Philippines military and police accused of human rights abuses
Updated
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo has ordered the military and national police to respond to a US State Department report alleging that they committed human rights abuses. Malacanang Palace has given the two forces until April the first, to respond to the report, which alleged that Philippine government agencies carried out extrajudicial killings with impunity. But critics say it's all for show.
Presenter: Sen Lam
Speakers: Renato Reyes, Secretary-General, NGO umbrella group BAYAN
- Listen:
- Windows Media
REYES: Well this is not that the first time the issue of human rights abuse has been raised against the Arroyo regime and quite frankly the Arroyo government hasn't really given any substantial response to these issues over the years. So the latest announcement by the President that she's giving the police and military two weeks to respond to these allegations, it's really not very encouraging on our part, and it's a way for President Arroyo to distance herself from the issue by making it appear that this is just something that the military and police need to address, the cases are isolated, they're unrelated and that this doesn't form any pattern or state policy.
LAM: Are you questioning the President's sincerity in cracking down on abuse?
REYES: Definitely, definitely because this has been going on for several years now, and the best response that we have received from the Arroyo government is probably when it says that these reports are just propaganda, these reports aren't really happening, the human rights situation is not that bad in the Philippines, so we really doubt if these investigations that they're saying will lead to anything substantial in terms of improving the human rights situation in the Philippines.
LAM: Well we've received reports of a directive from Malacanang Palace, from the President no less, saying that if the allegations are true that she demands both the police and the military explain what they're doing to solve the problem.
REYES: Well this is not the first time that the issues were raised against the Arroyo administration so it doesn't really make any sense for her to ask the police and military to explain something that has been long known, something that has been going on for several years now. What's happening is that up to now despite all these reports coming from the State Department and other international groups, not one high ranking general has been made to account for all the killings, not one high ranking defence official has been made to account for all these human rights abuses. So that gives you an idea of the kind of impunity that goes on in the Philippines. No one is held to account for all these human rights abuses under the Arroyo administration.
LAM: Renato if I may take you back to some time late last year the government I understand ordered an investigation into the private armies that were linked to politicians. Did anything come out of that investigation?
REYES: Up to now the government is yet to release its so-called list of private armies and powerful politicians and warlords, and since there's no list coming out we can't really say if any private army has been dismantled since the time of the Maguindanao massacre of last year. So it's really very disappointing for many of the groups who are hoping that before the elections these private armies would be dismantled, but it doesn't seem to be working that way.
LAM: Well you mentioned the elections which are of course coming up in May. Do you expect a potentially violent campaign?
REYES: Definitely, many observers have already noted the spiking number of killings and the violent incidents in the run-up to the elections, and they see every week somebody gets killed, somebody gets ambushed, and we're expecting things to escalate as the May 10 elections draw near, so this is also a very serious concern that the Philippine National Police have yet to satisfactorily address and we haven't really received any assurance that the May 10 elections two months to go if it will be peaceful and facilitate the orderly expression of the people's will.
Reyes, secretary-general of the Philippine umbrella NGO, the New Patriotic Alliance - Bayan, in Manila.
