LANAO DEL SUR, Philippines (IRIN / June 24, 2009) - The murder of Helen Accoon, a college principal, on the southern conflict-ridden island of Mindanao in 2008, shocked many people as it seemed to mark an escalation in clan feuding, known as 'rido', according to the United Nations' Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN).
The 'rido' code of honour does not normally allow attacks on women.
Accoon was gunned down by an unidentified assailant while walking in Marawi City, the provincial capital of Lanao del Sur. The victim was the wife of Macadadaya Accon, the son of the mayor of Buadi Puso Buntong Municipality.
Wilfredo Torres, editor of a book entitled Rido: Clan Feuding and Conflict Management in Mindanao, defines 'rido' as “armed hostilities between families and kinship groups”.
The Mindanao provinces of Lanao de Sur, Maguindanao, Lanao del Norte and Sulu have been identified as having the highest number of 'rido' cases.
Deeply rooted in the Muslim culture of honour, “'rido' is characterized by a series of retaliatory acts of violence to avenge an affront or injustice - whether real or perceived”, said Torres.
Such acts could be sparked by petty theft or insults, political rivalries, land disputes or more serious matters like homicide. Improper overtures to, or advances on, a woman could also lead to 'rido', he said.
Armed conflict less of a threat?
Many in Mindanao view 'rido' as more of a threat than the decades-long conflict, which has left thousands dead and many more displaced.
A 2005 study by the Social Weather Station, a public opinion body which tracks economic, political and social indicators, indicated that people in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) were more concerned about 'rido' than armed conflict.
According to the survey, 'rido' has been experienced by 28 percent of ARMM families, compared to only 16 percent of families nationwide.
The Philippine National Police in ARMM estimate that 5,500 people have died in 'rido'-related cases over the past three decades - equivalent to about 183 deaths per year.
Police Superintendent Gani Paramata Asira in Marawi City, said there were 218 cases of 'rido' in 2006, but that the numbers are an underestimation.
“It is rare that anyone will press charges or stand as a witness for fear of incriminating other members of their family,” he said, adding that data for more recent years were incomplete.
Rough justice
Poverty and poor go
vernance contribute to 'rido'. However, certain elements unique to the island such as the proliferation of firearms, lack of law enforcers and an inefficient justice system exacerbate the situation.
Abdul Hamidullah Atar is the executive director of Reconciliatory Initiatives for Development Opportunities (R.I.D.O, Inc.), an NGO which aims to resolve and reduce clan wars.
“The Philippine judicial system is based on the American one. It is not adapted to the sensitivities of Muslim culture. Every clan wants to collect guns to purvey its own brand of justice because we cannot get justice elsewhere,” Atar said.
“Much attention is given to the ongoing conflict between the Philippine government and the MILF [Mindanao Islamic Liberation Front], when there are probably more casualties resulting from 'rido',” he added.
R.I.D.O, Inc. tries to resolve clan wars by examining genealogy: neutral relatives of conflicting parties are identified as possible mediators.
Code of honour
But the 'rido' code of honour normally bars the killing of women or children.
“Women, like children and the elderly, are traditionally seen as defenceless and therefore untouchable in 'rido'. They may be collateral damage, but not the target,” Samira Gutoc, a Muslim rights activist and former secretary-general of the Philippine Muslim Women’s Council, told IRIN.
Gutoc said that in the Amai Pakpak hospital in Marawi City, there were 50 'rido'-related incidents between December 2008 and February 2009.
“What is fearsome is that women like Helen Accoon have become recent targets of this vendetta phenomenon. Killing women is a more powerful way of creating fear,” Gutoc said.
Asnawi Abdullah, a surgeon at the Amai Pakpak hospital, said no official records of 'rido' cases were kept at the hospital.
“We don’t ask questions. Our priority is to stabilize the patient… We want to avoid a situation where a patient is finished off on hospital premises. It hasn’t happened yet, but there is always the fear it could.”
IRIN is part of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, but its services are editorially independent.
Link: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=84979
Showing posts with label United Nations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label United Nations. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
UN Committee Against Torture Releases Recommendations; Human Rights Group Urges RP To Abide
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.
PHILIPPINES: Government must implement CAT Committee’s recommendations as a matter of priority
On 14 May 2009, the United Nation’s Committee Against Torture released its recommendations (CAT/C/PHL/CO2) following the conclusion of its periodic review of the Philippines on its implementation of the Convention Against Torture, and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT).
The Philippines is a State party to the Convention since its ratification on June 1986.
The Committee’s recommendations are also shared by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), who, in its effort to assist the Committee in the process of its review of the Philippines’ record in the implementation of the CAT Convention, also submitted an alternative report through its sister organisation, the Asian Legal Resource Center (ALRC). The Committee’s observation, nevertheless, has expressed, at least in part, the ALRC’s analysis of the problem.
The AHRC and the ALRC therefore urges the Philippine government to consider as their priority the following:
On access to lawyers, judicial custody of a detainee
In most cases, once a person is arrested and subsequently detained, the policemen or the military that arrested them, are deliberately preventing them from having contact with lawyers and their family members; and they are subjected to custodial investigation without the presence or assistance of legal counsel. A person’s right to have access to lawyers and being turned over to judicial authority is envisaged in Rights of Persons Arrested, Detained or under Custodial Investigation (RA 7438) and article 125 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines.
The present practice in courts in the Philippines is that the burden to prove that the arrested person’s testimony and confession taken under duress is a product of torture rests upon the torture victims and not on the prosecution panel. Thus, by failing to ensure, by way of strictly implementing the provisions of these laws, torture victims have already been, at the early stage, at risk of being prosecuted for testimonial evidence taken as a result of torture. It also effectively denies any possibilities of redress and remedies for these victims.
"Lack of investigations into cases of torture"
The lack of or ‘seldom investigation and prosecution’ of torture committed by law enforcement agents and soldiers demonstrates that the complaint mechanism that exists today does not encouraged victims or complainants to file complaints; and that the fear and threats are very real once a person comes forward to complain. There, the number or statistics of torture cases that come to notice are seen, at least on the part of the government, as isolated cases. However, these statistics alone do not speak to the severity of the problem.
The government must admit that torture reported in police stations, on complaints filed with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), cases documented by the NGOs and cases to which their attention had been called to intervene, are just the tip of the iceberg and speaks of the extent of the problem arrested persons, regardless of whether their cases are politically motivated or an ordinary crime, have to confront on a daily basis.
When Eduardo Ermita, secretary to the executive branch, questioned the 1,016 cases of torture that NGOs reported to the Committee, the lack of government knowledge into these cases, illustrates the deep distrust and lack of confidence amongst that torture victims have in filing formal complaints with the government agencies responsible for conducting investigations. In the Philippines, torture victims tend to seek assistance and help from NGOs in seeking redress and remedies; thus, it is nothing new that often NGOs have more access to the documentation than the government.
Thus, the government should refrain from immediately questioning the credibility and merits of the cases and undermining the credibility of NGOs, but rather they should make efforts to look into these cases.
"Abolish de facto detention facilities"
The police and soldiers must also abolish the practice of arbitrarily detaining persons whom they arrested in the detention facilities or places that are not legally registered according to the law. The lack of detention facilities or the inability to turn over the custody of an arrested person to proper detention centres and jails cannot be used as an excuse to justify detention of arrested persons in camps, safe houses and other places, wherein they would be subjected to interrogation.
The continued practice and maintenance of these places is putting torture victims at risk, not only of being tortured, but also of being disappeared or extra judicially killed. The lack of records or traces of the person’s detention would mean that it is not possible for any investigating authorities, including the CHR, even if they have Constitutional rights or a mandate to conduct unannounced visits to places of detention, to determine the whereabouts and condition of arrested persons. Therefore, unless these practice and these places are abolished, there is no guarantee that once a person is arrested they are taken to detention center or jails where their relatives or lawyers could see them.
"Repeal law espousing torture"
As the Committee has also mentioned, the provision contained in the Human Security Act of 2007, which allows prolonged detention of suspects for 72 hours, even without arrest orders is of serious concern. Given the continuing practice of the police and soldiers on numerous occasions making arrests without court orders, detention of arrested persons in not legally recognized detention facilities and the use of torture in custodial investigations aggravates the practice of torture.
There should be a thorough review on this law and it should be repealed according to human rights norms and standards. The AHRC is deeply concerned by the abuse in interpreting this law by way of filing charges of terror acts against persons, including activists. This is despite of the fact that the basis on which the crime should have been committed under this act does not exist. One case is the arbitrary arrest and subsequent filing of terrorism charges against three activists campaigning against the renewed operation of a nuclear plant in the province of Bataan.
Although the law provides that an act of terror that a person is alleged to have committed should have a component of ‘widespread panic’ and demands are made of the government the present practice among the prosecutors and policemen investigating cases of this nature does not satisfy the requirements for taking a case to court.
Also, the declaration of an emergency rule, in particular in a Proclamation No. 1 Series of 2009 that took effect in 31 March 2009 in Sulu province, should also be declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court (SC) where a petition challenging this declaration is presently pending. The government should also ensure that this rule, if it continues to be imposed, be lifted without further delay. This rule also had provisions which tolerate the police and soldiers in conducting illegal searches, arbitrary arrest, arbitrary detention and to subject arrested persons to investigation in absence of lawyers.
"Strengthen the law on Witness Protection"
The AHRC has in the past raised deep concerns by the ineffective implementation of the Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act (RA 6981). It appears though that despite repeated appeals to have this law amended in order to strengthen it there has not been substantial progress—the draft bill strengthening this law has not been enacted. The Department of Justice (DoJ), who is the implementing agency of this programme must ensure that it take proactive measures to implement this law.
As already mentioned, the failure to ensure that complainants are encourage in filing complaints of torture, one of which is to ensure that their concerns of threats, fear of reprisal from the perpetrators and of being subjected to intimidation, have also resulted in the numerous complaints not being reported for investigation, and which subsequently, are not filed in court for prosecution. Thus, the lack of an effective and well functioning witness protection mechanism is crucial to ensure the possibility of effective prosecution of cases.
"Excessive court delays"
The case of the Abadilla Five speaks to the endemic problem that torture victims and complainants have to face in seeking legal remedies and redress. In this case, 13 years after their complaint of torture was filed, none of the policemen and other persons involved in torturing them have been held to account. The failure of the Office of the Ombudsman for Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices (MOLEO) should provide an explanation to why they have continued to fail in concluding this case.
By failing to conclude this case, it continues to prevent other torture victims and complainants from taking legal remedies and obtaining redress in their cases. If the MOLEO fails to conclude this decade-old case there would also be no assurance at all that new cases relating to torture would be acted upon promptly.
"Ensure legislation of a domestic law on torture promptly"
Finally, the AHRC once again calls upon the government to ensure that the present bill on torture, pending before the Senate and the House of Representatives, be enacted without further delay according to the provision of the CAT. This is crucial, as an initial step to ensure that torture victims would have the possibilities of obtaining remedies and redress to the violations committed upon them.
The AHRC is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Bomb explodes ahead of RP leader's visit in Mindanao
COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 11, 2008) – A bomb exploded on Thursday ahead of President Gloria Arroyo’s visit in the restive Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Officials said the bomb, assembled from an 81mm mortar, exploded near a market in the village called Tenorio in Datu Odin Sinsuat town in Maguindanao, one of six provinces under the autonomous region.
Two more improvised explosives were recovered from the area, according to Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, a regional army spokesman.
The explosion also coincided with the arrival of Radhika Coomaraswamy, United Nations Special Representative to the Secretary General on the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict.
The bomb exploded 30 minutes after Coomaraswamy’s convoy passed the village.
“We still do not know where behind the explosion, but police and military have already taken steps to prevent a similar incident; we have stepped security in the area,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.
Coomaraswamy is in the Philippines to monitor the situation of children associated with armed forces or armed groups according to the Paris Principles, a set of guidelines on children associated with armed conflict.
President Arroyo is scheduled to visit the nearby town of Sultan Kudarat where she would meet with farmers, Ando said. It was unknown if the blast had anything to do with the President’s visit.
On Tuesday, Moro rebels killed one government soldier and wounded eight more in fierce fighting in Maguindanao. The fighting broke out after troops, who were sent to the village to check on the presence of gunmen, were attacked by Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels.
Skirmishes erupted in Mindanao after the failed signing of the Muslim territorial deal between the MILF and the government peace panels in August. Rebels launched a wave of deadly attacks in Mindanao since then. (Mindanao Examiner)
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
RP Food Crisis Threatens Nutrition Of Children
MANILA, Philippines (July 16, 2008)- The rising prices of basic food commodities have forced the Philippine government to scale down efforts to address malnutrition among children, putting the under sixes at nutritional risk.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), the Filipino government has already opted to limit the coverage of its Food for School Programme from the top 40 food-poorest provinces to the top 20.
President Gloria Arroyo, during a National Anti-Poverty Commission in March 2008, issued this directive as the Philippines grappled with the tightening rice supply.
The Food for School programmes have also been scaled down and no longer cover all children in grades one to six, but only the first three levels.
The programme involves the distribution of one kilogram per day of iron-fortified rice in public schools for four months that children and their families can consume; it leads to improved school attendance.
In a paper presented at a policy workshop to address hunger mitigation in June 2008, Maria Bernadita-Flores, executive director of the National Nutrition Council, acknowledged: "The rice price and supply crisis, coupled with the run-away prices of fuel in both global and local markets, present a clear and present danger of more Filipinos being hungry and in the long run, more undernourished."
She stressed the immediate need to implement intervention programmes "to mitigate this danger".
At high risk of under-nutrition are children under six, and the food insecurity caused by rising rice prices has magnified this concern, according to health authorities.
"Children five-years and below are most vulnerable to malnutrition," Cora Cerdena, supervising senior specialist at the Nutrition Centre of the Philippines, told IRIN. "That is why it is important to implement the programmes geared towards this age-group."
Prior to the food crisis, data showed the government was making headway in reducing malnutrition among infants and children up to five years old, as well as those aged 6-10.
Underweight, under-height
In 2001, based on a National Nutrition Survey, (http://fnri.dost.gov.ph/ ) 30 percent of the under sixes were underweight, and 31.4 percent were under-height. In 2003, the figure went down to 27 percent underweight and 30 percent under-height.
In 2005, the prevalence of underweight children further decreased to 25 percent, while under-height children declined to 26 percent. (Figures for 2007 are not yet for official release.) The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target is to reduce malnutrition to 17 percent by 2015. Experts are now concerned that any improvements are now being undermined by the current food crisis.
To achieve this MDG target, the government launched the Accelerated Hunger-Mitigation Programme (AHMP) which seeks to address both the supply and demand side by increasing food production and food delivery while at the same time putting more money in people's pockets. The programme is being implemented in at least 40 of the poorest provinces.
Part of the programme is the promotion of good nutrition, which targets children.
Nutrition programme under threat
Two major components under the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition are rice distribution among schoolchildren and food fortification. But the tight supply of rice threatens to undermine nutrition efforts.
The cutback on rice distribution among schoolchildren has a direct effect on the campaign to reduce malnutrition among children under six, Nutrition Centre of the Philippines Information and Education Division Director Nerissa Babaran told IRIN.
"The schoolchildren are the entry points for the distribution of the rice. If you cut back the coverage, you also in effect cut back supply for the other members of the family."
Promoting breastfeeding
To supplement efforts at better nutrition, Babaran said the campaign to promote breastfeeding has moved into high gear. "We want to bring back the culture of the 1970s and 80s where there was high incidence of breastfeeding among mothers," she said.
Breastfeeding training and promotion is now under way in Priority One provinces, identified as the 20 poorest. These provinces include Mountain Province in Luzon; Masbate, Camarines Norte in the Visayas region; Zamboanga Sibugay, Surigao, Maguindanao, Agusan del Sur and Sarangani in Mindanao.
Village health workers, midwives and hospital interns are being taught the benefits of breastfeeding, under the Training of Trainers on Infant and Young Child Feeding. The goal is that they will encourage mothers to breastfeed their children.
In her report on the progress of the AHMP, Flores said the campaign has reached 83 percent of targeted municipalities and `barangays' (villages) with more than 9,000 implementers trained.
