INTRODUCTION

It is said that only the Creator has the right to take away life and that humans must never

intervene with the natural movement of Earthly events. Yet, humans defy the intended order. Man

eventually learned to kill his own kind for no particular or irrational reasons. A human being is granted

the divine right to life and existence and the constitutional right to life, liberty and property and an

assurance to not be deprived of these without due process of law. However, reviewing Philippine history,

there have been numerous accounts of extralegal killings, or executions without due process of law,

without legal safeguards or judicial proceedings, and enforced disappearances, or the arrest, abduction

or detention due to refusal to acknowledge or give information or the intention of removing someone

from the protection of the law.

These acts, which are not only illegal and unconstitutional but also inhumane, unjust and most

of the time gruesome, are very difficult to ignore. As a media studies student of the Ateneo de Naga

University, it is even harder for me to discuss accounts of previous cases of extralegal killings and forced

disappearances in the Philippines since those who are often victims of these crimes are media

practitioners including journalists, editors and writers for newspapers, radio commentators and some

television personalities and crew – careers where, most probably, most media studies students, including

myself, are heading after graduation.

This issue is significant not only to media scholars and practitioners but also to the general

public. Only a portion of the victims of such crimes, as aforementioned, are people in media. Therefore,

the rest of the people that are killed and abducted without due process of law belong to other sectors of

the society such as the school and the church, some activists and union members and workers. Also, it

should not be forgotten that even sometimes, even average, innocent people are victims of these

crimes. Their “averageness”, in the Philippine judiciary scene, make their cases forgettable and

uninteresting not unless they were killed or abducted alongside other reputable people or those that are

in position.

The most recent and probably the most gruesome of all extralegal killing cases is the

Maguindanao Massacre (a.k.a. Ampatuan Massacre) last November 23, 2009 in the town

of Ampatuan in Maguindanao province, on the island of Mindanao where 57 people, including at least

34 journalists, were kidnapped and brutally killed. The massacre was targeted primarily at Esmael

Mangudadatu, who was to file his certificate of candidacy for the gubernatorial elections in

Maguindanao as part of the 2010 National Elections, his family members and his supporters. Sadly,

others that were killed were either witnesses or were just mistaken to be part of the convoy.

This massacre was dubbed by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) as the single deadliest

event for journalists in history (since 1992 when CPJ started keeping detailed records on journalist

deaths).

To paraphrase an old saying, however, numbers tend to numb. In this case, one is led to think

that three journalists killed in less than a week is irrelevant or a non-issue especially when comparing

the sheer number of journalists killed in the November 23 massacre in Ampatuan, Maguindanao.

Case after case, these killings and disappearances has evoked fear and has created waves that

troubled the sense of security of every Filipino just because anyone may be abducted anytime and may

never be seen again.

Each time a media practitioner is killed human rights groups and media communities look to the

government for solutions and the much desired action. Behind every condemnation of journalist killings

is an appeal to government authorities to do what it can in bringing perpetrators to justice.

NATURE

In the Philippines, EXTRALEGAL KILLINGS are often politically-motivated committed by

government officials. Included under ELKs are assassinations, deaths due to strafing or indiscriminate

firing, massacre, salvage (premeditated murder) and summary execution.

An ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE (desaparecidos) is defined in Article 2 of the United Nations

Convention Against Torture as "the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of

liberty by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or

acquiescence of the State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by

concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which place such a person outside

the protection of the law." In the Philippines, it is a form of extrajudicial punishment indirectly

perpetrated by government officers when any of its public officials abducts an individual to vanish from

public view often leading to murder. The victim is first kidnapped and then detained. Since there was no

due process for the person to be taken away and detained, the action if therefore illegal. Then, often

torture follows. Finally, the individual is executed, then his corpse hidden.

RECORDS

Human rights group KARAPATAN (Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples’ Rights) published a

report showing sthat from 2001 to 2010, the number of extra-judicial killings reached 1,190 and the

number of enforced disappearances, 205. This means that for a period of nine years under the

Macapagal-Arroyo administration, an average of 132 activists were killed every year. Those who

disappeared, on the other hand, reached about 23 annually.

The NATIONAL UNION OF JOURNALISTS IN THE PHILIPPINES (NUJP) on the other hand records

104 journalist killings since 1986, 67 of which happened during the time of President Gloria Arroyo.

