Fil-Am groups rap Aquino over human rights abuses

President Benigno Aquino III

LOS ANGELES—US-based militant groups on Thursday said the Aquino government had failed to stop human rights abuses, contrary to claims by Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario on Wednesday in a lecture at the Heritage Foundation in Washington.

“Extrajudicial killings continue and perpetrators have remained scot-free,” said Arturo Garcia, spokesperson for Alliance Philippines, in response to Del Rosario’s appeal for the release of military aid that had been withheld by the US Congress since 2008 over human rights concerns.

“The US government and the international community should continue to press for progress on addressing past cases and the ongoing problem of extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations,” Garcia said.

Bernadette Ellorin, chairperson of Bayan-USA, said human rights violations continue and that “the body count under P-Noy (President Benigno Aquino III) has already climbed to 67 innocent victims.”

A 2010 US State Department report stated that extrajudicial killings were still taking place under Aquino and that previous cases of abuse and murders were not being vigorously investigated.

In its World Report 2012, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the Aquino administration had made little progress in addressing impunity, with extrajudicial killings still taking place after a year and a half in office.

“The administration … has not fulfilled its promise of reform and made little progress in ending impunity for abuses by state security forces,” even after a year and a half in office, the HRW said.

The HRW said the government also failed to acknowledge the involvement of security forces in those crimes. It said the government should hold these forces accountable for their role in the killings, and should dismantle abusive paramilitary forces, as well.

Mr. Aquino has vowed to curb extrajudicial killings and other abuses, but human rights groups have documented 67 extrajudicial killings, 8 forced disappearances, 55 torture cases and 81 illegal arrests and detention under his watch.