MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice-led special investigation into the killing of Calabarzon activists in March will hinge on the willingness to cooperate of all parties concerned, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said.
Kin of the victims of the bloody Calabarzon police raids on March 7 and wife of slain labor leader Dandy Miguel had a dialogue with Guevarra, as head of the DOJ-led Administrative Order 35 committee, on Wednesday.
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AO 35 created the Inter-agency Committee on Extra-legal Killings, Enforced Disappearance, Torture and Other Grave Violations of the Right to Life, Liberty and Security of Persons, which is chaired by the justice secretary. It was issued to address allegations that politically motivated, extrajudicial killings.
Guevarra told reporters that the families of the victims “expressed their deep sorrow over the violent death of their loved ones and their hope that justice would be done.”
“The justice secretary explained to them how the special investigation under AO 35 would proceed and emphasized that much would depend on the willingness to cooperate of all parties concerned,” he added.
Guevarra in March admitted that some of the cases under the AO 35 committee remain unresolved due to difficulty in obtaining evidence or lack of witnesses coming forward to authorities.
Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said then that it is up to the DOJ to gain the trust of the victims’ families and witnesses. “The burden is on them to assure the victims’ families that the investigations would not be used as a window dressing to cover up the deteriorating state of human rights in the country,” she said then.
In Wednesday’s dialogue, Guevarra said they sent assurances to the families “that all reasonable efforts shall be exerted to find out the truth and asked them to trust the integrity of the AO 35 mechanism and its capability to dispense justice.”
Families continue to fear for their lives
Bayan Secretary General Renato Reyes, who was with the families during the dialogue with Guevarra, said the meeting was “very encouraging.”
“Survivors and witnesses also expressed fear for their safety as their communities are militarized. This should be addressed in the course of the investigation," Reyes added.
In a video posted by Defend Southern Tagalog taken after the meeting, Rosalinda Salundaga shared that their community is still enveloped in fear, more than a month since the bloody raid where her common-law husband Melvin Dasidao was killed.
“There is fear every crack of dawn since my husband was killed. When dogs bark, we wake up. We always lack sleep because we watch over when dogs are barking because people we don’t know are roaming around," Salundaga said in Filipino.
They shared that they wish justice will be administered faster so their fears for their security would be allayed. — Kristine Joy Patag