EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS DECLINE IN 2007

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 MANILA 003881 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP AND DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2017 TAGS: PHUM PREL RP SUBJECT: EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS DECLINE IN 2007 REF: A. MANILA 3419 ¶B. MANILA 3304 ¶C. MANILA 3266 ¶D. MANILA 2828 ¶E. MANILA 573 Classified By: Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Intensified domestic and international attention to the problem of extrajudicial killings and disappearances in the Philippines appears to be having a measurable impact, with government agencies and human rights NGOs reporting a significant decline in the number of extrajudicial killings in 2007. The new statistics coincide with the release of UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston's critical final report, which places the blame for numerous killings squarely on the Philippine military, concluding that in some parts of the country the Armed Forces have pursued a "deliberate strategy of systematically hunting down" leftist leaders. Alston's final report, released over nine months after his visit to the Philippines, essentially reiterated his preliminary findings in February. The Supreme Court continues to lead the government's efforts on the legal front by promulgating new rules regarding the "writ of amparo," or court protective order, as a legal remedy available to human rights advocates and families of victims of human rights abuses. Just over a month after the writ of amparo took effect, human rights lawyers have filed six such petitions, two of which resulted in the release of two missing persons from military custody. While the Supreme Court had initially designated 99 existing courts as "special courts" to hear cases of extrajudicial killings, the order creating the writ of amparo rescinded this designation. Under the new rules, any of the 800 Regional Trial Court judges can hear cases of extrajudicial killings or enforced disappearances. End Summary. -------------- SIGNIFICANT DECLINE IN REPORTED CASES IN 2007 -------------- ¶2. (SBU) According to government and NGO sources, the number of reported cases of extrajudicial killings dropped significantly in 2007. Because the various organizations that follow the issue use different criteria to classify cases as extrajudicial killings, the numbers vary substantially. However, by any measure, the number of reported cases declined. As of the beginning of December, Philippine National Police Task Force Usig reported six cases throughout the year. This figure contrasts sharply with the 41 cases Task Force Usig reported in 2006. The Commission on Human Rights reported a similar decline for the first half of 2007, from 130 victims during the first half of 2006 to 38 during the same period in 2007. On the other side of the spectrum, Karapatan, the human rights organization affiliated with the Communist Party of the Philippines that has claimed the highest number of killings -- over 800 killings since 2001 -- reported 68 cases, down from 209 in 2006. Karapatan attributed the sharp decline to pressure from the U.S. Senate, the United Nations Rapporteur, the diplomatic community, and international human rights groups. -------------- UN RAPPORTEUR ISSUES FINAL REPORT ON KILLINGS -------------- ¶3. (U) United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston, who visited the Philippines in February 2007 to investigate extrajudicial killings, released his final report November ¶26. Among other findings, Alston placed the blame for the killings squarely on the military, concluding that in some parts of the Philippines the armed forces have "followed a deliberate strategy of systematically hunting down the leaders of leftist organizations." He called on President Arroyo to stop further killings and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice. Alston characterized as "strikingly unconvincing" assertions by armed forces officials that the killings were carried out by the New People's Army, the 40-year old communist terrorist group dedicated to toppling the Philippine government, to purge their ranks of disloyal members or to discredit the government. Alston found that the "government has undertaken a range of welcome reforms, but the fact remains that not a single soldier has been convicted in any of the cases involving leftist activists." On the whole, Alston's final report basically reiterated his preliminary findings in February (reftel E) but Alston also discussed, for the first MANILA 00003881 002 OF 004 time, vigilante killings in Davao City. -------------- DAVAO CITY VIGILANTE KILLINGS ALSO DECLINE -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Alston's final report charges that a vigilante death squad has been operating openly in Davao City, killing over 500 street children and others in broad daylight since 1998. Local civil society organizations attribute the killings to the "Davao Death Squad," a vigilante group allegedly formed by the mayor to rid the city of undesirable elements. Alston concluded that the mayor "dominates the city so thoroughly as to stamp out whole genres of crime, yet remains powerless in the face of hundreds of murders committed by men without masks in view of witnesses." In 2006, the Davao-based Kabataan (Youth) Consortium reported 76 victims of alleged vigilante killings, mostly minors involved in illegal drug trade and other criminal activities in the city. The organization did not provide numbers for 2007 but noted that there was a significant decline of such cases in 2007. Through September, the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines, a human rights organization that follows cases and assists victims of human rights violations, reported 58 cases of vigilante killings in Davao City. However, the very nature of these killings, which often target individuals involved in criminal activities, makes it nearly impossible to ascertain whether a killing might have been committed by a "death squad" or was related to the individual's criminal activities. There were no cases filed in court on these killings, primarily due to lack of witnesses to testify. Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has consistently denied any involvement in the death squads. -------------- STRONG REACTION TO REPORT -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The Arroyo Administration quickly and strongly responded to the release of Alston's final report. Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye emphasized that the President had SIPDIS faced the issue of extrajudicial killings forthrightly and directly, while Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita assured that the government was doing everything in its power to address the problem. He added that the report "reawakened" the government to the need to keep human rights at the forefront. For his part, Police Chief Avelino Razon reported that since the creation of Task Force Usig in May 2006, there had been a significant decline in the killings, with only six incidents recorded this year. Razon hoped to send the strong message that the government would leave no stone unturned in putting an end to the killings. Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis disagreed with the report, stating that the Philippine government was "taking all measures" to stop the killings. National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said he hoped to invite Mr. Alston to visit the country once again to validate his findings and see what the government has actually done to address the problem. Several left-leaning congressmen issued a press release stating that Alston's report was an "affirmation of our long standing position that the intensified extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances ... emanates from the highest level of state policy on counter-insurgency." -------------- MILITARY DEFENDS PROGRESS ON HUMAN RIGHTS -------------- ¶6. (C) The Philippine Armed Forces was defensive in criticizing Alston's report, calling it "half-baked." Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces General Esperon said Alson needed better and more complete sources, arguing that the military never denied some soldiers were involved in human rights abuses, but the admission did not indicate that the military was solely to blame for the killings, nor that it was not doing anything to solve the cases and punish the perpetrators. Esperon rebutted Alston's claim that the military had been carrying out a national policy of killing leftists, saying "human rights is institutionalized in our promotion . . . (and) values system." Armed Forces spokesman Bartolome Bacarro disclosed that murder and homicide charges had been filed in criminal court against 22 soldiers involved in 13 cases of summary execution. Separately, Task Force Usig reported that there were 11 military personnel facing criminal charges (homicide and murder) in the local trial courts and Philippine Department of Justice prosecution offices. Eight soldiers were suspects in killings of MANILA 00003881 003 OF 004 politicians or activists while three were suspects in murders of journalists. The maximum punishment for this crime is life imprisonment. ¶7. (C) Esperon, who recently presided over major command changes in the Philippine military, has been sensitive to accusations that the military is behind the killings. He has promoted respect for human rights in the military, and the commanders selected in August 2007 (reftel C) to fill some of the top jobs in the military, including Chief of the Army General Yano and Commandant of the Philippine Marine Corps General Dolorfino, have echoed Esperon's support for a strategy that embraces hard and soft power. Civil-military projects, part of President Arroyo's "humanitarian offensive," have become a key element in the military's efforts to defeat not only Muslim insurgents and terrorists, but also the New People's Army. In strife-torn Mindanao, where the government is negotiating a peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF),there have been no tactical engagements between the Army's 6th Infantry Division and the MILF since June, a development that the MILF attributes to the army's conflict management initiatives. Throughout the country, including hotbeds of leftist activity, civil-military projects and similar types of activities increasingly are being utilized by the Philippine Armed Forces to mitigate the influence of such groups (reftel A). While armed clashes are still occurring between government forces and illegal armed groups, the military has shown restraint in conducting operations (reftel D). -------------- OVERCOMING LEGAL CHALLENGES: WRIT OF AMPARO -------------- ¶8. (U) In October 2007, the Supreme Court promulgated new rules regarding the "writ of amparo" (literally, "writ of protection"),as a legal remedy available to human rights advocates and families of victims of human rights abuses by government agencies, particularly where the victim is missing. Under the new rules, any person may file a petition with any of the 800 Regional Trial Court judges against any public official or agency. Once the petitioner establishes to the satisfaction of the judge that there is reason to believe that the government agency has information on the whereabouts of a missing person, the judge issues a writ of amparo mandating that within five days of its issuance the government agency produce the missing person, provide information on the person's whereabouts, or demonstrate that they are taking affirmative steps to locate the missing person. The judge may also issue inspection orders to search particular locations. Since the writ of amparo went into effect, human rights lawyers have filed six writ of amparo petitions, two of which resulted in the release of two missing persons from military custody. -------------- -------------- EXPANDING POWER OF 99 SPECIAL COURTS TO ALL COURTS -------------- -------------- ¶9. (U) While the Supreme Court had initially designated 99 existing courts as "special courts" to hear cases of extrajudicial killings, the order creating the writ of amparo rescinded the designation. As it now stands, the 99 special courts no longer exist. According to Midas Marquez, Supreme Court Chief of Staff, the Supreme Court justices reasoned that the writ of amparo would be more effective if human rights activists and families of victims were able to file petitions with any of the 800 regional trial court judges throughout the country, thereby empowering all regional trial courts to hear cases of extrajudicial killings. The Supreme Court rescinded the designation of the special courts quietly and media coverage on the issue has yet to appear. To date, the Supreme Court claims 45 cases of extrajudicial killings have been filed in the regional courts but reports no convictions. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶10. (C) Though there is disagreement on the exact figures, there is a distinct downward trend in the number of extrajudicial killings reported in 2007. Whether the Armed Forces or other groups are responsible for the killings, a clear message seems to have been received here in the Philippines. Either way, the Philippine government deserves some credit for the decline. However, a decline in the MANILA 00003881 004 OF 004 killings is only half of the equation; the government must now show resolve in aggressively prosecuting the 45 cases currently in the courts. As Alston pointed out, not a single soldier has been convicted for any case involving leftist activists. Embassy officials will continue publicly and privately to highlight at every opportunity U.S. concern about unlawful killings and to seek additional ways the USG can provide assistance to the Philippine government in combating these human rights abuses. Visit Embassy Manila's Classified SIPRNET website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/ KENNEY