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By Ira Karen Apanay Senior
Reporter
Amnesty International on
Wednesday reported that the number of extrajudicial killings in the
Philippines in 2007 dropped by 50 percent from 2006.
The global human rights watchdog,
though, expressed fear that failure of the courts to convict the
killers will result in resurfacing of such incidents.
Aurora Parong, director of the
Philippine Section of the rights group, said the number of
extrajudicial killings in the country went down to 33 in 2007, from
more than 70 in 2006.
“If there is no real
prosecution of perpetrators of extrajudicial killings and enforced
disappearance, it will not be far-fetched to think that there will
be resurgence of such cases,” she said.
Parong explained that “actual
prosecution of perpetrators is not just bringing the cases to court.
Sometimes, some cases take 10 years until the decision is handed
down. There should be faster prosecution of the perpetrators in
courts.”
She called on the three branches
of the government to further help curb extrajudicial killings.
“The legislative branch has to
improve its witness protection program, while the judiciary has to
get judges to be able to define what extrajudicial execution is, and
the executive, which is in charge of the prosecutors, to ensure the
competence of those who will handle human rights cases,” Parong
said.
The head of the Philippine
Section expressed apprehension on the appointment of the country’s
retired military chief, Hermogenes Esperon Jr., as presidential
adviser on the peace process.
“We are just hoping against
hope that that [Esperon’s] presence will not be a big obstacle to
the continuity of [the] peace process,” Parong said.
Esperon has been appointed by
President Gloria Arroyo to replace Jesus Dureza, who will replace
Ignacio Bunye as Press secretary.
As presidential peace adviser,
the former commander of the Armed Forces will lead the
government’s peace efforts with both the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front, a Muslim insurgent group, and the Communist Party of the
Philippines.
In its report, the London-based
Amnesty International urged all governments to apologize for failing
to deliver on the promise of justice and equality in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted 60 years ago.
In the past six decades, it said
many governments have shown more interest in the abuse of power, or
in pursuit of political self-interest, than in respecting the rights
of those they lead.
In the Philippines, the most
controversial issues that the international rights watchdog listed
were rampant corruption, impunity and the lack of political will to
render justice to victims of extrajudicial execution, enforced
disappearance and torture.
“Corruption remains endemic not
only in the Philippines but throughout the region, and it seems
particularly prevalent in some of the societies least able to afford
it,” Parong said.
She added that “corruption
constitutes a significant economic drain that especially hurts the
poor, it also fosters an environment of lawlessness and impunity.”
“When we talk about increasing
the rule of law, the notion of accountability for human rights
abuses is the same impulse that helps combat corruption,” Parong
said.
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