AFP to invite activists in its first human rights summit

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is set to hold its first human rights summit in October in accordance with President Benigno Aquino III’s order to prioritize the protection of human rights in its operations. The summit, which will be held in cooperation with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), will be “the first of its kind" in AFP history, Armed Forces public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Arnulfo Burgos said Tuesday. Surprising idea “This idea surprised (various groups)… Hindi ito ini-expect ng civil society groups, particularly ni CHR chairperson [Etta] Rosales," he said. To be invited to the summit are various cause-oriented groups and even militant organizations. Burgos said through the summit, the AFP will seek to “identify existing problems and challenges" in connection with the protection of human rights. During the first few days of his term, President Aquino told military officials to prioritize human rights after the string of extrajudicial killings that marked the previous administration. Militants accused former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of tolerating extrajudicial killings during her term despite having formed task forces to probe such killings. They alleged that many of the killings of activists were perpetrated by the military. Handbook In addition to the summit, the military is also set to release a handbook on human rights that will serve as guide to its field units, Burgos said. He said the handbook is currently being “field tested" in randomly selected military units to get feedback from soldiers across the country. - KBK, GMANews.TV