The target is to reach 203 municipalities and 2,774 villages. "Those trained are expected to follow-up with pregnant and lactating women and assist them in making informed and desirable decisions related to breastfeeding and complementary feeding," the National Nutrition Council's Flores said.
In the face of growing food insecurity in the Philippines, Flores said the advocacy for breastfeeding as an anti-poverty measure "should be strengthened and sustained".
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), the Filipino government has already opted to limit the coverage of its Food for School Programme from the top 40 food-poorest provinces to the top 20.
President Gloria Arroyo, during a National Anti-Poverty Commission in March 2008, issued this directive as the Philippines grappled with the tightening rice supply.
The Food for School programmes have also been scaled down and no longer cover all children in grades one to six, but only the first three levels.
The programme involves the distribution of one kilogram per day of iron-fortified rice in public schools for four months that children and their families can consume; it leads to improved school attendance.
In a paper presented at a policy workshop to address hunger mitigation in June 2008, Maria Bernadita-Flores, executive director of the National Nutrition Council, acknowledged: "The rice price and supply crisis, coupled with the run-away prices of fuel in both global and local markets, present a clear and present danger of more Filipinos being hungry and in the long run, more undernourished."
She stressed the immediate need to implement intervention programmes "to mitigate this danger".
At high risk of under-nutrition are children under six, and the food insecurity caused by rising rice prices has magnified this concern, according to health authorities.
"Children five-years and below are most vulnerable to malnutrition," Cora Cerdena, supervising senior specialist at the Nutrition Centre of the Philippines, told IRIN. "That is why it is important to implement the programmes geared towards this age-group."
Prior to the food crisis, data showed the government was making headway in reducing malnutrition among infants and children up to five years old, as well as those aged 6-10.
Underweight, under-height
In 2001, based on a National Nutrition Survey, (http://fnri.dost.gov.ph/ ) 30 percent of the under sixes were underweight, and 31.4 percent were under-height. In 2003, the figure went down to 27 percent underweight and 30 percent under-height.
In 2005, the prevalence of underweight children further decreased to 25 percent, while under-height children declined to 26 percent. (Figures for 2007 are not yet for official release.) The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target is to reduce malnutrition to 17 percent by 2015. Experts are now concerned that any improvements are now being undermined by the current food crisis.
To achieve this MDG target, the government launched the Accelerated Hunger-Mitigation Programme (AHMP) which seeks to address both the supply and demand side by increasing food production and food delivery while at the same time putting more money in people's pockets. The programme is being implemented in at least 40 of the poorest provinces.
Part of the programme is the promotion of good nutrition, which targets children.
Nutrition programme under threat
Two major components under the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition are rice distribution among schoolchildren and food fortification. But the tight supply of rice threatens to undermine nutrition efforts.
The cutback on rice distribution among schoolchildren has a direct effect on the campaign to reduce malnutrition among children under six, Nutrition Centre of the Philippines Information and Education Division Director Nerissa Babaran told IRIN.
"The schoolchildren are the entry points for the distribution of the rice. If you cut back the coverage, you also in effect cut back supply for the other members of the family."
Promoting breastfeeding
To supplement efforts at better nutrition, Babaran said the campaign to promote breastfeeding has moved into high gear. "We want to bring back the culture of the 1970s and 80s where there was high incidence of breastfeeding among mothers," she said.
Breastfeeding training and promotion is now under way in Priority One provinces, identified as the 20 poorest. These provinces include Mountain Province in Luzon; Masbate, Camarines Norte in the Visayas region; Zamboanga Sibugay, Surigao, Maguindanao, Agusan del Sur and Sarangani in Mindanao.
Village health workers, midwives and hospital interns are being taught the benefits of breastfeeding, under the Training of Trainers on Infant and Young Child Feeding. The goal is that they will encourage mothers to breastfeed their children.
In her report on the progress of the AHMP, Flores said the campaign has reached 83 percent of targeted municipalities and `barangays' (villages) with more than 9,000 implementers trained.
The target is to reach 203 municipalities and 2,774 villages. "Those trained are expected to follow-up with pregnant and lactating women and assist them in making informed and desirable decisions related to breastfeeding and complementary feeding," the National Nutrition Council's Flores said.
In the face of growing food insecurity in the Philippines, Flores said the advocacy for breastfeeding as an anti-poverty measure "should be strengthened and sustained".
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Philippines Military Executing Leftist Activists, UN Independent Expert Finds
The Armed Forces of the Philippines has been executing leftist activists in recent years, an independent United Nations human rights expert said in a new report which welcomes Government measures to address the problem while emphasizing the need to end impunity through prosecution and punishment.
“A significant number of the hundreds of extrajudicial executions of leftist activists in the Philippines that have taken place over the past six years are the result of deliberate targeting by the military as part of counterinsurgency operations against the communist rebels,” said Philip Alston, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.
The report which is accessible on this URL http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=24799&Cr=philippine&Cr1= was released on Tuesday. And the Philippine military has strongly denied the allegations it was behind the killings.
During a fact-finding mission earlier this year to the South-East Asian nation, Mr. Alston – who serves in an unpaid, personal capacity – investigated the killings in depth.
He interviewed victims or witnesses to 57 incidents involving 96 extrajudicial executions. He met with Government officials of all ranks, including local military commanders as well as the President, as well as with the leaders of the communist rebels’ National Democratic Front (NDF).
In a statement, he said he was “encouraged” by various measures adopted recently by the Government and by the fact that he had met with the country’s Executive Secretary in New York, but also stressed that those responsible for killings must be prosecuted and punished to stop them.
“The Government has undertaken a range of welcome reforms, but the fact remains that not a single soldier has been convicted in any of the cases involving leftist activists,” he said.
“In some parts of the country, the armed forces have followed a deliberate strategy of systematically hunting down the leaders of leftist organization,” Mr. Alston noted. “As commander-in-chief, the President must take concrete steps to end such operations.”
Since 1968, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) – which has an armed faction, the New People’s Army (NPA), and a civil society group, the NDF – has aimed to revolutionize what it views as the country’s “semi-feudal” society.
The Rapporteur said that the military officers he interviewed “relentlessly pushed” the theory that such extrajudicial executions had in fact been committed by the rebels to simultaneously remove spies while discrediting the Government, and he reviewed all of the documentation provided to support this idea.
“The military’s argument that the leftist activists who have been killed are the victims of a ‘purge’ by the rebels is strikingly unconvincing and can only be viewed as a cynical attempt to displace responsibility,” he said.
The Rapporteur criticized the rebels themselves for participating in some extrajudicial executions of civilians who are not directly involved with the hostilities and the death threats they have made against political opponents.
“The death sentences imposed by their ‘people’s courts’ provide only a veneer of legality for what is really vigilantism or murder,” he said.
During his visit to the Philippines, Mr. Alston also investigated extrajudicial executions in western Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago, which have seen armed conflict involving several insurgent and terrorist groups, including the Moro National Liberation Front, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Abu Sayyaf Group.
Since witnesses in the regions live in great fear and it is difficult to ascertain who is responsible for abuses, he said that bolstered human rights monitoring is crucial to protect the civilian population.
Mr. Alston also looked into the actions of a death squad in Davao City on the island of Mindanao, interviewing victims and witnesses as well as speaking with local police, military officers and the mayor.
“The mayor’s position that he can do nothing to stop men without masks from routinely killing children for petty crimes in full view of witnesses lacks all credibility,” he said in the report. “Mayor Duterte should be stripped of his control over the local police, and the national Government should assume responsibility for dismantling the death squad and prosecuting its members.”
Thursday, April 19, 2007
UN Aid On Its Way To War Refugees In South RP
MANILA – The United Nations World Food Programme announced Thursday that it will provide 85 metric tons of rice (1700 bags) to assist more than 42,000 people displaced by fighting on the restive island of Jolo.
The Philippine military said at least 21 people were killed and over 100 injured in clashes between soldiers and Moro National Liberation Front rebels since last week.
The UN said the hostilities drove some 8,500 families from their homes in seven of 18 towns on the island of Jolo in the Sulu Archipelago, about 950 km south of Manila.
