3 ‘slain’ militants turn up alive

Is the Philippine National Police (PNP) seeing dead people?

Or is it becoming an expert in bringing people back from the dead?

The PNP presented yesterday three more "dead" people – that is, people listed by human rights groups as among the victims of extrajudicial killings.

The three "dead" people walked to the press conference.

Officials of the PNP’s Task Force Usig presented Hilario Faraon, 41; Danilo Fajardo, 42 of San Miguel, Bulacan and Maritess de la Cruz of Isabela City, Cagayan.

Chief Superintendent Geary Barias, Task Force Usig chief, said the three were included by human rights group Karapatan in the list of 838 activists who were victims of extrajudicial killings.

Fajardo, one of the "dead" militants claimed he was shocked to learn that he was listed as among those murdered.

Fajardo told newsmen during the Talakayan sa Isyu ng Pulis that he was never a member of any militant organization or participated in any rally.

"I am just an ordinary farmer," Fajardo said in Filipino. He said the local police immediately got in touch with him after they found out that he was among those listed as a victim of summary executions.

Barias said the three "dead people" were located by the PNP in its effort to verify the list of victims presented by Karapatan.

The human rights group led by Marie Hilao-Enriquez claimed more than 800 people — many of them leftists, and some of them accused by the military of links to the communist New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas — have been murdered since President Arroyo came to power in 2001.

Karapatan claimed the killings indicate a hidden state policy of the government and the military establishment to silence dissent and the Arroyo administration had tacit knowledge of the murders.

Karapatan refused to participate in the investigation made by Task Force Usig but went out to testify before the US Senate inquiry in Washington DC on March 14 on the situation of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.

Although he has four namesakes in San Miguel, Bulacan, Fajardo noted that he was one of those listed since Karapatan indicated that a "Danilo Fajardo" was from his barangay.

With Faraon, Fajardo and dela Cruz, the Task Force Usig has a total of five individuals disputing the claims of Karapatan.

Earlier, Task Force Usig presented two militants — Edwin Mascariñas and Renato Bugtong — also among those included in the list of victims.

"We are trying to verify the list of Karapatan, which reported over 800 victims of unexplained killings, but the PNP Task Force Usig has only 118 cases," Barias said.

Officials had claimed Karapatan’s details were inflated and charged that many of the dead were actually guerrillas who were purged by the communists or slain in clashes with the government forces.

Karapatan’s claims were noted by UN special rapporteur Philip Alston, who led a team of foreign investigators that conducted a probe on the unexplained killings.

Alston said the government was responsible for a climate of impunity but admitted he did not have evidence to support allegations from militants that President Arroyo had ordered or condoned the murders.

Officials, though, stressed Alston did not consider the country’s security situation when he concluded the military had something to do with the killings.

Barias said Task Force Usig is coordinating its efforts into looking at the circumstances surrounding the murder of each of those listed killed by Karapatan.

PNP chief Director General Oscar Calderon ordered Task Force Usig to produce more results in their investigation.

"The PNP leadership is giving Task Force Usig all the support it needs to accomplish the mission of prosecuting those responsible in the series of killings of high-profile militant personalities and render justice to the victims," Calderon said.