MANILA, 22 February 2007 — Philippine authorities are not doing enough to stop a spate of extrajudicial killings in the country, where some state policies tend to abet the murders, a United Nations official investigating the killings said yesterday.

Philip Alston, UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, also criticized the military for remaining “in a state of almost total denial” of the need for a “systematic response” to the killings that have been “convincingly attributed to them.”

While Alston stressed that he did not believe there was “a policy at the top that directs that these killings take place,” he noted that the military’s counterinsurgency campaign has made it “very conducive” for the murders to take place.

He added that the executive department’s efforts to discourage civilians from supporting communist rebels in the country have likewise encouraged security forces to resort to extrajudicial executions.

“There is a need to re-evaluate problematic aspects of the counterinsurgency strategy,” he said at a press conference after a 10-day mission in the Philippines, during which he met with top government, military and police officials as well as left-wing and human-rights groups and relatives of victims of the killings.

“The way in which certain strategies are currently formulated and more importantly being pursued in particular areas is very conducive to extrajudicial executions,” he said.

“In some areas, an appeal to hearts and minds is combined with an attempt to vilify left-leaning organizations and to intimidate leaders of such organizations,” he added. “In some instances, such intimidation escalates into extrajudicial execution.”

“This is a grave and serious problem,” he stressed.

More than 830 people have been victims of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines since 2001, according to Karapatan, a Philippine human-rights group. Many of the victims were leftist activists, human-rights workers, labor leaders and journalists.

Leftist groups have blamed the military for most of the killings, saying the murders were actually part of an anti-communist insurgency campaign.

But Philippine military and security officials have rejected such claims and even blamed the killings on purges committed by the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Alston said he was puzzled by the military’s denial of the grave situation, adding that its theory of a communist purge was “especially unconvincing.”

“When the chief of the armed forces contents himself with telephoning retired Maj. Gen. (Jovito) Palparan three times in order to satisfy himself that the persistent and extensive allegations against the general were entirely unfounded rather than launching a thorough internal investigation, it is clear that there is still a very long way to go,” the UN investigator said.

He said he was not asking for “really dramatic” moves from the government, which has insisted it was doing everything to stop the killings.

“I’d like to see a statement from the president, the defense secretary, the armed forces chief of staff saying extrajudicial executions will not be tolerated,” he said. “It’s a matter of change of mentality.”

Alston also urged the government to offer better protection to witnesses who are “systematically intimidated and harassed,” undermining any effort to prosecute suspects and aggravating “the problem of virtual impunity that prevails.”

The government must also accept the repeal of the country’s anti-subversion law and “the need to provide legitimate political space for leftist groups” in line with the party-list system that allows left-wing organizations to be part of Congress, Alston said. “The executive branch, openly and enthusiastically aided by the military, has worked resolutely to circumvent the spirit of these legislative decisions by trying to impede the work of the party-list groups and to put in question their right to operate freely,” Alston said.

“While nonviolent in conception, there are cases in which it has, certainly at the local level, spilled over into decisions to extrajudicially execute those who cannot be reached by legal process,” he added.

Alston said he would complete his report within three months and present it to the UN Human Rights Commission. He expressed the hope that his findings would be a “catalyst” for steps that would finally put an end to the violence.

Alston’s inquiry is one of several into the killings. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo formed a fact-finding commission in August, and in its report submitted to Arroyo last month, the commission said the majority of the political killings were perpetrated by the military. The report has not yet been publicized.

Arroyo has also invited several European countries to help the government in investigating the alleged involvement of the military in the killings.

Palace Reacts

Malacaٌang Palace lamented yesterday that Alston tended to believe militant groups more than government on the issue of extrajudicial killings.

Nevertheless, presidential Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said he believes Alston would come up with a “fairly balanced report.”

“He believes more in those he has talked to against the government position. What does he want to hear, when it is true we do not tolerate those) extrajudicial killings,” he said.

Earlier, following a meeting with Alston, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said the UN official seemed to have been “brainwashed” by leftist groups.

Ermita said the government had been transparent and cooperative in the course of Alston’s investigation.

Killing is not part of the government’s policy and the government does not deny the killings happen, Ermita said.

The creation of Task Force Usig and the Melo Commission, a civilian fact-finding panel, are proof the government acknowledges the problem and is doing something about it. “We never tolerate extrajudicial killings (of) any member of militant groups and the media. It is the policy of the state to look into it and put a stop (to) it,” he added.

The president has authorized the release of P25 million to the Commission on Human Rights to beef up the agency’s capacity to look into the killings, Ermita said.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the government is prepared to look into Alston’s recommendations to see how these can be harmonized with the measures Arroyo has already put in place as a result of the Melo Commission report, such as the strengthening of the witness protection program and the creation of special courts by the Supreme Court.

“This administration is doing its best to serve the ends of justice and it looks forward to any form of assistance in helping obtain testimony to pin down the guilty,” he said. “The Philippines will resolve these killings under its justice system, supported by well-meaning partnerships with the UN, the EU (European Union) and other allies for justice and democracy.”

“We hope that Professor Alston’s efforts would open the communication lines between the government and the various sectors concerned that would pave the way for cooperation and renewed trust and confidence to obtain justice,” Bunye added.