Political killings traced to Philippine military

The official commission's findings are likely to increase pressure on President Arroyo to take action.

from the February 23, 2007 edition

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Ms. Arroyo has proposed creating special courts to try cases of extrajudicial killings. But ending a culture of impunity in the military won't be easy, not least because of its tight hold on local and national politics. It has also garnered substantial US assistance since 2001 for its war on terror, and its elite troops are being trained by US Special Forces.

The commission's findings are likely to increase pressure on Arroyo. Midterm elections in May could tip the balance in Congress against her. The president's opponents already tried unsuccessfully to impeach her once in 2005 over election fraud allegations.

Internal purges or military death squads?

Security officials reject claims of military death squads, calling them left-wing propaganda by groups that they consider to be fronts for the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA). Indeed, while the US is fixated on the fight against Islamic extremists in the southern Philippines, Arroyo's advisers say the greater threat comes from Communist insurgents that roam across the country.

There is also disagreement over the extent of the violence. Karapatan, a leftist human rights watchdog, has recorded over 800 killings since 2001, but observers say that number is inflated and includes dozens of nonpolitical murders and undocumented cases. Alston declined to provide an estimate, but said the total was "high enough to be distressing."

A police task force set up last year to probe the violence has pinned much of the blame on the CPP itself. Deputy Director General Avelino Razon, who oversees the task force, says that most documented killings of left-wing activists were carried out by Communist forces, not the security forces.

"We think they're doing a series of purges, and this is timed during a government campaign against their insurgency," he says, referring to an all-out war that Arroyo declared last year against the CPP.

General Razon says police and Army personnel were involved in a few murder cases, but insists they were acting alone. "If we have evidence of orders from above, we would file charges against the officer issuing the orders," he says.

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