of the Philippines the criminal justice system is - Article 2

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The killings will only end when there are prosecutions. There will only be prosecutions when witnesses and victims are protected, rather than threatened and killed themselves, and the perpetrators are investigated, rather than defended. The Melo Commission has no power upon which to initiate these things itself. The responsibility instead rests on the person who ordered the inquiry: President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. She is now obliged to see that its findings are given meaning, and the responsible state agencies, notably Task Force Usig and the justice department, do their jobs and the accused, including Major General Jovito Palparan Jr., are brought before courts of justice. She must also have the report made public without delay, in order that there is complete disclosure of its findings. Withholding of the report will only deepen public distrust in her administration, and raise further doubts about the assurances of her government that it is acting in the interests of the victims and their families. Conclusion When the Philippines became a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1987 it signified the birth of a new era for the protection and promotion of human rights in the country. But the significance of this and other steps to uphold human rights must be measured in terms of implementation. Article 2 of the Covenant stipulates that where persons’ rights are violated, they must be afforded remedies. This means investigating and prosecuting the perpetrators, and compensating and rehabilitating victims. In his annual 2005 report to the UN Commission on Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings spelt out what this means where a pattern of killings occurs: In most situations, the isolated killing of individuals will constitute a simple crime and not give rise to any governmental responsibility. But once a pattern becomes clear in which the response of the Government is clearly inadequate, its responsibility under international human rights law becomes applicable. Through its inaction the Government confers a degree of impunity upon the killers. The Philippines is now faced with a very serious threat to its fragile democracy and institutions for the rule of law. So far the government response has been characterised by inaction and a lack of proper direction over the police, justice department and army, which acting in interests other than those of the public have invariably made the situation worse. The government must now counteract these steps in the wrong direction and demonstrate that it has the will and is willing to make the reforms necessary to dig the rot out of its criminal justice system and erase the name of impunity from its face. 28 article 2 • February 2007 Vol. 6, No. 1
Rotten to the core: Unaddressed killings, disappearances & torture in the Philippines Killing & attempted killing Pepito Santillan: Killed for claiming land that had been legally awarded him At around 2am on 25 January 2007, Pepito Santillan, a 62- year-old farmer, was shot dead in front of his house in Hacienda Velez-Malaga, Barangay Robles, La Castellana after unidentified armed men threw an empty bottle into his house and he went out to check what was going on. Santillan was the sixth member of agrarian reform group Task Force Mapalad to be killed in Negros Occidental since 2001 in their efforts to obtain and use 144 hectares of land in Hacienda Velez-Malaga that has been awarded to them by the Department of Agrarian Reform through the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. The land is part of 446 hectares of sugarcane estate owned by the Cuenca family, which it has refused to surrender, despite the government order and a 2004 Supreme Court ruling in favour of the farmers, followed by an order in September 2006 from agrarian reform secretary, Nasser Pangandaman, for the farmer beneficiaries to occupy the land themselves. However, the schedule of entry of the farmers to the land was postponed despite this order. 1 VICTIM: Pepito Santillan INCIDENT: Killing ALLEGED PERPETRATORS: Unidentified gunmen DATE: 25 January 2007 AHRC UA-047-2007 On January 24 the task force members came with the agrarian reform beneficiaries to take the land on their own, including Pepito Santillan. Fighting broke out between the farmers and security guards that evening. Pepito’s nephew, Fernando Santillan, and Rey Cortejo were seriously injured, along with the chief security guard, Enrique Maliksi, and Renato Mata, a farm worker of Cuenca. The killing occurred just a few hours later. “ it pains me to hear and know that people don’t value life anymore and justice is trampled upon in our dear country the Philippines—please stop all the irrational killings in our country ” —Ditma Trocio, Hong Kong ALL QUOTES: www.pinoyhr.net article 2 • February 2007 Vol. 6, No. 1 29
Page 1 and 2: Vol. 6, No. 1 February 2007 ISSN 18
Page 3 and 4: Contents SPECIAL REPORT: THE CRIMIN
