Philippines: Karapatan willing to participate in Supreme Court summit on killings

MANILA — The Philippine human rights group KARAPATAN today welcomed the human rights summit called for by Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno and announced its willingness to participate.

In its letter sent to Puno, Karapatan expressed its intent to join the human rights summit and congratulated the Chief Justice in calling for a human rights summit as a response to the multi-sectoral efforts to help stop human rights violations in the Philippines.

“We hope that the summit will include stakeholders such as human rights organizations like us and victims/relatives of victims themselves,” said Karapatan Secretary General Marie Hilao-Enriquez.

Enriquez said, “We hope that stakeholders – especially the victims and human rights advocates will not be marginalized in the summit.”

The rights group have not received an invitation as of press time.

The extrajudicial killings since 2001 under the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo totaled 869 as of 31 May 2007. Of this total, 411 belonged to progressive political parties and people’s organizations. Some 180 Filipinos were victims of involuntary disappearance.

Enriquez said that “the SC’s show of independence brings hope to Filipinos that it would be as judicious as is expected of the final arbiter of the law.”

“It is our hope that the summit would yield positive results because at the end of the day, what will matter most is if justice has been dispensed for those who were aggrieved,” Enriquez concluded.###

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