CHR's 'unfinished' investigations

Published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on March 13, 2010.

WHEN THE COMMISSION ON Human Rights (CHR) started looking into the extrajudicial killings in Davao City, I was one of those who cheered. At long last, I thought then, we have started talking about it publicly.

In my blog (killthesilencenow. blogspot.com), I even defended that CHR initiative from criticisms. “Some people do not get the point why the CHR had to investigate what CHR Chair Leila de Lima described as ‘one of the most audacious violations against the right to life in our times,’” I said. “Critics of the CHR construed the commission’s move to investigate the spate of killings as coddling the criminals. They narrowly perceived it as only favoring the rights of the criminals and ignoring the other side of the equation, which is the rights of the civilians. The public inquiry the CHR initiated struck them as disturbing the city’s serene status quo, which Davaoeños enjoyed. They even branded the CHR chair as pakialamera. These critics, however, are off the mark. The CHR is first and foremost for human rights. Its job is to ensure that human rights are always respected and protected, regardless of whose human rights it is. It is thus unwise to berate the CHR when it’s merely doing its job.”

Today, however, I begin to wonder what the CHR is really up to. The CHR inquiry, it seemed to me, produced only more heat and less light. The CHR said it is going to release its report after it is done with the inquiry. But until now the report is still to be released.

And yet, where’s the CHR now? Off it went to Maguindanao, investigating another incident. After that, it is now poised to inquire into the case of the “Morong 43.”

I don’t have a problem if the CHR will investigate here and there. It is, after all, its job. But my only question is: Why can’t it seem to finish what it has started? I need an answer. The people need an answer—and fast.

After the inquiry, what?

When the CHR started looking into the extrajudcial killings in Davao City, I was one of those who cheered. At long last, I thought then, we started talking about it publicly.

Today, however, I begin to wonder what the CHR is really up to. The CHR inquiry, it seemed to me, produced only more heat and and less light. It said it's going to release its report after it's done with the inquiry. But until now, the report is still to be released.

And yet...where's the CHR now? Off it goes to Maguindanao, investigating another incident. Tsk...tsk...tsk...

Come out in the open

When I established Silence Kills, a blog dedicated to the issue on extrajudicial killings in Davao City, I thought I would be a voice in the wilderness. I thought no one would give a damn with what I say.

But when I started to receive comments from the readers (there are only few), I realized I'm not alone. I'm happy to note that there are people who share my views regarding extrajudicial killings in Davao City. Take this comment from Anonymous on my post about Mayor's Duterte challenge to CHR Chair Leila de Lima:

Even if Duterte ostentatiously relinquished his supervision over the DCPO, no policeman would dare disobey his orders – legal or otherwise. And the beauty of it is that he can actually sabotage Davao's peace and order by allowing crimes to happen so that the Davaoeños will blame the CHR for attacking their mayor and causing his 'resignation' as deputized Napolcom representative, resulting in criminals gaining courage to walk the streets again. Who are you kidding, Mayor?

But I'd be happier if those who speak against Duterte won't hide from the cloak of anonymity. I know it's not easy to be identified as anti-Duterte. It's like going against the tide. But this is not about who's  pro-Duterte and who's anti-Duterte.

It's about fighting for our deeply held principles: truth and justice.

Obama grateful to GMA. For what?

US President Barack Obama, the ABS-CBN News Online reports, is grateful to GMA because "of the strong voice that the Philippines has provided in dealing with issues in Asia, ranging from the human rights violations that have too long existed in Burma, to the problems that we're seeing with respect to nuclear proliferation in North Korea."

Nice. But what about the killing of journalists, which have taken place under her administration? What about the extrajudicial killings in Davao City where her former adviser on peace and order, Rodrigo Duterte, is mayor?

And what about the human rights violations that, according to the Commission on Human Rights Chair Leila de Lima, "have escalated since she [GMA] took office"?

'For the State to kill reflectively, absent emotion, on ceremony, it is not right'

Below is a comment from someone who refuses to identify him/herself, but gives his/her thoughts nonetheless on the madness in Davao City. I'm re-posting it for others to see.

DDS brings no good

Whether in the digital or in the real world, it is not rare at all to read or hear words of praises for the (dis)service the Davao Death Squad (DDS) has been doing for the city. In YouTube, for example, where a report on DDS by Chris Rogers of ITV-CNN is posted, one reads from a certain darkskyBAO this comment:

I'm a firm believer when it comes to absolute justice. Despite many would detest their disapproval over the "shadowy" group we have to admit that the things they do greatly benefit the safety and order of Davao. The end justifies the means; all criminals no matter how big or just petty hooligans, be it a underage delinquent or not as long as they are deemed a threat in the face of our country. We must not hesitate more. I wish some one like these would be placed in Sulu and Metro Manila.

Many people--Davaoeños and non-Davaoeños alike--share this most cherished belief of darkskyBAO. Since the DDS, they are led to believe, started to complement or take over--not sure which one--the job (that of busting criminals) that solely belongs to the state, the crime rate in the city decreased. No less than the city government is proud of this feat.

But has the city's crime rate really dropped down since DDS began its operation?

No, said Human Rights Watch in its report "You Can Die Anytime." Rebutting the city's claim that "From a 3-digit crime rate per 10,000 people in 1985, Davao has reached an almost Utopian environment with a monthly crime volume of 0.8 cases per 10,000 persons from 1999 up to 2005", the HRW report said:

These descriptions attempt to conceal a rampant crime wave—namely, the murder of hundreds of alleged drug dealers, petty criminals, and street children.

