Wednesday, June 25, 2008 Karapatan not cooperating with anti-'salvaging' body By Carlo P. Mallo
THE task force created by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, which is intended for the prosecution, investigation, and prevention of extrajudicial killings, said there is a great disparity in the actual number of cases they have in their hands and those being claimed by the human rights group, Karapatan.
Task Force 211 has been created by virtue of Administrative Order 211 last November 2007 to expedite the investigation and prosecution of cases that are deemed to have been political in nature, which involved the killings and harassment of civilians.
In an interview Monday, lawyer Hazel Valdez, state prosecutor of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and a member of the task force, said the human rights group has not been cooperating with them.
"We asked them for a copy of their list of extrajudicial killings and political harassment in the country, but up to now we have not received any," Valdez said.
At present, Valdez said they have over 222 cases at hand, which, in one way or another, can be deemed to have a political nature. Karapatan claims to have over 903 cases of extrajudicial killings and political harassment in the country.
"We are still waiting for any word from the human rights group," Valdez added.
Although there are numerous human rights group in the country, Valdez said that they sought for the cooperation of Karapatan as it's the only group that has presented figures.
"We'd want to share notes with them," Valdez said.
Valdez and her team were in Davao City Monday to re-evaluate 21 cases of suspected extra-judicial killings and political harassment in the entire Southern Mindanao. Among others, her team is checking on the cases of peasant leader Celso Pojas, and broadcasters Fernando Lintuan and Juan Pala.
