Palace vows to end culture of impunity

MALOLOS CITY, Philippines – Malacañang has vowed to come up with a solid position to end the culture of impunity on or before the second anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre.

However, crime czar Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. still has to convene the task force that will serve as the government’s clearinghouse on impunity.

Lesley Jeanne Cordero, assistant secretary for legislative affairs of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), said Ochoa still has to consolidate reports of the security clusters.

“The President will definitely have a solid and unified position with regard to the question of impunity,” she said.

Interviewed by The STAR yesterday at the sidelines of the Roundtable Discussion on Impunity organized by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), Cordero said the Philippine National Police and the Department of Justice have their reports on cases of journalist murders and other unexplained killings in the country.

Consolidated reports will later be released by the PCOO for integrated dissemination, Cordero said.

Meanwhile, the CMFR reiterated a four point-action plan for the government to end impunity in the country.

It includes strengthening of the government’s Witness Protection Program, formation of multi-sectoral quick response team, accelerate the Ampatuan trial, and review of rules of court to diminish the possibility of abuse and manipulation.

Melinda Quintos-de Jesus, CMFR executive director, said they have been suggesting the same to the government for about two years.

Government inaction led them and other media organizations to widen the campaign to end impunity, she added.

Earlier, Rey Hulog of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas asked Cordero during an open forum about a single government agency that consolidates reports on impunity.

Based on records of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, a total of 146 journalists have been killed in the country since 1986.

The killings of journalists in the country was further highlighted by the mass murder of 58 persons, including 32 journalists and media workers, at Ampatuan town, Maguindanao on Nov. 23, 2009.