"We hope this support for hungry families will help stabilize the situation in Sulu," said Valerie Guarnieri, WFP Country Director in the Philippines. "The province is one of the most conflict-affected areas of Mindanao, and the World Food Programme will provide assistance to these families in their time of need."
WFP staff will travel to Sulu to plan and oversee the distribution. Guanieri did not say when the rice would arrive.
Despite a 1996 peace accord between the Government and the MNLF, there have been occasional outbreaks of fighting. In March, WFP provided 25 metric tons rice (500 bags) to 6,000 displaced people in Sulu, who have since returned to their homes.
While the relief programme in Sulu involves the direct distribution of free food to displaced families, ongoing WFP-supported activities in Maguindanao, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur provinces also use food to increase school attendance, repair damaged infrastructure, provide nutritional support for mothers and children and promote peace.
Major donors to WFP's emergency assistance programme for people affected by the conflict in Mindanao include: Multilateral funds (US$3.9 million); Japan (US$2.4 million) Australia (US$1.4 million) and Germany (US$985,000). (With a report from Mark Navales and Ely Dumaboc)
The Philippine military said at least 21 people were killed and over 100 injured in clashes between soldiers and Moro National Liberation Front rebels since last week.
The UN said the hostilities drove some 8,500 families from their homes in seven of 18 towns on the island of Jolo in the Sulu Archipelago, about 950 km south of Manila.
"We hope this support for hungry families will help stabilize the situation in Sulu," said Valerie Guarnieri, WFP Country Director in the Philippines. "The province is one of the most conflict-affected areas of Mindanao, and the World Food Programme will provide assistance to these families in their time of need."
WFP staff will travel to Sulu to plan and oversee the distribution. Guanieri did not say when the rice would arrive.
Despite a 1996 peace accord between the Government and the MNLF, there have been occasional outbreaks of fighting. In March, WFP provided 25 metric tons rice (500 bags) to 6,000 displaced people in Sulu, who have since returned to their homes.
While the relief programme in Sulu involves the direct distribution of free food to displaced families, ongoing WFP-supported activities in Maguindanao, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur provinces also use food to increase school attendance, repair damaged infrastructure, provide nutritional support for mothers and children and promote peace.
Major donors to WFP's emergency assistance programme for people affected by the conflict in Mindanao include: Multilateral funds (US$3.9 million); Japan (US$2.4 million) Australia (US$1.4 million) and Germany (US$985,000). (With a report from Mark Navales and Ely Dumaboc)
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
*Philippine Government Apathetic Toward Human Rights Abuses By Philip Alston
UNITED Nations special rapporteur Philip Alston gave an oral report to the UN Human Rights Council yesterday of the preliminary findings and recommendations in connection with his 10-day visit to the country in February to investigate extrajudicial killings.
In his report, Alston criticized key government agencies, particularly the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, the Ombudsman, the Department of Justice, and Malacañang for shirking their responsibilities in upholding human rights in the Philippines.
I. INTRODUCTION
1. I visited the Philippines at the invitation of the Government from 12 to 21 February 2007. I met with key government officials, including the President, the Executive Secretary, the National Security Adviser, the Secretaries for Defense and Justice, members of Congress, the Chief Justice, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Chair of the Human Rights Commission, and the Ombudsman. Approximately half of my mission was devoted to meetings with representatives of civil society, in Manila, Baguio and Davao. Pending the submission of my final report to the Human Rights Council, this interim report provides a brief overview of my activities and identifies some of the issues which are of the most concern to me. Comments provided by the Government on a draft of this report are acknowledged with appreciation.
2. The Government cooperated in the organization and conduct of my mission in an exemplary fashion. As I indicated in my departing press conference, the fact of the invitation itself reflected a clear recognition of the gravity of the problem, a willingness to permit outside scrutiny, and a very welcome preparedness to engage on the issues. Civil society was equally engaged and I received very detailed and systematic information which contributed enormously to the success of the mission.
II. PRINCIPAL CONCERNS AND GOVERNMENT RESPONSES
3. In a nutshell, my visit was prompted by reports of a large number of extrajudicial killings, especially of leftist activists and journalists, over the past six years or so. While the estimates vary from 100 to 800 or more, I concluded that it is not productive to play the numbers game and seek to confirm any definitive number. No one disputes that large numbers have been killed. Especially problematic is the fact that the impact has been to intimidate vast numbers of civil society actors, to send a message of vulnerability to all but the most well connected, and to severely undermine political discourse.
4. In considering how to respond to the problem, it is not helpful to dwell unduly at this stage on the reluctance of the military, the police and some key ministers to come to terms with the reality and seriousness of the problem. Suffice it to note that the Government itself was sufficiently motivated to appoint both a high-level independent commission to investigate the problem (the Melo Commission) and a national-level police task force (with military cooperation) to investigate alleged killings promptly and bring prosecutions (Task Force Usig). In recent months, the Government has ordered a range of initiatives, including:
The Department of National Defense (DND) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have been requested to draft an updated document on Command Responsibility;
The Department of Justice (DOJ), DND, and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) have been asked to constitute a Joint Fact-Finding body in relation to the alleged involvement of military personnel in the killings, and to charge and prosecute those responsible;
The DOJ has been asked to broaden and enhance the Witness Protection Program (WPP);
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has announced the creation of 99 Special Courts to try those accused of killings of a political or ideological nature;
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has formally requested assistance from the European Union and others to provide funds in response to the killings;†
An additional 25 million pesos (US$ 510,000) has been provided to the CHR to enable it to better address the problem; and
The Presidential Human Rights Committee (as distinct from the CHR) has been rejuvenated.
5. The fact that there has been such a strong institutional response at the national level is initially encouraging. This in turn has been mirrored by the deep concerns expressed by a diverse range of actors within the international community. Taken together, these responses attest to the high saliency of the issue and the urgent need to identify measures which might help to end the spate of killings. The remainder of this interim report is devoted to that challenge.
III. THE ROAD AHEAD
6. The consequences of a failure to end extrajudicial killings in the Philippines will be dire. Efforts to resolve the various insurgencies will be set back significantly. Incentives to opposition groups to head for the hills rather than seek to engage in democratic politics will be enhanced, and international support for the Government will be undermined. A multifaceted and convincing governmental response is thus urgent.
7. In essence, the problem must be tackled at two different, but complementary, levels. At one level there is indeed a need for more staff, more resources, and more specialist expertise, a better witness-protection programme, and the strengthening of key institutions. The recent Government actions noted above have gone a considerable way in that direction. But such steps are premised almost entirely on the assumption that the key interventions required concern resources and expertise. The hope seems to be that if there can be better investigators, more forensic capacity, more focused judicial action, and more sustained action by the joint military/police task force, the problems will be resolved. But the strong risk is that these measures will treat only some of the symptoms of the crisis, and will fail to address meaningfully two of the most important underlying causes of a great many of the killings.
8. Those causes constitute the second level at which an effective national response is required.
The first cause has been variously described as "vilification," "labeling," or guilt by association. It involves the characterization of most groups on the left of the political spectrum as "front organizations" for armed groups whose aim is to destroy democracy. The result is that a wide range of groups — including human rights advocates, labour union organizers, journalists, teachers unions, women's groups, indigenous organizations, religious groups, student groups, agrarian reform advocates, and others — are classified as "fronts" and then as "enemies of the State" that are accordingly considered to be legitimate targets. The second cause is the extent to which aspects of the Government's counter-insurgency strategy encourage or facilitate the extrajudicial killings of activists and other 'enemies' in certain circumstances. The final report will elaborate at length on this issue.
A. Orders of battle
9. While these two causes tend to operate separately from one another in many settings, they also come together in various ways. The most dramatic illustration is the "order of battle" approach adopted systematically by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and in practice often by the Philippines National Police (PNP). In military terms an order of battle is defined as "an organizational tool used by military intelligence to list and analyze enemy military units'."
The AFP adopts an order of battle in relation to the various regions and sub-regions in which they operate. A copy of a leaked document of this type, from 2006, was provided to me and I am aware of no reason to doubt its authenticity. The document, co-signed by senior military and police officials, calls upon "all members of the intelligence community in the [relevant] region... to adopt and be guided by this update to enhance a more comprehensive and concerted effort against the CPP/NPA/NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army/National Democratic Front)."
The document, some 110 pages in length, lists hundreds of groups and individuals who have been classified, on the basis of intelligence, as members of organizations which the military deems "illegitimate". Newspapers carry almost daily reports of senior military officials urging that such groups be neutralized and calling upon the populace to recognize that to support their candidates in the upcoming elections would be to support the enemy. This practice was openly and adamantly defended by nearly every member of the military with whom I spoke. When a significant number of individuals killed in incidents implicating the armed forces or police are also listed on an order of battle, it raises serious questions about the appropriateness of this practice. It may be, as I was told, a "political war," but when such political war is conducted by soldiers rather than civilians, politics too quickly comes to involve guns as well as words. An interim recommendation emerges from this analysis and is outlined below.
B. Restoring accountability at all levels
10. One of the key impediments to the effectiveness of many of the measures announced by the Government in recent weeks is the fact that many of the accountability mechanisms which are invoked as checks on governmental abuses have been rendered ineffectual in dealing with such issues. On paper, they remain strong. In practice, they are of all too little use, and often this is the result of official design. These issues will be examined in detail in my final report but for present purposes it is sufficient to focus upon some key examples of institutional passivity in the face of large numbers of killings.
11. There is a passivity, bordering on an abdication of responsibility, which affects the way in which key institutions and actors approach their responsibilities in relation to such human rights concerns. For example, in discussions with me, the chair of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights insisted that there was no role for Congress because no new legislation was required, given that murder was already a punishable offense. He openly denied that Congress should play any proactive oversight role regarding the executive's execution of the law. He added that military promotions of those widely suspected of human rights violations were no concern of his Committee and had not been held up by the Congressional Commission on Appointments because no witnesses had come forward to object. He had not and did not intend to hold hearings into the widespread problem of extrajudicial killings because it was a matter for the executive, rather than the Congress.
12. The Secretary of Justice, and his colleagues, were perplexed at the proposition that prosecutors, whose role is absolutely central in the Philippines justice system, had some broader responsibility to take steps to uphold respect for human rights. Instead, their role was seen as a passive one. If a file presented to them was insufficient, their role was simply to return it and hope that the police would do better next time. It was not for them to observe or respond to clearly shoddy dossiers designed to ensure that the police could be said to have done their job while at the same time no prosecution would follow. The Government position is that prosecutors must show "total impartiality" and thus they cannot be directed to adapt their methods of work to ensure that everything possible is done to promote respect for human rights. That position seems to me to be highly problematic.
13. The Ombudsman's office, despite the existence of a separate unit designed to investigate precisely the type of killings that have been alleged, has done almost nothing in recent years in this regard. The Government itself acknowledges that, of 44 complaints submitted from 2002 to 2006 alleging extrajudicial executions attributed to State agents, the Ombudsman's office concluded that it was unable to act on even a single case. While such a result in relation to five or even ten cases might be justifiable, when it reaches the level of 44 cases the conclusion must be that the office is failing in its responsibilities. Many explanations were offered for its inactivity, but none were convincing. Moreover, in at least some situations the office operates as a de facto subsidiary of the Department of Justice.
14. Finally, the executive branch has stymied the legislature's efforts to oversee the execution of laws. Military officers are seldom permitted to appear before Congress other than at budget hearings. A high-ranking government official recounted with genuine puzzlement the efforts of the Committee on Human Rights of the House of Representatives to obtain the testimony of senior military officers. This was considered self-evidently preposterous and was successfully avoided. Official policy, now in the form of a 'memorandum circular' provides that any official requested to "appear before either House of Congress" shall "forward the request... to the President through the Executive Secretary" who "shall consider whether the subject matter of the inquiry is in aid of legislation and/or falls within the scope of executive privilege." This restrictive approach tends to make congressional oversight meaningless in practice.
IV. INTERIM RECOMMENDATIONS
15. I recommend that:
(a) The Government should immediately direct all military officers to cease making public statements linking political or other civil society groups to those engaged in armed insurgencies. If such characterizations are ever to be made it must be by civilian authorities, on the basis of transparent criteria, and in conformity with the human rights provisions of the Constitution and relevant treaties;
(b) The Government should commit to restoring the effectiveness of constitutionally mandated accountability arrangements, especially in relation to the role of Congressional oversight;
(c) In conjunction with the executive branch of Government, the Supreme Court should use its constitutional powers over the practice of law to impress upon prosecutors that they have a duty to the public to uphold and protect human rights by acting to ensure the effective investigation of cases and protection of witnesses;
(d) The Ombudsman's office should begin to take seriously its independent constitutional role in responding to extrajudicial killings plausibly attributed to public officials;
(e) The Government should provide the Special Rapporteur with a copy of an "order of battle" relating to one of the zones in the country in which significant conflict is currently occurring. (We are republishing this article from http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2007/04/357022.shtml)
In his report, Alston criticized key government agencies, particularly the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, the Ombudsman, the Department of Justice, and Malacañang for shirking their responsibilities in upholding human rights in the Philippines.
I. INTRODUCTION
1. I visited the Philippines at the invitation of the Government from 12 to 21 February 2007. I met with key government officials, including the President, the Executive Secretary, the National Security Adviser, the Secretaries for Defense and Justice, members of Congress, the Chief Justice, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Chair of the Human Rights Commission, and the Ombudsman. Approximately half of my mission was devoted to meetings with representatives of civil society, in Manila, Baguio and Davao. Pending the submission of my final report to the Human Rights Council, this interim report provides a brief overview of my activities and identifies some of the issues which are of the most concern to me. Comments provided by the Government on a draft of this report are acknowledged with appreciation.
2. The Government cooperated in the organization and conduct of my mission in an exemplary fashion. As I indicated in my departing press conference, the fact of the invitation itself reflected a clear recognition of the gravity of the problem, a willingness to permit outside scrutiny, and a very welcome preparedness to engage on the issues. Civil society was equally engaged and I received very detailed and systematic information which contributed enormously to the success of the mission.
II. PRINCIPAL CONCERNS AND GOVERNMENT RESPONSES
3. In a nutshell, my visit was prompted by reports of a large number of extrajudicial killings, especially of leftist activists and journalists, over the past six years or so. While the estimates vary from 100 to 800 or more, I concluded that it is not productive to play the numbers game and seek to confirm any definitive number. No one disputes that large numbers have been killed. Especially problematic is the fact that the impact has been to intimidate vast numbers of civil society actors, to send a message of vulnerability to all but the most well connected, and to severely undermine political discourse.
4. In considering how to respond to the problem, it is not helpful to dwell unduly at this stage on the reluctance of the military, the police and some key ministers to come to terms with the reality and seriousness of the problem. Suffice it to note that the Government itself was sufficiently motivated to appoint both a high-level independent commission to investigate the problem (the Melo Commission) and a national-level police task force (with military cooperation) to investigate alleged killings promptly and bring prosecutions (Task Force Usig). In recent months, the Government has ordered a range of initiatives, including:
The Department of National Defense (DND) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have been requested to draft an updated document on Command Responsibility;
The Department of Justice (DOJ), DND, and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) have been asked to constitute a Joint Fact-Finding body in relation to the alleged involvement of military personnel in the killings, and to charge and prosecute those responsible;
The DOJ has been asked to broaden and enhance the Witness Protection Program (WPP);
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has announced the creation of 99 Special Courts to try those accused of killings of a political or ideological nature;
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has formally requested assistance from the European Union and others to provide funds in response to the killings;†
An additional 25 million pesos (US$ 510,000) has been provided to the CHR to enable it to better address the problem; and
The Presidential Human Rights Committee (as distinct from the CHR) has been rejuvenated.
5. The fact that there has been such a strong institutional response at the national level is initially encouraging. This in turn has been mirrored by the deep concerns expressed by a diverse range of actors within the international community. Taken together, these responses attest to the high saliency of the issue and the urgent need to identify measures which might help to end the spate of killings. The remainder of this interim report is devoted to that challenge.
III. THE ROAD AHEAD
6. The consequences of a failure to end extrajudicial killings in the Philippines will be dire. Efforts to resolve the various insurgencies will be set back significantly. Incentives to opposition groups to head for the hills rather than seek to engage in democratic politics will be enhanced, and international support for the Government will be undermined. A multifaceted and convincing governmental response is thus urgent.