Many of these journalists were silenced because of the controversial stories they were pursuing, mostly

exposes of corrupt government officials or offices. Since Aquino assumed office last June 30, six media

persons have been killed.

The New-York based COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS (CPJ) said in its year-end report

that the election-related slaughter of at least 30 journalists in the southern Philippine province

accounted for almost half of 2009’s record, and marked the single deadliest event for the media

profession in the 28-year history of the organization. For this year, the CPJ said the Philippines accounted

for at least 32 of the total 68 cases of journalists worldwide killed for their work.

From 1996 to 2008, Belgium-based INTERNATIONAL NEWS SAFETY INSTITUTE (INSI) records

show 76 journalists have been killed in the Philippines already. In 2009 alone (the year barely over) INSI

has already recorded 4 deaths, excluding this week’s gruesome killings in Maguindanao.

In a study conducted by the CENTER FOR MEDIA FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY (CMFR) in

2005 and 2006, Prof. Luis Teodoro, deputy director, said they have documented 33 killings of journalists

that were “in the line of duty” while there were 20 other cases of killings “for reasons not connected

with their work.” Except for a few, Teodoro noted that all victims were community journalists or

provincial radio block timers who were not working for big media establishments. Of the said cases, only

27 have been brought to court. Eleven are pending investigation, five are under trial, five have been

dismissed, four are pending prosecution while only two have been successfully investigated. Court

records would show that some of the suspects are connected with the police, military or the local

government.

INVESTIGATIONS

The Gloria Macapagal – Arroyo administration appointed three bodies to investigate on the root

causes of the extralegal killings and enforced disappearances under her administration. The final reports

were submitted and were published.

a. TASK FORCE USIG

created by PGMA on August

as a special police body, it was assigned to solve 10 cases of killings

it claimed having solved 21 cases, by initiating court cases, but only 12 suspects

were arrested

b. THE MELO COMMISSION

chaired by Supreme Court Associate Justice Jose Melo with members National

Bureau of Investigation Director Nestor Mantaring, Chief State Prosecutor

Jovencito Zuño, Bishop Juan de dios Pueblos, and Nelia Torres Gonzales

its final report states: "There is no official or sanctioned policy on the part of the

military or its civilian superiors to resort to what other countries euphemistically

call “alternative procedures”—meaning illegal liquidations. However, there is

certainly evidence pointing the finger of suspicion at some elements and

personalities in the armed forces, in particular General Jovito Palparan, as

responsible for an undetermined number of killings, by allowing, tolerating, and

even encouraging the killings." (Melo Commission report, p. 53)

c. THE UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS (February 12 to 21, 2007)

Philip Alston met with government officials, civil society representatives, witnesses of extrajudicial killings, and the family members of victims

He found that the Armed Forces of the Philippines killed left-wing activists to get rid of communist insurgents

"the executions had eliminated civil society leaders, including human rights defenders, trade unionists and land reform advocates, intimidated a vast number of civil society actors, and narrowed the country’s political discourse.”

Alston denied for lack of merit the government's claim that killings were perpetrated by communists to exterminate spies and to make negative propaganda versus government.

Alston, on February, 2007 stated that the military made alibis or denials on its role about 800 deaths of activists and journalists since 2001.

Alston blamed “IMPUNITY” which caused the executions of journalists and leftist activists: “the priorities of the criminal justice system had been “distorted,” and had “increasingly focused on prosecuting civil society leaders rather than their killers.”

But Alston noted the government's creation of - special courts to try extrajudicial killings, the Melo Commission and the Philippine National Police’s Task Force Usig.

In the November U.N. Alston report - the killings in 2007 was only 68, huge drop from the 209 murdered in 2006.

WORST CASE SCENARIO

November 23, 2009 was a dark day for the media community, civil society and the Philippine

nation as a whole. Along a deserted highway, the group of Esmael Mangudadatu, who was to file his

certificate of candidacy for the gubernatorial elections in Maguindanao as part of the 2010 National

Elections, his family members and his supporters along with media people to cover the filing, was

flagged by armed men and subsequently killed in the most savage of ways. Many of the women

journalists were also allegedly raped before they were killed. There are unconfirmed accounts that some

of the victims were run over by vehicles to finish them off, while a pre-dug grave site was waiting for the

unceremonial burial bodies. 57 people, including at least 34 journalists, were kidnapped and brutally

killed. Even before the Maguindanao massacre, the CPJ had labeled the Philippines the second most

dangerous country for journalists, second only to Iraq.

