights violations.

Concern over a resurgence of such labeling - and an apparent link to a parallel rise in the number of political killings - has increased during President Arroyo's administration as provincial military commanders made public statements linking legal leftist parties directly with the CPP-NPA. One of the most prominent among these commanders remains Major General Jovito Palparan. In a television interview in August 2002 then Colonel Palparan labeled Bayan Muna an "NPA front". He also publicly accused Karapatan and the women's organization, Gabriela, of being "NPA recruiters".

Similarly in September 2002, an army commander in Cebu denied Karapatan human rights workers permission to visit a man detained on suspicion of being an NPA rebel. The commander is reported to have said, "There is the possibility that we will shoot them (Karapatan members), depending on their action, because they are our enemies". In a separate radio interview, he is also reported to have described Karapatan as "an enemy which hasn?t done anything but support the NPA and find ways of destroying the government".

The perception that a group of officers within the AFP recognized no distinction between the NPA and legal leftist parties, and rejected the legitimacy of leftist progressive groups? participation in democratic political processes, was also reflected in the circulation in 2005 of AFP treatises on the CPP-NPA "revolutionary struggle" and what the AFP regarded as necessary resultant counter-insurgency strategies.

The treatises outlined the "complementary, interrelated and interactive" nature of the armed, the legal community and parliamentary struggles, and described the targeted infiltration and the CPP-NPA "capture" of particular sectoral communities (including peasants, urban poor and indigenous people) to exploit pressing social issues such as land reform and the impact of mining and other controversial development projects.

Referring also to alleged penetration of local government units by party-list groups and the manipulation of government local development programs, the treatises listed alleged "front" non-government organizations (NGOs) and called for a coordinated AFP campaign to "neutralize" CPP-NPA programs within vulnerable sectors and communities.

Major General Palparan in particular emerged as the focus of accusations by leftist groups that the military was responsible for sharply increased numbers of killings of leftist activists in regions where he was given command, including Samar and, currently, Central Luzon.

In February 2006, Major General Palparan publicly reiterated that the government must confront the insurgency at all levels, reducing their support systems, including NGO?s infiltrated or controlled by the CPP that provide the "materials, the shelter" for the NPA. He also described the congressional party-list members as directing or "providing the day-to-day policies of the [rebel] movement". He warned of necessary and tolerable "collateral damage" in the anti-insurgency campaign, and, referring to vigilante killings by anti-communist elements outside the AFP, stated that the military "alone" should not be blamed. Subsequently, labeling leftist party-list leaders as "enemies of the state", he also called for reinstitution of the Anti-Subversion Act to again make membership of the CPP a criminal offence.

Though reassured by President Arroyo's public condemnation of political killings in July 2006, the absence of consistent denunciation, at all levels of government, of any form of official involvement in political killings contributed to persistent concerns that such counter-insurgency strategies would consolidate, in practice, into an implicit policy of toleration of such political killings.

Such concerns had deepened as senior government officials, including prominent members of the Cabinet Oversight Committee on Internal Security (COC-IS), publicly endorsed such counter-insurgency strategies, and in addition, robustly defended the arrest or threatened arrest of party-list Congressional representatives for rebellion. In March 2006 National Security Adviser Noberto Gonzales declared that the government was beginning a crackdown on all known "communist fronts" in society, and would achieve its goal of destroying the CPP-NPA by the year 2010.

The background of the victims and location of attacks

The majority of the victims of political killings have been unarmed civilians, members of the legal political left, primarily Bayan Muna, Anakpawis and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN - New Patriotic Alliance), but including activists from a range of leftist sectoral or community organizations. Those killed have also included members of leftist groups who have split from the CPP, including the Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokraysa (KPD - Movement for National Democracy). Both men and women have been targeted, with the victims including community organizers, church workers and priests, human rights activists, trade union and peasant leaders, journalists, indigenous peoples activists, elected local officials and political activists.

Attacks have occurred nationwide, though human rights and other organizations have noted periodic, marked increases in particular regions, notably Mindoro Oriental, Eastern Visayas and Central Luzon (including Bulacan, Pampanga, Bataan and Nueva Ecija provinces). According to local human rights groups, these regional fluctuations were allegedly linked to the assignment of Major General Palparan as commanding officer in these regions. Major General Palparan has denied any involvement in such killings.

