US on Human Rights in Philippines: Unsolved Cases, Unpunished Perpetrators

Philippines: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2007

Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor / US Department of State
March 11, 2008

The Philippines, with a population of 89 million, is a multiparty republic with an elected president and bicameral legislature. On May 14, approximately 73 percent of registered citizens voted in mid-term elections for both houses of congress and provincial and local governments. The election was generally free and fair but was marred by violence and allegations of vote buying and electoral fraud. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces; however, there were some instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently.

Arbitrary, unlawful, and extrajudicial killings by elements of the security services and political killings, including killings of journalists, by a variety of actors continued to be a major problem. Despite intensified government efforts to investigate and prosecute these cases, many went unsolved and unpunished. Concerns about impunity persisted. Members of the security services committed acts of physical and psychological abuse on suspects and detainees, and there were instances of torture. Arbitrary or warrantless arrests and detentions were common. Trials were delayed, and procedures were prolonged. Prisoners awaiting trial and those already convicted were often held under primitive conditions. Corruption was a problem in all the institutions making up the criminal justice system, including police, prosecutorial, and judicial organs. In addition to the killings mentioned above, leftwing and human rights activists were often subject to harassment by local security forces. Problems such as violence against women and abuse of children, child prostitution, trafficking in persons, child labor, and ineffective enforcement of worker rights were common.

In addition to killing soldiers and police officers in armed encounters, the New People’s Army (NPA, the military wing of the Communist Party, CPP) killed local government officials and ordinary civilians, including through the use of landmines, and were suspected by the government in many of the killings of leftwing activists. The NPA also used child soldiers in combat roles. Terrorist groups committed bombings that caused civilian casualties; these groups also used child soldiers.

The government took steps to invigorate the investigation and prosecution of cases of arbitrary, unlawful, and extrajudicial killings: a command responsibility directive advised Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) officers that they would be held accountable for not taking preventive or corrective action when they have knowledge that crimes are committed by subordinates; the Supreme Court issued rules on “amparo,” which provides citizens with the courts’ protection; the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the AFP created human rights offices to provide guidance and training to their personnel and to coordinate with other government human rights organizations; and President Arroyo ordered “cooperation and coordination” between prosecutors and police from the outset of a political or media killing “until the termination of cases in court.” The full results of these reforms in terms of indictments and convictions were not yet visible, but government agencies, human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and even some of the government’s critics noted a significant decrease in the number of killings. Moreover, seven local police chiefs were relieved of their commands for suspected involvement or failure to pursue cases of unlawful killings.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From:

a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life

Security forces and antigovernment insurgents committed a number of arbitrary and unlawful killings. The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) investigated 71 complaints of killings between January and June; 25 of these cases were classified as politically motivated. The CHR suspected personnel from the PNP and the AFP in a number of the killings of leftist activists operating in rural areas. Allegations of summary executions by government security forces were referred to the NGO Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP). The TFDP was unable to investigate all of these allegations, but it alleged the summary executions of 18 individuals by government forces through year’s end.

In May 2006 the government formed “Task Force Usig” within the PNP to investigate the killings of activists and journalists. By year’s end the PNP Task Force Usig recorded 141 cases of killings since 2001, seven of which occurred during the year; 80 cases were filed in court, with four convictions in 2005-6, and the remainder still under investigation. At least one human rights organization, KARAPATAN, claimed that there have been more than 800 extrajudicial killings since 2001, and it asserted that 69 of these had occurred during the year, compared to its claimed 209 killings in 2006.

In August 2006 President Arroyo created an independent commission to investigate patterns in the killings of journalists and leftist activists and to make policy and legislative recommendations for dealing with the problem. In a January 22 report, the commission stated that there was no official or sanctioned policy on the part of the military or its civilian superiors to allow or condone unlawful killings. However, circumstantial evidence linked “rogue” elements of the military to the killings. The commission’s recommendations included: issuance of a military directive outlining command responsibility; strengthening the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) witness protection program; designation of special courts to prosecute cases of extrajudicial killings; creation of a Human Rights Office in the AFP; revitalization of a Presidential Human Rights Committee; additional funding for the CHR; and a formal instruction to the DOJ and Department of National Defense to cooperate and coordinate with the CHR. During the year the government adopted these recommendations, with the sole exception of the strengthened witness protection program, and legislation was under consideration to effectuate that recommendation.