Time for action

From its earliest days, the administration of President Aquino has defined itself by how different it is from the administration it followed. In many ways, the Aquino administration appears to make that a guiding principle in its actions—replacing Arroyo-appointed officials, as well as reversing Arroyo-directed programs and policies. Some even see the ongoing impeachment trial of Arroyo-appointed Chief Justice Renato Corona as proof that Mr. Aquino is determined to erase all stains left by the president who preceded him.

So it must have been sort of a letdown for the Aquino administration when it was taken to task by the Human Rights Watch (HRW), an international rights group, for the still many human rights violations in the Philippines. The HRW said, in its 2012 world report, that Mr. Aquino has not done much to prevent extrajudicial killings since he assumed the presidency in 2010. In particular, the HRW pointed out the role that the military and police played in the killings: “The administration… has not fulfilled its promise of reform and made little progress in ending impunity for abuses by state security forces.”

To be sure, the Philippines has been plagued by extrajudicial slayings since the Marcos era. Things seemed to have reached a new low in 2009, when the International Federation of Journalists condemned the Philippines as the most dangerous place for journalists on the planet. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines says that 150 journalists had been killed in the country since 1986. In 2009 alone, 39 journalists were killed, with at least 30 killed in the infamous Maguindanao massacre. Aside form journalists, activists, human rights workers and students have been common targets for such violence.

Mr. Aquino took office with promises to curb such wanton violence and put an end to the culture of impunity that made extrajudicial killings so easy to do. But numbers do not lie. While the number of journalists killed has gone down, it is still counting. In 2010, four journalists were killed and in the following year, eight more were gunned down. Last year saw the ruthless murder of broadcaster and environmental activist Gerry Ortega in Palawan. This month, publisher and editor Christopher Guarin of General Santos City was killed in cold blood: Already bloodied, he jumped out of his car, right into his killers’ path in order to save his wife and child, who were in the car with him. Guarin was the 10th journalist killed since Mr. Aquino took office.

The problem, the HRW report stated, is that the Aquino administration failed to acknowledge the role of its security forces in the killings even when evidence indicated their involvement. It was time, the HRW said, military men and policemen behind the killings be held accountable for their crimes.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines disputes these claims. Col. Domingo Tutaan, who heads the AFP’s human rights office, said they have looked into the reported violations and taken action against those among them they have deemed guilty.

The HRW has challenged Mr. Aquino to come through on his promises by arresting the fugitive retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan and prosecute him. Called “The Butcher,” Palparan was commanding general of the 7th Infantry Group in Central Luzon; he is accused of ordering the kidnapping of UP student activists Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño in 2006. In December, he was indicted on two counts of kidnapping and illegal detention of the two students whose whereabouts remain unknown to this day. After stating he would face the charges, Palparan then vanished and to this day remains the subject of a widespread manhunt.

Elaine Pearson, HRW deputy director for Asia, said in a statement that “The arrest and prosecution of Palparan would be the most significant move against impunity for military abuses in the last decade.” Palparan, after all, is the highest-ranking military man to be charged with violating human rights since the Marcos years.

Mr. Aquino should take heed of HRW’s call. The time for rhetoric and speeches is long over. He should fulfill his promises and, more importantly, truly change the way things were run during the time of his predecessor:  Find Palparan, prosecute him and, if found guilty, jail him. Stop the extrajudicial killings. Only then can he honestly face the nation and declare that he is really different from the president he replaced.