'Bets not committed to address unexplained killings'

MANILA, Philippines - A visiting human rights expert said yesterday presidential candidates have failed to make a firm commitment to provide a comprehensive action plan to end unexplained killings and enforced disappearances.

Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth said in a press briefing in Makati City that he met and personally spoke to Liberal Party (LP) presidential candidate Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino Jr. and Nacionalista Party (NP) standard-bearer Manuel Villar Jr. who gave no commitment to end unexplained killings.

He said Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard-bearer Gilberto Teodoro declined the Human Rights Watch’s invitation to speak with him, citing conflict of schedule, while Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) spokesman Ralph Calinisan met with him on behalf of former President Joseph Estrada.

He said his group spoke to Aquino earlier this week after his camp gave a security briefing where he stressed his desire to rid the country of private armies.

But Roth said Aquino was not specific on the issue of government sanction on forces in the Maguindanao massacre and the causes of the problem.

In a separate meeting, Villar told Roth that he understands the problem of paramilitary forces and the long-term solution of having only the police and the army responsible for providing security to the Filipino people, but he did not vow to end the existence of private armies quickly.

“He said if he is elected president he will improve health care and education so therefore, he is not sure where the funds will come from to increase the size of the army and the police.”

“And so while we found greater candor on Villar’s part with a more honest recognition of the problem, we did not get from him the firm commitment that we want to end the reliance on paramilitary forces,” Roth said.

 Although the problem cannot be solved in a single day, Roth said Human Rights Watch would like to see the next president with a clear commitment to establish the timetable to move from reliance on the unaccountable armed forces toward a system in which the Filipino people’s security is entrusted to professional forces such as the army and the police.

He explained that both are easier to hold accountable because they have a chain of command and there is greater hope of instilling the discipline necessary on the front line forces to stop killings.

Human Rights Watch said presidential candidates should make ending such killings central to their platforms and tell the public about concrete steps to stop killings, prosecution of perpetrators, and protection of witnesses in their first 100 days in office.

Philippine authorities, Human Rights Watch said, have been slow to respond to numerous apparently politically motivated killings.

Perpetrators of political violence remain at large, it noted.

 “Bare condemnation of killings is not enough because the country needs to see a commitment to be put in action,” it said.