NEWS > 10 March 2006

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The Daily Tribune - Manila,Phi
10 March 2006

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State Dep’t: Police ‘worst abu

Human rights abuses remain pervasive in the Philippines, with the Philippine National Police (PNP) being the “worst abuser” of human rights in the country, a US State Department report says.

In its 2005 Country Report on Human Rights and Practices released on March 8, the day a member of the House of Representatives was arrested for alleged illegal assembly by anti-riot police for calling on President Arroyo to resign, the State Department said the PNP has been committing abuses against civilians.

Every year, the department reviews human rights practices in 196 countries.

It is likely that its country report on the Philippines for 2006 would cover the arrest and detention of party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel last Wednesday and the threat to also arrest and jail five other congressmen — who have been holing up at the House of Representatives in Quezon City for more than a week to delay their arrest — over their alleged role in a coup attempt against Mrs. Arroyo.

The State Department report also scored the Arroyo government’s “pervasive weakness” in enforcing the rule of law as well as “official impunity.”

“Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces; however, some elements of the security forces committed human rights abuses. The government generally respected the human rights of its citizens. However, pervasive weakness in the rule of law, official impunity and the wide disparity between rich and poor contributed to cynicism about official justice,” it said.

Two human rights problems in the Philippines that were cited by the State Department are: arbitrary, unlawful and extra-judicial killings by elements of the security services; and political killings, including killings of journalists, by a variety of actors, which often go unpunished.

It also cited disappearances of persons; physical and psychological abuse of suspects and detainees and instances of torture; arbitrary arrest and detention; police, prosecutorial, and judicial corruption; long delays in trials; and harsh prison conditions.

The report also mentioned societal discrimination against Muslims; harassment of some human rights and left-wing political activists by local military and police forces; violence against women and abuse of children, as well as child prostitution, and trafficking in persons; child labor, including underage domestic servants; and ineffective implementation and enforcement of worker rights.

The report did not mention recent developments in the Philippines after President Arroyo declared a state of national emergency last Feb. 24.

It said there remains a “justifiable public perception of corruption in the judicial, executive and legislative branches,” adding the perceived level of corruption in public agencies remains “very high” and “steady.”

The report also suggested that police and local government leaders at times appeared to sanction extra-judicial killings and vigilantism as expedient means of fighting crime and terrorism.

It said security forces most of the time resort to the summary execution of suspects, or “salvaging.”

“Some elements of the security services were responsible for arbitrary, unlawful, and, in some cases, extra-judicial killings; disappearances; torture; and arbitrary arrest and detention,” the report added.

The physical abuse of suspects and detainees also remained a problem, as did police, prosecutorial and judicial corruption, it said.

The State Department also cited the killings of journalists in the Philippines, with 10 reporters killed at the end of 2005, including provincial columnist Marlene Esperat and Philip Agustin.

While the Philippine government did not restrict Internet use, the US report noted that in June 2005, military intelligence released a presentation, “Know Your Enemy,” listing some press unions and student organizations as “enemies of the state” or communist fronts.

On the labor front, the report said the national minimum wage does “not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and his family.”

“Foreign workers must obtain work permits and may not engage in certain occupations. Typically their work conditions were better than those faced by citizens,” it added.

The US report quoted the Philippine Commission on Human Rights as saying the PNP is “the worst abuser of human rights” because of arbitrary, unlawful, and extra-judicial killings.

It said police engaged in physical and psychological abuse of suspects and detainees and in some instances in torture, arbitrary arrest and detention.

The State Department said the communist rebel group New People’s Army also committed numerous human rights violations, including political assassinations, kidnappings and torture.

It added the Abu Sayyaf, which was listed by the US as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), has bombed civilian targets, at times with the suspected involvement of the regional terrorist group Jemmah Islamiyah.

“Both the NPA and the ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group) continued to use children both as soldiers and as non-combatants,” the report said.

It added killings of community activists, church workers, lawyers and members of leftist political parties, particularly Bayan Muna, increased in 2005.

It also said prison conditions were rudimentary and sometimes harsh.

The report added provincial jails and prisons were overcrowded, lacked basic infrastructure and provided prisoners with inadequate diet.

It said the slow judicial process exacerbated the problem of overcrowding, with some inmates taking turns sleeping and others sleeping on their feet.

Other human rights violations noted in the Philippines included arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home or correspondence; and use of excessive force in internal conflicts.

The State Department report came on the heels of defiance by anti-Arroyo groups of the government’s virtual ban on Filipinos’ exercise of their freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights despite Malacanang’s recent lifting of emergency rule.

Baraquel’s arrest and detention seemed to have caused the government to implement a “qualified” calibrated preemptive response (CPR) policy against Mrs. Arroyo’s critics.

During a press briefing, presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor also yesterday said the National Security Council will meet next week to modify the CPR, whose objective is to violently disperse demonstrators taking to the streets without a permit.

Defensor, at the same time, admitted that the police made a “tactical mistake” in dragging Baraquel to Camp Karingal in Quezon City after the lawmaker and thousands of other women marking International Women’s Month tried to march to Malacañang.

He said under the qualified CPR, local government units will be required to issue rally permits to the anti-Arroyo groups.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. also yesterday said Baraquel’s arrest “smacked of arbitrariness” on the part of the PNP.

Although the congresswoman was eventually released from detention, Pimentel still noted that she was picked up without any preliminary investigation of any charges against her. Michaela P. del Callar, Sherwin C. Olaes, Gerry Baldo, Ben Gines Jr. and Angie M. Rosales

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Article sourced from

The Daily Tribune - Manila,Phi10 March 2006

State Dep’t: Police ‘worst abu

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The Daily Tribune - Manila,Phi
10 March 2006