Methodology of attacks and suspected perpetrators

The predominant method of attack has been shootings by unidentified assailants, mostly riding tandem on a motorcycle, who often obscure their identity with "bonnet" face masks or helmets. At times the assailants are supported by other men on motorcycles nearby or use unmarked vans. Many attacks were described as having been carried out in a "professional" manner, with the killers striking in broad daylight in public places, firing a limited number of shots targeted at the head or trunk of the body of the targeted person, before escaping unimpeded.

According to reports, a significant number of attacks have been proceeded by warnings or death threats, and by patterns of surveillance by alleged security force personnel which reportedly led up to targeted attacks in or near the victims homes or offices, or while they undertook routine journeys. Following the killing of at least three activists in northern Luzon 2005, leaders from the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) and Bayan Muna-Cordillera, reported that they had been informed by sources within the AFP that they had been included on a military list as targets for attack.

They described subsequent intensive surveillance or "casing" operations conducted by suspected military intelligence personnel, including being followed, vehicles carrying men (at times covering their faces) stationed outside their office or driving repeatedly by, and apparent attempts to break-in to their offices or cars.

In other cases, well-established AFP counter-insurgency techniques appeared to be linked to subsequent attacks. The practice of "zoning", whereby the military target a village or district believed to be influenced by the CPP-NPA, order the inhabitants to assemble to listen to lectures, at times using former insurgents now being used as military "assets", about the communist threat so as to encourage informants and identify alleged communist supporters within the community, reportedly leads to the public labeling of legal left activists, or their inclusion on military "orders of battle".

Once named, the threat of subsequent assassination attacks by unidentified men is markedly increased. In this manner Tarlac City Councillor Attorney Abelardo Ladera shot on the highway in central Luzon in 2005, had reportedly been named in a news briefing as an NPA contact in the region, while Jose "Pepe" Manegdeg, shot dead in Ilocos Sur in November 2005, had been labeled by the AFP as a NPA supporter and had received death threats.

Ineffective investigations and a climate of impunity Prosecution and punishment break the cycle of crime and impunity. It protects the public from the culprits repeating their crimes and it helps to deter others from committing similar crimes by raising the real threat that they too, may be caught and punished.

Failure to investigate political killings effectively and to prosecute the perpetrators risks perpetuating a cycle of human rights violations, not least by sending a message of de facto state tolerance for such practices. If military or other officials, or others linked to them, believe that they are, in practice, immune from prosecution for such crimes they will be more likely to repeat them. Such a climate of impunity undermines public confidence in the administration of justice, eroding the rule of law and respect for human rights.

In the Philippines while the authorities routinely launch police investigations into political and other killings, and in May 2006 established a special unit - Task Force Usig - to better coordinate investigations into political killings at a national level, Amnesty International is concerned at persistent reports that the majority of investigations do not meet international standards as set forth in the UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, as supplemented by UN Manual Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions. Amnesty International is further concerned that these investigations have reportedly not led to the conviction of any of the perpetrators of the hundreds of killings of leftist activists since 2001.

An international fact-finding mission of lawyers and judges, who visited the Philippines in June 2006 in response to reported extrajudicial executions of members of the legal profession within the context of a pattern of political killings, found that in the cases of 15 lawyers and ten judges killed since 2001 none of the perpetrators have been convicted. The Secretary of the Interior and Local Government, responsible for the police, also informed the mission that Task Force Usig had recorded a total of 114 party-list members killed since 2001. Out of this total, 27 cases had been filed in court and the remaining 86 are still under investigation. Out of the 27 cases filed in court, the PNP has arrested suspects in only three cases. No convictions have been reported.

Difficulty in investigating?

In explaining the difficulties in investigating such cases, senior police officers described how forensic capability and technology was not yet sufficiently developed, so that it cannot stand alone as evidence in the absence of eye-witnesses. In May 2006, a police director working with Task Force Usig had also acknowledged that the refusal of witnesses to come forward is a major obstacle in PNP efforts to investigate and to collect evidence sufficient to support the filing of criminal charges. The police also blamed witnesses for their unwillingness to cooperate, stating that it "unnecessarily" caused undue delays in the prosecution of such cases.

While acknowledging that witnesses are fearful of reprisals, one officer suggested this was due not to government institutions, but to a "general fear" of revenge by the NPA. However the lawyers and families of the victims questioned by the international fact-finding mission confirmed that they mistrusted and feared the police and that in one case, the witnesses to a killing had told the victim's family that they had been instructed to sign a statement different from they one they had given police.

