The House committee, whose members also include Rep. Ednon Joson, vice chairperson; House Deputy Minority Leader Satur Ocampo and Gabriela Women’s Party representative Luz Ilagan, will have their last hearing in Central Luzon before they will call for an executive meeting.
Before its Mindanao leg, the House committee had their preliminary hearing in Batasang Pambasa, followed by the hearings in the Quezon Province and Southern Luzon for the Luzon region; and in Leyte and Bohol for the Visayas region.
In their initial assessment, the House committee has established a pattern in the cases of extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances: the motorcycle-riding men as perpetrators and members of political groups as targets. But they found it hard to establish the identities of the perpetrators because of the helmets they wore or the cover over their faces.
The Committee also observed that families of victims and survivors do not trust the military and the police to solve the cases.
Taada said this trust is critical before the PNP can help solve the problem. He said one of the ways to solve this dilemma is by encouraging the attendance of the AFP and PNP personnel in the committee hearings.
Atty. Albert Sipaco Jr, Commission on Human Rights-XI Director, presents updates and answers queries on the human rights violation cases during the public hearing conducted by the House Committee on Human Rights for the Mindanao regions in August. Seated from left are Gabriela Women’s Party representative Luz Ilagan, Rep. Ednon Joson, vice chairperson; Rep. Lorenzo Tanada III, chairperson; and House Deputy Minority Leader Satur Ocampo. (davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan)
He said perpetrators must be arrested and punished for their crimes. He said people should not be satisfied if the number of victims would decrease.
Even if there’s only one killed because of his political beliefs, it is already an outright violation of our human rights, Taada said.
He said there are pending bills on extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearances, torture, and command responsibility in the House of Representatives. A bill on internally displaced persons or refugees has also been passed but it will still have to pass through the Senate, said Taada.
He said the executive branch should act upon these pending bills.
If the government is really serious in addressing the country’s human rights situation, then it must certify these bills as urgent, Taada said. (Marilou Aguirre-Tuburan/davaotoday.com)
Extrajudicial Killings
