Japan Group Releases Report on Killings in Philippines

1. Failure to investigate

The fact-finding mission found that it is extremely uncommon for the perpetrators of extrajudicial killing and abduction to be arrested or face trail. In the great majority of the cases the mission has investigated, no thorough investigation has been taken place.

(1) As mentioned before, in 8 out of 15 cases of extrajudicial killings cases, the mission interviewed, the witnesses identified the perpetrators as elements of the AFP or the CAFGU. However, except the Benjaline Hernandez case, no case has been successfully prosecuted. Even in the case of Benjaline Hernandez, justice has not been done five years after her death. The alleged perpetrators obtained release on bail and have not yet been convicted, and are still working for the military.

In the case of Eden Marcellana, despite testimonies of nine surviving witnesses to the killings, the case has been dismissed twice. One of the alleged perpetrators, Master Sergeant Donald Caigas of the 204th Infantry Brigade in Mindoro is still on active duty in the AFP. According to the witness before the hearing for the issuance of the writ of amparo for the UP students, Caigas was also involved in detention, torture and rape of Ms. Sherlyn Capadan.

There is a media report that Sherlyn’s dead body was allegedly found in March 2008. It is clear that failure of investigation in this case clearly caused another human rights violation.

In the case of Isaias Sta Rosa, evidence clearly showed that the 9th Military Intelligence Battallion of the 9th Infantry Division, AFP was responsible for the killing. However, recently the charge against Major Marc Ernest Rosal and others were dismissed.

In the case of Jesus Lasa, Juancho Sanchez, Ricardo Ramos, Felipe Lapa and Expedito and Manuela Albarillo, although evidence clearly showed military elements as the perpetrators, almost no effort has been made to investigate and/or prosecute the cases. It is extremely problematic that identified perpetrators in the military are enjoying impunity and no justice has been done for the victims.

In the case of Hacienda Luisita, the PNP was in the crime scene. Instead of investigating the massacre, the PNP started to arrest hundreds of strikers. The PNP failed to investigate the massacre. In the case of Expedito, the victim’s brother immediately went to the police; however, the police were reluctant to respond and said that they do not have a driver and were still waiting for other colleagues.　The police arrived at the crime scene a full two hours after the crime was reported. In the case of Lapa, the family provided the sketch of the assailants. Although the police were able to recognize the assailants, the police have not captured them, since the assailants were in custody of a military camp.

We have to say that this is a systematic failure to effectively investigate and prosecute extrajudicial killings.

(2) In the seven cases in which the killers have not been clearly identified, the situation is more pessimistic.

In the case of Abelardo Ladera, Romeo Malabanan, Jesus Servida and Diosdado Fortuna, no serious investigation has been conducted as of now.

The mission would like to point out the police’s initial refusal to respond as one of the main problems. In the case of Malabanan, there were three policemen in a patrol car about 25 meters away from where the shooting happened, but they did not apprehend the gunman. They did not catch the gunman despite the fact that he fled on foot, nor did they use their own guns at all. The family of　the victim provided a sketch of the gunman, but no further investigation has been done. Failure by the police to respond in this case would suggest that they, at the very least, acquiesced to and were aware of the killings.

In the case of Bishop Alberto Ramento, the police immediately concluded that the case was just a simple robbery with homicide without interviewing family members and colleagues. Bishop Ramento’s family stated the police investigation was poorly conducted.

Police did not secure the crime scene enabling people to enter, they took no fingerprints at the crime scene, and except for a sworn statement by the church caretaker, the police did not conduct interviews of family members or others that knew him, and the police did not look into specific threats the Bishop received prior to his death.

In the case of Grecil, the military declared that she was an “NPA child soldiers” immediately after the killing. This allegation was denied by the Commission on Human Rights that found Grecil was not an NPA child soldier. The military changed its story and started accusing the NPA as the killer of Grecil. The fact finding mission wonders why the authority initially believe that she was an NPA child soldier if she was a victim of the NPA.

2.　Failure of the TFU

The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), which controls the national police, established the Task Force USIG (TFU). TFU’s primary aim is to investigate the killings of those involved in progressive political organizations as well as the killings of media members. DILG wants to secure witnesses, establish who is responsible for the killings, and more generally take a proactive role to ensure that citizens are protected126.

However, we cannot see that TFU has properly worked towards prosecution/punishment on the basis of allegations from victims of human rights violation.

According to materials127 on the TFU website, the TFU has recorded a total of 116 cases of slain party list/militant members since 2001. Of these, 56 cases have been prosecuted and 60 cases are under investigation. 128 However, there is a huge gap between the numbers the TFU has listed and the numbers that human rights organizations have produced.