'Long way to go to address unexplained killings'

MANILA, Philippines -  The Philippines admitted yesterday that it still has a long way to go to address the US government’s concerns on unexplained killings and other human rights violations cases, but said it never “sugarcoated” its reports on the issues.

Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Cuisia Jr. said the government is sincere in dealing with the issues of unexplained killings and other human rights violations.

“The Philippine government, through Justice Secretary (Leila) De Lima, was able to successfully convey to our friends here in the United States that while we still have a long way to go, we are taking sincere steps in confronting the issue of extrajudicial killings,” Cuisia said in a statement.

The Philippine embassy in Washington has described De Lima’s recent visit to US as successful, saying that legislators and human rights watchdogs she met with were convinced that the Aquino government is sincere in addressing the issue.

De Lima, Cuisia said, succeeded not only because US legislators support the measures being undertaken in Manila, but also because human rights groups are willing to help the Aquino administration in bringing behind bars perpetrators of these killings.

Cuisia said the Secretary was right in saying the government still has much to do in terms of prosecuting those responsible for the unexplained killings, especially those committed during the previous administrations.

De Lima, former chair of the Commission on Human Rights, gave assurance that the government would continue to take concrete steps not only to prosecute the killers, but also to prevent a repeat of the incidents.