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Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Arroyo to cleanse tainted image abroad over killings
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would try to convince members of the European Union (EU) that her government is not involved in the extrajudicial killings when she meets with them during her two-day visit to Belgium.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye is confident that Arroyo would be will be able to prove to the EU leaders that "the Philippine Government has nothing to do with the spate of killings, impress upon them that we do not condone these dastardly acts, and prove our determined efforts to bring justice to the victims and put a stop to all forms of politically-motivated violence."
Bunye said the EU is assured of the administration's high regard for the value of human life and the strict adherence to the basic principles of human rights.
He said the President would also inform them of the government's plan to invite a European delegation to visit the country in the hope that they could help in making "the world distinguish propaganda from the facts behind all the reported cases of extrajudicial killings."
National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said the EU delegation that Arroyo plans to invite to the Philippines could be made up of private individuals from Europe.
Gonzales said the Arroyo would present the invitation during her meeting with top-level officials of EU when she flies in late Monday afternoon.
Last Saturday, Arroyo had initially discussed the planned invitation with Finland President Tarja Halonen during their bilateral meeting.
She also informed Halonen that two independent bodies -- the Melo Commission headed by former Supreme Court (SC) associate justice Jose Melo and Task Force Usig of the PNP headed by PNP Deputy Chief Avelino Razon - had already been created to get to the bottom of the killings.
In a press conference in Helsinki, Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo said the good record of the Philippines, particularly in preserving lives would help counter speculations that the government is behind the extrajudicial killings.
"We are a peace-loving country," said Romulo, adding that the abolition of the death penalty and non-existence of abortion in the Philippines is proof of that.
He added that the creation of the Melo Commission and appointment of person with integrity to the commission like State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño aims to ensure that they would get to the bottom of these cases and those behind these killings would immediately be prosecuted.
In Quezon City, Razon said the task force would be meeting with the Melo Commission Tuesday to present their records and update them on their investigations on the extrajudicial killings.
Razon, during the weekly Kapihan ng Bayan forum at the Sulo Hotel, maintained that of the 26 journalists killed, in relation to their work, 22 had already been solved with corresponding charges filed in court while the four remaining cases are still being investigated.
He said while some groups claimed that they have recorded at least 47 deaths involving the media, only 26 are work-related as the rest are "not in pursuit of their journalistic profession like those in a dispute over a collection of homeowners' electricity fees, an altercation over a tricycle queue or a love triangle."
He also stood pat on their records that there are only 110 cases involving activists and militant members with 78 of the cases still under investigations.
The police said lack of witnesses and evidence hampered them from resolving the cases.
Razon said PNP Chief Oscar Calderon had already come up with a reward system while the PNP had worked with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to strengthen the witness protection program to encourage witnesses to come out.
He also criticized the militant group Karapatan for its claim that at least 724 cases of extrajudicial killings involving activists and militants have happened. He said they have continued to invite Karapatan since last May 13 to compare their records but they continued to ignore them.
Razon added that the militants had always blamed the extrajudicial killings on government, particularly on the military and police forces, and if proven that they were indeed involved, they immediately present and charge them if evidence warrants.
He said the militant groups should at least admit that the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) are involved in some of the incidents following their "purging" operations. (JMR/Sunnex)
(September 12, 2006 issue)
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