Andal Ampatuan, Sr., the alleged mastermind of the heinous massacre, first came into

prominence in 1986 when President Corazon Aquino appointed him as Officer-in-Charge of then

Maganoy (now Shariff Aguak) following the People Power Revolution. In 1988, he won the local

elections and served for ten (10) years. In 1998, he was elected governor. He was elected governor twice

more after that, unopposed. Eighteen of the mayors in Maguindanao belong to the clan. During

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s term, Andal Sr. was considered a major ally in the Mindanao. In

the 2004 presidential elections, Arroyo won 69% of Maguindanao's vote.

Tension was building up between the Mangudadatus and the Ampatuans, both members of the

Lakas-Kampi CMD Party. To prevent election-related violence, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the

head of the party, mediated between the two clans. Three meetings were held in mid-2009 in order to

settle the tension. In one meeting, then Secretary of National Defense and now chairman of the party

Gilberto Teodoro presided. Gabriel Claudio, PGMA’s adviser for political affairs, reported that an

agreement has been made that no one from the Mangundadatu clan will run against Andal Ampatuan

Jr. in the gubernatorial race.

However, Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu wanted to disobey the agreement.

He invited 37 journalists to cover his filing of Certificate of Candidacy at the Comission on Elections in

Shariff Aguak. Threats have reached him that once he files his candidacy for the gubernatorial race, his

body will be chopped off in pieces. He thought than inviting media men to cover the filing would

dissuade the attack.

He was wrong. A convoy of 6 vehicles left Buluan at 9:00 in the morning of November 23, 2009.

Another convoy was supposed to follow but lagged behind when they sensed that something was going

to happen. Ten kilometers before reaching Shariff Aguak, the convoy was blocked by 100 armed men

including Andal Jr. who abducted and later killed most of the people in the convoy. It was reported that

out of at least 5 female victims, 4 of them journalists, were raped before executed by firing bullets into

their genitals according to Secretary of Justice Agnes Devanadera. Esmael Mangundadatu said that his

wife’s "private parts were slashed four times, after which they fired a bullet into it." In addition, he said

that "They speared both of her eyes, shot both her breasts, cut off her feet, fired into her mouth."

As confirmed by Chief Superintendent Josefino Cataluna of the Philippine National Police, as of

November 25, the death toll had risen to 57. Reporters Without Borders considered this the deadliest

such incident in the history of news media as they first announced that at least 12 of the victims were

journalists. The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines then originally estimated that a total of

20 journalists were killed. The Philippine Daily Inquirer later updated the number of journalists killed to

34. On December 4, 2009, through Proclamation No. 1959, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has

officially placed Maguindanao province under a state of martial law.

The mediamen slaughter in Maguindanao only amplifies a nasty truth that press freedom is

continuously violated in a country like the Philippines which Belgium-based International News Safety

Institute (INSI) describes as the “deadliest nation on earth for news media”.

OTHER RECENT KILLINGS AND DISAPPEARANCES

Under the presidency of Benigno Aquino III, one former journalist was killed in Tabuk City,

Kalinga province last July 3, 2010. Seventy-five year old JOSE DAGUIO was shot dead in his home.

At around 5:30 a.m. of Monday, February 23, Misamis Occidental broadcaster ERNIE ROLLIN

became the first journalist in the country murdered for 2009, the 99th since the supposed restoration of

democratic institutions in 1986 and the 63rd since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo came to power in

2001.

A report from the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines in Ozamiz City said Rollin was

parking his motorcycle at a gasoline station in Oroquieta City before commuting to work in Ozamiz City

when two men on a motorcycle, their faces hidden by ski masks, drove up and shot him several times.

The report quoted Rollin’s partner, Ligaya, who was waiting for him to join her at a waiting shed,

said she hear three gunshots and, when she looked at where the shots had come from, saw the

broadcaster lying face down on the ground.

When Ligaya rushed over to help Rollin, one of the gunmen stopped her and pumped another

bullet into the nape of the fallen journalist. Colleagues said Rollin, who was in his mid-40s, was known

for his hard hitting commentaries.

