vonjobi: wow, congratulations! kelan ang trip? i hope i'll be around when you come. had a good time with diosa last...
Keith Bacongco: Knowing Nograles and his Big Boss...garapalan na lang talaga.
Vinia Datinguinoo Mukherjee: Congratulations, PCIJ! Mabuhay kayo!
Lead Philippines: But without credible mass media there, what is left to protect the people..?
vonjobi: it's juned sOniDo.

Latest Message 5 months ago

hopeless_race : Lets not just focus sa mga malversation of funds, sa mga overpricing..ating pagtuunan ng atensyon ang diskarte ng mga politiko na umuutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno."Small time" ang ibang pamamaraan ng pangungurakot kumpara sa pag-utang sa gobyerno ng bilyon na tunay ngang masasabing "pinaka big-time" at wala pang sabit.
hopeless_race : Mukhang tikom ang bibig ng lahat pagdating sa diskarte ng mga politiko sa pagutang ng mga bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno na tinatakbuhan. Itong pamamaraan na ito ang tunay na kumakain ng malaking porsyento ng ating national budget batay na din sa sinasabi ng world bank.
hopeless_race : Pakisilip naman po ang mga utang ni Villar sa BSP, ang mga utang nila RAMON JACINTO, RONNIE ZAMORA, JOE DE VENECIA at madami pang ibang mga pulitiko. Iilan lamang yan sa mga nababanggit sa balita na may mga malalaking utang sa gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Nagmimistulang "small time" lamang ang malversation of funds kumpara sa laki ng kinakamal ng mga umuutang sa gobyerno. At ito ay malinaw na natatakbuhan dahil hindi nga naman pwede makulong ang may-ari ng kumpanya sa pagkaka-utang lamang. Tunay na mga tuso at magagaling sa batas itong mga politiko natin. Masasabi ko na malamang lahat ng mga politiko ganito ang diskarte...wala pang kulong.
hopeless_race : PCIJ pkitingnan naman po ang mga gaya ni Villar na my malaking utang sa Gobyerno pero tinatakbuhan. Magtatayo ng kumpanya at uutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno ng walang balak bayaran. Tunay ngang walang nakukulong sa utang...ito ang prinsipyo ginagamit ng mga politiko ntin kaya nakakapagtaka kung san napupunta ang daang bilyong pera ng gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Sana itreat naman po ng media ang hacienda luisita at mendiola massacre na parang MAGUINADANAO MASSACRE. Ipublicized ang mga katotohanan at ipakita sa tao ang karumaldumal na pinaggagawa sa mga farmers dun. Untouchable po ba sila cory at danding at hindi magawang batikusin ng media about these two massacres?
hopeless_race : Kapag napaguusapan ang mendiola at hacienda luisita massacre ay parang walang nangyari at parang hindi big deal. Anu po ba ang pinagkaiba ng dalawang nabanggit na massacre sa maguindanao massacre?
hopeless_race : Its sad that we pinoys are blind to the fact of what had happened in mendiola and hacienda luisita. Ang tanong..bakit ang media ay hindi manlang matackle ang ganitong usapin? Takot ba sila kay cory at danding?
hopeless_race : Wilkins" brand, for P1.4 billion.-1999 Sugarland Multi-Food Corp. for P2.9 billion 2001- Purefoods Corp P7 billion P60 billion Coca-Cola ... See More 2002- Cosmos Bottling Corp. from RFM Corp. for P14.1 billion October 2008- GSIS' shares in Meralco worth PHP30 Billion. December 2008- country's biggest oil refiner, Petron Corporation. international company shopping spree: Australian boutique brewer J. Boag and Son for A$96 million in 2000. $97 million for Thai Amarit Brewery Ltd $35.5 mi
hopeless_race : Gud am..glad to be back.
jr_lad : rip mr. alecks pabico. you'll be greatly missed!
sevens21 : Dati input mo lng name at SSS ID makukuha mo agad STATIC INFO...
sevens21 : tawag ka sa HOTLINE nila walang ANSWER grrr we need pa namn ng static info SSS Gising!!!
sevens21 : Gawa naman po kayo ng article about SSS. Pangit ng site nila dali ma blocked ng account
guest_899 : we must check the background of each potential candidates to avoid having another big mistake like GMA
guest_899 : congratulations to PCIJ, more power and God Bless !
jazzymuver : how did Arroyo swallow that kind of things!! how come that she just spend the money our countrymen for her own sake!!
guest_3664 : i would be glad if u can include the investigation of the manner public officials announce infra projects as per COA regulation. It is frustrating to see their faces on the tarpaulin instead of the prescribed information like name of project, date of implementation,amount of contract, source/s of fund, among other things. This is very rampant here in Marikina. Thanks and more power on your noble endeavors. We need people like you to have make our country great again.
jhanz_08 : im making research on R.A 9136...with rgards to the privatization of NPC..could someone out there can let me understand more bout this matter?why was monopoly dismantled?email me..jhanycem@yahoo.com...thanks much
erika marie : P.S.:) my paper is due next week and i do hope someone could provide me these reports coming from reliable resources thank you ulit.
erika marie : P.S.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study regarding political killings in the philippines. could someone out there please send me human rights reports under Aquino and Ramos administration. you could send it at my email: erikamariet@yahoo.com your response would surely be very much appreciated. thank you everyone. god bless.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study for my paper regarding political killings in the philippines. i noted that there are no human rights reports during the Aquino and Ramos administration. could someone out there please send me reports regarding these matter? i do hope these reports came from reliable resources you could send it in my email; erikamariet@yahoo.comyour response would surely be appreciated. thanks everyone. god bless.
jayson bourne : gusto ko po maging member ng PCIJ, panu po ba? may application po ba? sana mapadalhan nyo ako ng info sa email ko... www.jboxpenshoppe@yahoo.com
jayson bourne : cory is OK, but kris & Noynoy sensationalize masyado...
guest_9891 : LABAN pa rin!
meow : boycotts worked during marcos years. how about doing it now against the businesses of the con-ass congressmen?
meow : aside from 168, what other establishments can we boycott that belong to the arroyos and their cronies?
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Military must admit extrajudicial killings — UN prober

Posted by: Isa Lorenzo | February 21, 2007 at 7:49 pm
Filed under: Human Rights, In the News

THE military needs to acknowledge that extrajudicial killings are happening in the country and should take immediate steps to undertake a serious and methodical investigation, said the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

Prof. Philip Alston said in a press briefing that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) “remains in a state of almost total denial…of its need to respond effectively and authentically to the significant number of killings that have been convincingly attributed to them.”

Alston added that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo needs to persuade the military to recognize the facts.

Read Alston’s statement.

“When the Chief of the AFP contents himself with telephoning Maj. Gen. (Jovito) Palparan three times in order to satisfy himself that the persistent and extensive allegations against the General were entirely unfounded, rather than launching a thorough internal investigation, it is clear that there is still a very long way to go.”

Alston presented his preliminary findings after a 10-day mission to probe into extrajudicial killings. During his mission, he met with top government officials, AFP officers, representatives of civil society organizations, and relatives of victims of extrajudicial killings. His full report will be released within the next three months.

There has been a “welcome acknowledgment” of the problem at the very top, Alston added. Yet at the executive level, “messages have been mixed and often unsatisfactory.”

He also debunked military allegations that reports of extrajudicial killings were either propaganda, fabricated, the result of purges by the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army, or committed by rogue elements of the AFP.

The increase in extrajudicial killings, according to Alston, has been partly caused by a shift in the government’s counter-insurgency strategy. “In some areas, an appeal to hearts and minds is combined with an attempt to vilify left-leaning organizations and to intimidate leaders of such organizations. In some instances, such intimidation escalates into extrajudicial execution.”

Alston’s visit has caused a flurry of activity, including the creation of special courts for cases of extrajudicial killings. Yet he also noted that witnesses in such cases remained extremely vulnerable, as the country’s witness protection program is “deeply flawed.” As a result, 80 percent of strong cases fail to move from the initial investigation to the actual prosecution stage.

When it comes to counting the number of extrajudicial killings, figures vary. Karapatan has tallied over 800 victims of extrajudicial killings, while the police’s Task Force Usig has only recorded 115 cases.

Alston did not produce his own figure, saying that he was certain that the number “is high enough to be distressing.” He added that extrajudicial killings are “corrosive” because it “sends a message of vulnerability to all but the most well connected and severely undermines the political discourse which is central to a resolution of the problems confronting this country.”

Karapatan secretary-general Marie Hilao-Enriquez welcomed the corrective measures in Alston’s statement. She said that Karapatan presented witnesses and evidence to Alston because of his credibility and his independence. In contrast, the group did not cooperate with the Melo Commission, which was widely perceived as a rubber-stamp body.

By creating the commission in response to the furor over extrajudicial killings, the President showed good faith, according to Alston. Yet he also said the the release of the report is an “essential first step.” Malacañang has announced that it will release the Melo report tomorrow.

There is also a need to restore accountability mechanisms that have been undermined by Executive Order No. 464 and its replacement, Memorandum Circular 108, Alston added. He said that these have diminished the capacity of Congress to hold the executive to account in any meaningful way.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 21st, 2007 and is filed under Human Rights, In the News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

5 people have left comments

How can Gloria persuade the military to recognize the facts? She herself is in a state of denial. Remember she even praised Palparan in her SONA even if she knows the latter is the subject of numerous protests. Gloria is partly responsible for the killings. She has tolerated the abuses of the military just to hold on to power.

jr_lad wrote on February 21, 2007 - 9:58 pm | Visit Link

[...] HARDLY anyone paid notice this week to the four-day commemoration of the first Edsa People Power revolt that ousted Ferdinand Marcos 21 years ago. For sure, the occasion has been overshadowed by an election season that’s starting to heat up, as well as the furor over the issue of extrajudicial killings that have been blamed primarily on the military by no less than the visiting United Nations special rapporteur on human rights and the recently released report of the Melo Commission. [...]

INSIDE PCIJ » For those who still care to remember wrote on February 24, 2007 - 4:24 pm | Visit Link

[...] IN what was described as a “crude attempt” to dispute the findings of the Melo Commission and of United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston on the extrajudicial killings, the military released a 20-year-old video tagging certain party-list groups as “legal fronts” for the communist rebel movement. [...]

INSIDE PCIJ » Leftist party-list groups defend right to exist wrote on February 25, 2007 - 6:30 pm | Visit Link

[...] that the government should take immediate steps to solve the killings. (Read related reports here and [...]

The Daily PCIJ » Blog Archive » Military behind killings of activists — Alston report wrote on November 28, 2007 - 9:57 pm | Visit Link

[...] United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston received, when he described the AFP as being in a ’state of denial’ over the issue in his scathing report on the extrajudicial [...]

SCARY « Timi will share… wrote on July 7, 2009 - 6:33 pm | Visit Link