More importantly, by averaging out years of statistics and omitting most recent years, they belie the city’s sharp upward trend in crime rates over the last decade. According to statistics from the police, between 1999 and 2008, the population in Davao City grew from 1.12 million to 1.44 million, or by 29 percent. Meanwhile, the number of annual crime incidents during this period rose from 975 to 3,391, or by 248 percent.21 These numbers show that, contrary to the city government’s self-proclaimed success, its tough anti-crime campaign has failed to curve crime rates. An increasing number of death squad killings appears to have contributed to worsening crime rates in the city.

If it were true, and I believe it is, it only shows that, contrary to many a people's belief, lawlessness only breeds further lawlessness. So we must disabuse ourselves from thinking that the presence of DDS is good because, in reality, it's not.

Extrajudicial killings in Davao City: A timeline

There have been many developments since the Commission on Human Rights came here on March 30 to look into the flagrant extrajudicial killings in the city. But I wasn't able to blog about them because I have been up to something else lately. I am glad, though, that I was still able to keep track of them, thanks to the ever-reliable Google Alerts.

Here then is an attempt to put together the events that ensued since the CHR's visit:

Back on the fringe, again

Published in Mindanao Times 06/02/09

Davao City’s problem on human rights has been around for a long time now, but one that’s often left unnoticed. Fortunately, it was pulled out on the fringe and brought into the mainstream when the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) launched a widely publicized public inquiry on the unchecked killings. But from the looks of it, it seems to be back again to where it was before: on the fringe.

Just two months ago, when the CHR came here to investigate the series of killings in the city allegedly done by the Davao Death Squad (DDS), Davao City became the talk of the town. National broadsheets ran headlines regarding the CHR investigation. Newspaper columnists and cartoonists, human rights advocate and full fledged activists, street philosophers and street sweepers also joined the fray.

Reporter's Notebook on Davao Death Squad

As days passed by, more and more media outfits are looking into the Davao Death Squad phenomenon in Davao City. As far as I know, two international media outfits---ITV-CNN and Al Jazeera---have previously done a report on the DDS. This latest probe is from GMA- Reporter's Notebook.

This whole thing I believe is not just a political criticism being leveled against Mayor Duterte by his political opponents in order to upset his long-standing domination of Davao politics. It's more than that. It's a very serious issue---so serious as to warrant media attention, here and abroad.

Davaoeños and the Bystander effect

What is happening in Davao City can make for an excellent case study illustrating the "bystander effect." The statistics of those killed by the vigilante group Davao Death Squad (DDS) is steadily rising. According to Fr. Amado Picardal, CSsR, spokesman of Coalition Against Summary Executions (Case), "For over 10 years, the number of victims of the so-called Davao Death Squad has reached 890 (from 1998 to March 2009)."

Perhaps in other places, this is more than enough to ring the alarm. But not in Davao City---an "oasis of tranquility," as the legendary journalist Max Soliven once described it, amidst the raging conflicts that have plagued most of its neighbors. So far, the rise of death incidence primarily attributed to the Dds has not incited an uproar from the public. And it can even be said that it won't, for as long as there is peace and order---the variety peddled by Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

More than two decades ago, while in Davao doing a report on the carnage waged by the vigilante group Alsa Masa, Sheila Coronel made an acute observation on the public's response towards the killings. "Often in Davao," Coronel wrote, "when one asks why certain things are allowed to happen, the queries are shrugged off with a curt "You don't live here, you don't know what it is like."" As Davao City is once again enthralled by a vigilante group, this time by the DDS, perhaps the same observation can be made.

How come that, except for a small fraction of human rights activists and civil society groups, not a sizeable majority is protesting against the killings? Indeed, the general mood is one of acceptance, or as others would put it, a tacit approval. How can this be explained?

What do we stand for?

From Mindanao Times 5/24/09

Since the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) began on March 30 its investigation on the extrajudicial killings in Davao City, a cloud of doubt hung over the CHR. Many Davaoeños cannot seem to understand why the CHR is investigating the killings in Davao City that, according to the latest count, have claimed more than 800 victims—most of whom have criminal records.

They can’t help asking: Which human rights is the CHR favoring? Is it the human rights of the criminals or the human rights of the innocent civilians? Why shine a bright light on the killings when the city and its citizens are enjoying peace and prosperity? Can the CHR not leave this dark side of the city since Davaoeños can live with it anyway? Don’t these criminals deserve to be killed in the first place?

Shutting the 'Davao Death Squad' down: A wild goose chase?

All eyes are now on Davao City, as the public inquiry, which is spearheaded by the Commission on Human Rights, over the extrajudicial killings opened last Monday. “The killings have gone on for too long and it’s time to hold those responsible to account,” the INQUIRER report says. “With this message, Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Chair Leila de Lima is set to open on Monday a public inquiry into a wave of unexplained killings of more than 800 people in Davao City since 1998.” (See INQUIRER’s CHR probes 800 kills by Davao death squad)

This isn't the first that a move to hold those behind the extrajudicial killing accountable has been made. As The Mindanao Daily Mirror noted, "Throughout the past decade there have been a number of times in which so-called civil society has risen up to denounce the long series of summary killings that have victimized hundreds of people in Davao City."

This renewed invigoration over the unsolved killings in Davao City spurred me to re-read that part of Alston Report, “Davao: Vigilantism or Death Squad,” which talked about the death squad justice in the city.

Two years ago, Professor Phillip Alston, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, visited the country to investigate the rampant extra-judicial killings in the Philippines. After spending ten days in the country in February 2007, he made a report, titled “Promotion and Protection of All Human Rights, Civil, Political, Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, Including the Right to Development,” which came to be known as simply the Alston Report.

In the Alston Report, a portion can be found as regards the notorious “death squad” in Davao City, locally known as “DDS” (Davao Death Squad). Following is an excerpt of the Alston Report regarding Davao City’s “death squad justice,” as Alston phrased it.