of the Philippines the criminal justice system is - Article 2

No witness came forward to testify that he or she witnessed the military or any
military personnel actually participate in any extrajudicial killing. Neither are
there in almost all the cases any eyewitnesses to the killings who could actually
identify the perpetrators, much more identify them as members of the military.
Quite deplorable is the refusal of the activist groups such as Karapatan, Bayan
Muna, etc., to present their evidence before the commission. If these activist
groups were indeed legitimate and not merely NPA fronts, as they have been
scornfully tagged, it would have been to their best interest to display the
evidence upon which they rely for their conclusion that the military is behind
the killings. In fact, this refusal irresistibly lends itself to the interpretation
that they do not have the necessary evidence to prove their allegations against
the military. It would not even be unreasonable to say that their recalcitrance
only benefits the military’s position that they are indeed mere fronts for the
CPP-NPA and thus, enemies of the state.
Nevertheless, despite the refusal of the activist groups to cooperate, and
regardless of the question of their legitimacy, certain facts, taken together
with admissions and statements by the witnesses, lead the Commission to
conclude that there is some circumstantial evidence that a certain group in the
military, certainly not the whole military organization, is responsible for the
killings. To maintain otherwise would be closing one’s eyes to reality.
1. Motive
At once, it becomes clear that perhaps a small group in the armed forces may
be said to have the motives for the elimination of the civilian activists. In a
great majority of the cases of activist killings, the only explanation for the
victims’ deaths is the fact that they were allegedly rebels, or connected with
the CPP/NPA. Apart from a negligible few solved cases, the PNP has not
uncovered any other explanation for their killing.
...
2. Capacity and Opportunity
The suspected group in the military has no doubt the capacity or the means to
carry out the killings. In fact, the killings appear to be well organized and the
killers adequately equipped. More telling, however, is the fact that, with the
CPP-NPA out of the question, only a group with certain military capabilities
can succeed in carrying out an orchestrated plan of eliminating its admitted
enemies.
...
3. Reaction
Likewise, the reaction of some officers of the armed forces to the rising number
of killings lends itself to the inference that they were not much averse to what
was happening. Practically nothing was done to prevent or investigate the
killings, not even to look into the worsening public opinion and accusations
against General Palparan.
4. General Palparan
The rise in killings somehow became more pronounced in areas where General
Palparan was assigned. The trend was so unusual that General Palparan was
said to have left a trail of blood or bodies in his wake wherever he was assigned.
He “earned” the moniker “Berdugo” from activist and media groups for his
reputation. General Palparan ascribes his grisly reputation to his enemies, as
article 2 • February 2007 Vol. 6, No. 1 147