CHR CONDEMNS NEW KILLINGS, CALLS FOR ACTION BY ALL GOVT. BRANCHES

July 6, 2010. The Commission on Human Rights condemned the first extrajudicial killings in the new administration and urged President Aquino, the legislature and the judiciary to quickly adopt the CHR’s practical recommendations and those of several human rights experts such as continuous trials, closer cooperation of investigators and prosecutors, and a specific law.

Current OIC of the CHR, Commissioner Cecilia R.V. Quisumbing,  said “These killings are a grim reminder that mere peaceful transition to a rights-committed President is not enough to address the problem of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines ."

“Impunity persists because of weak prosecution and lack of convictions,” said Quisumbing. “We discussed this at the U.N. Human Rights Council just 3 weeks ago with the U.N. Special Rapporteur on EJK, Philip Alston.”

Radio commentator Jose Dagio, was killed on Saturday night in Tabuk, Kalinga, and Fernando Baldomero, a councillor of Lezo town and a local leader of Bayan Muna, was shot in Iloilo City on Monday morning.

Quisumbing said that  there are two things the President can immediately do to address these killing, without spending any money. “We urge President Aquino to unequivocally declare that killings of dissidents, activists and media are against the Aquino government policy, and to instruct the military and the police to pro-actively stop such practices by “rogues in uniform” and go after such violators within their own ranks.”

“Maybe the Aquino administration will act on this recommendation, which I could not manage with the Arroyo administration,” said Quisumbing, former Undersecretary for the Presidential Human Rights Committee in 2007 to 2008.

The CHR OIC said that one other step that can be implemented quickly is for the National Prosecutors Service, the NBI and the PNP to immediately instruct their personnel to work together as instructed by A.O. 181 (2008), which orders prosecutors and investigators to coordinate closely at all stages of investigation and court proceedings. Quisumbing was the official who worked with all stakeholders including the judiciary to bring this A.O. into being.

As for the Judiciary, Quisumbing called on the Supreme Court to ensure speedy disposition of cases already docketed for trial through the Office of the Court Administrator. “Courts are not following the 2007 order of the Supreme Court for 30-day continuous trial. Shouldn’t that be grounds for disciplinary measures?”

The CHR also urges the 15th Congress to quickly work on a bill to criminalize extrajudicial killings and accurately define such acts in accordance with international treaties to which the Philippines is a party.

The question of improving the conviction rate for EJK has been under study since 2007 by various stakeholders such as the Supreme Court, NGOs, and foreign governments with a number of recommendations.

The CHR, NGOs, and the European Commission have all called for improvement of the witness protection program of the DOJ. “When I talked to various prosecutors, with a team from the European Commission, we noticed that the length of time to assess the qualifications of persons who want to enter the program is about 3 to 4 months, too long for someone who has threats on his life,” Quisumbing observed.

She added, “Also, even though the DOJ under Secretary Gonzales has set up a Special Team of Prosecutors for political killings, the team admitted in 2007 that they left the actual legal legwork to the regional state prosecutors because, according to the team, ‘the RSPs are there where the case is.’ So, the Special Team actually didn’t contribute to this very urgent national problem when they could help with drafting of pleadings and formulating legal strategy even from Manila, working with the regions by email.”

The CHR hopes for greater momentum for convictions from all the pillars of criminal justice with the recent changes in leadership, especially the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Renato Corona and the DOJ under former CHR Chairperson Leila de Lima.

Quisumbing and fellow Commissioners at the CHR assure that the Commission is continuing on its mandate to investigate human rights violations such as  killings and disappearances,  to promote human rights and to independently monitor the government including the police, military and courts,  even after the departure of de Lima.