THE European Union (EU) yesterday said it
will provide various forms of assistance to the Philippine
government in its bid to put an end to extra-judicial killings.
"The Philippine government has reiterated its
determination to stamp out extra-judicial killings of political
activists, journalists, trade unionists or farmers’
representatives, and we welcome the government’s acceptance of
the EU proposals for assistance," Ambassador Alistair MacDonald,
head of the European Commission in Manila, said.
"The EU wants to help the people of the
Philippines – government and civil society – to work together to
bring an end to these extra-judicial killings, and to identify
and bring to justice the perpetrators. While the incidence of
these killings has declined, it is regrettable that as yet there
have been no convictions in relation to the killings of
political activists," he added.
MacDonald said they will provide support,
advice, technical assistance and training in the criminal
justice system to the judiciary, prosecution and police,
including human rights awareness training for both police and
military. He said the EU will also support the establishment of
a credible and effective national monitoring mechanism that will
bring together all Philippine stakeholders to help track
progress in addressing the extra-judicial killings issue.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for policy
Enrique Manalo welcomed the EU offer, saying that its
cooperation will further strengthen the human rights situation
in the country.
"We will focus our discussion on
strengthening the criminal justice pillars and the independent
institutions such as the Commission on Human Rights and the
Ombudsman. We will explore ways to deepen public/private
partnership on human rights," Manalo said.
MacDonald said funding will come from the
European Commission’s budget called "Instrument for Stability."
"It is a source which is particularly devoted
to providing support for human rights," the ambassador said,
adding that the fund could reach 2 million euros depending on
the details of the program.
The offer of assistance was made last year
following the release of the reports of former Supreme Court
Justice Jose Melo and United Nations special rapporteur Philip
Alston on extra-judicial killings in the country.
Acting on the recommendations stated on the
reports, the Philippine government solicited technical support
from the EU in conducting investigations. The EU sent a team of
specialists on a Needs Assessment Mission to see how best to
meet the Philippine request. The team’s report said the
country’s prosecution and judicial system were under-resourced
and recommended the setting up of an enhanced system of one or
several special courts; substantial training in forensic
practice to remedy exclusive reliance on witness evidence as
opposed to forensic and circumstantial evidence; changes in
courtroom procedure and more funding to achieve a professional
level of witness protection; raising the level of transparency
and fairness in the country’s criminal justice system, and the
abovementioned independent monitoring mechanism to oversee the
official response to the killings.
The report also suggested that the AFP
"consider, as a matter of urgency, their counter-insurgency
strategy, particularly as it relates to citizens who do not bear
arms but who support the Communist movement either politically
of financially."
MacDonald said the EU looks forward to seeing the concrete
results of this partnership with all stakeholders in the
Philippines. – Job T. Realubit
