Gov't establishes new inter-agency committee to deter extrajudicial killings

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Aquino administration assured the public that it has taken significant steps to deter extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, a Palace official said today.

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said during a regular press briefing here that the Chief Executive had already created an inter-agency committee in order to deter extra-judicial killings and other human rights abuses in the country.

According to Lacierda, Philippine President Aquino has created an inter-agency committee (IAC), through Administrative Order No. 35 (AO 35) last November, to investigate human rights abuses both by state and non-state forces and to ensure a focused probe and speedy resolution of all unsolved and new cases.

Lacierda said under AO 35, the secretary of the Department of Justice serves as  the chairperson of the IAC, whose members include the head of the Presidential Human Rights Committee, the secretaries of the Departments of the Interior and Local Government and National Defense, the presidential advisers of the Peace Process and Political Affairs, chief-of-staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National police chief and the National Bureau of Investigation director.

The chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights and the Ombudsman sit as observers and resource persons in the IAC, he added.

The government also vowed to effectively enforce its policy to go after the perpetrators of extra-judicial killings and other human rights abuses, Lacierda said.