Page 5 and 6: Burma. But where are these laws fou
Page 7 and 8: The ALRC is acutely aware that thes
Page 9 and 10: The criminal justice system of the
Page 11 and 12: When Alberto Yadan (story 12) was m
Page 13 and 14: A Statement by the Asian Human Righ
Page 15 and 16: the policemen who killed Baria afte
Page 19 and 20: In his 21 February 2007 comments on
Page 21 and 22: sufficiently adept at creating lawl
Page 23 and 24: In his letter, Chief Superintendent
Page 25 and 26: cannot excuse themselves of their f
Page 29: A Statement by the Asian Human Righ
Page 33 and 34: Prof. Jose Ma Cui: Shot dead in cla
Page 35 and 36: Later, the village chief, Carlito C
Page 37 and 38: Jesus Servida: Killed for the union
Page 39 and 40: Roderick Aspili: Shot dead watching
Page 41 and 42: professors at the Eastern Samar Sta
Page 43 and 44: a fresh investigation for this purp
Page 45 and 46: Badilla, Palawan.... jurisdiction,
Page 47 and 48: Bishop Ramento also openly opposed
Page 49 and 50: Napoleon Bautista: Abducted, tortur
Page 51 and 52: The perpetrators questioned Pastor
Page 53 and 54: Eladio Dasi-an: Gunned down on way
Page 55 and 56: However, Fr. Geremia was informed t
Page 57 and 58: Noel Capulong: Shot and killed afte
Page 59 and 60: Jose Doton: Tailed and shot on moto
Page 61 and 62: one of the gunmen came close to the
Page 63 and 64: Enrico had just finished a meeting
Page 65 and 66: After several questions, the police
Page 67 and 68: Elpidio de la Victoria: No empty th
Page 69 and 70: Amante hid behind a tree some 70 me
Page 71 and 72: Melanio Evangelista: Murdered in be
Page 73 and 74: found surrounding the house. That e
Page 75 and 76: Jose Manegdeg: Same job, new victim
Page 77 and 78: the spot. Those who were seriously
Page 79 and 80: Diosdado Fortuna: “Is there anybo
Page 81 and 82:
Dacut and a companion were on their
Page 83 and 84:
On October 1, 2004, 327 farm-worker
Page 85 and 86:
The AHRC highlighted the case in a
Page 87 and 88:
The couple had left Padre Burgos at
Page 89 and 90:
It has also been learned that altho
Page 91 and 92:
with rifles and the others had .45-
Page 93 and 94:
They warned that they would be shot
Page 95 and 96:
of the 7th Infantry Division, gave
Page 97 and 98:
unnecessarily delayed. Like other l
Page 99 and 100:
wore civilian clothes. The men’s
Page 101 and 102:
companion, Rahim, after Ed’l Fit
Page 103 and 104:
that the remaining equipment of the
Page 105 and 106:
esidents about the noise from the c
Page 107 and 108:
following us?” He replied, “Ban
Page 109 and 110:
The victims, represented by six law
Page 111 and 112:
The absence of a law on torture mea
Page 113 and 114:
to the detachment, where he was fur
Page 115 and 116:
While it is acknowledged that there
Page 117 and 118:
Fr. Rolando de Leon: Church service
Page 119 and 120:
suggestions from the victims’ fam
Page 121 and 122:
police who initially conducted the
Page 123 and 124:
While the constitution guarantees t
Page 125 and 126:
Take the case of 11 persons, two of
Page 127 and 128:
The Philippines is a signatory to t
Page 129 and 130:
3. The strengthening of agencies fo
Page 131 and 132:
permit outside scrutiny, and a very
Page 133 and 134:
conviction before one can conclude
Page 135 and 136:
(c) The need to restore accountabil
Page 137 and 138:
Appendix II: The Melo Commission Re
Page 139 and 140:
More importantly, it is also undisp
Page 141 and 142:
5. TFU did not investigate Gen. Pal
Page 143 and 144:
5. Reaction to Gen. Palparan’s st
Page 145 and 146:
... 21. Summary/Notable Matters: a.
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My order to my soldiers is that, if
Page 149 and 150:
No witness came forward to testify
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It being well-nigh obvious that som
Page 153 and 154:
(b) With respect to superior and su
Page 155 and 156:
Likewise, the utterance of statemen
Page 157 and 158:
towards the greater ideals of democ
Page 159 and 160:
There should be no requirement that
Page 161 and 162:
Even assuming that these victims an
Page 163 and 164:
esponding to ensure their protectio
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provided in all cases where require
Page 167 and 168:
homicide against Buisan. We were in
Page 169 and 170:
uniformed policemen, reportedly fro
Page 171 and 172:
for fear of the lives due to contin
Page 173 and 174:
members of the armed forces, police
Page 175 and 176:
For the time being we must withhold
Page 177 and 178:
The activists and leaders facing th
Page 179 and 180:
7. The national information agency
Page 181 and 182:
8. Retract statement justifying kil
Page 183 and 184:
5. Questionable evidence The police
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knowledge or information on the com
Page 187 and 188:
(f) he has not at any time been con
Page 189 and 190:
Appendix V: Online Petition— Stop
Page 191 and 192:
article 2 • February 2007 Vol. 6,
Page 193 and 194:
The State party should ensure that
Page 195 and 196:
Other special reports published in
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