7. In essence, the problem must be tackled at two different, but complementary, levels. At one level there is indeed a need for more staff, more resources, and more specialist expertise, a better witness-protection programme, and the strengthening of key institutions. The recent Government actions noted above have gone a considerable way in that direction. But such steps are premised almost entirely on the assumption that the key interventions required concern resources and expertise. The hope seems to be that if there can be better investigators, more forensic capacity, more focused judicial action, and more sustained action by the joint military/police task force, the problems will be resolved. But the strong risk is that these measures will treat only some of the symptoms of the crisis, and will fail to address meaningfully two of the most important underlying causes of a great many of the killings.
8. Those causes constitute the second level at which an effective national response is required.
The first cause has been variously described as "vilification," "labeling," or guilt by association. It involves the characterization of most groups on the left of the political spectrum as "front organizations" for armed groups whose aim is to destroy democracy. The result is that a wide range of groups — including human rights advocates, labour union organizers, journalists, teachers unions, women's groups, indigenous organizations, religious groups, student groups, agrarian reform advocates, and others — are classified as "fronts" and then as "enemies of the State" that are accordingly considered to be legitimate targets. The second cause is the extent to which aspects of the Government's counter-insurgency strategy encourage or facilitate the extrajudicial killings of activists and other 'enemies' in certain circumstances. The final report will elaborate at length on this issue.
A. Orders of battle
9. While these two causes tend to operate separately from one another in many settings, they also come together in various ways. The most dramatic illustration is the "order of battle" approach adopted systematically by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and in practice often by the Philippines National Police (PNP). In military terms an order of battle is defined as "an organizational tool used by military intelligence to list and analyze enemy military units'."
The AFP adopts an order of battle in relation to the various regions and sub-regions in which they operate. A copy of a leaked document of this type, from 2006, was provided to me and I am aware of no reason to doubt its authenticity. The document, co-signed by senior military and police officials, calls upon "all members of the intelligence community in the [relevant] region... to adopt and be guided by this update to enhance a more comprehensive and concerted effort against the CPP/NPA/NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army/National Democratic Front)."
The document, some 110 pages in length, lists hundreds of groups and individuals who have been classified, on the basis of intelligence, as members of organizations which the military deems "illegitimate". Newspapers carry almost daily reports of senior military officials urging that such groups be neutralized and calling upon the populace to recognize that to support their candidates in the upcoming elections would be to support the enemy. This practice was openly and adamantly defended by nearly every member of the military with whom I spoke. When a significant number of individuals killed in incidents implicating the armed forces or police are also listed on an order of battle, it raises serious questions about the appropriateness of this practice. It may be, as I was told, a "political war," but when such political war is conducted by soldiers rather than civilians, politics too quickly comes to involve guns as well as words. An interim recommendation emerges from this analysis and is outlined below.
B. Restoring accountability at all levels
10. One of the key impediments to the effectiveness of many of the measures announced by the Government in recent weeks is the fact that many of the accountability mechanisms which are invoked as checks on governmental abuses have been rendered ineffectual in dealing with such issues. On paper, they remain strong. In practice, they are of all too little use, and often this is the result of official design. These issues will be examined in detail in my final report but for present purposes it is sufficient to focus upon some key examples of institutional passivity in the face of large numbers of killings.
11. There is a passivity, bordering on an abdication of responsibility, which affects the way in which key institutions and actors approach their responsibilities in relation to such human rights concerns. For example, in discussions with me, the chair of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights insisted that there was no role for Congress because no new legislation was required, given that murder was already a punishable offense. He openly denied that Congress should play any proactive oversight role regarding the executive's execution of the law. He added that military promotions of those widely suspected of human rights violations were no concern of his Committee and had not been held up by the Congressional Commission on Appointments because no witnesses had come forward to object. He had not and did not intend to hold hearings into the widespread problem of extrajudicial killings because it was a matter for the executive, rather than the Congress.
12. The Secretary of Justice, and his colleagues, were perplexed at the proposition that prosecutors, whose role is absolutely central in the Philippines justice system, had some broader responsibility to take steps to uphold respect for human rights. Instead, their role was seen as a passive one. If a file presented to them was insufficient, their role was simply to return it and hope that the police would do better next time. It was not for them to observe or respond to clearly shoddy dossiers designed to ensure that the police could be said to have done their job while at the same time no prosecution would follow. The Government position is that prosecutors must show "total impartiality" and thus they cannot be directed to adapt their methods of work to ensure that everything possible is done to promote respect for human rights. That position seems to me to be highly problematic.
13. The Ombudsman's office, despite the existence of a separate unit designed to investigate precisely the type of killings that have been alleged, has done almost nothing in recent years in this regard. The Government itself acknowledges that, of 44 complaints submitted from 2002 to 2006 alleging extrajudicial executions attributed to State agents, the Ombudsman's office concluded that it was unable to act on even a single case. While such a result in relation to five or even ten cases might be justifiable, when it reaches the level of 44 cases the conclusion must be that the office is failing in its responsibilities. Many explanations were offered for its inactivity, but none were convincing. Moreover, in at least some situations the office operates as a de facto subsidiary of the Department of Justice.
14. Finally, the executive branch has stymied the legislature's efforts to oversee the execution of laws. Military officers are seldom permitted to appear before Congress other than at budget hearings. A high-ranking government official recounted with genuine puzzlement the efforts of the Committee on Human Rights of the House of Representatives to obtain the testimony of senior military officers. This was considered self-evidently preposterous and was successfully avoided. Official policy, now in the form of a 'memorandum circular' provides that any official requested to "appear before either House of Congress" shall "forward the request... to the President through the Executive Secretary" who "shall consider whether the subject matter of the inquiry is in aid of legislation and/or falls within the scope of executive privilege." This restrictive approach tends to make congressional oversight meaningless in practice.
IV. INTERIM RECOMMENDATIONS
15. I recommend that:
(a) The Government should immediately direct all military officers to cease making public statements linking political or other civil society groups to those engaged in armed insurgencies. If such characterizations are ever to be made it must be by civilian authorities, on the basis of transparent criteria, and in conformity with the human rights provisions of the Constitution and relevant treaties;
(b) The Government should commit to restoring the effectiveness of constitutionally mandated accountability arrangements, especially in relation to the role of Congressional oversight;
(c) In conjunction with the executive branch of Government, the Supreme Court should use its constitutional powers over the practice of law to impress upon prosecutors that they have a duty to the public to uphold and protect human rights by acting to ensure the effective investigation of cases and protection of witnesses;
(d) The Ombudsman's office should begin to take seriously its independent constitutional role in responding to extrajudicial killings plausibly attributed to public officials;
(e) The Government should provide the Special Rapporteur with a copy of an "order of battle" relating to one of the zones in the country in which significant conflict is currently occurring. (We are republishing this article from http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2007/04/357022.shtml)
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Militar, Nabahag Ang Buntot!
MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 29 Mar) – Mistulang nabahag ang buntot ng militar matapos na sabihan ng Malakanyang na kailangan ng tanggalin ang mga sundalo sa lansangan ng Metro Manila.
Bagama’t unang nagmatigas ang militar sa panawagan ng mga militanteng grupo at oposisyon ay tila tiklop naman ito sa kagustuhan ng nasa Palasyo matapos na mismong si Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita ang nagsabing dapat na lagyan ng timeline ang unti-unting pull-out ng tropa sa Metro.
Ngunit mabilis naman na itinanggi ng Armed Forces at Defense Department na sunod-sunuran ang mga ito sa kagustuhan ng administrasyong Arroyo.
Nagkataon lamang umano na magtatapos ang ilang proyekto ng Armed Forces sa Metro Manila kung kayat maaaring magkaroon ng pagsamantalang pag-pull out sa mga sundalo nito sa Mayo ng kasalukuyang taon.
Katwiran ito ngayon ni AFP Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. na aniya'y ang pag-aalis ng puwersa ng militar sa Kalakhang Maynila ay nakadepende sa assessment ng National Capital Region Command (NCRCom).
