of the Philippines the criminal justice system is - Article 2

the policemen who killed Baria after he was made the target of a
“legitimate police operation” in July 2005, apparently for having
led a local land reform struggle.
Officials acknowledge the importance of protecting witnesses
but fail to do anything about it. In a letter to the Asian Human
Rights Commission dated 25 July 2006, Police Director General
Oscar Calderon, the national police chief, admitted that police
investigating the murder of Porferio Maglasang Sr. on 22 April
2006 (story 47) were having difficulties “in the filing of charges
against the assailants due to the non-cooperation of the
witnesses and families of the victim, out of fear for their lives”.
The alleged perpetrators are suspected to have links with military
intelligence. Despite recognising the need to protect the victim’s
family, Calderon did not mention what action had been taken, if
any, to recommend witness protection under the act, which is
the responsibility of the National Bureau of Investigation once
approved by the justice department itself.
Letters from other senior police offer the same excuse for failed
investigation, without suggesting any intention to do anything
about it. One dated 31 May 2005 from Marcelo Ele Jr., former
Police Director of the Philippine National Police Directorate for
Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM), stated that “no
witnesses had come out in the open for fear of reprisal” over the
killings of Ernesto Bang and Joel Reyes on 10 and 16 March 2005
respectively (story 77). He added that in Bang’s case supposedly
even “relatives of the victim, when interviewed revealed that
they are no longer interested in filing the case due to the absence
of a witness who could identify the suspect”. Another dated 29
July 2005 from Chief Superintendent Charlegne Alejandrino,
deputy director for DIDM, added that the police could do nothing
unless the witnesses “come out in the open and willingly support
the prosecution of these cases”. Again there was no mention of
what action could or would be taken towards this end by way of
witness protection or otherwise.
While the police fail to offer any guarantees to protect
witnesses, the perpetrators offer ample proof of what they will do
to anyone who threatens to expose them. The lone witness who
came forward in Reyes’ case, Dario Oresca, was also killed within
days of Reyes. Despite the threats against him, he had no
security; nor was there even an attempt to arrange any for him.
His case too has not gone to court: both his death and the
subsequent repeat failure of justice make an utter mockery of
the complaints of senior police officers that witnesses have failed
to come forward in this and other similar cases.
Not only the police but officials of other agencies, including
the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines, have
admitted to the failure of the witness protection act. The
commission’s special investigator in Naga City, Raymundo de
Silva, has concluded that the programme is “not yet thoroughly
understood by the populace”. Although the commission has rightly
pointed to the need to give the public more information on the
“
no witnesses
had come out in
the open for
fear of
reprisal
”
—Police Director
Marcelo Ele Jr.
article 2 • February 2007 Vol. 6, No. 1 13