Prosecution As a Political Tool in the Philippines

When the police arrested Galit from his house in Silang, Cavite, on
November 3, he was reportedly bedridden. Due to his diabetes, Galit’s
leg requires amputation and this was schedule in the coming days.

They are part of the reported 72 people, 30 of whom are activists and
leaders of progressive organizations, charged with murder cases for
the March 2006 incident. The allegation put forward on these persons
and the stories of some of the accused raised serious questions as to
how prosecutors are able to determine elements of crime; and how they
have substantiated the factual evidence of the involvement of these
persons, directly or otherwise in these crimes.

The profile of these persons charged and those subject to arrest,
affiliation and background of their work, illustrates the continued
pattern of targeted attacks against the activists in the country. The
use of the prosecution service, by way of filing highly questionable
and incomprehensible charges in court, has increased although
extrajudicial killings have sharply dropped there. This illustrates
the de facto use of the prosecution system against those critical of
the government.

The plight of these activists and their colleagues who are forced to
endure trial in questionable charges; or maybe to go in hiding,
illustrates the complete contradiction to how a prosecution service
should function. It has become an adversary of the accused.

Today, observers have perceived that prosecutors act as accomplices
of the police in the filing of fabricated charges in court, their
judgment and reasoning are incomprehensible; they are neglecting and
are abusing their authority. The costly price of this abuse and their
complicity to being used as a de facto political tool is the security,
life and liberty of those persons falsely accused.

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About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional
non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights
issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

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