Wednesday, October 11, 2006 Carvajal: Paging the Melo Commission By Orlando P. Carvajal
Like the Davide Commission before it, the Melo Commission was much ballyhooed and then quickly forgotten.
It is quite evident now that former chief justice Hilario Davide Jr.’s study and recommendations were used to appease a nation that wanted reforms in a Comelec hounded by allegations of cheating. But for reasons we can only surmise, the Arroyo administration never had any intention to reform the Comelec. Hence, the study was quickly forgotten and none of the recommendations implemented. They were not even published.
The Melo Commission, it would seem, is going the way of the Davide Commission. The Arroyo administration could be using it to immediately silence an angry nation that is demanding a stop to the killings. But the latter never had any intention to solve and stop the killings effectively and quickly.
How can non-experts (no matter how well-intentioned like I’m sure my good friend Bishop Pueblos is) do a better job at investigating and solving crimes than those who have been specially trained for the purpose like the PNP and NBI? And how can they possibly do a faster job with it? How many more investigators and expert warm bodies do they have than the regular anti-crime agencies of the government?
Meanwhile, back at the ranch and true enough, the killings continue unabated. In fact, as if to taunt the commission, the killings have increased in frequency and are being done with greater impunity. The situation has gone from bad to worse. It is simply and utterly disgusting.
We need, therefore, the Melo Commission to talk to us now. We need them to tell us whether or not they are designed to solve the killings, bring those responsible to justice, and prevent future transgressions against the right to life. We need the commission to tell us whether PGMA did the right thing in commissioning them to solve the spate of summary executions that is blighting the Philippine social and political scene.
They must know by now where they stand and should be able to tell us why they think they are in a better position to solve the killings than specially trained policemen and NBI operatives. They can tell us how they have convinced themselves they are not being used by the administration to appease an angry nation that is demanding a quick stop to the killings and not the current upsurge of summary executions.
Either that or we need the Melo Commission to make a stand with the Filipino people in demanding a stop to the killings. By accepting the job, the Melo Commission is not making the situation any better as borne out by the recent spate of killings. It has simply given police units another and more convenient excuse not to do their job because “it is now with the commission.”
