Slaughter of Innocents
http://noprotection.blog.humanrights.asia/
While this Statement is being written, more and more persons, including minors, have been targeted for murder on the pretext of vigilante killings in cities of General Santos, Davao, Cagayan de Oro and Cebu. This is an insidious phenomenon that has since deprived the victims and their relatives of equal protection before the law; and the guarantee of the right to life, which non-transferable responsibility lies with the authorities.
In these places, not only there is an implied acquiescence amongst the locals, but also a deliberate coaching by local chief executives as to who deserves to die. These killings are nothing short of murder and are justified as being necessary in order to get rid of undesirables. Those undesirables, as commonly described, are persons who have criminal records, involved in crime or gangs, former detainees, but what is worse is that some are killed on mere suspicion that they may be involved in criminal activities. They are pre-judged by those in authority before they were extra judicially executed. These murders are invariably perpetrated by gunmen riding on motorcycles and have been taking place since the late 90s.
But what is extremely disturbing is that, the inability, or unwillingness of the authorities, particularly the police, to prevent, solve and effectively prosecute any one of these cases. It is as if they see these killings as an expedient and alternative means of the administration of justice. These murders are themselves a convenient excuse not only for the police, but for heads of localities from being held to account for their continuing failure to protect the lives of their constituents.
Today, anyone or any group that intends to get involved in campaigning or assisting the relatives of victims would find themselves, not only in difficulty, but being subjected to routine hate speeches and threats. For instance, when this phenomenon began in Davao City, an alliance of groups campaigning against vigilante killings, the Coalition against Summary Execution (CASE) was formed; however, some of the coalition members have already been killed in drive by shootings and many others endure constant threats.
Yet another group has prevented themselves from openly distributing their report on vigilante killings in Davao which they published many years ago. Some of the relatives of those interviewed in their report have themselves, subsequently fallen victims or suffered the loss of their siblings. In these places no value is placed on human lives and the notion of equal protection before the law hardly exists. What is most disturbing is that there have been instances in which the law enforcement officers who routinely prematurely announce any murders on pretence of vigilante killings.
In the Visayas, the increasing number of unsolved vigilante deaths had forced some local human rights groups to stop their tally of deaths of persons targeted by vigilantes, without even documenting individual cases. Since the time they started the tally in December 2004, they had recorded 121 deaths by September 2006. This record is apart from undocumented cases and those not reported by local media. The extent of arbitrariness in depriving lives, the distrust of the survivors and relatives of the victims, and the acquiescence by local officials, shows the very little value that is placed on human life.
Since the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) began documenting individual cases in May of this year, dozens of persons, including minors, have already been murdered on the pretext of vigilante killings. But what is extremely disturbing, is that even in ordinary criminal investigations the victims who can be proven to not be involved in any criminal activities are identified by the authorities as criminal suspects; and their deaths justified as having been perpetrated by vigilantes.
The policemen, instead of being held to account for their failure, have already routinely used this vigilante pretext in justifying murders in the process of their investigation. The implied tolerance, not only by the public officials, on the rhetoric of the necessity of murdering undesirables, supposedly to restore public order and safety, has in fact given the policemen blanket immunity from their negligence and ineptitude.
Perhaps what is most disturbing is the public’s tolerance and acquiescence of these murders by not demanding that the police and public officials ensure that any crimes in their locality, particularly robberies and theft, are effectively investigated and prosecuted. The people have been forced, regardless of their feelings, to accept that the value of human life has lost any meaning.
