‘Report on Phl’s lack of progress on human rights baseless’

MANILA, Philippines – The military yesterday belied a report by a New York-based human rights watchdog which claimed that the Philippines has made little progress in addressing human rights violations.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. said the military has undertaken steps to educate its troops about respecting human rights.

“We have established the AFP Human Rights Office and this was duplicated in field units,” Burgos said in an interview.

He said they are continuously conducting troop information and education on the matter.

On Monday, New York-based Human Rights Watch released a report stating that the unexplained killings of activists continue in the country.

The report claimed that the government had failed to address the involvement by security forces and local officials in the killings.

The group cited the enforced disappearances, private armies and state-backed militias, violations of international humanitarian law and death squads as among the Philippines’ concerns.

“Several key institutions including the civilian and military justice systems remain weak and the military and police still commit human rights violations with impunity,” Human Rights Watch said.

Burgos denied that the military is not doing enough to address complaints of abusive practices.

“We always cooperate with the higher authorities in such cases. We comply with whatever directive is given to us,” he said.

Militant groups have accused the military of resorting to killings and torture to accomplish its anti-insurgency plan.

The AFP, however, denied this and even accused the leftists of exploiting the issue to destroy its image.

Human Rights Watch also claimed that police investigations remain inadequate, with investigators frequently not visiting crime scenes or collecting only the most obvious evidence.

“Evidence of military involvement is routinely not pursued, investigations cease after the identification of one suspect, and arrest warrants frequently go unexecuted. Witnesses are also not adequately protected,” it added.

Burgos maintained that the military does not tolerate extrajudicial killings and other forms of human rights violations.

“If they have any complaints about our troops, these should be forwarded to us so we can act on them,” he said.

The watchdog also cited the supposed failure of the government to address the atrocities of powerful clans and to ban abusive militiamen. –Alexis Romero (The Philippine Star)