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18 March 2011

CHR: Manila Mayor’s Shoot- To- Kill Order Unfortunate

Mayor Fred Lim’s statement was “unfortunate” and ill-timed considering the government’s efforts to reform the “utak pulbura” culture among the state security forces. It sends the wrong message to the public that shooting anybody is okay when in fact it is not, “ Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Chairperson Loretta “Etta” Rosales today said.

Mayor Lim had issued a shoot-to- kill order in relation to the sudden disappearance of the five (5) police personnel who allegedly took P12 million from the P16 million ransom money which was recovered from suspects during the rescue of a Malaysian national kidnap victim. The shoot-to-kill order will only be implemented when the suspects will resist arrests, the city mayor had xplained.

However, Chair Rosales stressed that “In a civilized society such as ours, capital punishment is deemed incompatible with human rights. Thus, the shooting of a suspect because he is resisting arrest, preempts the criminal justice process and reduces our state to a situation no different from a gangland.”

The Commission on Human Rights has consistently been unwavering in affirming the right to life.

The Universal Declaration on Human Rights categorically states that:

“Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of persons.”

Consequently, Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Right (ICCPR), which the Philippines ratified on February 28, 1980, affirms that,

“Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.”

The right to life is the supreme right from which no derogation is permitted even in time of public emergency which threatens the life of the nation.

The 1987 Philippine Constitution, likewise declared as a fundamental Principle of the State to “value the dignity of every human person and guarantee full respect for human rights.”

“We therefore call on the City of Manila and all LGUs to work with the PNP in professionalizing law enforcement in accordance with human rights, ” Chair Rosales said.