RP scored for killings, state abuses in US gov’t report

Killings of civilians and journalists amid an atmosphere of impunity and corruption, and abuses by state forces, gave a dark color to the human rights situation in the Philippines in 2009, according to a report of the State Department of the US government. The US State Department's 2009 Human Rights Report, in its country report on the Philippines released Thursday, said that while civilian authorities generally maintained control of the security forces, there were instances when government elements acted independently. "Arbitrary, unlawful, and extrajudicial killings by elements of the security services and political killings, including killings of journalists, by a variety of actors continued to be major problems. Concerns about impunity persisted. Members of the security services committed acts of physical and psychological abuse on suspects and detainees, and there were instances of torture," the report stated. It highlighted the grisly massacre in Maguindanao on November 23 last year, where at least 57 people, including 31 journalists, were killed in what has become the most violent incident in the history of Philippine elections. Prisoners awaiting trial and those already convicted were often held under primitive conditions while disappearances occurred, and arbitrary or warrantless arrests and detentions were common, the report added. “There were no developments in earlier disappearance cases, and there were no convictions for disappearance cases during the year," it said. According to the report, leftist and human rights activists were often subjected to harassment by local security forces. Also common were problems such as violence against women, abuse of children, child prostitution, trafficking in persons, child labor, and ineffective enforcement of workers’ rights. On the other hand, the report said that while the Philippine Constitution upholds the basic right of couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children, some local governments failed to provide the appropriate health care. It said restrictions on the provision of artificial birth-control supplies by government-run health facilities in some localities reduced the availability of family-planning resources for impoverished women. The report cited then Manila mayor Jose “Lito" Atienza, who it said issued an executive order in 2000 that promoted natural family planning and in effect prohibited the provision of “artificial" family planning services in city hospitals and health centers. But the US State Department report also noted that the communist New People's Army (NPA) and the Abu Sayyaf bandit group had also killed local government officials and other civilians. Lumping together the NPA and ASG as terrorist groups, it said the two employed child soldiers in combat or auxiliary roles. "Terrorist groups committed bombings causing civilian casualties and conducted kidnappings for ransom," it added. The department’s human rights report for the Philippines had seven sections, which looked into conditions and government actions pertaining to individual freedoms and a person’s integrity; civil liberties; political rights; corruption and transparency in government institutions; international human rights probes; societal abuses like discrimination and trafficking; and workers’ rights.
The report was prepared using information from U.S. embassies and consulates abroad, foreign government officials, nongovernmental and international organizations, and published reports, according to the State Department.—JMA/JV, GMANews.TV