A job for next president

LAST YEAR, President Aquino reportedly stated: “Good governance will be my legacy.” Sadly, extrajudicial killings of people’s activists and journalists, so prevalent during the regime of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, continue through his presidency.

We are dismayed to hear about the assassination of community activists who demanded genuine relief and rehabilitation for victims of Typhoon “Pablo.” First it was Cristina Jose in March 2014. Then just last month, Ricky Basig was shot dead; elements of the 67th Infantry Battalion are suspected of committing the murder.

Basig belonged to the Mandaya tribe and was also a member of Barug Katawhan, an organization of Pablo survivors in Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley.

Both local and international human rights organizations have documented the complicity of state security forces in the killing of people’s activists over the past decade.

We challenge the next government to seriously end these serious human rights breaches which continue to make the Philippines one of the deadliest places for activists and journalists.

—CAMERON WALKER, spokesperson, Auckland Philippines Solidarity, ph.solidarity@gmail.com