President Benigno S. Aquino III has to do more than vow to go after the perpetrators of the latest spate of political killings in the Philippines. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo also vowed to go after the killers, but beyond forming Task Force Usig in the military, not one political murder was solved during her nine years of tenure.
Two weeks after the United States and the International Press Institute expressed alarm over the spate of extra-judicial killings in the country, three more militant activists were killed in the country, only 12 days into Aquino’s administration.
While we believe that it is not the policy of the Aquino administration to silence the opposition by assassination, it is apparent that the culture of impunity within certain segments of the military that reached its peak during the term of Arroyo, remains strong.
The Arroyo administration remained unperturbed at the height of these political killings despite findings by the United Nations investigating commission, headed by UN rapporteur Philip Alston, in 2006 that “in some parts of the country, the Armed Forces have followed a deliberate strategy of systematically hunting down the leaders of leftist organizations.”
“I would like a statement from the very top, from the President, the Secretary of National Defense and certainly from the AFP chief of staff saying that extra-judicial killings will not be tolerated,” Alston demanded.
Not one made the statement.
Alston basically said that the military must first admit that the problem exists and persists before it could solve the problem, just like how an alcoholic must first admit that there is a problem with his drinking behavior before any rehab program begins. He said: “The AFP remains in a state of almost total denial of its need to respond effectively and authentically to the significant number of killings which have been convincingly attributed to them.”
Guess how then AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. responded the very same day: “I believe that Mr. Alston might be in a state of denial himself. He probably refuses to believe that the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army could perpetrate such killings.”
Esperon went on to assail the credibility of both Alston and the Melo Commission, which was headed by former Supreme Court Justice Jose Melo. The Melo Commission had reported that there was “some circumstantial evidence to support the proposition that some elements within or connected with the military are responsible for the killings.” Melo added that Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, whom the militants had dubbed the “butcher” of Samar and Mindoro, and perhaps some of his superior officers may be held responsible for their “failure to prevent, punish or condemn the killings” under the principle of command responsibility.
Alston was right after all. The killings have gone unpunished and unabated because the military authorities refused to admit the fact that there have been an unusual high number of political killings (more than 800 since Arroyo took over in 2001, according to human rights groups’ estimates) and have refused to even condemn the murders. Instead of acknowledging the problem and vowing to solve the killings, Esperon’s first reaction was to condemn the investigators.
Even ranking officials and allies of the Arroyo administration were quick to assail Alston, rather than pledging to do something about the problem.
At least, Aquino showed concern over the killings. In a press conference, he warned the military that he would make no distinction between lawbreakers in uniform and plain criminals. He reminded the military to respect human rights. The statement came after masked men gunned down a schoolteacher, the third such killing of an activist in the young Aquino administration.
Aquino made it clear he would never allow state forces to carry out such activities, saying “that is not the policy of our administration.”
The renewed spate of killings, which is obviously also being done to embarrass Aquino, has already gained the attention of the Obama Administration, the International Press Institute, and the UN Commission on Human Rights.
In a statement issued a few days before Aquino’s inauguration, US Ambassador Henry Thomas Jr. said the US condemns the killing of Suwaib Upham, a key witness in the Maguindanao massacre. Four days later, the embassy issued another statement condemning the killing of three journalists in Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte and Ilocos Norte.
The US called on Philippine authorities to bring justice to those who are responsible for the crimes, which, the statement said, are crimes against democracy and press freedom.
Aquino, whose win was lauded as a victory for democracy, will have to give rightful attention to human rights, even as he confronts other major problems such as corruption and poverty. He pledged to be the opposite of the Arroyo administration, which committed and condoned violations of human rights.
Aquino must create a task force within the military and the police, composed of officers and men whose dedication to duty is above board and who believe that it is their supreme duty to uphold democracy.
Aquino must stop the killings and bring to justice the perpetrators of those dastardly crimes. As President and commander-in-chief, nothing less is expected of him.