Bago ang halalan aniya ay maaaring makumpleto na ang konstruksyon ng mga day care centers at pampublikong palikuran na tinatrabaho sa kasalukuyan ng mga sundalo sa mga barangay.
Aminado si Esperon na may mga plano na ring tuluyang tapusin ang mga aktibidad sa Metro Manila.
Gayunman, nilinaw ni Defense Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., na ang balaking pag-pull out sa troop deployment ay hindi pagsunod sa hirit ni Ermita na magtakda ng timeline ang AFP para tuldukan ang mga proyekto.
"Ermita's statements are always misquoted. He asked the military to consider a timeline, not to set a timeline," ani Ebdane.
"He is leaving the up to the AFP and the defense department. There is a review and the decision will come from the chief of staff. He does not want to micro-manage," dagdag nito.
Samantala, binalingan naman ni Esperon ang pagbanat na isasagawa ng Europa hinggil sa usapin ng extrajudicial killings sa Pilipinas.
Sinabi ni Esperon na hindi makatarungan ang pahayag ni United Nations rapporteur Philip Alston na nagbabalang mawawalan ng international support ang bansa kung mabibigong tapusin ang mga political killing.
Sa una pa lamang aniya, matapos na tulungan ng AFP ang UN rapporteur sa imbestigasyon nito ay nakatikim na ng pagkastigo at pagdidiin ang militar.
Ayon kay Esperon, nabigo si Alston na bigyang-pahalaga ang matinding pagsusumikap ng gobyerno na matuldukan ang mga pagpaslang ng militante at mamamahayag.Hindi rin aniya dapat pinanghihimasukan at binibigyan ng maling interpretasyon ang operasyon ng militar laban sa insureksyon.
Una nang inilantad ni Alston na "Order of Battle" approach ang paraan ng kampanya ng AFP kontra komunismo kung saan ay maaaring magbigay-daan sa pagpapatumba ng mga maling kalaban sapagkat nakabase lang na intelligence ang impormasyon.
Maliwanag rin umano na sa counter-insurgency campaign ng gobyerno ay bukas o nakakatulong pa para maging lehitimo ang extrajudicial killings.
Ngunit, para kay Esperon, hindi kinukunsinti ng AFP ang ilegal na pagpaslang at sa katunayan ay mga kaukulang imbestigasyon at prosekusyon ang kanilang hanay sa mga suspek sa extrajudicial killings. (Juley Reyes at Chris Navarra)
Bagama’t unang nagmatigas ang militar sa panawagan ng mga militanteng grupo at oposisyon ay tila tiklop naman ito sa kagustuhan ng nasa Palasyo matapos na mismong si Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita ang nagsabing dapat na lagyan ng timeline ang unti-unting pull-out ng tropa sa Metro.
Ngunit mabilis naman na itinanggi ng Armed Forces at Defense Department na sunod-sunuran ang mga ito sa kagustuhan ng administrasyong Arroyo.
Nagkataon lamang umano na magtatapos ang ilang proyekto ng Armed Forces sa Metro Manila kung kayat maaaring magkaroon ng pagsamantalang pag-pull out sa mga sundalo nito sa Mayo ng kasalukuyang taon.
Katwiran ito ngayon ni AFP Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. na aniya'y ang pag-aalis ng puwersa ng militar sa Kalakhang Maynila ay nakadepende sa assessment ng National Capital Region Command (NCRCom).
Bago ang halalan aniya ay maaaring makumpleto na ang konstruksyon ng mga day care centers at pampublikong palikuran na tinatrabaho sa kasalukuyan ng mga sundalo sa mga barangay.
Aminado si Esperon na may mga plano na ring tuluyang tapusin ang mga aktibidad sa Metro Manila.
Gayunman, nilinaw ni Defense Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., na ang balaking pag-pull out sa troop deployment ay hindi pagsunod sa hirit ni Ermita na magtakda ng timeline ang AFP para tuldukan ang mga proyekto.
"Ermita's statements are always misquoted. He asked the military to consider a timeline, not to set a timeline," ani Ebdane.
"He is leaving the up to the AFP and the defense department. There is a review and the decision will come from the chief of staff. He does not want to micro-manage," dagdag nito.
Samantala, binalingan naman ni Esperon ang pagbanat na isasagawa ng Europa hinggil sa usapin ng extrajudicial killings sa Pilipinas.
Sinabi ni Esperon na hindi makatarungan ang pahayag ni United Nations rapporteur Philip Alston na nagbabalang mawawalan ng international support ang bansa kung mabibigong tapusin ang mga political killing.
Sa una pa lamang aniya, matapos na tulungan ng AFP ang UN rapporteur sa imbestigasyon nito ay nakatikim na ng pagkastigo at pagdidiin ang militar.
Ayon kay Esperon, nabigo si Alston na bigyang-pahalaga ang matinding pagsusumikap ng gobyerno na matuldukan ang mga pagpaslang ng militante at mamamahayag.Hindi rin aniya dapat pinanghihimasukan at binibigyan ng maling interpretasyon ang operasyon ng militar laban sa insureksyon.
Una nang inilantad ni Alston na "Order of Battle" approach ang paraan ng kampanya ng AFP kontra komunismo kung saan ay maaaring magbigay-daan sa pagpapatumba ng mga maling kalaban sapagkat nakabase lang na intelligence ang impormasyon.
Maliwanag rin umano na sa counter-insurgency campaign ng gobyerno ay bukas o nakakatulong pa para maging lehitimo ang extrajudicial killings.
Ngunit, para kay Esperon, hindi kinukunsinti ng AFP ang ilegal na pagpaslang at sa katunayan ay mga kaukulang imbestigasyon at prosekusyon ang kanilang hanay sa mga suspek sa extrajudicial killings. (Juley Reyes at Chris Navarra)
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
After U.N. And Melo Reports, The Political Killings Still Continue In Philippines...
NORTH COTABATO (Mindanao Examiner / 14 Mar) – Family and relatives of a slain militant farmer in North Cotabato province are demanding justice as militant groups and political activists condemned the killing.
Carlito Getrosa, 49, a member of Bayan Muna in Pigcawayan town here, was shot in the head by three masked motorcycle gunmen in front of his terrified family at the weekend.
His group said Gertrosa was the 875th victim of political killings since President Gloria Arroyo assumed the presidency in 2001.
"The recent killing bears the usual pattern and same purpose for which all the cases of political killings in the country are done. The crimes are getting intolerable and unforgivable that we condemn in highest terms Gloria Arroyo for staying numb and inefficient," Bayan Muna Rep. Joel Virador said.
Virador said the extra-judicial killings in the Philippines continue unabated despite the investigations of the United Nations and the independent Melo Commission. Both investigations point to soldiers as allegedly responsible to most of the murders, an accusation strongly denied by the Philippine military.
The United States Senate is currently investigating the extra-judicial killings in the Philippines. Summary executions are also rampant in the southern cities of Zamboanga, Davao, Digos and Cebu in the central Philippines.
“While the culprits remain vindicated and the killings continue with impunity, the families of the victims are blatantly denied of the justice they lawfully deserve.”
"The Arroyo regime is seemed unmoved by the recommendations of the (UN investigator Philip) Alston and Melo reports that no concrete steps are being taken to truthfully investigate the alleged participation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to the killings," Virador said.
He said the attacks against the leaders and members of Bayan Muna and other progressive party list groups opposed to Arroyo’s rule are all meant to discredit them in the mid-year elections.
Bayan Muna and other allied party list groups have topped recent independent surveys in the Philippines.
The military branded the militant groups as front of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army rebels. It accused Bayan Muna and other groups of channeling funds to the rebels in support of their armed struggle to topple the democratic government and install a Marxist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)
Carlito Getrosa, 49, a member of Bayan Muna in Pigcawayan town here, was shot in the head by three masked motorcycle gunmen in front of his terrified family at the weekend.
His group said Gertrosa was the 875th victim of political killings since President Gloria Arroyo assumed the presidency in 2001.
"The recent killing bears the usual pattern and same purpose for which all the cases of political killings in the country are done. The crimes are getting intolerable and unforgivable that we condemn in highest terms Gloria Arroyo for staying numb and inefficient," Bayan Muna Rep. Joel Virador said.
