Group doubts HR superbody

Militant groups have remained skeptical of the formation of a human rights super body formed by the Aquino administration, claiming that the government has a dismal record of achieving justice for the victims.

"At the end of the day, this latest super-body will be judged based on the number of cases filed and convictions achieved with regard to human rights violations. The Aquino government is big on rhetoric but has not shown much results in terms of achieving justice for victims," Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said.

Reyes said that one apparent defect of the super-body is its focus on abuses committed by state and so-called non-state actors.

"Instead of focusing its efforts solely on state security forces--which have been acknowledged here and abroad as the main perpetrators of human rights violations-- this new body will also take on alleged abuses by so-called non-state actors," he added.

He also questioned the inclusion of the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the super-body. 

"The body will inevitably come across abuses by the AFP. It is therefore strange that those being investigated are also part of investigating body. We can already expect the AFP to deny the allegations of abuses," Reyes said.

He cited the case of renowned botanist Leonard Co and his companions Sofronio Cortez and Julius Borromeo who were killed by suspected state forces in Kanangga, Leyte two years ago.

The Co family sued the military before the Department of Justice but the case remains pending even as the preliminary investigation was concluded July last year, Reyes said.

"Some cases have been pending before the DOJ. You don’t need a super-body to figure that out. You only need the DOJ to do its work and resolve these outstanding cases," Reyes said.

Meanwhile, rights group Karapatan challenged the Aquino government to abandon its counter-insurgency program Oplan Bayanihan to show its sincerity in eradicating rights violations in the country.

"The killings have continued under Aquino, with 114 victims of extrajudicial killing under his watch, not one perpetrator has been put behind bars. Oplan Bayanihan that targets civilians in the guise of anti-insurgency, has spawned these violations," Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said. - Dennis Carcamo