Soldiers, cops less abusive — CHR

Members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) are less abusive now compared to past years.

This was revealed yesterday by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), noting that the country’s so-called men in uniform are now more aware of the rights of civilians.

CHR chairman Aurora Navarette-Reciña said the series of seminars conducted by the commission among military and police personnel could be the reason for the decline in cases involving human rights violations.

Reciña made the statement even as the CHR has yet to release in March next year official statistics gathered by the CHR on the state of human rights violations in the country.

In its mid-year report, the CHR said that from January to June this year, the commission received a total of 883 complaints of violation of human rights.

The complaints were diverse in nature, reflecting equally the different conditions in various parts of the country.

The first semester data showed cases of murder, homicide, and execution; torture; disappearance; and illegal arrest or detention.

Policemen topped the list of human rights violators for the said period, having been accused in 264 cases (39.64 percent). Civilians were second (18.17 percent); and local officials or government employees were third (14.41 percent).

The Philippine National Police (PNP), however, defended itself against insinuations that it is the number one human rights violator in the country.

Reacting to the CHR report, PNP spokesman Senior Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome explained that the PNP has been authorized to use force in its law enforcement duties.

"We have to admit that the PNP is involved in several confrontations. It is necessary that we use force against criminal elements, and in doing so, it is perceived as use of excessive force," he said.

Bartolome noted, though, that the use of force usually depends on the situation. He said that there are times that to use force is the only way to subdue a criminal.

But he said the PNP is not taking the CHR report sitting down.

"Education of police personnel on how to handle specific circumstances in combatting crime, pacifying criminals and crowd control management is continuously made to prevent human rights violations, which were often believed to be arising from police brutality," he said.

"We always try to educate our personnel and ask them to use only appropriate force to avoid being accused of violating human rights. Our policemen have always been reminded to use legal means, such as using of warrants of arrest," he added.