Virador said the extra-judicial killings in the Philippines continue unabated despite the investigations of the United Nations and the independent Melo Commission. Both investigations point to soldiers as allegedly responsible to most of the murders, an accusation strongly denied by the Philippine military.
The United States Senate is currently investigating the extra-judicial killings in the Philippines. Summary executions are also rampant in the southern cities of Zamboanga, Davao, Digos and Cebu in the central Philippines.
“While the culprits remain vindicated and the killings continue with impunity, the families of the victims are blatantly denied of the justice they lawfully deserve.”
"The Arroyo regime is seemed unmoved by the recommendations of the (UN investigator Philip) Alston and Melo reports that no concrete steps are being taken to truthfully investigate the alleged participation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to the killings," Virador said.
He said the attacks against the leaders and members of Bayan Muna and other progressive party list groups opposed to Arroyo’s rule are all meant to discredit them in the mid-year elections.
Bayan Muna and other allied party list groups have topped recent independent surveys in the Philippines.
The military branded the militant groups as front of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army rebels. It accused Bayan Muna and other groups of channeling funds to the rebels in support of their armed struggle to topple the democratic government and install a Marxist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Gunman Kills U.N. Witness In Summary Executions In Philippines
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 11 Mar) – An unidentified gunman shot dead a political activist in an attack near an army detachment in the southern Philippines, militant groups said.
Cheche Gandinao, a member of the militant party list group, Bayan Muna, was killed in Misamis Oriental’s Salay town on Saturday. The murder of the 56-year old activist came barely a month after she testified in a UN probe headed by Philip Alston on extra-judicial killings in Davao City.
Alston was convinced that the military was behind most of the killings of political activists in the Philippines.
Gandinao, the 14th activist killed in the Philippine this year, was shot at least four times in the body and head. Her father-in-law, a peasant leader, was also killed in similar attack in February.
Gandinao’s killer fled on motorcycle after the attack which occurred just several blocks away from the military detachment manned by militias.
No group or individual claimed responsibility for the attack, but militant groups blamed the military for the killing. (Mindanao Examiner)
Cheche Gandinao, a member of the militant party list group, Bayan Muna, was killed in Misamis Oriental’s Salay town on Saturday. The murder of the 56-year old activist came barely a month after she testified in a UN probe headed by Philip Alston on extra-judicial killings in Davao City.
Alston was convinced that the military was behind most of the killings of political activists in the Philippines.
Gandinao, the 14th activist killed in the Philippine this year, was shot at least four times in the body and head. Her father-in-law, a peasant leader, was also killed in similar attack in February.
Gandinao’s killer fled on motorcycle after the attack which occurred just several blocks away from the military detachment manned by militias.
No group or individual claimed responsibility for the attack, but militant groups blamed the military for the killing. (Mindanao Examiner)
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
UN Envoy Accuses Philippine Army Of Being "In A State Of Almost Total Denial" About Wave Of Political Killings
AND MANY OF THESE KILLINGS killings have been "convincingly attributed to them", said special rapporteur Philip Alston.
One human rights group says since President Gloria Arroyo took power in 2001, 830 activists have been killed.Mr Alston urged President Arroyo to confront what he called a culture of virtual impunity in the legal system.
The Philippines army, which has been battling communist rebels for almost four decades, has blamed rogue elements for some of the killings.But Mr Alston said that such explanations were insufficient.
The army "needs to give us precise details and to indicate what investigations and prosecutions have been undertaken in response".Although critical of the president, the UN rapporteur stressed that he did not believe that there was any political sanction for the killings.
Alston presented his provisional findings in Manila"I do not believe that there's a policy at the top designed to direct that these killings to take place," said Mr Alston.
The human rights group Karapatan says that 832 extra-judicial killings since 2001 can be blamed on the security forces. Of these, it says 356 are left-wing activists.
The Philippines armed forces have been fighting a Communist insurgency since 1969, with an estimated 40,000 people killed, and in recent years they have also had to face attacks by Muslim radicals.
But military chief General Hermogenes Esperon denied that extra-judicial killings were used, and said he would prosecute any soldier found doing this, Reuters news agency reports.
Philip Alston has spent 10 days in the Philippines investigating the killings, and is due to present a full report on his findings in three months' time.(BBC News)
One human rights group says since President Gloria Arroyo took power in 2001, 830 activists have been killed.Mr Alston urged President Arroyo to confront what he called a culture of virtual impunity in the legal system.
The Philippines army, which has been battling communist rebels for almost four decades, has blamed rogue elements for some of the killings.But Mr Alston said that such explanations were insufficient.
The army "needs to give us precise details and to indicate what investigations and prosecutions have been undertaken in response".Although critical of the president, the UN rapporteur stressed that he did not believe that there was any political sanction for the killings.
Alston presented his provisional findings in Manila"I do not believe that there's a policy at the top designed to direct that these killings to take place," said Mr Alston.
The human rights group Karapatan says that 832 extra-judicial killings since 2001 can be blamed on the security forces. Of these, it says 356 are left-wing activists.
The Philippines armed forces have been fighting a Communist insurgency since 1969, with an estimated 40,000 people killed, and in recent years they have also had to face attacks by Muslim radicals.
But military chief General Hermogenes Esperon denied that extra-judicial killings were used, and said he would prosecute any soldier found doing this, Reuters news agency reports.
Philip Alston has spent 10 days in the Philippines investigating the killings, and is due to present a full report on his findings in three months' time.(BBC News)
Friday, December 15, 2006
UN Funds Needed For Philippines
MANILA - The United Nations country team in the Philippines has requested $2.6 million for rapid response projects from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) after several typhoons wreaked havoc on the country in recent weeks.
“Our priority is to work with our partners to provide affected communities with emergency shelter, clean water and food, and urgent healthcare,” Nileema Noble, UN Resident Coordinator for the Philippines, said in a statement released on Friday.
Typhoon Utor on December 9 brought renewed suffering to those struggling to recover from Typhoon Durian, which struck less than two weeks earlier.
Over 1,400 people have been reported dead and close to 110,000 others have sought refuge in evacuation centres. And more than seven million people have been affected by the storms, with death tolls rising as communication lines are restored to remote areas.
Ms. Noble warned that: “Adequate sanitation and hygiene facilities are needed for people living in crowded conditions, especially children and the elderly, to prevent the spread of disease, while emergency power generation is crucial for medical facilities to continue vital functions.”
Mudslides, flooding and landslides have destroyed much of the permanent infrastructure in the worst affected areas.
The UN praised the quick response of the Philippines Government in urgently providing assistance to stricken communities. The UN with its humanitarian partners has also been carrying out relief assistance and assessments on immediate needs in the region.
The humanitarian community, in conjunction with local government, is working to ensure a coordinated approach to assistance and effective use of resources. Many communities, particularly in the Bicol region, remain in a precarious situation.
A detailed appeal, in coordination with the Filipino government, will be launched in the coming months to enable people to rebuild their lives and support their families.
“Our priority is to work with our partners to provide affected communities with emergency shelter, clean water and food, and urgent healthcare,” Nileema Noble, UN Resident Coordinator for the Philippines, said in a statement released on Friday.
Typhoon Utor on December 9 brought renewed suffering to those struggling to recover from Typhoon Durian, which struck less than two weeks earlier.
Over 1,400 people have been reported dead and close to 110,000 others have sought refuge in evacuation centres. And more than seven million people have been affected by the storms, with death tolls rising as communication lines are restored to remote areas.
Ms. Noble warned that: “Adequate sanitation and hygiene facilities are needed for people living in crowded conditions, especially children and the elderly, to prevent the spread of disease, while emergency power generation is crucial for medical facilities to continue vital functions.”
Mudslides, flooding and landslides have destroyed much of the permanent infrastructure in the worst affected areas.
The UN praised the quick response of the Philippines Government in urgently providing assistance to stricken communities. The UN with its humanitarian partners has also been carrying out relief assistance and assessments on immediate needs in the region.
The humanitarian community, in conjunction with local government, is working to ensure a coordinated approach to assistance and effective use of resources. Many communities, particularly in the Bicol region, remain in a precarious situation.
A detailed appeal, in coordination with the Filipino government, will be launched in the coming months to enable people to rebuild their lives and support their families.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)