Defense chief says US assessment on extrajudicial killing cases in RP is “unfair and not true”

By Ronron
March 14, 2008

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. on Friday tagged as “unfair and not true” allegations of some international entities, like the US State Department, that Philippine authorities are remiss in addressing extrajudicial killing and other human rights violation cases.

Teodoro told reporters at Camp Aguinaldo that it is so convenient for others to accuse the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to be behind some cases of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances only because they perceive the perpetrators as “military-looking.”

“We are dealing with the issue of extrajudicial killing structurally in the department. So it will be on our own pace, on our terms, in our own programs… We cannot allow the agenda, the policy, and the pace of the reforms with respect to extrajudicial killings and all other forms of lawlessness to be dictated by outside events or outside pressures,” Teodoro said.

In its 2007 country report on human rights in the Philippines, the US State Department said that despite intensified government efforts to investigate and prosecute extrajudicial killing cases, many went unresolved and unpunished.

Teodoro said that while that was the assessment of the US State Department, he feels otherwise.

“I’ll read it (US State Department report) first, then I’ll judge. But right now, really, I feel that the incidents of reported political killings has gone down drastically,” he said without citing figures.

He said that among the measures taken by the military to strengthen their adherence to human rights policies is the recent seminar on the writ of habeas data held last Wednesday by senior commanders.

“The purpose of that is to let the senior commanders factor in to their operational planning, their SOP’s (standard operating procedures), the observance of new dictates and new rules of law, and the awareness of the public as to the effect of these laws and regulations on military operations,” Teodoro said.

He said the defense establishment “will comply with all those laws and rules and regulations.”

“We have set the agenda, directed as a matter of fact the Armed Forces a thorough review of their procedures to find out whether or not the adequate observance of human rights standards are factored in. And they’re coming out with it soon,” Teodoro said.

Teodoro conceded that while there may be some officials who violate human rights in the country, allegations that the “institution condones or even perpetrates it as a matter of policy” is “very unfair.”

“It is not true,” he said.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) Task Force USIG has taken cognizance of over 100 cases of killings of political activists and journalists since 2001, but it noted that most of these were perpetrated by the communist movement.

Local human rights group “Karapatan,” however, say that the number of cases since 2001 has already gone up to close to 900. This is on top of the more than 100 alleged cases of enforced disappearances during the said period./DMS