Deadline

Ten weeks – that’s two and a half months. By that time the latest killing spree would have been forgotten, or else the body count would have risen even more.

In two and a half months people might have even forgotten the deadline set by President Arroyo yesterday for the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Department of Justice to solve the killings of militant activists and journalists. Why the DOJ? I guess it is tasked to file criminal charges against those behind the killings.

Why is the Armed Forces of the Philippines not included in the presidential order? What can be gleaned from Palace statements yesterday was that the AFP itself is suspected of involvement in the killings.

Why impose a deadline? I suppose the President and commander-in-chief had to do something yesterday, or at least say something following the murders of a student leader, another journalist, and the wife of a militant activist in separate attacks around the country.

Is the deadline realistic? It won’t amount to much if it isn’t backed by political will and leadership.

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Militant groups are accusing the administration of condoning the killings of activists to meet a deadline set by the President for eradicating the communist insurgency. Administration officials have clarified that the two-year period mentioned in published reports was not the deadline for ending the insurgency, but merely for showing significant progress in the battle against the rebels. The actual target for ending the insurgency is six to 10 years, and waging the war includes complementing military action with economic development and social justice programs.

That point was clarified. The administration, however, has not shaken off suspicions that at least some of the executions were state-sanctioned. On top of the release of P1 billion for the AFP to crush the insurgency, the President, during her recent State of the Nation Address, had fulsome praise for Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, accused by militants of being responsible for the execution or "salvaging" of activists wherever he is assigned.

Armed force is needed to neutralize an armed threat. And the communist New People’s Army does not endear itself to the citizenry when it sets off land mines to blow up a bus full of civilian passengers, or when it destroys telecommunications towers and raids private property. Such atrocities require an armed response.

In a democracy, however, extrajudicial execution is not supposed to be the type of armed response to insurgency.

The AFP has of course denied involvement in the murders of militant activists, with Palparan famously saying some of the victims might have committed suicide. The AFP has also detailed the extortion for "revolutionary taxes" and other forms of harassment and atrocities perpetrated by the NPA on civilians.

With no one getting arrested, investigated and punished for NPA atrocities, however, the AFP’s stories can be dismissed as mere propaganda. Meanwhile, militant groups have bullet-riddled bodies and grieving relatives to show to the world and back up accusations of state-sanctioned human rights violations.

For all we know, a number of the killings might in fact be part of an ongoing purge in the communist movement in the wake of that reported strange alliance between some rebels and disgruntled military officers.

Until someone is arrested for the killings, however, we will never know the true story. So far, all we have heard are accusations and denials. And all we have seen are more killings.

Filipinos frustrated with the criminal justice system have a soft spot for Dirty Harry types and often look the other way when notorious kidnappers, carjackers and terrorists are killed by lawmen. These Filipinos couldn’t care less if extortionists who set off land mines and destroy private property are shot dead.

So far, however, no one has directly linked any of the murdered militants to communist extortion and other abuses.

Instead what we have are stories of serious human rights violations, and the finger of blame points to the government.

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There is a similar problem in the unabated killings of journalists. I doubt if our cops are too stupid to solve the murders. Filipinos are a resourceful lot, and except for ranking PNP officials, most cops are generally assigned in the communities where they have lived for a long time. There are no secrets in close-knit communities especially in the countryside. If someone gets away with murder, it is because authorities do not want him to pay for it.

In many of the murders of journalists since 1986, the suspected brains or protectors of the masterminds are influential people: politicians, military or police officers, rich crooks with the right connections such as gambling lords and smugglers.

When the mastermind can influence police investigators, prosecutors and even judges, there can be no hope for justice. When cops don’t want to arrest an accused killer – such as Manila City Hall official Jose Noli Sugay – they will always find an excuse to let him get away.

President Arroyo should consider such factors when she imposes a deadline to stop a killing spree. There are too many factors beyond her control for her deadline to be met.

She could force compliance with her deadline, by holding top PNP and AFP officers accountable for the failure of their underlings.

This is one President, however, who has shown aversion to imposing sanctions on military and police officers for unsatisfactory performance.

The President is constantly courting the support and loyalty of the AFP and that component of the PNP that came from the Philippine Military Academy — officers vulnerable to being infected with the coup virus.

These officers know it, and they are not going to be rattled by a 10-week deadline issued by the commander-in-chief.

At best they might actually arrest the triggermen in some of the killings, but won’t catch the brains.

At worst they will say that the President must be kidding.