HR watchdog says Noynoy reneged on vow vs impunity

In a separate report, HRW said the Philippine government should disable abusive paramilitary forces and take concrete steps to hold those responsible for killings and other rights violations to account.

The group, in its 2012 World Report, called the arrest of former Armed Forces Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, the highest-ranking militart officer to be charged for human rights abuses, an “unprecedented development.”

Palparan, who remains at large, is implicated in the abduction, torture, and killing of dozens of leftist activists in the Philippines.

However, the group lamented that “unlawful killings continue and the government should do more to hold those responsible to account.”

“Human Rights Watch has documented at least seven extrajudicial killings and three enforced disappearances for which there is strong evidence of military involvement since Aquino took office in June 2010,” it said.

It criticized the government for failing to prosecute military personnel implicated in such killings, even though strong evidence exists in many cases.

HRW said only seven cases of extrajudicial killings from the past decade have been successfully prosecuted, none of which were in 2011, or involved active duty

In a separate report, HRW said the Philippine government should disable abusive paramilitary forces and take concrete steps to hold those responsible for killings and other rights violations to account.

The group, in its 2012 World Report, called the arrest of former Armed Forces Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, the highest-ranking militart officer to be charged for human rights abuses, an “unprecedented development.”

Palparan, who remains at large, is implicated in the abduction, torture, and killing of dozens of leftist activists in the Philippines.

However, the group lamented that “unlawful killings continue and the government should do more to hold those responsible to account.”

“Human Rights Watch has documented at least seven extrajudicial killings and three enforced disappearances for which there is strong evidence of military involvement since Aquino took office in June 2010,” it said.

It criticized the government for failing to prosecute military personnel implicated in such killings, even though strong evidence exists in many cases.

HRW said only seven cases of extra-judicial killings from the past decade have been successfully prosecuted, none of which were in 2011, or involved active duty military personnel.

“Even in the Palparan case, it was the victims’ family – not the government – who initiated the criminal case,” thr group said.

According to Pearson, the arrest and prosecution of Palparan “would be the most significant move against impunity for military abuses in the last decade.”

But the government, she said, “should be more proactive in investigating killings and torture, arresting suspects, and vigorously prosecuting them.”

In the report, HRW scored Aquino for defending the use of poorly trained and abusive paramilitary forces to fight communist insurgents and Islamist armed groups in 2011.

“Despite campaign promises to dismantle ‘private armies’ of politicians and wealthy landowners, which have long been responsible for serious abuses, Aquino has not revoked Executive Order 546, which local officials cite to justify arming their personal forces,” the report said.

In October, it said Aquino announced the deployment of additional paramilitary personnel to provide security to mining companies.

“It beggars belief why two years after the Maguindanao massacre, Aquino still has not dismantled the country’s paramilitary forces,” Pearson said. “Both government forces and armed rebels should ensure compliance with the laws of war and protect ordinary civilians, who bear the brunt of the conflict.” Michaela P. del Callar, Daily Tribune