Progress Lawyers Network of Belgium urges the Philippine government to release all political prisoners and to institute criminal and administrative cases against major human rights violators like former President Gloria Arroyo and fugitive retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan. For many years, our organization has been monitoring the human rights situation in the Philippines, and our position against extrajudicial killings, disappearances, torture and other forms of human rights violations under the previous administration has been consistently firm.
After 19 months in office, President Aquino has not made any concrete step to end impunity. Only recently his administration has filed cases for electoral sabotage, plunder and graft and corruption against former President Arroyo, which resulted in her arrest and detention. But it has not shown any serious step to make her former administration liable for human rights violations like extrajudicial killings, disappearances and torture. And the same situation seems to continue. It is the victims, their relatives, human rights defenders organizations and their lawyers who initiate cases in courts, at great risk and with many difficulties, on their own, with no help from the government.
President Aquino has appointed the previous chair of the Commission on Human Rights, Leila de Lima, to be his justice secretary. With De Lima’s expertise and her criticism of the human rights policy of the Arroyo administration, we expected her to prosecute the principal human rights violators. What is the Aquino administration waiting for?
While there is still impunity for Arroyo and Palparan, 356 political prisoners are still detained. Against these political prisoners, cases can be brought up quickly, charges can be false or improper, and they can be arrested, quickly and often illegally, even if they have not been heard properly and the charges against them are based only on declarations of unidentified witnesses or on confessions after being tortured. They are often incarcerated for years without a fair trial because of their political beliefs.
We had expected more from President Aquino, whose father was a political prisoner himself.
Progress Lawyers Network of Belgium calls for: (1) the release of all political prisoners in the Philippines through a general, unconditional and omnibus amnesty; (2) prompt action, investigation and resolution of administrative, civil, criminal cases against Arroyo and her top civilian, military and police officials for serious human rights violations; (3) immediate capture and prosecution of Palparan for the disappearance of university students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño, and other victims of human rights abuse.
—JO DEREYMAEKER
and LISE MICHIELSEN,
Progress Lawyers
Network of Belgium
c/o National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, nupl2007@gmail.com