Philippines lawmakers have moved to abolish the country’s death penalty after a spate of extra-judicial killings of anti-government activists and journalists rocked the nation. The country’s House of Representatives and the Senate, in separate votes on June 6, voted to rescind the 1994 law that reinstated capital punishment for murder, rape, kidnapping and narcotics trafficking. The bill is expected to become law in a few weeks.

“We’re very happy with the abolition of the death penalty but we have to make the government accountable for the rising pattern of extra-judicial killings,” Loretta Rosales, a legislator who had spearheaded the anti-death penalty movement in 1998, said. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo added the move was a “clear proof that Filipinos respect and value the sanctity of human life.”

The non-governmental organization Karapatan stated 94 activists have been reported killed so far in 2006, representing a significant increase from the average of 88 murdered between 2001 and 2004 and the 183 killed in 2005.

The London-based human-rights organization Amnesty International reported a sharp increase from last year’s 66 fatal shootings of leftist activists and community leaders. It blamed the increase on “a climate of impunity shielding the perpetrators of such killings as ineffective investigations failed to lead to the prosecution of those responsible.” The killings have led to allegations that Mrs Macapagal-Arroyo has cultivated a culture of fear to thwart dissent.

Amnesty International had earlier called on the president to disband any organization found responsible for the murder of left-wing activists or journalists. The pressure group said on May 30 that Mrs Macapagal-Arroyo must make “a public statement to make it crystal clear to all—including the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police and other security forces—that involvement in such killings will not be tolerated and that she will do everything in her power to combat impunity.”

The human-rights organization, while praising the administration’s efforts to call for an end to extra-judicial killings, said Malacanang has thus far failed to deliver the message that murders committed by state agencies would be punished.

“Forces operating outside the chain of command but with the acquiescence of any official should be immediately prohibited,” Amnesty International-Philippines (AIP) said in a statement. Jessica Soto, AIP’s executive director, said members of groups carrying out the killings should be brought to justice.

“[Mrs Macapagal-Arroyo] must also go the extra mile to make it absolutely clear that this government will not shirk its responsibility to protect the individuals at risk—whether journalists, leftist activists or suspected criminals,” she said.

The group’s annual report on the state of human rights stated most killings were perpetrated by motorcycle-riding gunmen and most targets were members of legal leftist parties. The organization also cautioned that ineffective investigations into the killings have fostered a sense of impunity among the gunmen.

“Two thousand and five was indeed a year of contradictions in which signs of hope wrestled with doublespeak, deception and failed promises. There are still women and minors in detention at risk of physical and sexual abuse, death sentences were still imposed and previous government pledges to release political prisoners remain only partly implemented,” Ms Soto said at a press conference.

The National Union of Journalists further said 79 reporters have been abducted and are still missing since the fall of the Marcos regime in 1986.

The American ambassador to the Philippines told local reporters she read reports on the human-rights situation in the country as well as reports by Amnesty International and other organizations.

“It’s not my job, it’s not our job to investigate, but it is an important thing. You want people to feel very comfortable offering alternative views, whether they’re journalist or (a member of) an NGO,” Kristie Kenney said.

“I think human rights are always critical,” she added. The American Senate further requested that Mrs Macapagal-Arroyo crack down on the attacks on journalists. Richard Lugar, the Republican chair of the Senate foreign relations committee, called on legal officials to investigate attacks on journalists.

“Democracy depends on the free flow of information to the public, which depends on a press free to do its work without government intimidation” Mr Lugar, a frequent visitor to the Philippines since the days of the Marcos era, said.


Copyright ©2006 Danny Chan. About the author