CHR admits torture, killings happen under PNoy

From ABS-CBN (Dec 10): CHR admits torture, killings happen under PNoy

Torture, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances are still happening now under the administration of President Benigno Aquino III, according to human rights chief Loretta Rosales. “Sa Aquino administration, meron pang extra judicial killings, meron pang enforced disappearance, meron pa ring torture pero nabawasan na,” the head of the Commission on Human Rights said in an interview on International Day of Human Rights. President Aquino recently signed Administrative Order No. 35, creating the Inter-agency committee on extra-legal killing, enforced disappearances, torture and other grave violations of the right to life and security of persons.

Rosales said the commission has submitted a report to the military detailing 96 atrocities allegedly committed by state security forces. She said the military then presented the report to infantry divisions deployed all over the country.  She said that out of the 96 reported cases, 42 were clearly human rights violations. Another 35-45 cases were acts committed by individual soldiers against their spouses or children, which are also clear abuses of human rights, she said.

Col. Roderick Parayno, chief of the Army's Human Rights Office, said there are 80 more alleged violations reported by the media and Congress that are being investigated by the military.  One case that has led to a court martial is the murders of anti-mining activist Juvy Capion and her two sons, Jordan and Mark Jordan, allegedly at the hands of elements of the Philippine Army’s 27th Infantry Batallion.

Rosales said human rights abuses by state security forces blossomed under martial law after President Ferdinand Marcos used the military, police and the entire government to perpetuate himself in power.
She told rights group Karapatan that human rights abuses can only be solved by getting to the root of the complaints. She said the CHR is set to sign a declaration with top military and police chiefs about the investigation of these human rights violations. 

“Kailangan we engage them directly and we tell them kailangan ma engage niyo ang human rights at baguhin niyo yung inyong behaviour. That is the way I go about it,” she said.  “Hindi pwedeng nakahiwalay ka lang at banat ka lang nang banat sa kanila. Kailangan tulungan natin sila na lutasin ang sarili nilang problema at yung mga charged ay pumasok sa investigation, charge and judgment,” she added.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/12/10/12/chr-admits-torture-killings-happen-under-pnoy