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Only a civilian investigative agency, “independent
of and not under the command, control, or influence of the Armed
Forces,” will be able to give justice to hundreds of victims of
extrajudicial killings in the country, according to the Melo
Commission report.
The new agency, the report said,
must have control of its own budget.
It should also have civilian
agents well trained in law enforcement and investigative work and
equipped with the necessary array of technical devices.
The new agency likewise needs the
authority to execute warrants and make arrests, and be provided with
an adequate forensic laboratory.
P25 million
It is not clear if President
Arroyo’s move to give the Commission on Human Rights P25 million
to investigate the killings was her response to the special body’s
advice.
CHR Commissioner Purificacion
Valera Quisumbing was in a meeting and not available for interviews
on Thursday.
CHR spokesman Edgardo Diansuy
said the fund would be used for forensic services and the creation
of barangay human-rights action centers.
CHR has yet to receive the fund,
Diansuy stressed.
A human-rights group, however,
said the P25-million fund would not solve the rights problem.
Marie Hilao-Enriquez,
secretary-general of Karapatan, said instead of the fund, President
Arroyo should present military men who are guilty of the killings
and immediately stop Oplan Bantay Laya, which the group blames for
the deaths of militants.
“Dapat patigilin din ang
operasyon ng military sa kanayunan [Military operations in the
countryside should also be stopped immediately],” Enriquez said.
Proposals
Other Melo recommendations
include:
• Amending and strengthening
the law that created the National Police Commission (Republic Act
6995) to ensure the thorough and impartial investigation of erring
police officers by personnel not under the control of the PNP
command;
• The creation of a special
Department of Justice team of competent and well-trained prosecutors
to handle the trial of said cases;
• Designation of special courts
to conduct daily hearings on the cases and resolve these within six
months;
• Representation by the Office
of the Chief State Prosecutor with the Office of the Court
Administrator on cases where prosecution has stalled due to lack of
judges or the fault or negligence of the public prosecutor;
• Enhancement of the Witness
Protection Program created under Republic Act No. 6981 to guarantee
the safety of witnesses to the killings;
• Passage of a special law for
strict chain-of-command responsibility in extrajudicial killings and
other offenses committed by personnel under their command, control
or authority;
• Enhancement of investigative
capabilities of the PNP and NBI; and
• Proper orientation and
training of security forces.
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