Human rights violated under Gloria, says UN

The Arroyo administration failed to convince the United Nations (UN) that it is doing its utmost to stop torture and protect the human rights of its citizen as the world body concludes a conference to assess the progress of its members in observing provisions to protect human rights, primarily commitments against the use of physical violence against suspects, extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, who was sent by President Arroyo to defend the country’s dismal human rights record last week before the UN Committee against torture in Geneva, stressed that torture and political killings are not sanctioned by the State.

Felice Gaer, the committee expert serving as rapporteur for the report of the Philippines, said she was “not satisfied with the replies concerning the delays in adopting the Anti-Torture Bill.”

Responding to a series of questions raised by the UNCAT Committee members the previous session, Ermita at the second round of meeting last April 29, said the government has long sought the passage of an Anti-Torture Bill. However, “many political issues” have stalled the law in Congress.

He tried to put across to the UN that the Philippines is faced with a major communist insurgency, and a Muslim secessionist movement in the south, both of which have presented threats to the national security for the past 40 years.

“The atrocities committed by those groups on Philippine soldiers were well documented. There was an ongoing debate and a legitimate concern that the current bill only targeted state actors, and would allow non-state actors to continue their despicable acts with impunity,” Ermita said.

She pointed our that “the Philippines had managed to enact other legislation in the meantime, including the Anti-Terrorism Law” but has not given priority to the Anti-Torture bill.

On allegations of extrajudicial killings and disappearances, Ermita said after a government investigation into the alleged 836 extrajudicial killings claimed by human rights groups, only 145 cases had been validated.

With regard to an alleged 139 cases of torture, he said “the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines had referred those to the government and they would be looked into.”

Gaer doubted the possibility of an unbiased probe on human rights violations since the Philippine Commission on Human Rights “did not have the authority to independently investigate the allegations of torture, disappearances and extrajudicial killings.”

Gaer reiterated that she wanted to know “what was being done to address that.”

Xuexian Wang, Co-Rapporteur for the report of the Philippines, for his part, said he is concerned that the lengthly period of time spent by suspects in jails “increased the risk of torture.”

Wang said he “wanted to prevent that,” pointing our that “independent bodies had not been allowed to visit certain detention facilities, notably military detention centers.”

“Regarding complaints, anyone who had been tortured had the right to complain and such complaints should be investigated promptly and fairly. That was the State’s obligation,” Wang said.

CHR chairperson Leila de Lima, who was also present at the CAT country review, reiterated the need for the anti-torture bill to be certified as “urgent.”

“The Commission is urging the executive to wield the President’s persuasive powers in both houses of Congress,” she said.

Although the government asserts that there is no policy of torture and that any complaint is immediately addressed, De Lima noted “it is hard to put to account the number of torture cases investigated and prosecuted,” saying “there is great difficulty in tracing the cases as they are hidden in charges of other offenses.”

Validating Gaer’s observation, De Lima admitted to the UN Committee that “there were instances that the CHR is denied access or visitation to detention facilities, particularly military camps.”

Since 2001, hundreds of activits, trade unionists, journalists and religious leaders in the Philippines have been killed or abducted but the Arroyo government continue to deny any involvement of the security forces and the army in these political killings amid evidence earlier presented by a UN fact-finding mission to the Philippines in 2007 led by Special Rapporteur Philip Alston.

Alston issued a report that blamed members of the military for many killings and disappearances of left-wing activists.

Arroyo’s government then disputed Alston’s findings, saying it did not reflect the true conditions in the country–Michaela P. del Callar, Daily Tribune