Philippines armed forces release human rights handbook

Lieutenant General Ricardo David, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff, said the soldiers’ manual, “will become the Filipino soldier’s ‘bible’ in our internal security campaign.”

Manila: The armed forces in the Philippines has released a human rights handbook for soldiers, in a bid to shed its authoritarian image and instil respect for civilians in its soldiers.

Lieutenant General Ricardo David, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff, said the soldiers’ manual, “will become the Filipino soldier’s ‘bible’ in our internal security campaign.”

“It’s one of the new thrusts set by the AFP leadership in reinforcing existing mechanisms to ensure military discipline and respect for human rights [HR],” David said in a recent speech, delivered at the AFP headquarters in Camp Emilio Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

The publication of the handbook comes at a time when military and police operations are being closely watched due to heavy-handed handling of some internal security operations including one involving the so-called Morong 43.

The Morong 43 is a group of doctors, health workers and left-wing activists who were arrested in February 2010 in Morong, Rizal on the eastern outskirts of Manila. The group, 26 of whom are women, accused the military of using psychological and other forms of torture, including subjecting prisoners to solitary confinement.

The armed forces, on the other hand, accused the health workers of being members of the communist New People’s Army. David claims such experiences are crucial in teaching the soldiers to recognise the need to respect the rights of the individuals.

“We also recognise that respect for human rights is, at its core, a question of values at the individual level.

“For this reason, we’re going to invest extensively in human rights education and value formation for our personnel,” he said. –Gilbert P. Felongco, Correspondent, Gulfnews