Families of the victims have repeatedly complained of protracted and inconclusive police investigations which are reported to be indefinitely "stalled" due to an "absence of leads", or to have been "solved" if the investigating officers have filed an initial police investigation report with the prosecutor - which subsequently may not lead to the prosecutor filing charges and applying for a warrant of arrest. In conjunction with lack of confidence in the impartiality of the police, fear of reprisals and a lack of an effective witness protection program, most investigations remain ineffective and fail to lead to the identification, arrest, trial and conviction of the perpetrators.

Based on the requirement of Principle 9 of the UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions which states that "there shall be thorough, prompt and impartial investigations", Amnesty International believes that urgent steps are needed to ensure investigations are indeed effective.

In order to exercise due diligence in the protection of the right to life and to combat the current pattern of political killings, police and other investigative units must be independent and impartial, be adequately resourced and have the necessary criminal detection, forensic and other investigative skills.

Ineffective investigations, which fail to lead to prosecutions and convictions, have played a role in sustaining a broader climate of impunity that has been allowed to persist since the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos (1965-1986).

The vast majority of soldiers, paramilitaries and police responsible for endemic human rights violations during the Marcos years have never been prosecuted and most of their victims have received neither justice nor redress. Although President Marcos' successor, President Corazon Aquino (1986-1992), promulgated a new Constitution, restored democratic institutions and instituted mechanisms for the protection of human rights, an entrenched public belief that a climate of impunity protected security forces personnel responsible for past and continuing patterns of grave human violations remained intact.

President Aquino's administration, attempting to manage a political transition from the former martial law regime and facing direct challenges from repeated coup attempts by right-wing military rebels, considered it necessary to maintain the support of loyal military leaders. To this end there was no government pressure for systematic investigation and prosecution of security personnel accused of perpetrating human violations under martial law and in the context of past and renewed counter-insurgency operations.

Impunity

Amnesty International and other international and national human rights groups repeatedly expressed grave concern that the continuing paucity of prosecutions and convictions of state perpetrators of human rights violations, including extrajudicial executions, "disappearances" and torture, risked entrenching a de facto climate of impunity that emboldened security personnel to commit further violations in the context of anti-insurgency operations.

A bleak picture of persistent failures in the administration of justice was highlighted by the fact that of the 1,509 cases of alleged human rights violations filed by the Philippine Commission on Human Rights before the courts between 1987 and 1990, only 11 cases resulted in sanctions against the perpetrators.

Amnesty International is concerned that flaws within the administration of justice that have long underpinned a de facto climate of impunity - including ineffective investigations, reluctance of witnesses to come forward for fear of reprisals, and an apparent lack of political will to ensure the prosecution of suspects, continues to endure. These flaws were sharply illustrated by a pattern of killings of street children and other suspected criminals by unidentified "vigilantes" in Davao City (Mindanao) and Cebu City (Visayas) in recent years.

In Davao City at least 390 "criminals", mostly alleged drugs pushers, solvent abusers or petty thieves, and including street children and youth gang members, have reportedly been shot dead in the city since 2001.

The majority of attacks were carried by unidentified men on motorcycles, and local human rights groups expressed alarm at reports that local police were directly responsible, or else had colluded with private "vigilante" gangs in carrying out such killings in an effort to combat criminality and "clean up" the city?s streets. These concerns intensified as the city?s mayor appeared to condone the killings, while denying any direct official responsibility. Police investigations have failed to lead to the identification and arrest of those responsible and Amnesty International is not aware of a single prosecution that has led to the conviction of any of the perpetrators.

National and international journalist groups have also expressed concern at the high number of unsolved killings of journalists in the Philippines. At least 64 journalists are reported to have been killed since 1986 as a result of their work, with at least 10 in 2005 and 9 in the first seven months of 2006. Prosecution and conviction of those responsible remain rare.

The conviction in November 2005 of a former police officer responsible for the murder in 2002 of Edgar Damalerio, a radio journalist in Pagadian (Mindanao), is reported to be only the third such conviction since 1986. During the investigation and subsequent trial, Edgar Damalerio's family were repeatedly threatened and one witness was killed. The court rejected as false evidence given by the accused associates, including police officers.

Failures to prosecute and convict security personnel suspected of carrying out or being complicit in grave human rights violations continues to fuel the perception that a climate of impunity is shielding such officers from being held to account. Prominent, well-publicized examples include the failure to bring suspects to trial in the case of the reported extrajudicial execution by police of 11 alleged members of the Kuratong Baleleng bank robbery gang in a Manila street in 1995, and the failure to hold anyone accountable for the alleged torture by police in 1996 of six men accused of the murder of Rolando Abadilla, a former Marcos-era police intelligence officer.

