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TOKYO (via PLDT) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has expressed concerned over the spate of killings of journalists and activists in the Philippines, officials said yesterday.

Abe raised the issue of what the Philippine government calls “unexplained killings” during his 40-minute meeting with President Arroyo here on Wednesday, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, who was present during the talks, said.

Mrs. Arroyo arrived here on Tuesday for a four-day visit that also included talks with top Japanese investors and parliamentarians. She delivered yesterday the keynote speech at the 13th Nikkei Conference on “The Future of Asia.”

Her arrival was met by a small rally in front of the Philippine Embassy protesting the killings in the country. She, however, did not witness the protest.

“The Prime Minister inquired about the situation, he wanted to know about the situation… but the President has reported what she has done, how she has addressed the issue of unexplained killings,” Bunye told reporters.

The issue of the killings was part of Abe’s official agenda with Mrs. Arroyo as he was reading from a list of issues to be raised with her, he said.

He said she mentioned to Abe a specific case of a military officer allegedly involved in some of the killings where the prosecution of the suspect was “progressing very well.”

“The President summarized the activities that have been taken and specifically pointed to this case that is being investigated, which shows that we are not tolerating these killings,” Bunye said.

He said Abe appeared satisfied with Mrs. Arroyo’s reply as the talks proceeded to another topic.

He said Mrs. Arroyo proceeded directly to the Imperial Palace Hotel, where she and her lean official delegation are billeted, from the airport so she was not able to witness the protest.

Somebody, however, must have informed her about the rally, Bunye said.

He also slammed an Amnesty International report that spoke of a “political climate of fear” prevailing in the country.

“I believe we have to look at the overall picture. We might have isolated cases, and we condemn these cases just as much as they do, but I don’t think this reflects the general picture of the situation in the country,” he said.

“We abhor all kinds of violence because it goes against Filipino culture,” he added.

During her speech at the Nikkei Conference, Mrs. Arroyo pointed out the Philippines was re-elected as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, a development she described as “another expression of confidence” in the country upholding human rights.

“This important development underscores the fundamental commitment of the Philippine government to uphold human rights,” she said.

The result of all these political developments, including the congressional and local elections on May 14, “will be a focus by our administration on continued economic reform, pro-growth, pro-trade and pro-investment strategies that will help lift our people out of poverty,” she said.

Australian concern

The Australian government has, likewise, expressed concern about the killings of activists and members of the media, urging that the Philippine government do everything it can to stop this.

Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Tony Hely said that the numbers are high enough to be considered “distressing and corrosive.”

“It’s one of those difficult issues. It’s quite a murky issue and no one knows the facts or the circumstances of who’s doing what to whom or how many people are involved but regardless of whether the figures are at the low-end or high-end of the debate, they are high enough to be distressing and corrosive,” Hely said.

Hely emphasized that the Philippine government must take concrete steps in stopping the killings and to punish the perpetrators in order to convince the international community that it is serious in addressing the problem.

“From an Australian government point of view, we, I think like most governments, are concerned about those killings and we take opportunities to express that concern to the Philippine government and ask they do everything they can to stop the killings and to bring the perpetrators to justice,” Hely said.

“That’s the real evidence of the seriousness of intent,” he added.

He said that his government has made its concerns known to the Philippine government and has in fact offered to provide technical capacity building support for the efforts to stop the killings.

At present, Hely noted that the Australian government is already working with the Commission on Human Rights on how to improve its effectiveness in addressing violations.     – With Marvin Sy