‘Superbody’ on extrajudicial killings hit anew

MANILA -- Leftist groups maintained their opposition to the high-level interagency superbody against extrajudicial killings and other rights abuses formed by the Aquino administration, dismissing it as mere publicity stunt that offered no concrete solutions.

The body will not deter rights violations allegedly perpetrated by state security agents, especially by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), as long as the government's counter-insurgency program Oplan Bayanihan is still being implemented, said Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay.

On Tuesday, the body also consisted of members from the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP), held its first meeting where it tackled the definition and scope of extrajudicial killing.

“The ‘superbody’ starts with a super wrong framework. Extrajudicial killings must be seen in context as essentially and mainly—as reality starkly shows—as a human rights violation. And as such, it is committed by the State and its forces,” the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) said.

As of November 30, 2012, Karapatan documented a total of 132 victims of EJK and 12 victims of enforced disappearance under the Aquino administration. It said the number will rise this year because of the May polls.

“If this government is truly sincere in rendering justice for the victims of rights violations, the mandated agencies and the courts should do what they should be doing -- properly and effectively investigate these incidents, and to jail and prosecute the violators,” Palabay said. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)