EDITORIAL - A broken system

As long as murders are being not only investigated but also solved with the arrest, conviction and imprisonment of the perpetrators, there is no reason for intervention by any international body to stop the killings and give justice to the victims.

Without the solution of crimes and punishment of murderers, impunity will reign, and give the impression that the state is unwilling or unable to stop the systematic violation of human rights, particularly extrajudicial killings.

Perhaps the proceedings in the International Criminal Court will lead to a deeper probe into reports of police abuses in the war on drugs, and a better method of fighting criminality.

Drug personalities, however, aren’t the only ones who have been targeted. Environmental advocates are also being killed, making the Philippines the second deadliest country for such activists in 2017. This is according to London-based non-government organization Global Witness, which campaigns against environmental abuse and its links to corruption, conflict and poverty.

With 41 killings related to land and environment activism last year, the Philippines worsened from third place in 2016 to become the second deadliest country for environmental activists in 2017. NGOs in the Philippines pointed to the killings of lumads or minorities opposing mostly mining and agribusiness interests as the reason for the deterioration in the country’s ranking.

The Philippines has also consistently ranked among the five most dangerous countries for journalists, according to the annual Impunity Index drawn up by the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

The impunity inevitably raises suspicions that state forces and politicians with control over various aspects of the criminal justice system are behind many of the killings. This gives the impression that the system is broken and incapable of bringing justice to the people. Only the arrest and successful prosecution and punishment of murderers will prove the critics wrong.