Point blank
laquino@theguidon.com
Ah, of course—it had to be a sensational hostage drama to get us all mental about our international image. It’s quite a sight, really: rarely do we find ourselves subjected to such international ire, and rarely do we find our government in action with such drive and urgency. Credit the national agitation, brought forth by the act of one deranged, desperate man.
Of course, the determined—if seriously lacking—government actions following the crisis deserve appreciation; the incident was a source of national sorrow, after all. The government’s extensive engagement in this incident, however, starkly contrasts to its seeming negligence towards its other commitments to the international community.
I speak particularly of human rights. As a signatory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the government is bound by law to respect it. Global bodies like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and even the United Nations, however, have taken the Philippine government to task for its poor performance, especially under the Arroyo regime. Unfortunately, judging by early indicators, President Noynoy Aquino seems poised to continue his predecessor’s grim human rights legacy.
The issue of human rights will not provide the people a macabre spectacle like the Manila hostage crisis did. Nevertheless, there is no question that state-sponsored human rights violations in the country are widespread. Philip Alston, UN’s Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions, has presented such findings in a 2007 report put together after a mission to the Philippines. He wrote, “The military is in a state of denial concerning the numerous extrajudicial executions in which its soldiers are implicated.” The same military denial has held sway after Alston’s report was published, with Malacañang coming to the side of its generals.
Even though Alston made concrete recommendations in light of his findings, these remain largely ignored, even under the new government. In fact, Arroyo’s counterinsurgency program, Oplan Bantay Laya, has been renewed under Aquino. This program has been blamed for the numerous killings and disappearances of Leftist activists, who the program unfairly lumps together with the insurgent Reds. As a result, a lot of innocent civilians have suffered torture, illegal detention, and summary execution at the hands of the military. This is something Aquino must directly repudiate the military for as commander-in-chief, because if not, he ends up being an accessory to these crimes.
The persecuted Leftist groups have already found allies internationally. In fact, Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch Executive Director, has written Aquino an open letter challenging him to implement Alston’s recommendations immediately. We can only hope that the government doesn’t first need to see eight foreigners get extrajudicially murdered by the military on live TV before it gets its act together.
