GMA: Stop those killings

President Arroyo ordered yesterday her security officials to put an end to the spate of killings of journalists and leftist militants following strong criticism from human rights watchdogs.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the President issued the order during a meeting of the Cabinet security cluster at Malacañang on Tuesday.

The security meeting focused on the spate of killings and the proposal to arm journalists.

"The President has put her foot down, and her directive is a very strong ‘move after them and account for them,’ and for the police and the investigating agency to hasten the investigations... we should be able to put to rest all these killings," Ermita said in a press conference.

"The President said, ‘Let’s put a stop to all of this’ and she was very emphatic about it," he said.

Ermita said Mrs. Arroyo expressed her "great concern" during the meeting over the unabated series of murders of media practitioners and leftist militants.

Among those present during the meeting were Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales and Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno.

The number of journalists killed in the country since democracy was restored in 1986 was highest under the administration of Mrs. Arroyo.

Over the past 20 years, 42 out of the 79 journalists were killed during the Arroyo administration.

The country also earned the dubious distinction of being the world’s most dangerous place for journalists, next to Iraq, since 2004.

Amnesty International (AI) said there was little regard for human rights safeguards in the Philippines, where witnesses were not protected and criminal suspects often killed.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye yesterday called AI’s comments "unfair" and denied its "misplaced conjectures" that there was a climate of impunity in the Philippines.

"There is no such thing as a climate of impunity in the Philippines," Bunye said, denying charges in the Amnesty report that leftist activists and journalists were being openly targeted.

"These killings are being investigated alongside the murders of journalists, and suspects have been pinpointed and are being hunted down," Bunye said.

"It would be more beneficial to all the parties concerned if full public cooperation could be had in order to effectively address these crimes and to map out protective measures for potential targets," he said.

Leftist groups meanwhile charge that at least 93 of their members have been killed in attacks since Mrs. Arroyo came to power in 2001.

AI had charged that it was difficult to get a fair trial in the Philippines, with criminal suspects in danger of police torture and extended detention.

It said that there was also "apparent tolerance" of suspected criminals being summarily executed, including "petty thieves and street children" linked to the police.

But Ermita expressed doubts that policemen or soldiers were behind the spate of killings of journalists and leftist leaders even as he announced that the Philippine National Police (PNP) was strengthening its internal affairs system.

PNP Director Emmanuel Carta, officer-in-charge of Task Force Usig, a team tasked to go after killers of journalists and leftists, said as far as media killings are concerned, out of the 42 cases, 30 of these were already filed in court and 12 still under investigation.

Of these 30 cases filed, based on the 42 cases, 31 were work-related, while 11 were deemed non-work related, Carta said.

Reality check

PNP spokesman Senior Superintendent Samuel Pagdilao said the recent upsurge of killings cannot be considered a failure of the police force.

"One rise in the crime rate does not mean that the police have failed. This is a continuing thing… I don’t know if it’s achievable at all to live in a perfect world," Pagdilao said.

PNP records also showed over 120 persons, mostly militants, were assassinated since 2001 and the PNP admitted that of the total incidents, only 15 percent have been addressed and solved by the police.

When asked why the PNP seemed powerless to stop the killings, Pagdilao pointed to a supposed trend in the crime rate.

"Sometimes it falls, sometimes it goes up so it’s really a fluctuating thing… When crimes go up the action of the PNP is to create a task force to address this sudden and temporary rise in crime incidents," he said.

Pagdilao spoke in behalf of the PNP in appealing for the public to do their share in ensuring a peaceful and orderly community.

"It is really the job of the PNP to ensure that the citizenry is protected from crime but in so doing we also ask the community to perform their civic duty which is also enshrined in our civil code," he said.

Pagdilao clarified the PNP is not blaming anybody for the crimes.

"We’re not blaming anybody and I hope people will not also blame the PNP because crime fighting is a shared responsibility," he said.

PNP directorial staff chief Director Isidro Lapeña vowed to exert a stronger effort to minimize the killings.

"But we will have all these efforts, maybe we can minimize these things happening if everybody will join hands to address this problem, not only the government," he said.

Lapeña said the PNP had a meeting with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to coordinate efforts in solving the spate of killings of journalists and leftist leaders.

On the killings of journalists, Lapeña advised media practitioners to report to authorities any threats on their lives.

"If you feel there is a threat on your life, let us know immediately so that we can take appropriate measures to provide you protection," he said.

"Maybe your organizations and associations, we can sit down together and come up with a measures that will minimize the risk to our journalists, to our media practitioners," he added.

An administration lawmaker, Lanao del Sur Rep. Benasing Macarambon called on the people to support and contribute efforts to solve the killings of journalists and leftist leaders.

Macarambon noted the issue of killings cannot be solved before an international arena, which would only put the Philippine government in a bad light.

Macarambon assured the government is doing all it can to stop the killings.

"The government is not blind to the reality," he said. "In fact, President Arroyo has denounced these killings and wants a speedy resolution of these cases." — Paolo Romero, Cecille Suerte Felipe