Friday, November 30, 2007 Esperon welcomes Alston report, but insists it’s not credible By Ben O. Tesiorna
ARMED Forces Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon Jr. welcomed the United Nations findings on the alarming summary executions in the Philippines that was made by UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston and released last Monday.
In an interview in Davao City Wednesday evening, Esperon thanked Alston for being instrumental in "bringing out the importance of human rights."
"The AFP is one with Alston in giving primacy to human rights," Esperon said.
The general however said Alston's report is incomplete, saying Alston should have stayed longer than 10 days for him to get the real picture of the situation in the country concerning the summary killings made against leftists, media practitioners, and children.
Esperon said staying for 10 days in a foreign country does not make Alston an expert on human rights situation in the area. Thus, he said, Alston's report is not that all credible.
Esperon revealed that during Alston's visit in the Philippines, he presented to the UN Special Rapporteur information about the 1989 Rano massacre in Digos City. Esperon said Alston however dismissed the information, saying it was "too old."
He said many other cases that were given by the AFP to Alston for reference was not included in his final report because, as Alston said, they are just too old cases to be appreciated by the UN.
Esperon however said they are taking Alston's report into consideration in their future programs in the military to ensure that their soldiers respect the rights of every Filipino. (BOT)