In this context, public trust in the integrity and effectiveness of the criminal justice system as a whole remains at a low ebb. Amid periodic allegations of corruption by some public officers, confidence that the right of victims of human rights violations to justice and redress will be respected continues to be undermined by persistent reports of ineffective, protracted investigations by police, public prosecutors or the Office of the Ombudsman; by lengthy delays in the course of criminal trials; and by the perception that those with wealth or political connections are able to improperly exert influence over the investigative agencies or the courts.

Victims of human rights violations and their families, particularly those from poor or marginalized communities, often consider that they face overwhelming obstacles in accessing justice - particularly when the alleged perpetrators are military or police personnel.

As noted above and reflected in the case studies in this report, a major obstacle in combating impunity in the Philippines is the reluctance of witnesses to come forward. Serious intimidation of witnesses has long been a feature of cases involving attempts to investigate and prosecute cases of human rights violations taking place within the context of the counter-insurgency campaign.

Death threats and other intimidation of witnesses, at times accompanied by offers of financial compensation or other inducements, have frequently led to "amicable" settlements out of court.
In addition, many victims and their relatives from poorer communities are unable to sustain the protracted financial and emotional strain of pursuing a complaint or a criminal case, especially when required to travel to distant investigative offices or courts for hearings that may be subject to repeated last-minute delays, administratively "shelved" or transferred to a different tribunal.

Amid such pressures complainants and key witnesses or relatives of the victims are liable to refuse to involve themselves in police investigations, or to withdraw from further participation in court proceedings or investigations conducted by the Philippine Commission on Human Rights or Office of the Ombudsman, thus restricting the ability of prosecutors and the courts to secure convictions.

Witness Protection

Amnesty International believes that effective protection of witnesses and the relatives of the victims must be a priority element within PNP investigation efforts. A number of groups including the Asian Human Rights Commission have campaigned to ensure that witness protection programs in the Philippines are robust and effective.

Amnesty International shares their serious concerns that the implementation of the relevant legislation, the Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act (RA 6981), fails, in practice, to ensure the safety of witnesses. Under the Act, the Department of Justice is empowered to deliver a program of protection to witnesses to grave felonies, including secure housing facilities, relocation or change of personnel identity, and assistance in obtaining a means of livelihood.

The law also provides that the court or investigating authority shall assure a speedy trial, where a witness admitted into the program shall testify, and shall endeavor to finish the proceeding within three months for the filing of the case.

However as noted by the Ateneo Human Rights Centre, the reality is that most cases take far longer than three months not least because of postponements, usually requested by the accused, and the length of time that the Supreme Court takes in deciding change of venue petitions for the protection of witnesses. Most witnesses are reported to lack confidence in the program, and fear that, given prolonged delays in criminal proceedings, it will not be able to offer protection to them or their families which may be needed to extend over years.

Duty of the State

As described earlier, Article 6 of the ICCPR, which provides for the right to life, further states that "No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life". In order to effectively combat patterns of politically motivated extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings in the Philippines, the government has a clear duty to consistently condemn and prohibit all such killings, to ensure each is thoroughly and independently investigated, to bring suspected perpetrators to justice and to ensure reparations to victims.

As stated in 2005 by the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary killings these duties lie on the authorities in relation to killings by non-state actors, when they act with the knowledge or acquiescence of the authorities and as a result are not subject to effective investigation, prosecution or punishment. In addition the Special Rapporteur state that crimes, including murder, carried out by individuals can also give rise to state responsibility in instances where the State has failed to take all appropriate measures to deter, prevent, and punish the perpetrators as well as address any attitudes or conditions in society which encourage or facilitate such crimes.

"In most situations, isolated killing of individuals will constitute a simple crime and not give rise to any governmental responsibility. But once a pattern becomes clear in which the response of the Government is clearly inadequate, its responsibility under international human rights law becomes applicable. Through its inaction the Government confers a degree of impunity upon the killers."

An essential part of due diligence of the part of the state, and a crucial component in the battle against impunity, is the conduct of effective investigations which lead to prosecution and punishment of perpetrators of extrajudicial killings. The UN Human Rights Committee, responsible for monitoring compliance of state signatories with obligations under the ICCPR, identified this as among its principal subjects of concern after considering the periodic reports of the Philippines in October 2003.

Amnesty International shares this conviction and urges the government to address the problem of adequate investigations and prosecutions in the Philippines. This is particularly urgent in relation to the continuing pattern of political killings.