INTERNATIONAL LAW

International law provides legal instruments to oblige the Philippines to protect people in its

territory from extrajudicial killings and investigate alleged human rights violations to prevent future

crimes.

1. RIGHT TO LIFE (ICCPR)

Under international law, states have a duty to respect the right to life.

The Philippines is legally bound by the International Covenant on Civil and Political

Rights (herein after ICCPR) as a member state, which provides the right as follows:

“every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by

law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.” (Article 6).

The ICCPR provides that no derogation from Article 6 may be made under this

provision even in case of state emergency.

The right to life cannot be derogated in any circumstances.

The United Nations Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-

Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions articulates that internal political instability

and any public emergency including a state of war and a threat of war may not be

invoked as a justification of extrajudicial executions.

Obligation to Ensure Right to Life As a State party to the ICCPR, the State of the Philippines has a legal duty to

ensure the right to life.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights held in Velásquez Rodríguez v.

Honduras as follows:

“The State has a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent human rights

violations and to use the means at its disposal to carry out a serious

investigation of violations committed within its jurisdiction, to identify those

responsible, to impose the appropriate punishment and to ensure the victim

adequate compensation.”

2. RIGHT TO AN EFFECTIVE REMEDY

Both International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law provide

the right to an effective remedy.

In 2005, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on Extrajudicial, Summary

or Arbitrary Execution which provides state obligation to compensate victims of

extrajudicial killings.

The UN “reiterates the obligation of all Governments to grant adequate

compensation within a reasonable time to the victims or their families”

Article 2 of the ICCPR also obliged state parties to ensure the right to effective

remedy to individuals whose Covenant rights have been violated.

The scope of obligation includes, for the first place, cessation of the ongoing

violation, and investigation of human rights violation.

The Human Rights Committee General Comment 31 stated, “a failure by a State

Party to investigate allegations of violations could in and of itself give rise to a

separate breach of the Covenant. Cessation of an ongoing violation is an essential

element of the right to an effective remedy.” (Paragraph 15)

In this regard, the Philippines government should take all necessary measure to

cease all acts of extrajudicial killings and investigate all the case to sweep impunity.

The state of the Philippines should realize compensation, restitution, rehabilitation,

satisfaction, and guarantees of non-repetition for all victims of human rights

violations.

GOVERNMENT ACTIONS

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago has filed a bill that would penalize those responsible for

enforced or involuntary disappearances. SENATE BILL 1455 seeks to impose penalties against

perpetrators of enforced or involuntary disappearances and provide compensation and rehabilitation to

the victims and their families.

"Cases of involuntary disappearances are usually filed under kidnapping, murder, or serious

illegal detention. They are some of the cruelest forms of human rights violations and our laws should

recognize this distinction from other offenses," Santiago said in a statement released Friday.

Santiago explained that enforced or involuntary disappearances involve the deprivation of

liberty by agents of the state, the refusal to acknowledge this, and the concealment of information

regarding a missing victim.

The EUROPEAN UNION has made a stronger push for human rights in the country as it started a

3.9-million-euro (about P250 million), 15-month project with the Philippine government to stop and

solve extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances of activists, farmers representatives, trade

unionists, and journalists. At the launch of the EU-PHILIPPINE JUSTICE SUPPORT PROGRAM (EPJUST) on

February 11, EU Ambassador to the country Alistair MacDonald said the amount will cover the cost of

technical assistance services, advice, and training intended to strengthen the criminal justice system

(investigation, prosecution, and judiciary).

Because of the inefficacy and insufficiency of the Philippines Writ of Habeas Corpus, on

September 25, 2007, Chief Justice Reynato Puno signed and released the WRIT OF AMPARO: "This rule

will provide the victims of extralegal killings and enforced disappearances the protection they need and

the promise of vindication for their rights. This rule empowers our courts to issue reliefs that may be

granted through judicial orders of protection, production, inspection and other relief to safeguard one's

life and liberty The writ of amparo shall hold public authorities, those who took their oath to defend the

constitution and enforce our laws, to a high standard of official conduct and hold them accountable to

our people. The sovereign Filipino people should be assured that if their right to life and liberty is

threatened or violated, they will find vindication in our courts of justice'."

