Military creates five courts martial to try rights abuses of soldiers

By Ronron
August 7, 2007

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has created five General Courts Martial to try cases of human rights violations allegedly perpetrated by the government soldiers.

AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. told a news conference Tuesday at Camp Aguinaldo after a joint command conference with the national police that the five courts will start working Wednesday.

The military leadership has earlier admitted in January of this year that at least six cases of alleged human rights violation cases being investigated by the Philippine National Police’s Task Force USIG involve soldiers as suspects.

“On the observance of human rights, our military justice system and we have created five General Court Martials that will take care of any possible violation of human rights,” Esperon said yesterday.

“We will start work tomorrow (Wednesday), starting with those who have been charged in courts of human rights violations,” he added.

The AFP has come under fire after cause-oriented groups brand them as usual suspects in killings and abductions of militants and other personalities perceived to be critical against the government.

But it has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying that it is not a policy of the government and the military to engage in extrajudicial killings.

To prove its sincerity in addressing the human rights issue, the military organization created a Human Rights Office early this year, and consistently bragged about the inclusion of human rights subjects in military curriculum and training./DMS