AFP admits to 7 human rights violations in H1

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) admitted today that government troops committed alleged seven mission-related human rights violations (HRVs) during the first half of this year.

Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala, chief of AFP's public affairs office, said that the reported number of HRVs from January to June this year was much lower than the 22 cases in 2012, 37 in 2011, and 51 in 2010.

He attributed the decline in the alleged mission-related HRVs on the implementation of the Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP) Bayanihan since 2010.

IPSP Bayanihan is a military plan of winning the hearts and minds of the rebels in the mountains with the primary focus of winning the peace and not just defeating the enemies.

Zagala said there were a total of 164 HRV cases since 2010 including cases that were personal in nature.

"Out of these, 47 were resolved and were submitted for listing in the Commission on Human Rights, while 117 are pending resolution or for further investigation," he said.

To address human rights violations, which allegedly involved the military, the official said that recently, the Interagency Committee, headed by the Department of Justice of the Philippines, signed and approved its operational guidelines. The Technical Working Group also compiled the 101 priority human rights cases that are under investigation or are on trial.