Puno explained the interim reliefs under amparo: temporary protection order (TPO), inspection

order (IO), production order (PO), and witness protection order (WPO, RA 6981). As supplement to

Amparo, on August 30, 2007, Puno promised to release also the WRIT OF HABEAS DATA, another new

legal remedy to solve the extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. Puno explained that

the writ of amparo denies to authorities defense of simple denial, and habeas data can find out what

information is held by the officer, rectify or even the destroy erroneous data gathered.

The implementation of RA 9372, euphemistically called the HUMAN SECURITY ACT OF 2007,

brings more terror than security to the populace. Among the most dangerous provisions is the detention

without charges for up to-- and even beyond-- 72 hours. Section 18 of the law states that a suspect may

be detained for three calendar days without warrant. Section 19 stipulates that in the event of actual or

imminent terrorist attack, suspects may be detained beyond 72 hours without warrant. The provision

merely requires a police officer to obtain a written approval from a human rights officer within a period

of five days.

On March 1, 2007, the Supreme Court of the Philippines issued ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO.

25-2007, which created by designation 99 regional trial courts to try cases of killings and desaparecidos.

Enforced disappearances are not punishable under Philippine laws. There are no existing

Philippine laws that criminalize enforced disappearances. The Philippines has also not ratified the United

Nations International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Even if

PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7438 (An Act Defining Certain Rights of Person Arrested, Detained or

Under Custodial Investigation as well as the Duties of the Arresting, Detaining and Investigating Officers,

and Providing Penalties for Violations Thereof) provides for the rights of persons arrested, detained, it

does not punish acts of enforced disappearances. Thus, on August 27, Bayan Muna, Gabriela Women's

Party (GWP), and Anakpawis filed HOUSE BILL 2263 - “An act defining and penalizing the crime of

enforced or involuntary disappearance.”

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada also filed last June 30, 2007, SENATE BILL NO. 7 - “An Act Penalizing the

Commission of Acts of Torture and Involuntary Disappearance of Persons Arrested, Detained or Under

Custodial Investigation, and Granting Jurisdiction to the Commission on Human Rights to Conduct

Preliminary Investigation for Violation of the Custodial Rights of the Accused, Amending for this Purpose

Sections 2, 3 and 4 of RA 7438, and for Other Purposes.”

The counter-insurgency program of the Arroyo regime OPLAN BANTAY LAYA (OBL -- Operation

Freedom Watch) has been the framework for these attacks. The OBL does not distinguish between

combatants and civilians. For the Arroyo regime, the unarmed activists in the cities are no different from

the revolutionary elements of the New People's Army (NPA). The regime labels the people's

organizations and political parties as fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). This skewed

belief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and some ranking cabinet security officials has been

expounded in the power point presentation Knowing the Enemy and in the published textbook Trinity of

War.

By 2006, the Arroyo government intensified the implementation of OPLAN BANTAY LAYA

through its Enhanced National Internal Security Plan (NISP) which was aimed at decisively defeating the

communist insurgency in 2010, the same year Arroyo will be finishing her term. To expedite its

implementation, the Arroyo government allotted an additional P1 billion for counterinsurgency in June

2006.

RECOMMENDATIONS

(By HUMAN RIGHTS NOW on their REPORT ON EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS AND ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES IN THE PHILIPPINES, April 2008)Note: Select recommendations only. Many not included.

As a party to the ICCPR, the Philippine government is obliged to protect the human rights of all

who live within its jurisdiction. Accordingly, the government should protect its people from human

rights violations by taking appropriate measures including the investigation and prosecution of human

rights violators.

TO THE PRESIDENT

1. End the current counterinsurgency policy

a. The President should put an end to the counterinsurgency policy which include tagging

legitimate civil society organizations and activists as “enemies of the state” as well as

targeting them for neutralization.

b. The President should publicly denounce and declare the abandonment of the above

counterinsurgency policy which resulted in extrajudicial killings.

c. The President should order all governmental organs, in particular AFP and PNP, to

officially cease counter-insurgency operations targeting any civil society group for

neutralization.

d. The President should direct all military and police personnel to cease any practice linking

political and other civil society groups to armed insurgent groups in the course of their

activities.

2. Disclosure

a. The President should disclose all documents and information prepared and gathered in

the course of counter-insurgency operations towards civilians possessed by the AFP,

PNP and any other governmental organs including Oplan Bantay Laya, Order of Battle

and information related to legitimate organizations and individual activists.

b. The President should officially abandon all such documents. The President should nullify

Administrative Order No. 197.

