Manila's defence boss wants review of rights cases
Source: Reuters
MANILA, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The Philippines' new defence chief said on Thursday he wanted all cases of alleged rights abuses by soldiers scrutinised to prevent innocent troops being blamed for murder. Earlier this week, the head of a commission of inquiry said soldiers have killed hundreds of leftwing activists since 2001. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who created the probe, said the defence department should prosecute anyone found culpable. Hermogenes Ebdane, a former national police chief who took over as defence secretary on Thursday, said a review of the rights abuse cases was necessary to ferret out the truth and punish those behind the political killings and abductions. "I would like the team of investigators to revisit the cases, dig for more evidence and get more materials so that we can have these cases in proper court," Ebdane told reporters at the main military camp in Manila. "In some cases, there were clear deceptions. It was mentioned that among those who were allegedly reported to have been killed were very much alive." Local human rights group Karapatan has said more than 800 people have been murdered in extrajudicial killings since Arroyo came to power in 2001 and 365 were leftwing activists. The police have disputed Karapatan's figures saying that 136 people were murdered for work-related or political reasons since 2001. An inquiry into the fatal shootings of community workers, farmers, journalists and lawyers found that "elements in the military" were behind many of the murders but it was not an official policy. Many of those killed were members of organisations viewed as fronts for communist rebel movement, the New People's Army, which has been waging a near nationwide insurgency since the late 1960s. Ebdane said he promised to help soldiers who would be "unnecessarily charged while in the performance of their duties". "They should not be left on their own," Ebdane told senior generals and bureaucrats in a speech accepting his new job. "I hold all commanders responsible for this. Legal assistance must be provided." Ebdane, who was public works and highways secretary for two years before moving to the defence department, said soldiers who had committed crimes, including rights abuses, deserved to be punished.
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