Army steps up campaign vs human rights abuses

The Philippine Army has intensified its campaign against human rights violations by investigating officers and men who have been implicated in such cases and to educate soldiers on international protocols.

Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, Army spokesman, said their human rights team has started making the rounds of camps in Luzon and the Visayas to conduct lectures on the implementation of laws upholding human rights.

“The Philippine Army has intensified its campaign to instill in the minds of all its soldiers that the reason for their existence is to protect the rights of every Filipino by conducting seminars on human rights nationwide,” he said.

He said the campaign is part of the Army’s continuous efforts to promote human rights while enforcing discipline and administering justice, including, among others, the basic principles of humanitarian law and the value of respecting human rights.

Several Army officers and enlisted personnel have been tagged as suspects and masterminds in several cases of human rights violations, particularly the killings of activists and the disappearances of leaders of militant groups, the latest of whom is Baguio City activist James Balao.

The Army has earlier denied holding Balao, and has pledged to assist in the search by tapping military intelligence assets.

Brawner said the Army’s human rights team has finished its first leg of visits to units in Central, Northern and Southern Luzon and Samar.

The group is scheduled to have its second round of lectures in Capiz, Cagayan de Oro, Maguindanao and Davao City.

In its third quarter report, the human rights group Karapatan said that since 2001, there have been 933 extrajudicial killings and 199 enforced disappearances which it alleged were perpetrated by government agents, particularly the police and military.

But Armed Forces chief Gen. Alexander Yano has challenged those accusing soldiers of committing human rights violations to present evidence and file charges in court instead of drumbeating their allegations before the media and other forums.

In response to calls from the international community, the Armed Forces has created a human rights office to address cases of human rights violations allegedly perpetrated by its personnel. – James Mananghaya