P-Noy failed to give priority to human rights - militant leaders

MANILA, Philippines - Militant leaders led by the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) accused President Aquino the other day of failing to fulfill his pledge to make human rights a priority of the administration.

“President Aquino, chief executive and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, is failing miserably in his avowed paradigm shift to uphold the primacy of human rights... His leadership in making human rights the preferred values of his administration and a hallmark of his legacy must be realized in his next administrative year,” said Max de Mesa, PAHRA chairman, during a press conference in Manila.

He said the Aquino administration failed to respond to the human rights cases, as they cited the systematic and continuing incidences of human rights violations.

Au Broquil, chairperson of the Defend Central Luzon-Kilusan Para sa Pambansang Demokrasya, said soldiers are being used as private armies of private organizations.

Broquil said the establishment of paramilitary groups, including Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGUs), is rampant in Central Luzon.

“CAFGUs are present in several areas such as Bataan, Zambales, Pampanga and Nueva Ecija,” said Broquil.

Meanwhile, the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines called on the President to grant freedom to Mariano Umbrero, a political prisoner detained at the New Bilibid Prisons, who was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer last March.

Umbrero, one of the 320 “political prisoners” nationwide, has been brought to the NBP hospital.

Meanwhile, the military yesterday denied soldiers’ involvement in human rights violations and unexplained killings even, saying it has stepped up measures to prevent such abuses.

Armed Forces Human Rights Office chief Col. Domingo Tutaan Jr. said their efforts to promote respect for human rights prove that they are not in denial of abuses.

“The AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) is not in denial of anything. The point is we have to undertake due process of the law,” Tutaan said, reacting to a statement by Amnesty International that the AFP is “in denial mode” on human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings.