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Arroyo gov’t saves face, preempts Alston report at the UN


Through an impromptu press conference, the Arroyo government on Monday defended itself from an expected negative report on the Philippines’ extra-judicial killings that United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston will deliver the same day at the 4th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. “Nothing (that) will come out of the report is a surprise. We already knew what his concerns are and it is being addressed (by the government) and it’s already in progress," Cecilia Quisimbing, undersecretary of the Presidential Human Rights Committee (PHRC), told media during the press conference at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) office in Manila. Quisumbing said that any statement from Alston, who in February conducted a 10-day fact-finding mission in the country, will have no negative impact on the Philippines’ council membership at the UN. She also said the UN would not resort to sanctions due to reported unexplained killings in the Philippines, unless the situation was very dire, like the genocides happening in Sudan. Human rights group Karapatan said over 850 killings and 180 forced disappearances have been perpetrated in the country since 2001 and remain unabated. While not discounting the possibility that a UN Human Rights Council resolution can be filed against the Philippine government after Alston presents his report, Quisumbing said the UN will not be able to adopt the resolution easily unless its basis has merit. She hinted that the UN would not be able to hastily punish the country since Alston acknowledges that the Philippine government is taking actions on the issue. During the press conference, Quisumbing highlighted the Arroyo government’s initiative in solving cases of killings of journalists and activists. Quisumbing said Alston provided Manila a draft copy of his statement on the Philippines. Alston, in turn, submitted the government’s comments to the UN council. She said the DFA has coordinated a response to Alston’s preliminary note based on interagency consultations. “We had an opportunity to look at it and to comment. There was a consultation this month and we sent a feedback to the special rapporteur. But a letter from the Philippine government is not likely to change his statement," Quisumbing said trying to douse media speculations that Manila appealed to Alston not to be too critical on the government and the military. Quisumbing said Alston’s statement “does not mention or repeat in his earlier observations that the Armed Forces of the Philippines is in denial about extra-judicial killings and that left leaning organizations are denied opportunity to participate in mainstream political process." “PHRC analysis is that Alston no longer believes these are among the most critical issues regarding extrajudicial killings and the government approach to the issue. It is likely a result of proactive information sharing done by the PHRC after the Alston visit, where several updates on government actions were sent to the UN special rapporteur," Quisumbing said. “Since these updates included the news of the AFP he may have been convinced that (the military) is no longer in denial," she added. Quisumbing said Alston would mention five recommendations to the Philippines on how to address extra-judicial killings. Quisumbing said that based on the draft statement of Alston, he would ask the Supreme Court to encourage prosecutors to be active human rights protectors. He will also ask the Ombudsman to take a more active role in solving the crimes. Quisumbing said Alston will be urging the military to refrain from labeling certain people as enemies of the state. He will also recommend the strengthening of institutions necessary to stop the killings. She said Alston will also express hope that Executive Order 464, later known as Memorandum Circular 108, will not undermine the capacity of the legislature to make the executive branch accountable for the spate of killings. The order issued last year by Malacañang prohibits government officials from testifying in Congress without prior approval by the President. -GMANews.TV

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