3. Investigation

a. The President should order the AFP/PNP to cooperate with the investigation conducted

by the Commission on Human Rights, Congress, Courts, PNP and DOJ.

b. The President should make efforts to enhance the functions of the Commission on

Human Rights by the means of increasing its budget and human resources.

c. The President should order the Department of Justice to establish a witness protection

program which is independent from the military and police in order to enable the

victims to testify in safe circumstances.

d. The President should conduct a transparent and thorough investigation on extrajudicial

killings and enforced disappearances, with the full participation of the victims/families,

under monitoring and technical assistance by the international community, and identify

and prosecute the persons responsible for the human rights violations. The investigation

should include inquiries into allegations concerning high-ranking military and police

officers.

e. Based on the above investigation, the President should make an official apology and

offer reparations, including compensation, restitution, and rehabilitation for the victims

and relatives of the victims of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.

To the Armed Force of Philippines (AFP)

4. End targeting civilians

a. The AFP should cease any practice linking political and other civil society groups to

armed insurgency groups in the course of their activities, in particular, villifying them as

“ enemies of state”, involving surveillance and harassment of them and attacking them.

b. AFP should take all necessary measures to ensure that all personnel in the military and

the CAFGU cease in engaging in the above-mentioned practice.

5. Cooperation to the Investigation

a. The AFP should be cooperative with any truth-seeking effort made by the judicial branch

and other governmental organs regarding the disclosure of their operational documents

as well as whereabouts of the people in military custody.

b. The AFP should faithfully obey and not undermine judicial orders such as writs of

amparo and writs of habeas data.

To the Philippine National Police(PNP)

6. Investigation

a. The PNP, in particular the Task Force USIG should investigate extrajudicial killings and

enforced disappearances in order to identify the criminals, especially military personnel

and police officials. The PNP should resume investigation of all the cases that local

human rights groups and victims’ families claim in good faith as extrajudicial killings.

b. The Task Force USIG should issue monthly reports of the status of the cases.

c. The Task Force USIG should recognize its jurisdiction over former/ incumbent high-

ranking military officials and conduct thorough investigation on them as necessary.

d. The PNP should improve their investigative methods and put an end to the negligence in

the investigation of the cases of extrajudicial killings. The PNP should utilize forensic

science—mainly material evidence, with appropriate technical assistance from

international experts.

To the Department of Justice (DOJ)

7. Prosecution

a. The DOJ should achieve a significant number of prosecutions of extrajudicial killing cases

in cooperating with the PNP.

8. Protection of the victims and witnesses

a. The DOJ should clarify the names, the way he/she was arrested, the place, and the

condition of the subjects’ health for all those who were arrested without judicial

authority by governmental organizations, and guarantee their access to lawyers.

b. The DOJ should establish a witness protection program which is independent from the

military and police in order to enable the victims to testify in safe circumstances.

To the Commission on Human Rights( CHR)

9. Strengthen the Mechanism

The capabilities and powers of the Commission on Human Rights should be increased as

appropriate to make it more effective. In order to achieve the below, the budget of the CHR

should be at least doubled.

a. The CHR should hire more experts and allocate more resources to investigate the cases

of extrajudicial killings.

b. The CHR should establish its own witness protection program to secure witnesses’

safety.

c. The CHR should be empowered to conduct ad hoc visits to any military camp to release

the victims of abductions.

SOURCES

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memo-extra-judicial-killingss. PNP mulls another body to look into media killings -

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100705-279332/PNP-mulls-another-body-to-look-into-media-killings

t. Barangay Officials abducted and victims of enforced disappearance in Nueva Ecija, Philippines - http://stopthekillings.org/stknpv1/?q=node/48

u. International Human Rights Law - http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/Pages/InternationalLaw.aspx

v. OPLAN BANTAY LAYA PRIMER - http://stopthekillings.org/stknpv1/files/OBL%20ENGLISH%20BOOKLET.pdf

EXTRALEGAL KILLINGS AND FORCED DISAPPEARANCES OF MEDIA PRACTITIONERS

IN THE PHILIPPINESA Research Paper

ABIAS, Leonard Paul B.PSCS001 - N2

September 2010