P-Noy urged to end impunity

In a display of unperturbed solidarity and support --- members of the media, lawyers, legal luminaries, human rights groups and advocates, families and friends of slain journalists and victims of extrajudicial killings (EJK), made an appeal to the President to make a definitive statement against killings and impunity in the country during a forum at the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.

The forum highlighted the beginning of a multisectoral campaign to end impunity which also underscored recommendations from lawyers and media to thwart threats and violence against them.  The broad coalition challenged once again the government to put an end to extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. Also present were officials from the Department of Justice, Philippine National Police, Commission on Human Rights and National Bureau of Investigation who presented their own plan of actions.

Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno (Photo by NUJP)

Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno who was keynote speaker said that the Aquino government has yet to solve cases of EJK and ED.  “Killings and disappearances still continue with impunity.  The accused have yet to be convicted,” Puno said. 

He also said that the current leadership has to rethink its strategies and look for other solutions.  Justice Puno was referring to repression as a policy tool of (any) government, local or international, to counter the tactics of the so-called enemies of the state.  “Stop use of repression.  Why apply violence and terror.”  He said that (any) commander-in-chief should be made accountable for the extrajudicial killings.

He further challenged the lawyers to take a hard look on the legal,  political,  and socio-economic environments of the country.  He also recommended the strengthening of the witness protection program.

The former Chief Justice has been credited for the promulgation of the rules of the Writ of Amparo and Writ of Habeas Data which gained grounds in 2007 during the Arroyo administration.  He was also instrumental in establishing special courts for speedy prosecutorial process.

The Writ of Amparo is a judicial remedy that can be availed of by anyone to protect one’s constitutional rights. The Writ of Habeas Data is a remedy available to any person whose right to privacy in life, liberty or security is violated or threatened by an unlawful act.

The statistics from the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) show that of the 146 media practitioners killed since 1986, only 10 had convictions so far.  “These are not even the masterminds,” said Rowena Paraan, NUJP secretary-general. 

NUJP’s current campaign is to get one million signatures to back up the case of slain Palawan-based environmental advocate and broadcast journalist Gerry Ortega.  The cases in the prosecutorial level, against the alleged masterminds and principal perpetrators have been dismissed by the Department of Justice. The campaign is also against impunity.

The IBP statistics are far more dismal.  Of the 90 judges, prosecutors and lawyers killed since 1999, only one case had found conviction.  “EJK is still an issue that it still buried,”  said Atty. Roan Libarios, IBP national president.  “This campaign is just the beginning.  We have to make a difference now.”  Libarios also called upon lawyers to do their share in fighting the culture of impunity.

Extrajudicial killings is defined by law as killings due to the political affiliation of the victims, having a specific method of attack, and the involvement or acquiescence of state agents in the commission of the killings.

Atty. Al Parreño, consultant for The Asia Foundation, in his initial report on the legal audit of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines from 2001 to August 2010, said that ten years since the first audited year, killings still exist and persist.  “Ninety nine percent of the cases surveyed have not been solved,” Parreño said.  He said the EJK is happening all over the country. 

Killed are journalists, lawyers, elected government officials, political activists, judges, farmers, and religious leaders.  Most identified assailants are state actors who belong to either the AFP or the police force.  Pampanga had the most number of EJK cases. 

His report cited 305 incidents of EJK with 390 victims from 2001 to 2010.  The findings also showed that the manner of killing is systematic and the perpetrators unafraid. 

“EJK happened a lot during the Arroyo administration from 2005 to 2006,” Parreño said.  Most of the cases did not reach the courts and are now considered cold cases. It also recorded twenty six EJK cases from the time Aquino assumed the presidency in 2010.

Parreño also estimated that with the rate things are going,  there can be 40 to 50 EJK cases every year.
 

The objective of the report is to identify the factors that delay or defer the resolution of the cases. The data gathered and analyzed may be used to recommend key legal reforms.

Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III of the Task Force 211 stressed the importance of reward system to bring criminals to the fore.  When asked why use now the term extra legal instead of extra judicial, he said ‘it was merely the choice’ of his Department’s Chief.  “It’s still the same.  The point is we need to strengthen law enforcement efforts.”

Atty. Romulo Asis, Chief of Death Investigation Division (DID) of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), offered a different alternative.  Rather than aggression, he deemed pro-active and preventive stance as necessary in combating a crime ‘that is about to happen’.  “We should prevent a killing of a person for example before the happening of such event,”  he said.  He considered motorcycle riding-in-tandem gunmen as very difficult to track.  He suggested that a helmet with special markings on its front and back should be required of every single motorcycle rider.  “Whoever rode it will be easily traced.”

Gen. Samuel Pagdilao Jr., Director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), said that his priority is to improve the capability of the police in crime investigation.  “We need training for investigators,” Pagdilao said.  He said that it needs to put premium on forensic investigation.

On its end, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) wants prosecutorial powers ‘when at times the DOJ cannot and will not be able prosecute’.  In another forum at Instituto Cervantes with human rights groups,  Chairperson Etta Rosales, who was resource person, said the Charter Bill of the CHR is still pending.  “By virtue of the constitution, we exist.  But we need more teeth.  What is a tiger without teeth?”  She said that CHR is mandated to monitor the government’s compliance to human rights instruments and international conventions.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima who was keynote speaker in the same forum also called for an end to impunity and culture of fear.  “Constant vigilance is key,” De Lima said.  She also stressed the need to strengthen the witness protection program.  “There is no quick fix for all the ills of the past to disappear.”

“I also have to say that in the killing of journalists, the area with the highest number of killings is General Santos City, followed by Pagadian City,” Paraan of NUJP said.  She said that all five recent cases of media killings under the Aquino administration were from Luzon, specifically in Palawan, Abra, Camarines Sur, and Malabon.

She presented the recommendations from the media which include among others the following:  media education for government workers, address corruption in the courts, study the policies and mechanisms to improve the witness protection program, incorporate media literacy in the education curriculum, intensify anti-impunity campaign, conduct safety training for journalists, and strengthen self-regulatory mechanisms.

“The public has yet to hear what the President has to say on the urgent call to end impunity,”  Paraan said.

The Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights or KARAPATAN which monitors political killings dared the government to ‘stop vilifying and suspecting’ human rights workers as enemies of the state.  “More Bicolanos are being killed.  These are activists from people’s organizations,” said Mari Hilao-Enriquez, KARAPATAN chairperson.  While she commended the Chief Justice for the two Writs, she condemned judges ‘who still defend even if the cases against political activists and human rights workers are obviously fabricated’.  “Who has less in life, should have more in law.”

Emotions ran high when Mika Ortega, daughter of Gerry Ortega expressed her utter dismay over the case of his father.  “When they killed my father, everything that he taught me died too.  But we were raised and reared to fight for our principles,” she said. 

The young Ortega said that the challenge now is not to look at, but go beyond the numbers because not too many people can relate to figures and statistics.  “We have to make sure that justice is served not only for my father’s sake but for the many others,” she said.

Mika vowed to continue her fight for justice and support to families of victims.  She also challenged the government to do something about the media killings.