It has been 3 years since the private army of a powerful political clan was linked to the massacre of 58 people in Maguindanao, yet the Aquino administration has made no progress in demobilizing militias and paramilitary forces, an international human rights group said Thursday, November 22. A day before the third anniversary of the Maguindanao Massacre, Human Rights Watch urged President Benigno Aquino III anew to fulfill his election promise and revoke Executive Order 546 issued by then president and now Pampanga Rep Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2006.... EO 546 allows local officials to deploy Citizen Armed Force Geographical Units and Civilian Volunteer Organizations as auxiliary bodies for the Armed Forces of the Philippines to fight insurgents. But Human Rights Watch said the alleged mastermind of the massacre, the Ampatuan family, invoked EO 546 to justify the recruitment of private army members in the guise of fighting the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and other rebel groups in the province..... As the country prepares for the May 2013 elections, there are renewed concerns that EO 546 will once again be used by politicians to arm their private groups..... In addition to the call to repeal EO 546, Human Rights Watch also urged the President to:
- Issue an executive order banning all paramilitary and militia forces
- Issue an executive order requiring all government officials to report firearms acquired for
- professional or personal use for themselves or immediate family members
- Amend Executive Order 194 to limit the number and caliber of firearms that civilians can own.
- Order an appropriate government agency, such as the Commission on Audit, to investigate whether public funds have been used directly or indirectly for creating, arming, and supporting militia forces, and if so, the source of the funds.
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