MANILA, Philippines -- Parts of the report by United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston could be "damaging" to the image of the Philippines that was why President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sent a team, led by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, to New York to tell the international body of government efforts to stop the political killings, a Palace official said.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol said that Alston was set to submit to the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights within the week a report based on information provided by militant groups.

"Apparently, Alston does not want to listen to us, he only wants to listen to the leftists," Apostol told INQUIRER.net in a phone interview Monday.

Asked if the report was damaging to the country, Apostol said, "Some parts are damaging."

Early this year, Alston led a team that looked into the spate of killings of activists and journalists in the country, which the human rights group Karapatan said had claimed more than 800 victims.

In his initial report, Alston said the military could have been involved in several cases.

Apostol, who was part of the group that discussed the Philippine position, said it was important for the UN body to be informed of government efforts to stop the killings and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Ermita, also chairman of the presidential human rights committee, and Commission on Human Rights chairperson Purificacion Quisumbing led the group that left Sunday night to meet with UN officials.

Ermita will inform the UN body that cases have been filed against a number of suspects involved in the killings and that law enforcers are hunting down other suspects, Apostol said.

He added that Ermita would also report about the findings of the Melo Commission, the local body created by the President to look into the killings, and that the government was following its recommendations.

The government is also moving to strengthen its prosecution system by pouring in funds for witness protection and hiring more investigators, Apostol added.

He said the Philippine team would also stress that in a number of cases, those involved in the killings were communist rebels.