Conclusions

Unearthing the evidence establishing responsibility for the current pattern of political killings will take political will. It will require political determination and persistent practical efforts to undo the legacy of impunity, which has the potential to undermine efforts to hold perpetrators of political killings accountable and is aided by the assumption that such killings are to some degree an acceptable by-product of continuing armed conflict.

It will take sustained efforts to unravel the chronology of events that led each attack, to establish the facts constituting every political killing and to establish whether there was an official chain of command underlying both the crime and its cover-up. Effective, robust measures are necessary to protect those who come forward to assist the case.

Unless these steps are taken, the corrosive impact of political killings will continue and hopes for a just and lasting peace, as outlined in the government's 2004-2010 Peace Plan will remain unrealized.

The struggle for respect for human rights, fought with high cost from the time of President Marcos and reflected in the 1986 Constitution and the Philippines' ratification of international human rights treaties, is facing a serious challenge. Within the context of "all-out-war" against communist insurgents the rising incidence of political killings risks a retaliatory spiral of killings by armed groups.

The need is pressing for both sides of the conflict, supported by all sectors of civil society, to assert and commit to renewed respect for human rights.

Recommendations:

To the Government of the Philippines:

Not to treat this as a public relations problem; but to take serious steps to find out who was behind these systematic killings and to make public those findings.

Fully implement the Melo Commission recommendations.

Accept offer of assistance from the UN and other countries.

Allow international observers to monitor investigations and trials.

Ensure that the Administration speak with one voice on condemning these killings.

Ensure that the new anti-terror law is not used to commit human rights abuses.

Announce a comprehensive strategy to stop political killings and to bring those involved to justice.

Amnesty International's 14-Point Program for the Prevention of Extrajudicial Executions, based on the UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, provides a framework within which the pattern of political killings can be stopped. The organization urges the Government of the Philippines to implement the Program in full.

Given reports of continuing political killings, Amnesty International has made a number of recommendations, addressed to the government, international organisations, civil society organisations and the armed groups.

A summary of key recommendations include:

A. Reassert Respect for Human Rights
Official condemnation: Consistently and at every level of government condemn all political killings.

Chain of command control: Prohibit orders from superior officers or public authorities authorizing, inciting or tacitly encouraging other persons to carry out unlawful killings, even through silence or failing to take action to investigate, and ensure that those in command exercise appropriate and effective control over those within their command.

Action against "death squads" and vigilantes: Prohibit and disband any "death squads", private armies, vigilantes, criminal gangs and paramilitary forces operating outside the chain of command but with official support or acquiescence.

B. Guarantee the Administration of Justice

Investigation: Ensure that all complaints and reports of political killings are investigated promptly, impartially, independently, thoroughly and effectively. An independent and impartial body should exercise oversight to ensure investigations are conducted by the police and other investigative agencies in accordance with international standards.

Prosecution: Ensure that those responsible for political killings are brought to justice in accordance with international standards of fairness.

Protection against death threats and other intimidation: Take action to fully implement the Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act (RA 6981) in order to ensure safe, reliable and durable mechanisms guaranteeing the participation in the legal process of witnesses to political killings.

C. The Peace Process: ensure compliance with the Human Rights Agreement

All sides of the armed conflict should recommit to and ensure compliance with the 1998 Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).

Respect for human rights the ground should be enhanced by taking steps to ensure the operation of the Joint Monitoring Committee of the CARHRIHL.

D. Action by other human rights institutions.

National: The Deputy Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement should conduct prompt, impartial and effective investigations of all reported political killings which should, as appropriate, lead promptly to recommendations to the Department of Justice to file criminal charges against those found responsible.

To The United States Government:

The Leahy Law must be vigorously implemented. The U.S. Embassy must be pro-active in identifying members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, who may be involved in political killings.

The U.S. should give a strong and clear message to the Government of the Philippines that U.S. ?

Philippines relations will suffer if the current trend in political killings continues and if Philippine authorities fail to bring past abusers to justice.

Report to appropriate Congressional Committees about the reported assistance given to the Government of the Philippines in fighting communist insurgency.

Insist on specific bench marks from the Government of the Philippines to address political killings.

Offer technical and other assistance to help solve the cases.

Thank you for inviting Amnesty International to this important hearing.


T. Kumar

Advocacy Director for Asia & Pacific
Amnesty International USA

Phone: (202)544-0200, ext: 224
Fax: (202)546-7142
Email: tkumar@aiusa.org